I’m very relieved that the powers that be in Iran have done the math and decided that conflict was ill-advised. I’m very relieved that the Brits don’t have to enter into their own drawn out hostage situation with this rogue nation-state. I’m delighted that, this time, we’ve avoided broadening the Iraq war to be the IraX war.

To all sides, thank you for showing some restraint.

To the Iranian government, it’s bad foreign policy to tease a caged bear repeatedly. It makes the bear angry, the bear won’t forget, and it will have no choice but to eat you if this bad behavior continues (which unfortunately, I expect will continue.)

To the US government, see, diplomacy can work. Give it a chance from time to time.

To the hostages, welcome home. Enjoy your families and thanks for your service.

I’m relieved, at least until the next bad behavior. The ending might not be so pretty next time.

The mighty Gators chomped the Buckeyes for a second time in 4 months taking a consecutive championship in men’s basketball. Unlike the football fiasco, the Buckeye hoopsters played hard and never gave up, it simply wasn’t enough. While I’m disappointed in the outcome, I can’t argue the effort and the great overall season the Bucks turned in. All hail Florida, they’ve earned it.

If the early morning web stories are true, then EMI, which has the 3rd largest music catalog after Universal and Sony, will make a public announcement that they will distribute their media without digital rights management (DRM.)

This shows foresight and courage on EMI’s part, unlike the stupidity and laziness exhibited by Viacom in dealing with YouTube earlier this year. Why is this good? Consumers win because they are able to use the media in any way they choose. When consumers have a choice between this mode of operation and the other, it’s clear which will win. The concern about illegal use of content is legitimate to a point. Some people will use the content without appropriately compensating the distributor, but that happens now with DRM.

I predict that EMI in cooperation with Apple and other digital distributors will see growth from this move. Most people do want to legally participate in this economy and there will always, regardless of what technology exists, be a fringe of people who will choose not to participate legally. It makes much better business sense to serve the majority….that’s what EMI is doing. It’s about time.