Net Neutrality: Why You Should Care

August 5th, 2010

As many of you know, I’m a huge supporter of Net Neutrality.

Net Neutrality is the idea that all sites, no matter how big, or small, are delivered at the same speed (generally, the maximum speed at which you can load a site is determined by how much bandwidth you pay your Internet service provider for). This makes the Internet a level playing field–big corporate sites and one-man blogs are all delivered the same.

This is going to change on Monday, August 9th, 2010.

Google and Verizon will announce a deal that the New York Times reports “could allow Verizon to speed some online content to Internet users more quickly if the content’s creators are willing to pay for the privilege.”

This has happened because the Federal Communications Commission has been denied the authority by the courts to police the activities of Internet service providers like Verizon and Comcast, due to a decision made on a law that was created in 1934 (The Communications Act of 1934), predating the modern Internet by more than half a century. This decision states that “cable Internet service is neither a ‘telecommunications service’ covered by Title II of the Communications Act nor a ‘cable service’ covered by Title VI.”

This decision gave Google & Verizon the ability to make this deal. This deal will set a precedent, and drive the first nail into the coffin of Net Neutrality. It end the potential that any website can act as a TV or radio network. It will spell the end of our opportunity to access and distribute media as we, the people, see fit. It would begin an era where the same people that control what you watch on TV and what you hear on the radio control what you see on the Internet.

I want to make this perfectly clear: no matter what you do online, whether it’s shopping, checking Facebook, using Twitter, going to school, or using StumbleUpon, THIS WILL AFFECT YOU.

The ultimate corporate goal here is to turn the Net into something akin to cable TV, allowing corporations like AT&T, Comcast, Verizon, and Google to pick what sites you can and can’t see online. Have you ever been forced to switch cable plans because your favorite channel became a “premium channel”? Imagine going to Facebook and finding out you have to switch your Internet plan to view it. Imagine having to pay to see Amazon.com so that you can buy things from Amazon.com. This is not just a problem for Internet power-users. All video, radio, phone, and other services will all be delivered by an Internet connection in the near future. When this occurs, the FCC, for all intents and purposes, will be useless.

The FCC is hand-tied. The president is staying silent, despite promises to the contrary. There are many Net Neutrality supporters on Capitol Hill, but they need your voices backing them.

So, my friends, I beg of you: go to http://www.savetheinternet.com. Sign their petition Two Million Strong for Net Neutrality. Contact your congressperson & senators. MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD. Two million whispers can silence the loudest scream.

Sources:
Josh Silver, Huffington Post:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/josh-silver/google-verizon-deal-the-e_b_671617.html

Edward Wyatt, New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/05/technology/05secret.html?_r=1&hp

Comcast/FCC Ruling:
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/33136129/comcast-fcc-ruling

Posting from the iPad

May 7th, 2010

This is my first post from the iPad my job loaned me to mess around with. So far, I have to give it a resounding “meh”. It’s just not a $600+ product. Oh, and it’s not fucking magic.

Pile ‘O Ninjas.

April 30th, 2010

Long story short: I’ve been working with the flixel to improve my ActionScript 3 (and general programming) skills. The end result? Well, I call it:

Pile ‘O Ninjas.

Now, I can’t take credit for the art or most of the code, but I’ll be damned if I didn’t learn a ton while doing this. Check it out, lemme know what you think.

The Nerdiest Thing I’ve Done in Several Years

April 27th, 2010

So, I’m playing Final Fantasy VII on my PSP today (something I’ve been doing a lot of lately–despite my disdain for JRPG’s, Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy IX can get their vicious hooks in me no matter what) and I realize that I’ve done something dreadful. I managed to miss my only chance at getting the Ramuh summon materia. Normally, I would have just loaded a previous save, but as luck would have it, I didn’t have one from that long ago in the game. I know, stupid of me–everyone knows you keep as many saves as you can in a JRPG. However, after quite a bit of Googling (and a little luck), I managed to hack together a method of getting this elusive materia into my save game.

