I’m always interested in tech stories. I’m a little bit of techie, I suppose. I like to read about the newest contraptions, the new trends, new improvements in technology. I don’t often do the topics about technology on the air, so, maybe I’ll post some on here… I mean you’re on our Web site, so you at least have a computer, so they may be interest to you.

The Record Industry, RIAA, is angering everybody today with the latest story about unauthorized music copying. Now, I fully agree that trading, giving away, stealing people’s mp3s, bitTorrent-ing songs, copying mp3s off of other peoples computers, iPods, giving away CD-r copies of songs and e-mailing mp3s is stealing and for the most part wrong. It’s so easy these days with record stores online, amazon.com, Best Buy, Walmart, half.com, iTunes, CDbaby.com, and countless other services and stores to get music, and get it cheap, that trading songs amongst your friends is wrong. CD sales are down again 20% this holiday season because kids, adults and everyone seems to be trading music. To curb this trend, the RIAA is now saying that copying/ripping a CD that you purchased into your computer is illegal.

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/28/AR2007122800693.html

So, according to the RIAA, if you go to Walmart(s) and buy the new Barry Manilow Christmas CD, take it home, put it in your PC, rip it to iTunes and jam it on your mp3 player or iPod, you are “Breaking the law” - cue Judas Priest.

I’ve never illegally downloaded a song, call me an mp3 saint. Everything that I have was purchased legitimately at a record store, online, at iTunes or actually given to me by the artist. However, I have copied CDs to my iPod, to listen to in my car, so that these rare CDs I just bought don’t get scuffed. According to the RIAA, that is “unauthorized” - Even if no one besides myself ever touches my iPod or even hears it. It’s not illegal to listen to a CD in my car, but, it is illegal to listen to a copy of that CD. It’s akin to the debate in the 1980s regarding copying that Air Supply record to a tape and listening to it in your car.

A similar debate came about regarding the ownership of Roms of video games about 10 years ago. A lot of people figured out how to “rip” the rom images of old Nintendo and Atari games. Nintendo of America threatened lawsuits and shut down a myriad of Web sites offering free download of Roms of old Nintendo Games. Their legal said “it’s only legal to own a backup rom if you already own the cartridge” - that you could, in effect, own one backup copy, anything else was illegal. It was actually the same problem as the problem facing the music industry. Lots of unscrupulous people were downloading Rom images of brand new Playstation games and Nintendo 64 games, and either playing them on video game emulators on their computers or creating a CD-rom and playing them on mod-ed Playstations, or later, Gamecubes and Wiis.

It’s essentially the same problem. People want to own the content without paying for the right to own it. Whether it be DVD movies, music or video games…. The digital revolution, the lack or a hard copy, has created a generation of people who feel entitled and don’t want to dish out any cash for other people’s work. Bands just starting out feel like they have to give away their music to get any attention, established bands like Radiohead are offering their music for “whatever you want to pay for it” for publicity because their real CDs aren’t selling. The RIAA thinks that telling people that creating back-ups is illegal will help curb this behavior. But it won’t.

It’s a losing battle, but thousand of digital thieves have caused these reactionary tactics.

So many events from around the world reported by news media just make us shrug our shoulders and ask why?  Then you read a column (provided by the adjoining link) and you are reminded there are forces which can impact lower Delaware.  The writer lays it out piece-by-piece and you see the threat of clear and present danger:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071231/EDITORIAL/622390676/1013/EDITORIAL

Scanning the TV dial last night I came across a station called WCPB.  It’s a “public” station and it was airing a canned holiday greeting for something known as Kwanzaa.  From what I can make out this is a holiday created in a political science lab by some Marxist college professor with hopes of destroying the United States as a national entity.  In the 41 years or so since inception the intent of this Kwanzaa has morphed into something more akin to St. Patrick’s Day but without the pints of stout.  It appears Kwanzaa is a holiday celebrated by a handful of academics and members of the news media.  The academics put on brightly colored clothes, similar to the beach shirts seen at summer services at St. Jude’s.  And there are trays of food at Kwanzaa, many with the consistency of a termite mound, and this food allows the celebrants to commune with a long ago imagined past.  A local library basement or school gymnasium is the site of the event, which allows the news media to be educated about history, injustice and segregation, because the only way to end these crimes is by creating a self-segregating holiday.  Some 23 year old bleached blond arrives with a microphone attached to a camera and photographer and the photographer scouts the gym for donuts and is quickly disappointed. 

