Tuesdays don’t require lead-ins.

• How The Onion tackles tech
• Bio-inspired construction leads us closer to transparent aluminum
• Phone Companies Refuse to Provide Data on Spy Program
• “He had refused to drop the camera which could be used as a weapon.” – Good luck with that one. Link has video.
• AT&T threatens to take its ball and go home over Connecticut TV rules – Someone pushes back on state video franchising, even if only on a technicality. The big fella’s really don’t want to talk about the nuts and bolts of this legislation, as then people will see what they are losing so that ‘video service providers’ can serve a select marketing group.

Maybe more later, I’m pretty busy.

Today’s Vocab Word: Flatulence

I didn’t want to do this, but they made me.

• Colbert writes Dowd’s column.
• Men should ejaculate more. As if there needed to be a legitimate reason
• Mmmm, Ritalin nachos.
• This 2 part series from DKos is an interesting thought experiment: Part 1, Part 2.
• TPM Muckraker is awesome. Plenty to read there.
• Radiohead’s Warm Glow – An analysis of the ‘donation’ model of the band Radiohead’s most recent release
• FCC lifts AT&T pricing restrictions – While this doesn’t affect consumers directly, it could prove to be extremely detrimental to smaller, local phone and internet providers by allowing AT&T to increase backbone access rates. One more deregulation in the name of consolidation…er, I mean, competition.

More later.

Today’s Vocab Words: revanchism, femtocells

Bump it, grind it, now side to side. Good. Friday! Newsish! Do it!

• House panel votes to extend Net tax ban – I believe this to be a good thing…we should have a bit better idea of direction in 4 years. Still has to be put into law, so keep an eye on it. UPDT- Here’s some more from Ars.
• Try to take away the ‘rights’ of underage patrons to drink, and you get a pretty decent organizational showing. Glad the City Council found a way to increase turnout. Note to Gazette photographers: Joe’s is a 21-only bar, so 18-20 yr olds can’t get in at all.
• New Wreck & Salvage is up, therein exposing us all to the current state of the AMERICAN MALE. We all await the State Department’s answer, especially on the issue of affirmative testicular action.
• Sticking it to l’homme: Canadian co-op forms own ISP – I think I am required to contact these guys.
• For Your Entertainment and Englightenment:
  The Decembrists- 16 Military Wives
  
  A little old, but a lot of good.
• Hayflick limit, Unihemispheric Slow-wave Sleep, New York Public Radio (WNYC) Archives – via a regreaser IM

Today’s Non-Existant Band Name: Injected Cognition

It’s back. And just in time for you to read it. Aren’t you glad? You are now!

• And then there were 4 – Turned out how I expected, although I underestimated Mr. Hayek’s percentage. Here’s John Deeth’s take.
• Riverboat era ending – While I’m not big on casino’s in general, I did have an appreciation for the riverboats [I was a passenger on the Casino Belle at one point, couldn’t gamble (14) but it was still worth the trip]. I wish they had stayed with the ‘it has to move on the water’ clause instead of legalizing land-based gambling by increments.
• The Press-Citizen says “business is set to grow” in Iowa City. A day later, it says “business is booming” in Iowa City. How’s that for a prediction! I wonder what tomorrow will bring…
• In the same vein as above, the local realtors [with an assist by the P-C] are claiming “The Local Market Is Strong“, but the commentors [rightfully] didn’t buy it. I had the same feeling as most just from the headline, but I didn’t put the ‘largest advertisor’ together until reading iowahawkeye‘s comment.
• Complete Internet Census taken. Watch for the shoutout to the xkcd webcomic for the mapping algorithm.
• Microblogging? Google owns some now.
• Tin whiskers? New one on me.
• Bit-Torrent assisted streaming video is on the horizon.
• “It is not a cost overrun. It is an additional contract requirement.”
• King Corn – Just got my hands on a copy and will be viewing it this evening, may try to provide it on PATV.

Today’s Vocab word(s): deep linking

I have a bit of an Ars-fest this morning:

• Lack of media diversity ownership slammed on the eve of more consolidation
• The AudioFile: Understanding MP3 compression
• Growing nanotubes on microprocessors could lead to cooling breakthrough
• FCC permits well-connected lobbyists to skirt anti-lobbying rules
• ‘Not Proven’
• AT&T U-Verse sidesteps town politics, coming to Illinois in 2008 – This came up in my researching of SF554 here in Iowa.

You like the list look? I do.

Post anything you’d like listed in the comments. I’m phoning this one in today.

Today’s Vocab Word: veridical

Morning.