So, I Google for “ff7 save editors” which leads me to http://www.qhimm.com. Apparently, this guy has made save editors for Final Fantasy VII and VIII, but there’s one catch–they’re for the PC versions. Looks like I need to do some converting.

After browsing some nefarious PSP modding sites, I managed to find a program called VMP2MCR that converts the weird-ass PSP saves (.VMP files) to a standard emulator-friendly PSX memory card image (.MCR). Then, I used a program called PSXMemTool that (after finding the runtime fileconverted the .MCR file into a .FF7 file, which is compatible with the save editor, JENOVA!

I load up my converted save in JENOVA, and I edit it so that I have the Ramuh materia in my inventory. I save the edited version of the .FF7 file, open it in PSXMemTool, convert it to a .MCR file and… well, this is where I got stuck.

Apparently, it’s really fucking hard to convert a .MCR file to a .VMP file. So, after some searching, I discovered that the plug-in CWCheat for my PSP’s custom firmware had a memory card manager that will let you load a .MCR file INTO your existing .VMP file. Cue me installing the plug-in, loading my newly edited .MCR file, and praying that it works.

It did. Life is good, and I’m a giant nerd.

Looking for Work

September 7th, 2009

So, it’s Labor Day. A day where the fine people of America take a day off to… well, the fine people of America take a day off. I’m not sure exactly why. I’m sure I could Google it or something, but whats the fun in that? Anyway, the reason I mention it is because I’m taking more than a day off… I got laid off from my job on Thursday morning. In fact, the whole office did. The worst part is, most of us saw the writing on the wall, and there was an incident that night when I went into work that basically set off my alarm. I should have listened to my gut instinct, but I didn’t. I knew this was coming, but I chose to ignore it. So, now, I’m on unemployment, and I need to toss a portfolio together so I can try and kick start my career in graphic arts. This should be interesting. I’ve promised to have my portfolio completed by November 1st. I need to sketch, then design, then print, and then mount the thing. I also need to get current with certain things. I’m thinking about putting myself out there as a freelancer on craigslist for a while, just to see what kind of offers I get. It could get interesting. Anyway, I’m still at ISU with Lisa until 8:30 tonight, so I’ll see everyone when I get back around 11pm or so.

Disappearing Acts

August 24th, 2009

I have been known to pull the occasional disappearing act. Every once in a while, I just fall off the face of the earth and keep to myself. To be honest, it’s not like me. At my base, I am a social creature. I truly, honestly enjoy the company of those people I call my friends (and even my relatives). However, sometimes, you just need to be left to your own devices to get some shit done.

This is one of those times. Sort of.

With the exception of a select handful (give or take) of people, I will be disappearing for a while. I’ll still be online, of course, updating this blog, so all of you fantastic people know that I’m still alive. I got a chance to do some thinking this weekend, and I really want to work towards different career goals. I’ve reset my sites on being a designer. I’m not sure if I’m ready to take on the highly competitive world of graphic arts, but dammit, I’m sure as hell ready to make an attempt. I’m going to seclude myself and begin working on cramming my portfolio full of pieces that are worthy of trying to find a job. I will be coming to some of you for inspiration, and to run certain pieces by you (you should know who you are–if you don’t, you will soon). I’ll be keeping my weekends as open as possible so that I can still retain some of my social life, but I make no guarantees as to what my availability will be, from a social standpoint, during the week.

To be honest, this is really phase 2 of this website. I’ve been updating semi-regularly (daily would be ridiculous; I just don’t have the creative mind to write something new everyday, and I hate filler). I’ll be posting sketches of my work as it comes along, and finished projects as they come about. I want input. I want criticism. I want to use this whole blog thing to my advantage, and get some critique on my work. I guess that means its time to advertise this damn thing and to really put my money where my mouth is concerning my art. I have to stop fucking around at some point, don’t I? In the words of Zack de la Rocha, “What better place than here, what better time than now?”

