The past week or so at the day job has been ridiculous. Huge deadlines on a huge project that’s really too huge for the timeline it was scheduled for.
Of course, it does look like we’ll be close enough.
It also looks like it’s driving me utterly mad with stress.
So, the feed is a bit… odd. Because that’s how my brain is working (when my brain is working).
I’ll let you see for yourself.
Here’s the feed…
Today was a big day in the fight for Net Neutrality.
It was another big push to fill the public comment boxes at the FCC with our very solid desire that the Internet remain open and accessible, regardless of what company gets it to your screen.
Cable companies and phone companies (like Comcast and Verizon) have been fighting tooth and nail–mostly by throwing tons of money at lobbyists and campaign funds–to make sure they can squeeze profit out of both sides of the transaction without providing any better (and, if the content producers don’t pay, considerably worse) service to their customers. Their customers who are already paying more for less than a lot of other countries that are wired.
This goes along with the impending decision on the merger of Comcast and Time Warner, the number one and number two cable broadband providers in the U.S. (Their main argument for the merger is: “No, really, it won’t change anything… it’s not like we’re in competition with one another anywhere.” Yeah. I think I see the problem.)
Legislated net neutrality isn’t a perfect solution. But, right now, it’s the only thing that will stop the current business practices that Netflix has been loudly fighting. Their traffic was more or less (unofficially) held for ransom. Users, who had paid both Netflix and Comcast already for access, were finding their films buffering or not loading at all. Fingers got pointed all over the place, but the facts have shown that the slowdown happened at the connection between Netflix and Comcast. A spot where, mysteriously, no other data streams were having any real problems.
Ultimately, Netflix paid. And then Verizon and Time Warner, seeing that the gambit worked, did exactly the same thing.
You can only imagine how much power that gives these transmission companies.
Especially if they, say, have a competing product. Like, maybe, OnDemand… which lets people (people who pay more to the cable company) to stream movies and television shows.
Anyway, there are a few stories in the feed that really lay things out well. Don’t just take my word for it… give them a read.
Speaking of the feed… here it is…
The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge continues to spread (and pull in tons of money and awareness). Now we’re up to Muppets like Cookie Monster and Kermit the Frog participating.
I continue to be amused. (And, in some cases, impressed.)
There’s still lots of problems in Furguson… and there are so many media-types there to get a piece of the action that they’re becoming a bit of a problem themselves. Pro tip, news-hounds: if there are more of you than there are protesters, you should probably dial it back a bit and decide amongst yourselves who’s going to go cover another part of the story.
Then there’s a new survey out that says a whole lot of people don’t think any kids under 12 should ever be out and about unaccompanied. That’s just ridiculous. Most of the people who think that have obviously forgotten that they likely survived a whole lot of unaccompanied time growing up. (Especially if they’re my age or older.) These are likely the same parents that complain like crazy about being run ragged trying to get their kids to all the meticulously planned (and structured) activities they’ve pushed them into. Send ’em out to climb a tree, dammit. Falling teaches you about physics… and risk management. Coddling them until they’re in their teens gives you “adults” who can’t deal with the real world.
And, as you scroll through the feed, you’ll also see a few trailers for movies that look new and different and interesting. Probably not blockbuster theater “success” stories like Guardians of the Galaxy… but likely infinitely better writing and acting than all the movies everyone will hear about.
Here’s the feed…
Yep. Up too late again, trying to catch up on non-day-job work that I didn’t get to last week (or the week before) because I was so wiped out by the day job work.
Much needed fun over the weekend, but my sleep schedule is still recovering.
Yeah, that’s the excuse I can use for at least one more day.
(We all know that the reality of it is that I’m naturally nocturnal and, left to my own devices, would rarely be up before noon and usually be going to bed around sunrise.)
Ah, well… so much stuff in the feed from the past few days. You’d best just take a scroll through it to see for yourself. (Since this is all going to be quick and haphazard as I should be asleep now… except I crashed out on the couch earlier in the night… which does exactly nothing to “fix” my schedule.)
Here’s the feed…