 The reporter is then educated after asking the piercing question, “So, what is it that you’re doing here today?”  

The answer involves slavery, Ken Norton and Alex Haley.  The photographer then grabs some b-roll and the bleached reporter makes small talk and feigns serious interest.  Even on a slow news day the story will be at least third in the rundown.  

I know a man from Nigeria.  He’s an old friend from my television days.  He was an outstanding electrical and IT engineer.  He didn’t smoke or drink and he read a Bible every day.  We became such fast friends that after the 6:00 news on Friday nights we would pull up chairs in the empty newsroom and spend a couple of hours talking about life.  Later we would become traveling companions as the company sent us away on many training seminars.  Our jobs were to bring back the latest equipment and instruct our own staffs in the use of the latest technology.  

Abiodun liked to talk about growing up in Africa.  He was raised Muslim and after a religious conversion to Christianity and a political coup he feared for his life.  He lived for a time in Australia and then Las Vegas and finally settled in upstate New York.  He found the shores of North America the most appealing and welcoming of any continent he had visited.  His wife found work teaching at a large university and he landed in television.  He raised lovely children and they were scholars and now are grown and a source of great pride.  They are leaders and value hard work and self determination.  It reminds me of a neighborhood where I once lived among Ukrainian immigrants.  The children all became doctors and dentists and lawyers.  

I miss the long talks with Abiodun and remember his reaction to Kwanzaa and hip-hop and the need to portray the self as a perpetual victim.  He explained the people of Africa thought distant relatives in the United States were suffering from mass delusion.   A people so long willing to play the role of oppressed that any progress was impossible.  Abiodun’s family didn’t celebrate Kwanzaa but at Christmas he would wear a colorful sweater over his dress shirt, just like he did all those years ago in far-flung places in Africa, Australia and the western United States.  I guess it’s because he didn’t see himself as different and as a humble man didn’t call much attention to himself.  He liked being an unhyphenated American.  

I thought of him yesterday when I read an essay in a major Canadian paper.  The writer is a scientist raised Hindu in India.  While at college he met and married an Australian Catholic.  The couple’s children were born in Canada and New Zealand and now reside in Australia.  Family members travel extensively and the writer made one very important point.  The only place his kin feel most “ordinary” is while visiting the United States.  It’s because they don’t feel pigeonholed.  They don’t have a need to self-segregate and can’t understand the desire to be separate.  

What is the difference between the two families mentioned and the Kwanzaa crowd?  Check political persuasion.  Abiodun and the family with its roots in India and Australia succeed on merit, hard work and determination.  The Kwanzaa crowd believes government spending, political correctness and the nanny state are the solution, however.  If self-segregation is taken to its terminus there won’t be a single institution left standing.  Then what will we have?  I suspect 300 million individual Rwandas.  

Happy SHAM-a-Lam-a-Ding-Dong. 

 

We almost had venison for Christmas dinner.  A doe but a very large doe.  The one that slammed into my car just after sunset Sunday afternoon on State Route 54 north of Hammondsport, New York.  Route 54 was named one of America’s 10 most scenic drives by some publication just a few years ago.  It’s a designation I won’t dispute and over the last 20 years I’ve probably logged more miles on it than any other route save for the ones I drove on back and forth to work.  So I know it well and when this doe came charging from my left I braked and then all I could see was the animal’s head coming to rest on my hood.  Then it spun and raced off across the road and into the forest.  And I’d never even reached a full stop. 

My daughter asked if it was dead.  No it wasn’t.  I pulled the car off the road and couldn’t even find a scratch.  This was like a metaphor for my time away.  Some close calls but for the most part a good week.  My daughter has been in that car or another car I owned for trips to New Hampshire, the Adirondack Forest, Quebec and many trips to Ontario.  We’ve seen moose and black bears and all sorts of deer but never had a collision and I always worried about her and about her reaction if something like a collision would occur.  On Sunday she just shrugged her shoulders. 

