VOTD

Been a while since I've seent his one, but everyone must witness this guy's insane beatboxin skills. Combined with a harmonica!

What privacy?

Steven Rambam(who is interestingly missing from Wikipedia) was arrested yesterday before making a presentation at the HOPE Number 6 conference (which Kevin Mitnick and Richard Stallman also attended). No details have been released about the cause for the arrest yet. Needless to say, but many rumors are going around, undoubtedly because of the nature of Steven's speeches. Now I had never heard of Stephen before, but I did stumble upon some MP3's of his previous presentations.

HERE is a MP3 of one of his speeches.
HERE is another, but the quality of the recording is bad.
And finally HERE is another.

It is a bit lengthy, but listening to it is quite worth while. It will open your eyes to how much privacy you really have. Oh, and in case your were wondering, that is not a picture of Steven on the top of the post.

Home pwnership

Well, the day has come and I have finally managed to become a homeowner. Although I'm not moved in yet, I closed on the house on Monday. If I seem scarce on here in the future it will be because I will have my hands full moving and getting everything setup with the new house.

I'm very excited about the new house but I do have mixed feelings. On one hand I will finally have a place to settle down for a while and start cutting down spending on my disposable income. I will finally have a garage that I will be able to keep my dream motorcycle (Which I've wanted since I was 15) in, as well as a small workshop that is not in my bedroom or on the kitchen table. I'm also building credit, and gaining equity in the house, thus making future purchases/credit easier. All of these things I have been working towards for a while.

On the other hand it is the longest commitment that I have made, well, ever. Although moving each year is a huge hassle, I love the entropy it causes. A whole new layout of the house, different roommates, purging of the old an unused, as well as many other reasons I cannot fathom at this moment. Also I feel as if I've missed out on a part of life that most people my age are going through, college. Had I gone straight to a 4 year college out of high school I would be finishing up my degree right now. I wouldn't be worrying about many of the things I do now. I would love to have my BS completed by now. I still plan on completing it, but how long will it take at the current rate. Prior to buying the house, I would have the opportunity to go back to school full time and work on finish it up relatively quickly. But now the commitment makes this almost impossible. Of course in a few years I could sell the house off and go back to school, but a few years is a long time when all of your friends are graduating/ have graduated. After getting my BS I would love to get an Masters Degree, but it seems like it will be forever before I have a chance to even get there.

Anyway, perhaps it is my GIAG Syndrome acting up, but I feel as if perhaps going off the school route might of been a better choice in the long run. I would have less money and toys than I do now, but the payoff might be better in the end. Or is the working experience I'm gaining now going to make up for it in the end? Nobody can know for now, only the future will tell.

I will post some pics of the house as soon as I move in (and get my camera back...). It is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, with attached one car garage and a decent backyard for being in town. It will feel very good to get out of the cramped situation I am in right now.

DJ Ted's Techno Tubes

I stubled across some mp3's of the speech in the previous article. I looked for a while but was unable to find them when writing it.

HERE is an MP3 of his speech.
HERE is a techno remix.

Will the 'net go down the tubes?

Looks like some more news in the Net Neutrality (see bottom of this post for a video) debate. Looks like Alaskan Senator and President Pro Tempore (3rd in succession for presidency) Ted Stephens gave an explanation for why he is voting against the Net Neutrality Bill. In an attempt to explain how the internet works and why Net Neutrality is a bad thing he said the following:

"They want to deliver vast amounts of information over the internet. And again, the internet is not something you just dump something on. It's not a truck. It's a series of tubes. And if you don't understand those tubes can be filled and if they are filled, when you put your message in, it gets in line and its going to be delayed by anyone that puts into that tube enormous amounts of material, enormous amounts of material."

Now while this somewhat, kinda, sorta, maybe one way you could see how the Internet (Intertube?) works, I don't think this needs to be the explanation the rest of the senate and John Q Public needs to hear. Even worse than his explanation is this gem of a quote:

"I just the other day got, an internet was sent by my staff at 10 o'clock in the morning on Friday and I just got it yesterday."

Wow, senator! You got an Internet sent to you? I've been waiting for one for around 10 years! I can only assume that he means that he was sent an email. Anyways, these comments can mean one of two things. That Senator Stephens is almost completely ignorant of computing and the internet, or that he is trying to deceive the public. He seems to have a strong stance on the subject, but why would one take a strong stance on a subject that they know little about? I know strongs stances seem to be popular and win votes these days, but this isn't even a Save-the -Children or War-on-Terror initiative.

Anyways, if you would like to contact Senator Stephens about his comments, you can visit his contact page HERE. I'm pretty sure Mr. Stepehens is a busy man, but I'm sure one of his trusty assistants will read the message. Furthermore you can visit THIS website and find contact information for your Senator or House Member and write them regarding your concern for the misinformation being spread by Senator Stephens.

Anyways, I think I shall go send some Internets... errr... Emails now. Here's the video as promised:



Or even this one from no other than the Ninja himself, which offers a much more technical view: