Piracy

Gizmodo recently reported, the European Union suppressed a 300-page study (2017 Situation Report on Counterfeiting and Privacy in the European Union). The study covered all manner of foods, drugs, goods, and services, from labels to products. Concerning digital piracy, it concluded that piracy did not harm sales of copyrighted material, including books, music, video games, and movies.

From a prosecution standpoint, one problem it found is no funds are generated when a digital game is downloaded. This shortcoming is often overcome by the sale of advertising space on illegal file-sharing sites and this process is facilitated by advertising intermediaries. This no funds process makes it difficult to follow a money stream.

Television and video broadcasts are digital and are available on a variety of platforms such as mobile phones, tablets, smart TVs, and set-top boxes. In recent years, the use of set-top boxes to access large numbers of television channels, films and other protected content has increased due to low prices, improving quality of services, reliability, and user friendliness.

In many cases the media itself is not copied or kept on servers, just the small code needed to play it. "The number of operators providing illegal IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) appears to be on the rise and this trend is expected to continue at an accelerated rate in the future...It is known that some European internet users continue to mistakenly take the fact that a digital content service is freely available online without the authorities having taken action as a sign that the service provides legal access to digital content."

The study concluded that the impact of piracy failed to provide stats which suggested a “…displacement of sales by online copyright infringements.” Essentially, piracy does not harm legitimate sales. The report posited that illicit downloads may even bolster legal sales of games and neutral for books and music. The sole area where illegal downloading was found to have a negative impact is with blockbuster films.

Q Quickie

Qatar is the only country that begins with a Q and Iraq is the only country that ends with Q.

Cannabis History

US Drug Enforcement Administration Museum in Arlington, Virginia, states that the oldest written references to cannabis date back to 2727 B.C., when the Chinese  supposedly discovered the substance and used it medicinally. Ancient Taiwanese were using hemp fibers to decorate pottery about 10,000 years ago, according to "The Archaeology of Ancient China." The plant itself was in use in both Europe and Asia more than 10,000 years ago and grew naturally across both continents.

According to a recent study, the world's first-known pot dealers were the nomads of the Eastern European Steppe. The Yamnaya, traders from what is now Russia and Ukraine, may have traded cannabis throughout Europe and East Asia about 5,000 years ago.

Archaeological records show a spike in cannabis use in East Asia around 5,000 years ago, at the time when the nomadic Yamnaya established a trade route across the steppes. Yamnaya sites show signs of cannabis burning, suggesting they may have brought the habit of smoking marijuana with them as they moved about.

The difference between hemp and pot is a single genetic switch. Researchers from the University of Saskatchewan announced that they discovered the genetic alteration that allows psychoactive cannabis plants (cannabis sativa) to give users a high, compared to industrial hemp plants, which do not.

Industrial hemp plants are the same species as marijuana plants, but they do not produce a substance called tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA). This is the precursor to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient in pot. Hemp plants fail to produce this substance because they lack a gene that makes an enzyme to produce THCA. Hemp is rich in non-psychoactive CBDA, while marijuana produces THC.

In the US, before the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act, cannabis was a common ingredient in medicinal tinctures, and sellers were not required to mention it on their labels. During the 1920s and 1930s, Mexican immigration to the United States spiked as a result of the Mexican Revolution. People moving from Mexico brought along the custom of using marijuana for recreation, and the drug became linked with public fears of the newcomers.

LINK more info from my blog

Incidentally, it is not possible to overdose on marijuana like you can on heroin or cocaine. 

Account Killer

There is a web site that lets you get out of many web sites and remove your name quickly to diminish your web presence it is called accountkiller. Quick and easy instructions to close out online accounts. LINK

Happy Friday

Happiness shapes the heart, smiles light it up.
Light up your day, especially on a Happy Friday! 

September Odd Holidays

Here are a few, just in case you need another reason to celebrate.
National One Hit Wonder Day - September 25
Johnny Appleseed Day - September 26 (1774)
National Pancake Day - September 26
Crush A Can Day - September 27
Gone-ta-pott Day - September 28
Ask a Stupid Question Day--September 28
Confucius Day - September 29
National Mud Pack Day - September 30

Salty Tip

Before frying, put a pinch of salt in the pan. It should keep the oil from spattering so much.

Ig Nobel Awards 2017

The Ig Nobel awards are given for achievements that first make people laugh then make them think. On September 14, 2017 at the 27th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony, at Harvard's Sanders Theatre, the following prizes were awarded.

• Physics, Using fluid dynamics to probe the question "Can a Cat Be Both a Solid and a Liquid?"
• Peace, Demonstrating that regular playing of a didgeridoo is an effective treatment for obstructive sleep apnoea (sic) and snoring.
• Economics, Experiments to see how contact with a live crocodile affects a person's willingness to gamble.
• Anatomy, medical research study "Why Do Old Men Have Big Ears?"
• Biology, Discovery of a female penis, and a male vagina, in a cave insect.
• Fluid Dynamics, Studying the dynamics of liquid-sloshing, to learn what happens when a person walks backwards while carrying a cup of coffee.
• Nutrition, First scientific report of human blood in the diet of the hairy-legged vampire bat.
• Medicine, Using advanced brain-scanning technology to measure the extent to which some people are disgusted by cheese.

Camel Camel Camel

Came across this interesting site. It tracks prices for all things Amazon. You can create Amazon price watches and get alerts via email and Twitter when prices drop. View the price history of Amazon products. Seems practical if you are planning a large purchase, but waiting for a price drop. LINK

Wordology, Ultracrepidarian

One who gives opinions on something beyond his or her knowledge. Someone who does not know what they are talking about. No comments please.

Gravity in Space

Contrary to common opinion, gravity is everywhere, even in space. Anything with mass creates gravity. The effect of gravity decreases as distance increases. At extreme distances, the gravity exerted on a particular object might be almost zero, but is never completely absent.

At the orbit of the International Space Station, Earth's gravitational pull is about 90% of what it is at Earth's surface.

Astronauts on spaceships in outer space are affected by gravity in the same way that their spaceships are. They are both orbiting Earth, which means they are falling sideways (in orbit) at the same time they are falling toward Earth.


On Earth, astronauts feel the force of gravity as weight, because the ground prevents them from falling. In outer space there is no ground to push against astronauts. As they orbit and fall toward Earth at the same rate as their spaceship, astronauts feel weightless, as if there were no gravity.

Burger and Booze Home Delivery

Saw an ad that shows Friday's is starting home delivery of booze along with food. It claims to be first to home deliver this combination and is rolling out in Dallas and Houston, Texas, then nationwide next year. The liquor and mix come separate and you need to mix it yourself. It will be interesting to see how this will work with so many unique local liquor laws around the country.

Happy Friday

You cannot learn a deep appreciation of happiness if you do not dive in.

Dive in all the way to appreciate a Happy Friday!

Wordology, Rasceta

The creases on the inside of wrist.