Archive for 'LJ Archive' Category
Time to Move On?
29 June 2006I was one of the early adopters here at LiveJournal. September 12, 2000, I started this thing. I like that I’ve kept the same journal all this time. If you know me, you know I like consistency. But lately I’ve felt like it’s run its course. My LJ has, for the most part, been of a very personal nature, and lately, when I want to write, I have less personal things on my mind. Besides, I’ve also got my pretty-but-useless Mac.com home page and my thom.smart-popcorn.com subdomain… I’m just so partitioned. I’d rather have everything in one place.
So, I think I’m going to start looking for some good software to run. Run it on my own server. Put everything there, and board up the windows here. Dunno… We’ll see.
Inthomnia
20 June 2006Yes, that was a really lame subject. That’s what you all get for completely ignoring my very passionate post about Net Neutrality.
But anyhow… yes, instead of sleeping as I should, I decided to write an entry in my journal. Try to make it more personal, although not as in-depth as some people’s novellas this week. (Hey, you know I loved them.)
I’m so stoked about this trip, the trip to Ohio. Did I mention why? Largely because I want to travel with the new MacBook. Yeah, I’m very lame. But that’s a large part of it… also seeing an Indians game and the Rock Hall of Fame. I’m sure I’ll wind up enjoying just the general experience, hanging out with Kaleena and Kristen, being in another old-fashioned suburbia type of place. But as I don’t really know how all of that will be like, I can’t actively look forward to it just yet. I’ll also love just being out of this stupid valley, like I was talking to Genelle about the other day. Same as last year. Why the hell visit Bismarck, ND? Well, because it ain’t Phoenix that way. Tired of this place. My family is too… They’re actively looking for places to move, and I think if they weren’t playing it smart and making sure they’re financially sound before the move, they’d move right now. I’d move too.
Oh, I finally got to talk to Genelle this week, as I mentioned. As if there aren’t enough entries in this journal about her. :-P But damn, water under the bridge aside, it is still good just to talk to her. She remains one of the few people to consistently challenge me about anything, everything, and that’s something I mostly always need. (I suspect that’s one of the underlying reasons she got so many entries dedicated to her back in the day.) By now, even having that chat window open & knowing I’m going to be talking to her, it even gets me challenging myself. Which is good. Why the hell am I still in Phoenix? Why am I always posting entries about iTunes or politics and not about myself? I just so happen to know those answers, but it’s good to give them a further examination.
Been hanging out with Dante a lot again lately. We lame-out with our Macs together, play Halo… more lameness. But it’s kinda cool. Though he clearly maintains some of those classic Dante traits, he and I have grown more alike in our time apart. We’ve caught a bit of that premature “grumpy old man” scenario. He mentioned the other night that, next year, we’ll both be closer to 30 than to 20. Scary. If not just for the getting old part of it, also for a nagging question of my own. I think I posed a related question to G a while back. Is it getting time for me to, y’know, just get it over with? “It” in the Steve-Carrell-40-Year-Old-something sense of things? Twenty-five is just starting to seem like a point of no return, like if it doesn’t happen by then I might as well join the priesthood… (Wait, they probably get more play than I do, albeit not the type of play I’m looking for.)
Well… If I continue typing, I’m not going to get enough sleep, and my next entry will be “So I was five hours late for work…”, which I don’t really want to write about. So I’m outta here.
Read This… While You Still Can
14 June 2006Excuse me for being mildly dramatic. There’s something on my mind that I have to share. Have you heard the debate going on about Net Neutrality? Probably not. For as significant as this issue is, it’s been getting surprisingly little attention… Even among technologists.
Net Neutrality is that all types of data sent over the Internet is, shall we say, “created equal”, and endowed with the same rights as other data. Doesn’t matter if you’re sending a plain-text email or pictures of your trip to Disneyland or an MP3 of your amateur radio show… A kilobyte is a kilobyte, a megabyte is a megabyte. Quite a noble concept, really, and as with all noble concepts, the time has come when certain people have decided there is a less-noble, and far more profitable alternative.
