HOW TO FIND THE BEST DIGITAL CAMERA

It seems that every month, if not every week, different manufacturers are coming up with the latest digital cameras to entice potential clients. And it's just not working for us!

After spending sizeable amount of time at the mall figuring out which is the best digital camera for us, we finally have enough money to buy for that eye-popping, 7 mega pixel, 10x digital zoom, potable, candy colored, up to 512MB expandable memory of super hi-speed SD memory card and not to mention very portable, (that will be the envy of almost everyone we know). We march to the mall armed with our life savings and lotsa pride in ourselves, when we pass by a new display - an eight mega pixel, up to 1G expandable memory, with built it mic and stereo surround, video playback capable, with 22 scenic modes kind-of-camera. And we sigh because the producer of this amazing gadget claims that this is the best digital camera yet out in the market. And so as we always want to have the best, armed with our life savings and a few credit cards, we buy the "best digital camera." But then again, that doesn't last too long, after two months or so, there's another "best digital camera."

And so it confuses us. What makes a digital camera, the best digital camera?

Deep Dive: Prenda Law Is Dead

Ken White blogs at Popehat. He's a litigator and criminal defense attorney at Brown White & Newhouse LLP in Los Angeles. His views are his alone, not those of his firm.
All of my coverage of Prenda Law is collected here.
Today the Prenda Law enterprise encountered an extinction-level event. Faced with a federal judge's demand that they explain their litigation conduct, Prenda Law's attorney principals -- and one paralegal -- invoked their right to remain silent under the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. As a matter of individual prudence, that may have been the right decision. But for the nationwide Prenda Law enterprise, under whatever name or guise or glamour, it spelled doom.
Hail, Hail, The Gang's All Here
The crowd gathered early outside of the courtroom of United States District Judge Otis D. Wright II. As before, the spectators included journalists, former Prenda defendants and their lawyers, law clerks and externs, interested citizens, and Electronic Frontier Foundation activists. The little crowd went awkward-party-foul silent when a team of lawyers and nervous- looking men in suits filed into the courtroom. Some of us glanced at the chart that attorney Morgan Pietz created to see if we could match faces. We soon saw that we could. Bets regarding who would show up in response to Judge Wright's Order to Show Cause were won and lost with some good-natured cursing.
A swarm of attorneys quickly checked in with the court clerk and took their places. On one side, attorneys Morgan Pietz and Nicholas Renallo looked calm. They had boxes of materials they wouldn't need, and notes they wouldn't have to consult. On the other side of the room, eight attorneys prepared to answer Judge Wright's questions, mostly for naught. In the gallery, Brett Gibbs -- unhappy witness at the last hearing before Judge Wright -- sat looking sallow and grim. Paul and Peter, the Hansmeier brothers, sat together, looking ridiculously young and out-of-place. Paul Hansmeier's face was beefy-red. John Steele looked conspicuously slick and immaculate in an impeccable suit, like a corporate executive in a bad Robocop sequel. Paul Duffy, Mark Lutz, and Angela Van Den Hemel stared straight ahead.
Not With A Whimper, But A Bang

2k Sports Fixes The MLB2K Baseball Contest It Previously Said Wasn't Broke

If you're a fan of playing baseball the way its inventor intended, meaning on your couch in front of the television with a controller in your hand, you may recall our discussion last year around 2K Sports' famous Perfect Game Challenge. Should you not be familiar with it, that contest revolves around a competition between anyone who was able to pitch a perfect game in the MLB2K series (no hits, no walks, no errors in a complete game shutout by one pitcher) for various large cash prizes. Deadspin's Owen Good discovered an exploit in the system that allowed players to manually replace the starting lineups of the teams they were opposing, essentially rigging it to face the worst possible lineup for their pitching performance, and still have it be counted as a valid perfecto. He also outted at least one specific entrant into the subsequent playoff contest for the challenge that used that system. 2K Sports declined to do anything about it, saying instead:

"The contest was run properly," 2K Sports said. "We look forward to awarding someone a million dollars on May 10 in New York."

