P2ShiningP

Tyler and I listened to the Grokster oral argument this afternoon, and we both think Fred von Lohmann and Michael Page comported themselves exceptionally well before the Court. The argument and related P2P points will be the subject of my upcoming issue of IP Memes, which I'll post here as soon as it circulates (some time in the next couple of weeks).

Hope the gang down the 405 freeway at ETCON is having a blast; sure sounds that way!

VOCSS (Verdicts Of Carl Saganesque Size)

VerdictSearch Releases Top 100 List for 2003, Headed by $12 Billion Award against Exxon Mobil:

VerdictSearch(R)...today released its third annual ranking of the 100 largest awards by juries in 2003. An $11.9 billion award to the State of Alabama in its case against Exxon Mobil for breach of contract heads this year's VerdictSearch Top 100....Exxon Mobil was sued by Alabama, which alleged that the company had significantly underpaid royalties due under an existing contract. The year's second-largest award of $934 million in compensatory and punitive damages came as the result of a lawsuit filed by medical device manufacturer Beckman Coulter against supplier Flextronics, International Ltd. and its U.S. subsidiary Flextronics USA, Inc., formerly known as Dovatron. The third-largest award of $521 million was made to Eolas Technologies after a jury found that Microsoft had misappropriated Web technology developed at the University of California.

Perspective: that Exxon Mobil verdict could also be expressed as roughly one dollar per year since the beginning of time.

[Update] More from Dan Gillmor re the no. 3 slot.

Webby Goodness

A couple of things it's good to have on the scene:

As Jonathan and Howard recently posted, Ninth Circuit oral arguments are now available in Windows Media Player format from the Ninth Circuit Web site. (Why not MP3s? Got me, but the Grokster argument is available in that format; thanks Donna and EFF.)

I just stumbled on Aaron Swartz's New York Times Link Generator: a handy-dandy tool for generating durable, no-subscription-required links to New York Times articles, something Dave Winer helped bring about last year.

Conundrum of the day: why don't other species' babies have to be burped?

Tyke Tech

It's really interesting, being forced to take a more passive approach to blogging. (When the choice is showering, sleeping, eating, feeding the baby to yet another installment of the West Wing on Bravo, or blogging, the first four pursuits have a decided edge.) I have these vague notions that Orkut streaked briefly across the firmament, that I need to go read all the links about the Grokster oral argument, and that I should go see if Frank agrees with Dean. (I see Kos has made the critical cause and effect connection.) I can almost hear the laughter bursting out of my neglected iMac owing to this little faux pas, and I chuckled to see that the moon's biggest fans have hit the big time. I do miss the Web!

Though I fully intend to catch up with several blawg related items one of these days (er, weeks; congrats, Howard!), it's still all about the bambino around here for the time being. Of course, there's always the tech connection—like the baby keyboard, the two way monitor, and the delightful I See Me! books you can customize and order online.

I Did Not Know That

Strange but true:

Babies who develop flat heads (plagiocephaly) may have to wear a helmet for four to six months. (Tyler's fine. You just keep coming across this stuff.)

We're raising a generation of kids who are not supposed to see the front seat of a car until age 12.