The Guild: Date My Avatar

August 19th, 2009

Just woke up and got linked a really awesome video, done by The Guild. Check it out, it’s called “Do You Wanna Date My Avatar”

How Awesome is Brütal Legend Going to be?

August 19th, 2009

Let me answer that for you: totally fucking awesome. Don’t even try to argue it. Every little piece of info that gets leaked about this game just gets me more and more excited for its release on October 15th. Let’s list the facts, shall we?

You can almost hear Halford wailing...

You can almost hear Halford wailing...

Oh, and in case static pictures don’t cut it, here’s some video via GameTrailers:

Ok, I’ll be honest, I had no ideas for a post today and really wanted to nerd out about Brütal Legend. I even learned the alt code for the ü (its alt+0252).

So metal.

Keeping up the Flow

August 18th, 2009

So, I think I’m beginning to step out of my creative slump a little more. I’ve been picking up my guitar and really fleshing out some riffs, and recording some of the more solid ones. A lot of it has been really heavy, and I’ve been trying to lay some lead parts on top of it. Some of it has been re-imaginings of past riffs. I really think I need to work with a metronome a bit more, especially while recording; it just makes multitracking easier. I should probably look into some better recording software, too. I’ve been using Audacity, and it’s great for simple shit, but I want to be able to put together a song, including some simple drums. I’ll be practicing with my band, Floorbound, on Thursday, which will hopefully be fun. Me and Centoni will finally be able to rock the fuck out with our drummer, Cook, also know as the Santa Claus of Beats (because his drumming is a fucking gift). Hopefully we’ll be able to lay some drums on to the 2 tracks we have fleshed out.

I’ve also been busting out Photoshop a bit more and doing some work in there, just to keep myself sharp with it. I stumble on this tutorail and decided to do my own version:

I mean, really, what else do you say about your favorite whiskey?

I mean, really, what else do you say about your favorite whiskey?

I also designed a background for my Twitter page (you should request to follow me, if you’re intersted) that I’m quite proud of:

Tweeting in style.

Tweeting in style.

I’m pretty sure this is the most design-esque work I’ve done in a while, which, frankly, is just sad. I really need to put my portfolio back together. I should probably research what my graphic arts portfolio should have in it… maybe, you know, actually get rolling on it instead of just talking about it constantly. Especially now I need to get my ass rolling on it. Can’t really talk about why, but as it stands, I’m not sure how stable my job is currently. Which is no fault of my own, but a scary prospect in any case. Once I get a portfolio back together, I can shop around for a design job/freelance jobs, which will further my goal of getting a new car before Christmas. I’m getting rather tired of having to beg for rides and rely on my parents for vehicular transportation. Nothing says lame like picking up your girlfriend in mom’s minivan when you’re 23 >.<

I guess I’ll end on a good note: the website I’ve been so secretly hinting at should be getting off the ground this week, content-wise. I’ll be posting here when it is.

[Insert Title Here]

August 12th, 2009

So, here I sit at work, repeating the same mindless task I was working on last night. Only this time, the phones were quiet, the chats were empty, and I actually made some decent progress on said task. Yesterday, before I left work, I learned something new with WordPress. If you use suPHP on your server to handle PHP5, you don’t have to deal with the hassle of entering in your FTP login details everytime you want to update your WordPress install or one of your plugins. So I learned how to recompile Apache to include the suPHP module, and now all my WordPress installs are working nice and smooth. I’ll have to take advantage of this later when I install a bunch of new plugins on an unspecified new site that I’m rather excited about.

I’m really excited about the new site I’m working on. I just have to get the people that are assisting me with content to get me the content. Got a Twitter account set up for it and everything. It’s got the potential to be huge, if I can keep a steady stream of content coming to it. Well, I’m keeping my hopes high for it at the moment. I’ll post more later. Unfortunately, duty calls, and I need to get back to work.