 Her odometer reached 14 years Thursday and she’s seen a great deal for a young woman.  Some early family strife and many, many, maybe too many broadcasting moves by her dad.  Now she displays a calm I believe will serve her well in life.  Two years from the day I write this she can begin driving, with supervision, in New York State.  I still need to research the laws here.  If she stays there she’ll drive in some nasty conditions.  It rained steadily and all day Sunday and there was flooding because the December snow totals are nearly 3 times average.  On Christmas day there was an ice storm and when I left for Delaware a light rain became a heavy rain and then big snow flakes that slapped the windshield with a “plop”.  The big difference between here and there is that there all the cars and trucks are covered with the grime of winter.  

 The grime wasn’t a problem before I stopped for lunch today.  At a steakhouse in Springfield, Pennsylvania and I ate and I talked until it was almost 5:00 P.M.  The Pennsylvania Turnpike and I-95 were suddenly crowded and switching lanes was made more difficult by the film on my windows.  When I finally was near home I bought gas for 2 dollars and 80 cents a gallon.  A good 45 cents less than I had paid starting the return trip.  A man on the radio in Philadelphia talked about potential fuel alternatives and as I snaked through the earlier traffic I wondered what was holding up the promises.  The future can seem so bleak when you fill the tank and listen to the stories about the housing market and the potential for a catastrophe in Pakistan, however.  Christmas was pleasant.  There was family and friends and the men gathered in the den to talk about the merits of Presidential candidates and reached no consensus. 

When I was waiting for my date in Philadelphia two thoughts converged.  My cousin, Mike Gordon, dropped me a line earlier this week.  His folks still live in the hamlet of Black Creek, New York.  People there have weathered depression and war and all sorts of fads and life goes on almost unchanged.  I was thinking about it when my cell phone jingled and it was Mary telling me she was on her way.  A cell phone.  Cable TV.  Computers and the internet.  Can you take a moment and total all those monthly costs?  

 I doubt Uncle Paul and Aunt Laura are wrapped up with these things back in Black Creek.  He still rings the bell at church, a real bell, on Sundays.  She still bakes for Christmas.  The house is warm. 

It’s good to be back in my warm house on the road near Millsboro.  And looking forward to a new year filled with family, high hopes and some common sense about where we’re going. 

 

From WGMD News:

We now have confirmation about a situation surrounding the case of the missing woman—27 year old Christine Sheddy of Milford—who vanished from Pocomoke November 13th. Contrary to what Maryland authorities were telling us, Delaware State Police Corporal Wes Barnett told WGMD that Christine was not in the computer system locally or the NCIC missing persons list, however WGMD’s Dan Gaffney just spoke with the mother of Christine Sheddy—Lynn Dodenhoff and she says State Police have given her a printout of Christine on the NCIC missing persons list.

That pretty much takes care of that. One caller raised this question, and I wonder about this myself: Why do similar cases like this get national attention, and then there is a missing person story like this, which besides our extensive coverage, doesn’t even get enough local attention?!

 

Here is what we have learned today:

As reported in WGMD News, the FBI is not involved in the investigation into what happened to  Christine Sheddy –at least not right now. This is still being treated as a missing person case. Sgt. Richard Klebon of the Maryland State Police tells us there is no suspected foul play, as “There is no evidence that is contrary to that.” Maryland officials say it is an active investigation and that they are still searching in the area where she vanished. Also there has been some conflicting information with regards to the NCIC missing persons lists. From WGMD News:

“Contrary to what is being said by Maryland State Police and the Worcester Bureau of Investigation, Delaware State Police Corporal Wes Barnett is confirming to WGMD that at this point– she is not in the computer system locally or NCIC—missing persons list. Earlier Barnett said that as of last week Christine was not in there, but he tells us he just checked again.”