Enter the telecoms. Yeah, those same companies that, for years, have already been getting away with extortion: roaming fees, overages, charging an arm and a leg for long distance (and always rounding up to the next minute). Cable companies have perhaps been the most notorious, not only charging consumers $50 for 200 channels of infomercials and Paris Hilton, but also charging the content providers for the “privilege” of being on cable TV. It sounds like a joke, but it’s true: they like to get you coming & going.
Then there is the Internet. (My god, it wasn’t a fad, after all.) For six years, give or take, these same telecoms have been making a killing on high-speed Internet–on bandwith that’s probably been used for pirating music and movies, more than anything else. Since there were no legal content providers, the telcos were content to charge the consumer, work with the RIAA for the occasional lawsuit against a 90-year-old granny, and that was that. But times, they have a-changed. Now there are completely legal online content providers: iTunes, Movielink, “Urge” (whatever that is) and more. Heck, some providers–like podcasters and video bloggers–even offer their content for free.
I consider this and think it’s inspirational. I think it’s a revolution, albeit not yet fully matured, in the fundamental nature of media and journalism.
What do the telecoms think? Yay, another opportunity to get their money coming & going.
Let me explain their argument a bit: they’ll tell you that Net Neutrality is equivalent to government regulation of the Internet. That the internet is already “tiered” because some people have high-speed and some are still on dial-up. (Show of hands, anyone?) That their approach, “Net Competition”, is business as usual. That Net Neutrality will let the terrorists win.*
(*Seriously, they want you to believe that Net Neutrality will “hinder public safety and homeland security“.)
The truth is, they want to be able to charge Internet content providers simply for the privilege of being content providers. Nevermind that those content providers already pay for hosting and domain fees and, especially, for their bandwidth. Nevermind that the consumers are already paying the telecoms for access to the content. Telecoms want to make you believe that a megabyte is no longer just a megabyte. That 2+2=5, or 6 or 10 or whatever they can get away with charging.
Make any sense to you?
Everyone’s selfishly motivated. The telecoms would have you believe they’re out for your best interests, though it’s pretty clear they just see dollar signs in their future. Allow me to take the honest approach. I am a content provider. I run SMART-POPCORN.com, and have a stake in a few other ventures. I host & produce a podcast. I’ve even dinked with video blogging a bit. So yes, obviously it’s in my best interest to keep the Net neutral. But my selfish motivations end there, and the issue is much, much bigger than I. (I wish I were even a blip on the radar, but I’m not.) The sad truth is that, when the time comes to pay their abitrarily determined cost, average joes like myself won’t be able to afford it. The Ted Turners and Rupert Murdochs can afford it. So, instead of new media usurping old media or forcing them to change, old media will be able to maintain their status quo. Meanwhile, the Internet as we’re getting to know it will break camp and leave us indefinitely.
As my favorite filmmaker once wrote, “The Internet has given [everybody] a voice.” Telecoms want to take that voice away. Do you want that to happen?
- Thom Stricklin
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If this issue concerns you, please pass this along. Post it on LiveJournal, MySpace, wherever. Check out: http://www.savetheinternet.com/ Check out Net Competition to see who’s really lobbying against neutrality. Google for “Net Neutrality” and see what comes up. Our best bet is to raise awareness and nag our representatives.
Four Things
30 May 2006FOUR JOBS I HAVE HAD IN MY LIFE:
1. First Year Camper Instructor, BSA Camp Roy C. Manchester
2. Snack Shop Clerk, Pool Area, Mayfield Golf & Country Club–the coolest job ever.
3. Team Member (Did Everything), Harkins Theatres
4. Webmaster Programmer, [work-related] (Current)
Had four other jobs, but these are the best cross-section.
FOUR MOVIES I COULD WATCH OVER AND OVER AND OVER:
1. Amelie
2. Serenity (plus the whole series of Firefly)
3. Chasing Amy (or anything Kevin Smith)
4. Good Will Hunting
Could easily pick several others… The X-Men movies, Se7en, Saving Private Ryan, Love Actually, When Harry Met Sally… I’ll stop now.
FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED:
1. Mayfield, KY
2. Hickory, KY
3. Mesa, AZ
4. Oh yeah… Apache Junction, AZ (I was just a baby! I swear I live in East Mesa now, not AJ!)
FOUR CURRENT T.V. SHOWS I LOVE TO WATCH:
1. My Name Is Earl
2. Firefly–Fighting a battle I’ve already lost… Yeah, well I’m known for that.
3. Friends
4. American Inventor… Perhaps the only reality show featuring people who actually want to do well for the world, not just for themselves. Brilliant.
FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN ON VACATION:
1. North Dakota
2. Arizona… Hey, it counts when you aren’t living there.
3. Space Camp (Huntsville Campus)
4. Ohio. (And I will again, apparently.)
FOUR WEBSITES I VISIT DAILY:
1. Google News
2. SMART-POPCORN.com
3. MySpace (with a pained heart)
4. Does [work-related] count? I’m working on it most days. Otherwise, I guess LJ or Engadget.
FOUR OF MY FAVORITE FOODS:
1. Pizza
2. Tuna Patties
3. Torpedo Sub from Steve’s Krazy Sub
4. Anything cooked on a campfire: s’mores, beans, tinfoil burgers, etc.
FOUR PLACES I WOULD RATHER BE RIGHT NOW:
1. Wyoming.
2. Camping… anywhere cool & woodsy.
3. France… Just to visit, sheesh.
4. Hmm, maybe New Zealand, so I can experience all those cool things I’m apparently missing.
4b. Or Russia. Because I love their culture, their accents, and their vodka. (In no particular order.)
FOUR FRIENDS WHO I WANT TO TAG:
Considering I don’t have four friends on LiveJournal, I’m willing to bet this thing will end with me.
New Video Blog
20 May 2006…and a new address, too! This oughtta be the permanent location.
http://web.mac.com/thom.stricklin/
A New Experiment
16 May 2006…really just having fun with my new toy… err, productivity tool.
http://thom.smart-popcorn.com
Don’t get too attached to that address. I’ll probably get a new spot for it.
Suh-weet
12 May 2006Typin’ this on my MacBook Pro! Yep, I saw the light, or joined forces with the dark side, however you wanna see it. Pretty sweet though. In fact, I’m posting this from a Dashboard widget, which is only cool if you know what Dashboard is. :-P
Bush Flu Plan Puts State, Local Officials in Charge
3 May 2006( link )
Yeah, because they’ve done such a great job with disaster recovery (Katrina, anyone?), border security, and the likes. Then again, they’ve done no worse than the feds.
In other news, I may be migrating my LJ to my own hosted solution in coming months. Stay tuned.
Scribblings… Church vs. Academics and beyond
26 April 2006…some may make the argument that the conservative, fundamentalist, Christian movement(s) have thrown science, logic, and reason out the window. This may be true; in some circles, I think it’s safe to say, this is true. But why are Christians so strongly opposed to what most others see as clearly well-established systems of thinking? “Fear of God” is an acceptable answer. But having felt the effects of being a “church member”, all the while never being a particularly god-fearing person, I think it’s something more: a sense of community, which church and, more generally, “Christendom” provide (Does the term “Christendom” work in the 21st century?) and which so few other societal constructs provide.
From within, the church community is a very warm & welcoming place. Sure, some demoninations are more fire & brimstone than others–as a Presbyterian, I was frankly terrified by the Southern Baptist churches my friends went to. And one occasionally feels the pangs of society–elitism, alienation, “That family’s closer to the preacher,” and what not. But by and large, a congregation is a group of folk who all know each other’s names, who keep up on personal events and care and show concern for one another in times of trouble. In contrast, how many of us know our neighbors on a first name basis? Their occupations, hometowns? What about our coworkers? Or, more to the point, how much does a science class–thirty high-schoolers, brought together for just fifty minutes a day and expected to remain mostly on-task–care about one another? How much does Anthropologist Bob in Palo Alto care about Anthropologist Carl from San Diego, and his wife’s bout with pnemonia?
