Looks like the CAFC overturned Myriad, just as I had predicted last year. Interesting that the Obama Administration filed an amicus brief opposing the practice of patenting genes. And by "interesting" I mean "ignorant of nearly two decades worth of precedent and practice upon which an entire, thriving industry has been built."

HOWTO enable and set up opkg on the Buffalo WZR-HP-G300NH running DD-WRT v24-sp2

1. Set up bind-mounts
1. Enable jffs2
2. Copy /etc to /jffs2/etc and bind-mount /jffs2/etc on top of /etc
3. Bind-mount /jffs2/opt on top of /opt
4. Probably optional: Bind-mount /jffs2/usr-local on top of /usr/local
2. Extract an openwrt rootfs into /opt
1. wget http://downloads.x-wrt.org/xwrt/kamikaze/snapshots/ar71xx/default/openwrt-ar71xx-rootfs.tar.gz
2. cd /opt && tar zxvf openwrt-ar71xx-rootfs.tar.gz
3. N.B. Make sure that /opt/lib and /opt/usr/lib are first in your LD_LIBRARY_PATH
3. Install openwrt libs
1. wget http://downloads.openwrt.org/snapshots/trunk/ar71xx/packages/uclibcxx_0.2.2-3_ar71xx.ipk
2. ipkg -d /opt install uclibcxx_0.2.2-3_ar71xx.ipk
3. N.B.: Don’t forget that “-d /opt”!
4. Install http://downloads.openwrt.org/backfire/10.03/ar71xx/packages/opkg_513-2_ar71xx.ipk the same way.
5. Modify /opt/etc/opkg.conf
1. dest root /opt
2. get rid of the line saying to overlay root
3. Then ln -s /opt/etc/opkg.conf /etc/opkg.conf
6. Set LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/opt/usr/lib:/opt/lib:/lib:/usr/lib:/mmc/lib:/mmc/usr/lib
7. Add /opt/bin:/opt/sbin:/opt/usr/bin:/opt/usr/sbin to PATH

Thoughts on Association for Molecular Pathology and ACLU v. USPTO and Myriad (S.D.N.Y. 2010) (Judge Sweet).

First of all, this decision is essentially a non-event. It goes against such a boatload of precedent that I have no doubt that the Federal Circuit will overturn it completely and without reservation. In fact, it's not too outrageous to expect such a complete smackdown from the CAFC that the Supreme Court will deny cert.

But this decision and the reactions to it have highlighted a gulf of understanding between the patent priesthood and the public at large, a group in which I include lower courts and legislators.

What I'd like to do is craft an argument in favor of existing legal precedent that can at least be understood by laymen. If it turns out to be convincing, I might just have to return to my old career.

Notes on the Transition from Anabolic to Catabolic

Wow. 2009 and I'm finally writing a blog post, which comes as a followup to one of those "show us the first random 25 songs on you iPod" challenges. I had come up with a spiffy little list and wrote this note at the end of it:

"I'm pretty pleased with the roll of the dice on this one. But I do have to credit a lot of effort tending to the collection. One of the biggest things I've had to let go of is completism. In the pre-internet era, there was always the feeling that you were missing out on an artist's best work, so the drive was huge to seek out and acquire. For example, it took me seven years to score a copy of Throwing Muses' cover of the Volcano Suns' "Jak".

It's taken me a while, but I've come to terms with the fact that seeking and acquiring is now child's play, and the difficult part is mercilessly trimming your collection. But that's a long essay for another time."

Here's my shot at that essay. First, a bit of history. I was involved in college and community radio from 1984 until about 1994, resulting in a voracious appetite for music. I wanted new stuff, rare stuff, remixes, live versions, demo tapes, gimme gimme gimme! (Speaking of demo tapes, one of my favorites made it onto cart at WMBR sometime between 1989 and 1990. "Smokeshow" by Grand Theft Auto. Good luck googling that one.)

Next Time: Foreshadowing from the 100CD changer.

Just tickling the line to keep the connection open. I have no idea why a link to this blog appeared here.

Title of the blog changed to FRDMRT's Secret Epistemology. "Histomology" isn't even a word, f'rchrissake.

Let's be honest. I'm only redirecting FRDMRT.org here because all the other free webhosting options have become too crass. It's not a blog, it's a placeholder. Further explorations into the Hidden will have to wait.