So he checked again and says she is not in there. The Worcester County Sheriff’s Office told me that the Worcester Bureau of Identification is handling the case and gave me the contact information to Sgt. Tim Keen. Keen this afternoon told me that Christine is in the NCIC missing persons list. Here is what the FBI told WGMD concerning this:

“Generally, the law enforcement agency where the person went missing from is the entity that places a missing persons record into NCIC.  That entity would then also be the only one that could remove a record.  At the FBI, we are the national repository for this information.  As such, we do not enter or remove data from the NCIC. ”

Many people have asked about the fate of the children left behind when Christine Sheddy vanished in the Pokomoke City area Nov 13, 2007.  Christine has three children; two of them, (the young boys who were with her in Maryland) are now staying with their father Levi Hall, and his mother Joyce Hall in Milford, Delaware. 

I was surprised to learn this detail after Friday’s Dan Gaffney Show broadcast; surprised because Joyce Hall is an employee of WGMD radio.  She placed a note in my mailbox at work explaining she is Levi’s mother, and she and Levi are caring for the children.  Talk about hitting close to home!

I feel so sad for all the players involved in this story.  My heart breaks for Christine’s mother Lynn Dodenhoff of Bowers Beach who explained on the air Saturday, “I know, I know she is dead”.  Christine’s sister tells me via e-mail that she has just about lost all hope that Christine will be found alive.  Friends and family continue to ask for more news and co-operation from the police in Maryland. It is my wish you will somehow be able to find at least a moment of peace this Christmas to free you from the turmoil you are facing. 

We had some news that the FBI may be getting involved after our broadcast on Friday, but we are still waiting on “official” news of this from the police.  I must say I am also surprised the Delaware Sate Police are not talking about assisting in this case that remains officially just a “missing person” story.

This story has “foul play” written all over it.

Here is a link to the first blog post on the story.

Here is a link to a missing flyer that contains several pictures of Christine.

 

I’m not sure if any other church in the area has done something like this before, but from what I understand this one particular church in Ocean View is the only one doing it. It’s called a “Blue Christmas” service for those lonely, grieving or sad during the holiday season. This is a tough time period for a lot of people, and some are just not into celebrating. This unique service to be held at Mariner’s Bethel United Methodist Church off Route 26 and Central Avenue in Ocean View is going to be a time of quiet reflection, soft music, and a place of healing and remembrance. It’s this Sunday evening at 6:30 p.m.

http://marinersbethel.org/

 

Austin Bay has written a column about sacrifice and offers, at the end, an address on how you can help…

 

http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071221/COMMENTARY/445431514/1012

Christine Sheddy has been missing from our area since November 13, 2007.

WGMD Report:

A reward is being offered for information that leads to finding Christine Marie Sheddy, who has been missing since last month. Sheddy is 27 years old, about 5 feet, 3 inches tall and weighs 100 pounds. She went missing on Nov. 13, and at that time Sheddy had blond, shoulder-length hair. Sheddy and her two young sons were staying with her mother at her Bowers Beach home. Sheddy told her mother she was going to Pocomoke to visit a couple she met through her boyfriend, who is the father of her children. Anyone with information about Sheddy should contact the Worcester County Bureau of Investigation or the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office. Those numbers – 410-352-3476 or 410-632-1111.

The Maryland Coast Dispatch gives us this detail

Sheddy left her Bowers Beach, Del. home on Nov. 13 with her two sons, ages two and four, in tow to visit a couple in Pocomoke she had met earlier through her boyfriend. Sheddy remained behind with her two sons at the Pocomoke residence while the couple went to pick up their own children at school.
When the couple returned, Sheddy was gone and her two boys were left home alone. Sheddy was supposed to have returned to her Bowers Beach residence on Nov. 17. She was reported missing, touching off a search throughout the county and beyond. According to reports, Sheddy’s two sons are now staying with their father.

The couple is only known to me as “Tia and Junior”.  Family and friends tell me Christine had only recently met “Tia and Junior”.  I have also learned the couple has left the property where the disappearance happened and are living elsewhere in the area.

The girls mother Lynn Dodenhoff tells me her missing daughter will turn 27 years old Saturday.  I have interviewed friends, and family and other acquaintances of Christine; no on has heard from her.
 

Christine’s Myspace page.

Boyfriend and children’s father Levi’s Myspace page.

Tia’s Myspace page?