I really would like to know…

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.

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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.

Lets start today’s entry with how I start my day: Get some coffee and have a look at APOD.

Neat. Now, to the news(ish)!

Hawkeye football players under curfew. 5 Hawks have been suspended since mid-July this year.

Home foreclosures up 80% in August 07 compared to July in San Diego County. I also have heard that Miami-Dade County in FL is close to the same story, but I’ve heard that contractors there are still building new properties. Nothing like a heaping pile of denial to help you ignore reality.

“Disrupt then reframe.” Ars talks about a marketing strategies research paper.

Vertical Farming in Seattle. Considering the projected food demands in the next 50 years, I expect this sort of thing to find some real uses, and not only in cities.

Remember all that NSA spying? Think someone needs to answer for it? Well, there’s a big push to take the telco companies out of that equation by granting retroactive immunity.

Dan Rather fights back. Took him long enough.

…

You should just read them.

My Wonderful Trip To South Africa That Didn’t Happen Thanks To The TSA And Delta Airlines

Interview with Kip Hawley, head of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)

This thread on Fark.com has some pretty good rememberances of Ye Olde Intertron Waypoints.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

Took a few days off, as is my perogative. 😛

Secrets of the 6V battery revealed! I had no idea.

Wreck and Salvage Season NUMERO GIGANTE DOS is and has been available! Seems to have a nude theme started…interested if they ride that the whole season. Nerds should start here and then thank Miss Witherspoon.

Bob Dylan is still not dead and is dragging Elvis to Iowa City. This item aimed at a certain Californian of my acquaintance.

Sprint is breaking into WiFi/Cell hybrid market. Good to see movement on this technology. If one person were to digest the idea thoroughly, one could see why deploying a common carrier WiFi network not controlled by a major telco conglomorate would be advantageous to innovation and local commerce, as well as providing a revenue stream from said major telco conglomorate. And just think if that one person were on an oversight board…

The New York Times ends the online pay service. Good. This was a silly move for many newspapers and I’m glad to see it start to fade away. Sell subscriptions for the service of removing those annoying ads, not to read the articles.

NY Telco PAETEC buying McLeodUSA. More local telco stuff, but the level of Fino-investo-manager speak in the buyers statement is worth a read. (e.g. – ‘synergies’)

Sperm donor litigation discussion. Interesting conundrum on posthumous insemination and inheritances. I think the Gazette just wanted to put ‘Sperm’ in a headline.

‘Tramp Stamp’ safety concerns. Tattooed and preggers? You may not want to get that epidural.

Nicholas Johnson weighs in (last Friday) on the push to arm campus police, and how that reflects on us as a society. I agree wholeheartedly that the rush to give University DPS guns should be much more tempered than it currently is. Be sure to poke around over at Mr. Johnson’s blog, there’s a lot there to think about.

ACLU supports Larry Craig (R-ID) in his bid to withdraw his guilty plea. The cultural and legal issues/information that are coming out because of this keeps on surprising me. Good on the ACLU for throwing their hat in. Make sure to catch the tidbit about Mr. Craig’s civil rights voting record at the end. [Hat tip to George on this find]

More coming…sometime…

Good morning/afternoon/sabbatical!

Here’s what I’ve got for today:

Verizon sues FCC over 700MHz auction Open Access Provisions

Peninsula Neighborhood Draws Mixed Opinons – Has a decent history of the place included in the article, and some good insight in the comments. I really didn’t have an opinion on this until I drove out there and looked, and once I did, it seemed like a well intentioned but ill timed (and somewhat ill placed) idea. Expect this neighborhood to be an issue in the next elections. For those who want to see first hand, here is a link to the location. (Google maps)

Winamp to Challenge iTunes – Winamp Lite (free) is my player of choice. Something to be said for simplicity.

Alberto’s last day – TPM Muckraker snipped one of the most interesting parts of the article:

Almost every senior Justice Department official has resigned or announced plans to depart this year, leaving the department under the control of more than a dozen acting officials. More than a quarter of the nation’s U.S. attorneys are also temporary appointees, partly because of the mass firings that eventually had repercussions on Gonzales’s tenure.

DoD and ‘Homeland Security’ flunk audits – I know its not surprising, but it should be repeated until people actually understand what that means. It’s right there in the first paragraph.

For those who like a good civil rights debate, here’s your story for the day.

So far on this ‘blog’ it’s been mostly internet findings, but not too much serious stuff. In an effort to show more than 1 dimension, I am going to try a daily post of ‘newsie’ items. At first this will just be a collection of links, but at some point I hope to add some commentary [informed or otherwise] and possibly elicit feedback from those of you who care to comment.

I’ll still be posting the oddness I find in my internet journeys, but I thought that if I’m going to be representing myself on the internet with a blog, I’d better actually ‘represent’. Thusly…

CLEVER’S NEWSISH ITEMS

Oil Buddies – Talking Points Memo

ISB&T Changes Name – IC Press Citizen

FCC to cable: You must support analog TVs until 2012 – Ars Technica

Big Ten Network losing confidence in Mediacom Deal – CR Gazette
Live in Iowa City and have a complaint that Mediacom isn’t addressing? Let your cable administrator know!

I will be updating this post throughout the day.