Fluffy is sick. (s)he has got quite a bit of diarrhoea. The whole bottom is wet. I am a bit worried it would be the “wet tail syndrom” which requires immediate antibiotics. Poor Fluffy. No wonder (s)he did not get out of her hamster house and did not eat anyhing or use the hamster wheel. When examining the bottom, I had another look and today Fluffy looks like being male. Damn, you never know with these small little pets! Hopefully Fluffy recovers over the weekend, will try to make it to the vet tomorrow. The Knowledgelab plans to run 4 streams.

Now, I am trying to apply for some work experience, jobs and internships. As they insist that stuff would have had to be published either on the web or in print, the easiest option is of course to just drop it on the blog. Hope the essay on copyright did not offend anybody, but that was the topic given and could not change it. It took quite a lot of effort to actually find some positive aspects of copyright law, with the main one that it is still better than patents. The weekend we are off to a GNU/Linux meeting, the Knowledgelab in Lancaster.

Copyright are exclusive rights by which creative works is protected from unauthorised use, sharing, modification, share of modifications and creation of derivative works. It grants a monopoly to creative workers for limited time for their own endeavours. The justification for copyright is given [1] as to recognise the labour of the creator, strive a balance between the intrests of users and creators as well as to balance the interest of the public with the rights of the creator. The owner of the work is identified and deserves attribution as well as the reward for his efforts. Another justification is the incentive to create more creative works and to ensure that better results by devoting time and energy will be produced in future, because of the creators being able to rely on Copyright as the legal framework for the protection of their works.

Behind the privacy of the closed doors of media corporations and the friendly smile of the receptionists an eternal and from the public hidden battle is raging. News reporters and columnists each insist their job is the most difficult in the journalist profession and compete for public and professional recognition. Mark M., former foreign correspondent for the Reuters news agency states: “It is easy to write opinions, but it is difficult to report facts”?. He adds with a smile “But you have 800 words to convince me otherwise.”? “Now that the facts are free, comment costs?”, counters Cristina Odone in her Media Guardian article about the “rise of the supercolumnists.

Got a hamster yesterday, called it “Fluffy”, as it has still its baby hamster fluff, it is about 8 weeks old. Fluffy settled in really well. It is grey and brown with some white spots and really cute. [Hamster colours] It went straight up to me and nibbled on my finger, and without any problem curiously went into the cardboard box, too. It never had seen a wheel, but it pretty quickly found out how to use it and after about half an hour started to exercise the whole night. I hope I will be encouraged to exercise with him on my treadmill, to keep fit, too.