Yes, but does it really make up for stealing?

This morning, whilst enjoying a (sadly) burnt espresso, I leafed through a copy of Cook's Source Magazine. You might remember this publication from the Great Internet Plagiarism Case of '10. Inside the front cover, where circulation information should be, there was an apology, declaration that the editors are changing their ways, and what appeared to be a rectification of the matter. An apple a day indeed.

This brings to mind the question of where intellectual property protection ends, and whether such protections exist once something has been put "out there." Did you hear the one about the American woman whose family photo ended up, unbeknownst to (and unauthorized by) them, as a supermarket window display in Prague. The woman, Danielle Smith, of Missouri, posted the photo on a blog (uh oh) and attached it to holiday e-mails. Ms Smith explains that it that had her friend not happened upon the ad whilst living in the Czech Republic capital, she would have had no idea that her family's image was being used.

They say publish or perish. I guess these days, it's possible to simultaneously do both.

My new love

Laurie R King, author extraordinaire, has done it again. Mind you, I read her books out of order, and out of sequence, but it doesn't matter. She's that good.

I just finished Folly, a stand alone novel, and A Grave Talent, and With Child, both of which feature Detective Kate Martinelli. In a week. I'm not an extremely fast reader, but her writing reels me in, letting me come up for air only after at least 2 hours have vanished into the abyss.

Those who know me well know of my decades-long love affair with Sherlock Holmes. (That it one-sided is of no consequence.) It was that very infatuation that got me hooked. Ms King's Mary Russell series was all I could think about until I devoured all 10 of the books. Sherlock Holmes is not an easy character to incorporate without overpowering any other main characters. Ms King does it so well. In looking at her site for this blog, I espied an 11th book. If ever a question arose about a gift, let it rise no further!

212 Equaling 100, revisted

Back in June, 2007, I wrote a bit (a long bit) about the imperial vs metric systems of measurement. Apparently I'm not the only thinking about this of late. Apparently not everyone agrees that a line several hundred meters long is in the best taste. http://rhetorica.net/archives/7822.html

January 1, 2010 is long gone, but I still see internationally marketed products with both imperial and metric demarcations. I was in Rome in early January, and there was no rush to dispose of imperial measure-bearing anything.

But I digress.

In my last post, the 5 3/4 year old and the 3 year old centenarian have come to terms with being 9 and 6. Their 3 year old sister is neither interested in fractions or professing advanced age. Still waiting for her take on the whole age thing, although I have been informed that when she grows up, she'll be the mommy and I'll be the baby. Having watched my parents take care of theirs, she may be on to something.