Utilizing the black magic called "reductive reasoning", I can only assume that that the company is deciding this year to actively make their annual contest improper. What else would one conclude, given that they have fixed the exploit? As Owen Good once more notes:

Today, I started a game under the Million Dollar Challenge menu option and as soon as I pressed start to go the substitution menu in the loading screen, I lost the official logo. According to the contest's official rules, you may not pause the game, substitute any player on either team, make a mound visit, or delay the game longer than 10 seconds between pitches.

I learned long ago that the greatest power you have when you make a mistake is to own it, fix it, and move on. 2K Sports appears to have skipped a step, which just makes them look proud and petty. Unfortunately for them, both the internet and baseball keep long memories.

UK Music Licensing Agency Says You Can't Use Its Music In Your Podcast Without First Purchasing A License It Doesn't Even Offer

The nightmarishly intertwining world of music licensing is a popular topic here, especially considering the past outlandish actions of various performance rights agencies. On top of this, there's the multitude of different licenses, each one applying specifically to certain formats or outlets. If it's streaming on Youtube, it needs x license and y license. If it's streaming at Spotify, it needs x license and z license. If it's a radio station simulcast at the station's website, license x, y and z are needed, along with license aa. And so on.
Podcasters in the UK are running into licensing problems when attempting to clear music for their broadcasts, as PPL (who covers performance rights for recorded music, like SoundExchange in the US) is causing problems. PPL has a history of questionable over enforcement, and they just can't let up, apparently. Phil Satterly sends in this rather sad story of a long-running Progressive Rock podcast (DRRP Radio) that is going "off the air" thanks to PPL's thoroughly impossible demands.

Common Supplies Found at the Medical Store

The medical store is not always an establishment that everyone in a town visits on a regular basis. It is really great that they are there when you need them though. They sell a large amount of equipment, testing supplies, and other medically related items to help people with chronic illnesses live a more comfortable life at home.

The medical store will carry devices like crutches for people who have injured their knees, or ankles. Some of these items will be for sale and some of the merchants will rent them to you for the length of time you need them. You can also buy or rent wheel chairs at these establishments.

The medical store will have blood pressure monitors; they will likely have extra cuffs for blood pressure monitors so the larger person or pediatric patient can have a proper fitting cuff. They should also have diabetic supplies like blood glucose machines, lancets, testing strips, AC1 tests, ketone tests, and other diabetic supplies. Often they will carry the diabetic shoe line and the diabetic socks. The shoes are special ordered after they have been fit to the person's foot exactly to make them more comfortable.

A medical store that has a pharmacist in it will likely be able to make compound medications. The compounding of medications is no longer done at every pharmacy, but the ones in these types of establishments generally do the compounding because more of their customers need this service.

You will be able to get oxygen and breathing supplies at one of these establishments. The portable oxygen suppliers that work off of batteries are more popular than the older style suppliers that were hooked to a large tank. Some insurance programs do not cover the portable oxygen supply machines though. You will likely be able to get nebulizers, air purifiers, vaporizers, and all other machines and devices that help people to breathe easier.

Many of these establishments carry the nursing uniforms that the home health professionals wear. They may also have stethoscopes and other tools that the home health nurses need to have in their bags. A thermometer is generally required and protective gloves along with hand sanitizers.

Most patients that are bed ridden will need a bedside potty chair that can be gotten from these establishments. There are also shower chairs to keep the patient from falling in the shower or tub, and there are special pads made to place in the beds or wheelchairs of this patience so that any accident they may have can easily be cleaned up. Adult sized diapers will be available to patients through these suppliers as well.

These suppliers are more than just a drug store. They are the place to get everything that you might need if you have a catheter in place or if you have a colostomy and need supplies. The staff is friendly and they are well trained in all of the supplies so they can help you find what you need with no trouble.

A medical store is not just a pharmacy although some of them have pharmacists that compound medicines on the premises. The medical store is where you can get all of the health related supplies you need to care for a bedridden patient. You can get more information at medical equipment.