Let's see... since I last wrote here, I have mostly slept. I will be prepared for twelve hours of work tonight, at least physically.
The Warez newsgroup that I have been frequenting lately is pretty much freaking out about the arrest and conviction of an Oregon University student for software piracy. This weekend saw many of them shut down their servers for downloading and put on ShoutRadio shows on the web. I listened to a couple of them, but I went back to the classical stations. Seems that although I do have a lot in common with this group, music isn't part of that...
It's pretty easy for a person (me, anyway...) to get more software on their machine than they use. It's all out there, and it's all free... right now, anyway. I think that the sources may have just dried up, though. I haven't been around long enough to know if this is a temporary, cyclic thing of not. Guess I'll wait and see.
Software piracy should be a pretty much black-and-white situation, but it really isn't. My personal feeling... which is the only kind I have... is that if you use the software to make money, you should pay for it. I have "evaluated" a lot of software that I would never really use on a regular basis, much less make money with it. I've also got a lot of software that I've paid for... WIN98 Second Edition, WIN98, WIN95, Office97 and Office95 and many others. I've put my money where my mouth is quite often.
And now, on to a surprising subject... Tyler made an appearance. Haven't seen him since we got back. He's been working the last four nights... that's not surprising at all. What *IS* surprising is... he brought a girl home for me to meet. Jessica, her name is, and she seems like a pretty nice girl, too. I will have to find out more about her, and I'm sure that I will.
I think that she'll be around for a while, anyway... she and Tyler were holding hands while they were talking to me, and Tyler is not one for PDA (Public Display of Affection) that I've ever noticed in the past. On the other hand, I've never seen him with a girl before...
There's a possibility that Jessica is the reason that he's been spending so much time in Lawrence, and not the easy availability of grass. I hate it when I misjudge people... I guess that you're not supposed to judge people at all, but it's really hard to adhere to that principle with your kids.
Speaking of which, JD is going to be teaching a lab at SHSU this semester... yes, I'm proud of him, I think that's something to be proud about. Of course, I was proud of him anyway. He's a good kid, a smart kid, and he's going in the right direction. Cleaned up his act a whole bunch.
I wish that he wasn't so damned far away. I'm gonna have to go see him once it starts cooling off in Texas...
OK, time for a shower and work. More tomorrow...