Myths Debunked, With More To Come
Eugene Volokh discusses common copyright misconceptions, and is contributing to a Cyberspace Law for Nonlawyers book. Will I have to May I burn the bar card to give it a read?

Speaking of Broadband
On Monday this week I was working from home, so was there when Pacific Bell cold-called me about signing up for DSL. I've been an ISDN dinosaur for years as friends and colleagues have bemoaned their outings with high speed access. (See, e.g., Buzz.) I've turned down DSL before because of installation and reliability issues, and the thought of speed fluctuating with neighborhood use has kept me off cable. Satellites just seem more trouble than they're worth. So you're probably thinking I told the Pac Bell guy to remove me from the call list and that was that. He probably wishes I did. Instead, I cross-examined him into having to call his supervisor, who withstood the onslaught pretty well - though his responses had the ring of the saved sinner more than the telco rep (We know we really screwed this up before, but now we're Healed.). I had to give the guys a chance after all the talk of despair and redemption. The equipment's in the mail, so we'll see. I'm not disconnecting the ISDN any time soon.

More "Complaints And Grievances"
The samples alone are worth the visit.

Pardon me while I impersonate Andy Rooney for a moment
1) The Senior Class Trip. When exactly did this become a U.S. high school mainstay? I'm all for the broadening experience of travel, but kids today seem to be cruising the Bahamas, sashaying through Manhattan, etc. My most meaningful Class Trips were to Bob's Big Boy.

2) Junk Door Mail. We already contend with junk postal mail, junk email and telemarketers. Now this sort of thing ("Some cities require permits" - not mine, apparently). Just who told all the local retailers and service providers they could rubberband stuff to my front doorknob? The one I will read is the one offering to electrify the thing.

3) Cell Phone Call Forwarding. Oh, so now I can't leave the cell phone behind even if I want to? Great. (I have mixed feelings about this last one. My real gripe is I was so out of it I didn't know you could do this until a couple of days ago. Frighteningly, it's coming in handy.)

Live Justice
Rory's court is webcasting oral argument. Cool.