Back when I was at Microsoft, one of my projects was to add integration of NetMeeting (Microsoft’s online videoconferencing product) into Outlook. In 1998, if I recall correctly, Matthew Bookspan wrote a patent filing for this feature and added my name to it. All I did was review the thing, if that. And lo and behold, the patent was granted in 2002.

Frankly, though, it’s a patent that shouldn’t have been granted. I didn’t think it had a chance at the time, since we didn’t do anything that wasn’t terribly obvious. Now I’m part of the software patent problem.

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A few weeks ago I got email from someone in Australia named “Troy Hakala” who found this site. “Hakala” is a common name in Finland, but “Troy” is relatively rare, but I’ve never heard of another Troy Hakala before. And I dominate a Google search for Troy Hakala, which makes someone who loves his anonymity uncomfortable.

Today I found that the other Troy Hakala has been published on Opinion Online. It sounds like Australia is no better than the US on gay rights.

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The Decemberists‘ new album, The Crane Wife, is out. I wasn’t even expecting a new album, even after I bought the single on iTunes last week. It’s not quite the same as previous albums, it’s more 70s rock than the kinda folky-shanty that I thought they sounded like on older albums. I swear The Island has a little classic rock (Deep Purple?) keyboard in it, very weird.

For crying out loud, they have a MySpace page. Isn’t MySpace uncool yet? Wait til the kids find out that the eXtreme-unhip Rupert Murdoch owns it.

Reviews:
Pitchfork Media
Jive Magazine
MOG

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