“Welcome to the Microsoft Global Anti-Piracy Day virtual pressroom. Global Anti-Piracy Day, Oct. 21, 2008, is a simultaneous launch of education initiatives and enforcement actions in 48 countries on five continents to combat the sophisticated, illegal trade of pirated and counterfeit software.

Microsoft is taking these steps as part of its commitment to working with communities, national governments and local law enforcement agencies around the world to protect its customers and partners and promote the value of intellectual property as a driver of innovation.”

I’m thinking we’re going to see less education, and more lawsuits targeting software pirates.  That, or perhaps they’ll just resume disabling keys through Windows Update/Genuine Advantage.  I guess we’ll see.

Either way, The Pirate Bay is having a good laugh today…

I really don’t think this guy is going to be able to have children.  Unless of course he didn’t want to, then hey — mission accomplished.

I know it’s late in the month, but for those who don’t know, it’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  If you have a few extra bucks, consider making a donation to the Susan G. Komen For The Cure foundation.

Or, at the very least, educate yo self, foo!

Save the Tatas

The first place we stopped at was Yoder’s Meat Market (and I swear, 1 out of every two people there have the surname Yoder).  I picked up some really good summer sausage, lebanon bologna, baby swiss cheese, and some crackers.  Definitely made for good snacking

Yoder's Dutch Country Store

The other places I really liked were furniture stores.  The Amish are definitely known for their custom woodwork.  I didn’t buy anything at the furniture shops, but I think when I buy my new house, I’ll probably venture back out there for a dining room set.

We met up with my brother-in-law’s family that night for dinner at Das Dutchman Essenhaus, and let me tell you — this place is amazing.  We did a family style meal with chicken, ham, mashed potatoes, corn, beans, homemade bread, and stuffing.  I left there absolutely stuffed, and we headed back to my sister’s place to watch movies for the rest of the weekend.

Das Dutchman Essenhaus

Delta previously said it planned to rely on flight attendants to handle inappropriate situations, such as pornography surfing. But after feedback from customers and attendants, the airline changed its policy and is working with Wi-Fi provider Aircell to use a system to block inappropriate content.

I don’t really disagree with this move, but what’s to stop someone from bringing a porno magazine on a flight?  I guess I just never thought it would be an issue, but then again, I’d probably be surprised.

The hottie shown below is looking to the internet to help her find a sperm donor so that she can get pregnant.  Any takers?

It was a great opportunity to present our server offerings not only to those bloggers who are preparing to leave their shared hosting provider in favor of the Grid, but also to those who are currently on multi-server clustered environments with other providers, looking for better offerings and support on a more scalable platform.

We also shared a booth with two of our clients, Woopra and Automattic (Wordpress).

After getting settled into the hotel, John P, Elie, Jad, and I headed out toward Fremont Street, which is what is referred to as “old school” Vegas.  Most of the casinos and hotels in the area are from the 1960’s, but what I found really cool was the canopy covering the entire street.  What I didn’t realize though is that they do an audio/video presentation every hour on Vida Vision, the equivalent of 1,200 plasma tv monitors.

After the conference, I spent Saturday and Sunday with the LT and Woopra crews casino-hopping.  Highlights included MGM, Caesar’s Palace, Harrah’s Piano Bar and the Bellagio light and water show, which I recorded on my Powershot digital camera.