Copyrights

A lot of people still think that creative works are only copyrighted when the author files some sort of application. That's a common misconception.

Under the Berne convention, any creative work is automatically copyrighted. In other words, this protection is granted even when the author or artist does not explicitly assert or declare any copyright claim.

Hence, if you were to copy someone's work verbatim, then you would almost certainly be guilty of copyright infringement. If you modify the wording though, then you might not be, depending on the nature of the original work and the nature and extent of the modifications. (Naturally, the less trivial or obvious the original work is, the more extensive the modifications would have to be.) There is also a "fair use" exception, but that can only be used in limited situations.

Unfortunately, there is no formula to determine when a modified work is too close to the original; after all, how would one derive such a formula? In all matters of intellectual property rights (copyright, trademark, and patent infringement), multiple criteria and a measure of subjectivity are involved.

Feeling down

I'm feeling very down this morning. Don't ask me to explain why. I just do.

I woke up at some obscene hour in the morning -- maybe 3:30 am or so. I just could not get back to sleep, perhaps because of feeling down. I tried all sorts of things. I ate a cereal bar, I took a bit of melatonin and a piece of an antihistamine tablet. Only eventually did this help me get back to sleep. (I didn't dare take the entire antihistamine tablet, since I know that sometimes makes me too groggy to wake up.)

I don't want to rely on these pills to help me sleep, since they can disrupt normal sleep patterns. I might have to use them for a while, though.

I think this has something to do with feeling down. That and the fact that my sleep was disrupted during my recent business trip, in which I had to stay awake in an airport for an entire day. Some guys sleep in the airport, but I just can't, and I don't think it's a wise thing to do anyway.

Reading and exercise

I used to try to get a lot of reading done on the elliptical trainers in the gym. The idea is that I wanted to feed my mind, but I also wanted to trim down and get some exercise in. Unfortunately, it's hard to read one those things, especially when reading technical matters. It's also hard to concentrate on getting an intense workout when you're reading.

More recently, I've been watching some high-intensity cardio DVDs and participating in some bootcamp classes. You can't really read while doing those things; however, they do provide more intense workouts.

Argh. If only I could do both. I want to be an information sponge, but I also don't want to become a couch potato.

Urban legends show

I'm watching this urban legends show on the Discovery Channel. I have a love/hate relationship with this show.

On the one hand, it's somewhat educational. On the other hand, there's way too much fluff in the show -- all sorts of pointless ruminations and overly drawn out dramatizations. I can learn stuff from it, but I don't think it's very good use of my time.

Speaking of making good use of my time, I'll talk more about that soon.

Frustrating relatives

Some of my relatives can be quite frustrating when it comes to little things.

For example, some of would insist on referring to carbon dioxide as "carbon." It's enough to make a chemist cry.

When playing chess, they would refer to the knight as "the horse." They'd refer to the rook as the "tower."

Oh, and playing cards with them made me cringe. Remember the old familiar suit of clubs? They'd refer to the clubs as "clovers."

Good freaking grief.

Stuck in an airport

I'm stuck in an airport waiting for my flight. I was the victim of a flight cancellation, which meant that American Airlines was forced to arrange for a new itinerary for me. Rats.

On other other hand... Mad props to AA for sending me a voicemail message, notifying me of this problem! That was a surprise. Not a pleasant one, but I have to give them kudos for alerting me to this problem in a timely fashion.

In the meantime, I've got to kill time and attempt to be productive. Easier said than done, though. I'm sleep-deprived, and I can't really nap in the airport. Also, a lot of the stuff that I'd need to be truly productive are at home and in my office. Rats.

Man, I could use some sleep. Hopefully, I can get some shuteye on the plane.

On the road again

I'm travelling again. Sitting in an airport right now... an airport that could stand to use a few more electrical outlets. Or more accurately, there are plenty of floor outlets, but most of them ahve been covered and screwed down. Not exactly conductive to travelling warriors.

I am thankful, however, that the initial leg of my flight was peaceful and quiet. It's always a relief when the people on the same flight are considerate and well-behaved. What a pleasure. I was able to get some sleep on my flight, but I could admittedly use a bit more shuteye.

