Better plump up those brains…do it with NEWSISH:

• UI police will be armed – I agree with most of Nick Johnson’s thoughts on the subject.
• Regents ok corporate naming – Again, see Nick Johnson for more insight
• Cinematic Titanic – This is extremely welcome news. I signed up for the newsletter.
• Do Not Track List – Everywhere you go online means money for someone, whether you know it or not.
• Internet access tax moratorium extended another seven years – followup from previous newsish
• There’s a city election coming. – Remember that you can vote early at these locations.
• Iowa City Council Candidates Consider Impact of 21 Bar Referendum – Mr. Deeth takes stock of the 21@10 situation.
• Evolving clocks – via HogBlog
• 720p? 1080i? OU812? – Wired does the new TV formats.

Today’s vocab word: plenipotentiary

Some local, some telco, somebody put together some newsish:

• New development beginning to transform block hit hard by tornado – I’ve been wondering what the deal was with that building. Also in the article is info on Hieronymous Square and the Tim Dwight/Three Bulls project, now named “301” as opposed to the poor choice of “The Vu”, a moniker also belonging to a chain of strip clubs. Click here to see the area they are talking about.
• Bread Garden to move into Tait’s
• Aussie Claims Copper Broadband now 200x Faster
• Verizon discovers symmetry, offers 20/20 symmetrical FiOS service
• Comcast shooting itself in the foot with traffic shaping “explanations”
• Meet Your Future Employee– Supposedly, I belong to the group they are talking about in this article.
• Tancredo Calls ICE Against Durbin Press Conference
• ICANN probing “insider trading” allegations with domain name registrations – a follow up from a previous link about Verisign
• No Joke: Colbert’s Campaign May Run Afoul of Law – And this would be different than whose candidacy?
• Stupid stupid stupid. To reiterate: The current FCC Commisioners are either completely clueless or quite fond of fucking things up. Think I’m blowing up your ass? A small-time ISP employee puts it this way in a Fark comment:
  

  verizon and the other telco’s have no interest in playing ball with the small ISP’s they never have. The only reason they “allowed” us to use their last mile was because the Gov. told them to.

  They have been whittling away at the service offers to ISP’s since day 1. It first started when they stop allowing us to buy in to different markets, they grandfathered you in if you were already there but no longer allow companies to buy new latas. Then when FIOS started they began removing all the copper to the home so their customers had no choice who they would get phone service from because Verizon doesn’t have to share the FIBER network with anyone. So no copper = no phone service from anyone but Verizon, unless you go VOIP. Now they have just been told thatthey no longer need to share anything. This is waht they are going to do.

  They will no longer provide service to independent ISP’s, they will then fire all of the folks they have working at Verizon who deal exclusively with ISP’s (which they have been slowing cutting already anyway). So they will save $ on their employment costs and they will gain a bunch of customers simply by making a software switch in their systems which will point them from their existing ISP to Verizon.

  In our area, resellers would include X-Wires (Qwest) and quite a few of the smaller town cooperatives.

Today’s Vocab Word: noumenon

I’m hoping to head west to see my California compatriots in February, one of which [regreaser] lives in San Diego. Hopefully it will still be there when I’d like to visit.

View Larger Map

Here’s some more on the fires:

• ‘Fire blogging’ tech expert on how fellow evacuees and networks are holding up
• 350,000 homes evacuated in Calif. fires

We start the day with the IM buffer regreaser left me over the weekend:

• France’s new answer to youth crime: the building-less entry-hall
• McCain: Eats hot dogs, loves ABBA. Wants desperately to be cool?
• Good Dog, Bad Cat

Here’s some more:

• I Was a Hacker for the MPAA – not me personally, just the title of the article 😉
• Slideshow: Instant Housing and Designing for Disaster
• Russia’s Space City Frozen in Time
• Some of the students in my office made a Youtube video advertisement.
• After fight, airport embraces SUX code
• Waxman Accuses Blackwater of Millions in Tax Fraud, Cover-Up
• How to Make a Robotic Dalek Pumpkin – via HogBlog
  
  This thing looks awesome:
  
• Think Tank Recommends Broadband Regulation – First of most likely many links to Broadband Reports
• Comcast traffic blocking: even more apps, groupware clients affected

Today’s vocab words: phenomenology, flocking

I eat a burrito after work on Fridays, thusly I call them “Burrito Fridays.” Yes I understand the level of innovation on that naming convention. But thats not why you are here. BRING OUT THE NEWSISH!

• Western Iowans, this is your House Representative. Classy.
• Democratic Lawmaker Pushing Immunity Is Newly Flush With Telco Cash – impropriety is non-partisan
• Anonymous “good samaritans” produce Wikipedia’s best content, says study
• Dodd Will Filibuster Telecom Immunity Bill If Reid Brings It To Vote

Light posting today. Enjoy your weekend.

Today’s vocab word: mantrap

is the day my sister points out I have a blog.

Hello and welcome to all the Heidiheads.

I haven’t the time to explain it to you, you just have to trust me. Now go, and take your newsish:

• The case of the missing CableCARD-ready set-top box
• President Colbert? Then who’s the VP, Carell or Stewart? Or Pappa Bear?
• House Votes to Extend Internet Tax Ban – Senate, you’re up.
• Coralville getting more retail – A ‘Galleria’ next to the mall? The comments in the article are intriguing.
• Mid-American franchise for IC moves forward – Good, bad? I have not a clue.
• Remember, Iowa Citians/Johnson Countonians: You can vote by mail [absentee] very, very easily.
• Read what one of your Iowa Senators is doing.
• Clapton Shreds!
  
  More on the author of the above piece.
• Second Earth
• F*&# the FCC: Appeals Court upholds FCC anti-line-sharing rules – For all the bruhaha about competition, the FCC sure does alot to stifle it. Be sure to read the comments on the article, some real gems and priceless links.
• 

I have a job. Back later?

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