• Opponents see few benefits in I.C. utility franchises – Need to look into this some more…might have to use Infovision, they have all the council meetings online.
• Violations found at U of I Hospitals – Surprised at this one.
• Study: file-sharing leads to “chart churn,” helps indie acts
• Follow up: AT&T vows to use Terms of Service for good, not censorship
• UK can now demand data decryption on penalty of jail time – this is a pretty important ruling, watch for something similar being discussed in the US.
• Verizon, Copper, Fiber, and the Truth – a slashdot linkfest and discussion on Verizon cutting the copper upon installation of FiOS
• Driverless truck lurches out of lab

*****FOR THE IOWA CITIANS WHO READ THIS BLOG*****

Don’t have a clue on the upcoming City Council At-large primary? Don’t know the candidates or what they are offering? Then take a look at the City Channel’s video voter project, an unbiased service to the community to educate the public as to the persons running and the policies they advocate, utilizing equal time streaming video segments. I really must commend those at the City Channel for putting this wonderful resource together.

***** AND NOW BACK TO OUR NORMAL ODDNESS *****

• Pulsejets down under
• A comet loses its tail
• Congress blinds DHS’s space-borne eye of Sauron, postpones domestic spy plan
• Another follow up: Blackwater Hearings Ain’t no Superbad – A Wired correspondent’s take on the hearings yesterday. A good quote:
  

  What I found especially telling, given the consistently weak grasp of the issues, was that multiple representatives opened their remarks by talking about how Blackwater contractors protected them while on visits to Iraq. They often meant this as a compliment to the firm, and also a way of establishing their credentials on the issue. But it usually backfired, revealing a lack of simple curiosity. It showed that they’ve known about the massive use of contractors for years – they just didn’t bother to ask any questions, even when the issue was in their faces.

• All hail Tweety:

I’ll probably find more. Feel free to leave suggestions in the comments.

Just gonna drive-by on these:

• AT&T threatens to disconnect subscribers who criticize the company
• Consumer group blasts binding arbitration clauses
• Money In, Money Out [doesn’t matter your party]
• US trains Gulf air forces for war with Iran

I only have one awesome thing at the moment, but the day is young. There will be no segregation, so it’s up to you, the viewer/reader [which one is it?!] to decide the categories.

I am also accepting nominations for either category.

BEGIN—

Scramble 1 pilot, emergency space suit! We have a mayday!

Maxon commits $10M to Earthpark project – Read the comment there, then check out State29’s post on the subject. Nicholas Johnson weighs in as well.

Encyclopedia Pictura – I found that in Miss Witherspoon’s candy drawer.

Mark Twain’s plans to compete with copyright “pirates” (in 1906) and “ABC is a pimple on the elephant’s behind” Ted Koppel – The latter does some political bloviating, but its the thoughts on copyright that both are here for.

The Contracting Racket – Mr. Marshall gives some news and commentary spurred by yesterday’s Appropriations Committee meeting.

As deadline looms, Senate still debating fate of Internet tax moratorium – This is insanely important to the future of telecommunications. Both state and local legislatures have wanted to use such taxes as a revenue stream. As part of the ICTC I will be attempting to put together a panel discussion on the subject. Drop me a line in the comments or via email [see about page] if you have any input. Further reading here.

Kelp ‘forests’ found in the tropics.

Q&A with Ridley Scott on Blade Runner: The Final Cut – I will be watching.

FCC commissioners: US in dire need of “national broadband strategy” – More telco stuff. While you may not find all these interesting, consider it good that someone does, otherwise your broadband connection is going to stay sucky.

“Rainbow Vegas” – Interesting approach. I do hope they realize that the declaration of unconstitutionality does not force any churches to sanctify same-sex marriages, thusly they can keep the church’s traditions. But I guess we need laws to regulate our naughty bits…

…

Morning! Let’s start…

FCC Proposes ‘Fake News’ Fine – Some more background on VNR’s here and here. The latter I remember watching on one of the local broadcasts [it escapes me which one]. It’s gone so far as to have warranted an ethics studybeing produced.

Scandal! Over Downtown Planter (mis?)Advertising – It’s not a beer ‘garden’, its a beer ‘planter box leased to a restaurant entity’. And it’s still a crappy idea.

State bureaucrats trained to lobby for REAL ID – First VNR’s pushed by the vendors to help advertise their ‘product’, now vendors helping the push for a law so they can sell more equipment. Government sure is great business [when you’re connected].

Victorious RIAA defendant gets attorneys’ fees, turns to class-action plans – this is a good step. Suing people, lots of people, because your business model is broken is not something to be encouraged.

Intellectual Property Protection Act of 2007 – This is some truly piss poor (proposed) legislation.

It’s the afternoon! What’s regreaser reading?

Spy Chief’s Crazy Interview Can’t Save Anti-Data Mining Suit, Feds Tell Court

ACLU Sets New “Surveillance Society Clock” At Six Minutes Before Midnight

Short Cuts

Tax Profs: Bill Belichick Can Deduct His $500,000 Fine

Have alot to do, so this will prob be it:

Class action suit hopes to sue “a la carte cable” into existence

U.S. Airport Screeners Are Watching What You Read

George Carlin – On White People

The reason for Net Neutrality – one persons visual of the possible future without it.