So, I continue to telnet into nonmundane.com 23 every day or so – I’ve posted a few messages – I *think* I’m the only one who has. I suppose I should also go check out nonmundane.org, to be fair 😉 But it just doesn’t have that old-skool bbs feel to it. I gather I’m the only one who’s entranced by same, though 😉
so lately on facebook I’ve been a bit over the top about espousing my particular flavor of utopia. I don’t have any idea why, but lately I’ve just been really irritable. Part of it probably has to do with changing my sleep schedule, but I don’t really think that that is all of it. I actually think that a lot of what I wrote was pretty good stuff (though the people who had entries I was commenting on generally disagreed – some of them even seemed unhappy that I was wasting their time) although I did several times in one of the argument commit the communication sin of assuming I knew what the other person’s side was. (I’m going to try to stomp down hard on that tendancy, because it definately decreases the chances of successful communication, and I hate it when other people do it to me, and it’s just generally bad.)
According to this article, the house is going to vote on a bill from CA rep Sanchez which will allow people to be placed in prison for up to two years for writing blog entries that “harass” public figures by criticizing them in a “severe, repeated, and hostile” manner.*
Look, basically, you have power over our lives, we write about the bad things you do in our blogs – which you don’t have to read – and you send us to prison? I’m sorry, but that’s just awful. Also kind of puts a dent in the 1st amendment. Sadly, I don’t live in Orange County any more, so I can’t write Sanchez and tell her how nuts I think she is. Well, I can, but she wouldn’t pay any attention because I don’t get to vote her out. Pity. But I can write my reps and tell them I disapprove, and I will.
I don’t like hate speech.. I pretty much hate Encyclopedia Dramatica, for example.. but I believe everyone should be free to post whatever they want on the interwebz. You don’t like it? Don’t visit the page. Censorship is bad, mmkay?
*** Update ***
Actually, apparently it applies to everyone – it’s a reaction to this – and a attempt to prevent cyberbullying. I don’t think laws are the right solution, I think educating people about the wonders of not browsing to a site where people are flaming them, educating people about how horrible/assish other people can be, and encouraging depressed 13 year olds to spend time with real people instead of myspace ones is probably the right solution. Anyway, I still don’t like the bill, but it also doesn’t look like it’s going to pass, hence, I’m not going to worry about it.
Well, looks like I survived another year. I think the probability of that probably goes downhill a little bit each time from now on. 😉
I’m going to repost something someone commented on:
telnet nonmundane.com 23
😉
(And if you do it from Telemate running in DosBox, I’ll give you a cookie!)
This is a list of songs and bands that I have been introduced to by my friends. It’s by no means complete, and I have no particular reason for writing it other than I’m waiting for a really huge file to download. To qualify for the list, you have to have introduced me to something that I still listen to at least once a year
Kayti: Sisters of Mercy “Temple Of Love”, Big Audio Dynamite “Medicine Show”, Tom Smith, Whimsical Tricycle, Beach Boys, Was (Not Was)
J.L. AKA curious: Bela Legousi’s dead, the cranberries, 4 non blondes, Redemption Song (Moodswings), C.W. McCall ‘Convoy’, Type O Negative, Mathew Sweet , Jesus Jones, Harry CHapin, Muppet Movie Soundtrack, Information Society
Nicka: Yes, Styx, Talking Heads, Manhattan Transfer, Tears for Fears, Emmit Swimming, the divine comedy “gin soaked boy”, Violent Femmes
R.F.Burns: Phil Collins as a solo artist, a whole lot of 80s songs I’d have never heard, and introducing me how to play mp3s on windows
Vinnie: Metallica
John Goings: Boston
Chris M: VNV Nation
Hector: Pink Floyd
Nina: The Cure, Tori Amos ? (might have been JL)
Amy (who almost certainly doesn’t read this :-): Janet Jackson, Extreme, Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Depeche Mode
Tavian: Eagles, the Doors,
Loha: The Police
Manticore (who probably still hates me): NIN, Steve Taylor
Carolyn/Vicky/Jay (I don’t remember which one): Poison [Yes, I still love them. Yes, I’m duly embarrassed]
Vicky/Coughdrop: Too much joy
Alexa Madrivious: Phantom of the opera (well, I’d heard it before, but I’d never really *heard* it)
Joan & Lucas: Anthem trance, techno **
My dad: Mozart, Switched on Bach
Lara: Psytrance
Gayle: Abba
Shawn: Steely dan, Aphex Twin
Tory: Faithless
Jen: Bare Naked Ladies
Madrory: Coldplay
Esen: Oceanlab
Deadman: Oingo Boingo
Chief/Ryan: Weem
Kamran: Sound tracker mods!
Okay, that’s probably enough for now. I notice the number of new bands I’m picking up has dropped dramatically recently.. I guess I’m getting old and set in my ways ;-(
So, recently I was helping a friend port their web site to Apache 2.0 and came across a link to NetAddiction’s internet addiction quiz. Now, I don’t think this quiz really applies to me – after all, you’re not an addict unless you *want* to stop (and I only seem to when I’m at my least sane), but I did start to think about the irony of delivering a web site – or a blog – on internet addiction.
No other addiction that I know of lets you do this. This is like your drug dealer taking you to a NA meeting, and passing you some of your drug-o-choice while *e talks to you about recovery. It’s just *funny*. What’s more, I’m not sure what total abstinance from the internet would look like. The only time recently I’ve been seperated from the net, I had the conpensating factor of being in interactive discussion with people, face to face, all the time – so I didn’t really miss the communication aspect of it.
If civilization falls, I’m certain the ham radio people are determined to keep the internet up anyway. They’ll probably succeed, too – I mean, we’re talking about people who managed to write a full-fledged telnet & ftp server and client, plus router, that fits on a floppy disk and runs on a 8088. Nicely. One can imagine what a solar-powered KAQ9 node might look like, pretty easily.
Ah well. Back to work.
So, we discovered that Harry Potter is printed & bound in a much higher-quality way in the U.K., and naturally we wanted to buy book seven in the less cumbersome, more lasting U.K. edition. We tried to buy it in Oxford while we were there going ice skating, but we left it in a café. So, we ended up buying it in Kings Cross station on our way back from Edinburgh, which I thought was just the coolest thing ever.
http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=BSA-00001&cat=UFL
http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=PMP-GAMEKING-III&cat=MP3
http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/games/ba5a/?cpg=ab
http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/lights/9a7e/
http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/lights/a570/
http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/keyboards-mice/a85c/ <– Unbeleivably pretty
http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/accessories/b2c6/ <– cute
Also possibilities: large RC remote control vehicles with treads for dismembering for Allie’s Cat-Carrier-On-Wheels