links for 2008-09-17

ul class=”delicious”li div class=”delicious-link”a href=”http://thelewespound.org/”The Lewes Pound/a/div div class=”delicious-extended”The town of Lewes, East Sussex, England has created their own local currency, accepted by many local businesses…but not local chains. The idea is to promote local businesses and to keep people thinking about things like the lowered carbon footprint of buying locally produced goods. Plus, it#039;s a really lovely banknote./div div class=”delicious-tags”(tags: a href=”http://delicious.com/jzellis/futurism”futurism/a a href=”http://delicious.com/jzellis/currency”currency/a a href=”http://delicious.com/jzellis/economics”economics/a a href=”http://delicious.com/jzellis/sustainability”sustainability/a)/div /li/ul

Major Apple filesystem problem

Can somebody please fucking explain to me why the Finder would simply stop copying files without throwing an error? I was backing up all my project files because I needed big space on my laptop for video editing. It said the copy was done, I opened the folder, everything looked okay, I erased the files off my hard drive.

Today I discovered that, in fact, no folder with a name after ‘P’ got copied. It just stopped, no alert, no explanation. When I opened the folder to verify, I just looked and saw that all the subfolders and everything seemed to be there, so I didn’t notice, because I didn’t scroll down in the window.

I’m so fucked.

I have written the nerdiest rock song ever.

Supergirl

(by Joshua Ellis)

I lost my girlfriend I don’t know where she went She said she had to go back to her ride She said that her energy was spent

And maybe she’s in Brinstar And maybe she’s in Crateria And maybe she’s in Norfair She’s always acting so superior

She’s a supergirl

Yeah, I can’t take my girlfriend I can’t take her anywhere She’s always killing monsters And complaining about her hair

And maybe she’s in Sunnydale She spends all her time at the library I never never understood What she sees in a boy like me

She’s a supergirl

I can’t find my girlfriend Even though I keep calling her name She left me in an endless maze These twisty passages are all the same

And maybe she’s in the forest Maybe she’s underground Maybe she’s with that skinny guy He’s always hanging around

Yeah, she’s a supergirl

The Dawning Of The Day

Tonight, I did the same thing I did last year on this day: I stood in the dark and listened to Mary Fahl’s “The Dawning Of The Day”, and I cried for people I never knew.

I hate jingoism, and I hate the way that so many people have used September 11th as a springboard for their own xenophobia, hatred and fear. But I refuse to allow their venality and stupidity to cloud my memory of that day, when I woke up and watched the world change forever. And I refuse to let them dishonor the memory of the dead — those who were in the wrong place at the wrong time, and those who went willingly into that place to save those who could not save themselves. I did not know anyone who died on September 11th, 2001, but I still believe it is right to mourn them and to feel pride in them, and in the way that our country — even if only for a very little while — forgot our differences to honor them.

This is the song I listened to.

Then I called my men to follow me knowing well that the view was dim Though tired and worn, how they fought all morn’ as time was closing in And my heart was sad though sore with pride for brave lads all were they As the angels fly, how they climbed so high on the dawning of the day

Question about admiralty law

I’m writing a story, and I can’t seem to find an answer to this question, and I’m hoping one of you might be able to help me. (Joe? Alex?)

A murder is committed on an American ship in international waters. The ship is too far away from shore to simply return — it will take several days at least, during which time the murderer may strike again.

What can the captain do under these circumstances? Can he detain people of interest without giving them access to a lawyer? Can he order everyone to stay in their cabins? If the murderer is found, can he be detained with a citizen’s arrest?

Here’s the other question: what would happen on a spaceship? Spaceships are subject, as far as I understand, to a modified version of admiralty law. If someone was murdered on a spaceship, what could the captain and/or crew do about it?