Let’s make a distinction hear: we’re not actually talking about science, but about education. And just as Christians reject seemingly sound educational material, perhaps educators have forsaken an important sense of community. Is it possible that this simple, mode-of-operation incompatibility is as great a contributor to the church-versus-school chasm as any Creationist mumbo-jumbo?
I could list a page full of compliants about my old church. I could let slip a few of my genuine personal beliefs that would probably have the congregation brand me as a heretic. Spiritually, I’m much more fulfilled following my own, multi-cultural and very loosely structured, hodge podge of beliefs than any church doctrine. And yet I still look back at my time in church with great fondness, and the sense of community is precisely why I miss it.
Before I digress, I suggest checking out Dumbing Us Down by John Taylor Gatto, who much more eloquently describes the difference between communities and “networks” (which is the model for schools, corporations, and far too many other organizations).
And now I wish to ponder what could get, say, a dyed-in-the-wool, Creationist-trained fundie kid to at least consider, if not accept, the Theory of Evolution? Hmm… Critical thinking, perhaps? On that note, how many agnostic/nonspiritual/indifferent high schoolers understand how to apply critical thinking to an issue?
…
The answer is “not a lot”, for anyone who didn’t see a rhetorical question coming from a mile away. Perhaps there’s something else we should teach kids before we think about teaching Evolution OR Intellient Design OR …
Incomplete & Partial Thoughts about Immigration, Illegal and Otherwise
10 April 2006First thing’s first: I do not support amnesty, nor do I believe illegal immigrants have any legal rights in this country. Quite the contrary, we—the United States, its government and citizens—have every right to deport illegal immigrants if we so choose.
These days it would seem popular to dismiss me as racist or anti-immigration, but I am neither. I simply believe that immigration laws were put in place to give everyone—laborers, corporations, consumers, et cetera—a fair shot, an even playing ground. I would go so far as suggest that many of my fellow citizens advocating amnesty are racists themselves. Were these same people alive 150-200 years ago, would they be advocating the continuation of slavery and the African slave trade? Their motivations seem to be in keeping: create, secure, or expand a population of second-class citizens—non-citizens, moreover—to live in a state of perpetual poverty while performing the most grueling, toilsome labor.
I suggest these “immigration sympathizers” to put their money where their mouth is, quite literally. Along with amnesty, demand a mandatory minimum wage for migrant workers that is no less than the minimum for U.S. Citizens. To do otherwise would be to support double standards putting to disadvantage those very same people you advocate and sympathize for.
Alas, I do not believe this sympathy is genuine, but motivated either by guilt over taking advantage or our Hispanic friends, or by the desire to continue taking advantage. It is said that we who speak out against the “rights” of illegal immigrants are taking our maids/janitors/landscapers/food servers for granted. Not true. I clean my own house, do my own dishes, mop up my own messes. I don’t drive to the bus stop to hire day laborers for yard work. I trim my own trees, or else pay a landscaper on the legal up-and-up a healthy hourly wage to do the work for me.
I am not anti-immigration. I am a fan of rich cultures, and I know that some of the richest cultural spots in our nation—Boston, New York, Chicago, San Francisco—are so rich exactly because of their immigrant roots. It is with pride that I recognize my own immigrant roots, tracing back to 19th-century English & Scottish commonfolk who, just like today’s immigrants, simply wished to better their lives and pursue the American dream. The difference is this: my forefathers came to this country and played by the rules, what rules there were. They mingled. They didn’t call themselves Scottish-Americans, but rather just Americans, not out of some forced cultural assimilation but out of the desire to share in the American dream with other Americans, immigrant and natural-born alike. They wouldn’t dare raise a Scottish flag in place of a U.S. flag, as they took pride in what the stars & stripes meant to them: not simply a paycheck, but a home, an ideal. They had their share of being taken advantage of, but just the same, they played by the rules—a notion that today seems lost on illegal immigrants and all too many American corporations, citizens, and state officials.