I'm still struggling with the remains of my cold, though. Ugh. Still feeling slightly congested. I've stopped coughing up bodily organs, but my throat still isn't completely clear.

Been feeling down.

I've been feeling so very down lately. Maybe it's due to overwork and a lack of sleep. Overtraining might have something to do with it as well. And as I mentioned, I'm also recovering from a cold, which is yet another source of stress.

And frankly, I haven't had as much social contact with people as I would like. Yeargh. I wish things were different.

Lab automation

I photocopied an article on laboratory automation for me to read during an upcoming flight. I sure hope that I do indeed get to read this. I might get sucked into a game of Sudoku. It's mentally stimulating, but not a good use of my time. It'd take way too long to get better at this game, and I don't think that would be an efficient use of my limited time.

Besides, I'd rather be working out. Tried to make it through a grueling hour-long intensive cardio workout, but I had to quit halfway through. This darned cold that I'm recovering from has just sapped my energy levels. Darn it.

My eyes are burning

I hae allergies. My eyes were badly inflamed last night, and my eyes were burning. They're burning today as well.

Actually, the discomfort has subsided a bit, now that I'm in an airconditioned room. Still, this whole situation stinks.

It's a problem with allergies, which makes it an immunological problem. Basically, allergens trigger an undesirable immune system response. An allergen is a type of antigen that create a spurious immune response; that is, they aren't toxics or pathogens, but they make the immune system respond anyway. Argh.

Dancing weirdo

There was this strange fella at a swing dance event last night--an older-looking Asian gent. Actually, I've seen him at a lot of these events. He's a good dancer, but frankly, I think he's a bit of a weirdo.

Oh, he's got skills. The problem is that he keeps making all these goofy expressions when he dances with a woman. It's obvious that he really enjoys his dancing, but he looks like he's enjoying it a bit too much, if that makes sense. That is, he keeps putting on these over-the-top expressions on his face when he dances, and if I were a woman, I'd feel kinda weirded out by that.

It's not just that. He also keeps putting his face right up close to the woman's face. Now, I can't speak for anyone else, but personally, I think that's just stepping over the line -- especially when he keeps making those weirdo expressions on his face.

How would I describe those expressions? I guess they're kinda like over-the-top grins. Not just a pleasant smile, mind you, but wide, open-mouthed expressions of sheer ecstasy. I don't want to judge, but I feel like tapping him on the shoulder and saying, "Criminy, fella! Calm down and get a grip on reality."

Last night, he also took this newcomer -- a gal who had only gone swing dancing once before in her life -- and lifted her into the air. She squealed, and I don't think it was with delight. That was completely inappropriate on his part. He could stand to exercise some common sense, and maybe learn a bit about dance etiquette.

Yep, he's out of control. I wish that he'd stop and get ahold of himself.

Profanity in the gym

So I was working out a few days ago, and a bunch of guys in the gym were saying "F*ck" all over the place. That really got to be annoying.

Oh, sure. I'm sure that these guys were old friends. And the probably figured "Hey, you've only got men in this room. It should be okay." If so, then they didn't realize that not all men appreciate foul language. And what if a woman were to pass by? I realize that some women do tolerate such speech, and that some of them can even swear like a sailor. A lot of them don't, though.

It wasn't just that the language was foul. It was that they kept using the word over and over and over again. Not good conduct in public. They've got to learn some basic gym etiquette.

They have got to learn to behave.

Speaking of my old apartment

The electrical wiring in my old apartment building was kinda old. The result? Circuit breakers would trip if I tried to operate my air conditioner and my microwave oven at the same time. That got to be incredibly annoying, especially as I had to trek down to the first floor laundry room to reset my breakers.

I hated it. Hated it. Hated it.

I'm sick

I am so sick and tired of this cold. I can't work out and I can't think straight -- yet I still need to get work done. It's bloody annoying.

I'm trying to be as productive as I can under the circumstances. I'm focusing on tasks that don't require a lot of mental effort. Still, it is incredibly aggravating.

