Be skeptical of the “Net Neutrality” proposal
On the one hand, there is a victory in the FCC's recent Net Neutrality proposal: the FCC is proposing that Internet Service Providers can't limit access to certain websites or limit speeds of downloads. Imagine if Comcast could throttle Netflix streaming speeds so that the quality never reaches HD, unless you pay them extra for that. That's what this tries to limit. Unfortunately, there is also a clause that the ISPs can conduct "reasonable network management." That could end up being a pretty big loophole for them. The other big issue: cell phone carriers can conduct a lot more "reasonable Read more…
Please Vote for Me
If you want to see a really engaging documentary, this one hour movie was quite good. Here's AO Scott's preview of Please Vote For Me. This convinced Mary and I to rent it and we weren't disappointed.
Lieberman deserves a lot of credit for DADT repeal today
Reid, Pelosi, the Republicans who helped break McCain's filibuster, Secretary Gates, the military leadership, and Obama too, all made this happen. But Lieberman turned out to be the force needed to get repeal passed at the end of the day. Who'd have guessed? A great day for civil rights in the US.
Incredible. This app could revolutionize travel and communication.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2OfQdYrHRs?wmode=transparent]
Ebert’s Top Ten is in order this year
In response to the reader protests of recent years, I’ve returned to the time-honored tradition of ten films arranged in order from one to ten. After that, it’s all alphabetical. The notion of objectively ordering works of art seems bizarre to me. via blogs.suntimes.com Short list: 1) The Social Network 2) The Kings Speech 3) Black Swan 4) I Am Love 5) Winter’s Bone 6) Inception 7) The Secret in their Eyes 8) The American 9) The Kids Are All Right 10) The Ghost Writer I’ve only seen four of these, and I really liked those that I did. The Read more…
DADT Repeal.
The House just passed a standalone bill to repeal DADT, which was expected; the bigger news is that Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) has now committed to voting for repeal, after she voted no last week over what she said were procedural issues. You never know with those two Maine senators, but if Snowe keeps her commitment, that gives DADT repeal 59 of the 60 votes needed to get past the Republican filibuster. Sens. Scott Brown (R-MA) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) are the key uncommitted senators at this point. via talkingpointsmemo.com If this is really all the farther away from repeal Read more…
No matter how bad things get, give thanks that you haven’t been caught in a supercell storm in Montana.
via antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov From the description of the photo: Explanation: Is that a spaceship or a cloud? Although it may seem like an alien mothership, it’s actually a impressive thunderstorm cloud called a supercell. Such colossal storm systems center on mesocyclones — rotating updrafts that can span several kilometers and deliver torrential rain and high winds including tornadoes. Jagged sculptured clouds adorn the supercell’s edge, while wind swept dust and rain dominate the center. A tree waits patiently in the foreground. The above supercell cloud was photographed in July west of Glasgow, Montana, USA, caused minor damage, and lasted several hours Read more…
Could Tacoma ever be Brooklyn to Seattle’s Manhattan?
I've been thinking a lot about the relationship between Tacoma and Seattle, and yesterday it got me thinking about a different relationship: Brooklyn and Manhattan. Manhattan is, without a doubt, a hub of commerce, art, and so many other things it would be hard to list them all here. But Brooklyn is known for being cool. A great place to live. It's know for different kinds of art, different kinds of people, a different kind of price-per-square foot on housing (at least in comparison to Manhattan). And it made me think: what would it take for Tacoma to have national Read more…
200 Countries, 200 Years, 4 Minutes
via youtube.com Well worth the 4 minutes. I’ve seen this data before, but the way of presenting it, and the accompanying narration, makes it much more compelling. Take the time for it!
The snow is really falling here in Plain, WA!
And the river is beautiful.
^