And I miss being able to devote a lot of effort to high-intensity cardio work. I'd like to get trimmer, and frankly, I enjoy that type of work.

Recanting

Earlier, I was complaining about Chase Visa's customer service. Now I realize what went wrong, and I feel chagrined.

After my initial PayPal charge failed, I changed my PayPal account's primary credit card to my Costco AmEx card instead. That explains why my charge went through the second time around. I'm willing to admit when I made an error.

Still, I'm annoyed. My Visa card had not yet expired, yet they already chose to decline its use. That's annoying and just plain wrong.

Now complaining about Chase Visa

Okay, I've bitched enough about AT&T DSL. I don't want to make a habit of complaining, but now I want to vent about Chase Visa.

I got a call from Chase Visa's fraud prevention department today, asking me to confirm a PayPal charge. I confirmed it, but the customer service rep then told me that one of my other charges (for $490.40) did not go through, and that I'd have to resubmit it. I said, "What?!?! I got a receipt for that amount. Are you sure that it was declined?"

She said, "Yes, it was. You have to resubmit it." I said, "Well, it was declined the first time around, but then I resubmitted the charge last night and it went through. As I said, I even got confirmation from PayPal. Can you make sure that it did go through?" She said, "No, it did not. You'll have to resubmit it."

At that point, I felt like cancelling this credit card; after all, they had given me a lot of similar problems in times past. And of course, I wasn't about to resubmit a charge of nearly $500 without making absolutely certain that it was necessary. This customer service rep wasn't communicating very well, so in a pique of frustration, I hung up.

I decided to call back though, just to confirm that my $490.40 charge did indeed go through. I spoke to another rep, who said, "Oh yes, it must have gone through. It'll just take 24 hours before this charge is reflected in our system."

Argh.

Glad I moved

I am so glad that I no longer live in my old apartment.

It wasn't a horrible apartment, mind you. In fact, it was fairly spacious. However, there was virtually no air flow around the building, thanks to the apartment buildings beside it. That made it oppressively hot during the summer months.

I got myself a portable air conditioner, but it didn't do a great job -- and it always drove my electric bill way up.

Even now, I have to spend quite a bit on my electric bill, thanks to the oppressive humidity. I'm trying to avoid that, but sometimes, I feel like I have little choice in the matter. I need to be able to function, and it's incredibly hard to do that during the summer.

AT&T DSL -- unbelievable!

I can't stand it.

Remember my complaints about AT&T DSL? Well this morning, I woke up to find an AT&T van parked in my driveway. I asked the driver what that was all about, and as it turns out, he had been sent here to 'fix' my DSL line.

What the heck...? AT&T had previously sent me an e-mail message and left me a voicemail message, stating that they had fixed my problem. Now they sent a technician over as well? What's more, they didn't even tell me that he'd be arriving... early on a Sunday morning, no less.

People, when will you get your act together???

Learning chemistry

I love this site. It provides a lot of helpful information on chemistry-related matters. Few people would take delight in reading such things, but I do. (Okay, so the content was taken from Wikipedia. Still, I'm glad that they provide it.)

And yes, I do like reading such things. Just last night, I was watching a DVD lesson on the periodic table of elements. What does that tell you?

AT&T DSL again

Good grief. My AT&T DSL connection died. Again. Talk about tiresome.

I spoke to an AT&T tech service rep on the telephone. To be fair, I really have to give this guy credit. Instead of making me jump through a whole bunch of useless hoops, he addressed my problem promptly and efficiently. He noted that there had been a group outage that caused my previous problem, but correctly figured out that there must be something wrong with my specific hardware -- that is, the card that connected to my modem. So he issued a service ticket, telling another technician to replace the card.

That seems to have fixed the problem. We'll see.

I like his approach. During a previous call, I complained about intermittent network outages. The rep who answered my call said, "Well, you have network connectivity right now. We can't do anything unless you call while the network is down." As it turns out though, that was not strictly true. As it turns out, they could have replaced the card in question to see if this prevented my intermittent outages from occurring.

Here's hoping that this latest fix does the trick.