Archive for June 2008
June 30, 2008
Tomorrow, you will no longer be able to buy a boxed copy of Windows XP at most retail stores. Microsoft is stopping sales of XP, leaving buying a copy of Vista and "downgrading" the only legal way to obtain Windows XP.
But even as Microsoft has made some concessions (the "downgrading" concession was significant), there is a full-scale mutiny online and in the Windows community against adopting Vista. Why?
Largely, Windows users are disgruntled because of how Vista works. Vastly incompatible with the majority of XP software, the last six years of productivity and business applications have to be rewritten or replaced for the Vista platform. Adding insult to injury, Vista itself requires higher level hardware, meaning that for the cost of the operating system you have to invest in completely new hardware and software. Not a cost effective measure for business.
New technology always brings challenges. But Microsoft is asking the business community to adopt entirely new hardware and software, along with the costs and incompatibilities in deploying this operating system. In contrast, when Apple phases out an older technology, like they will do with PowerPC chips in Snow Leopard, it will be done five years after they shipped the last PowerPC-designed machine, and it's being done because there is no other way to accomplish the enhancements they are putting into Snow Leopard.
It is likely that Windows will continue to sell to begrudging customers who simply don't have any other options. But the high cost of the new operating system is driving customers to consider other platforms, and not just Mac (some users are switching to the free but powerful Ubuntu OS). Still, Microsoft's reign may be ending - and that wouldn't be at all bad.
6:56 am | Comment (0) | Print | Categories: Apple, Technology
June 28, 2008
If you listed none, you're right.
What?
Our "Bill of Rights" is something everyone likes to cite as a document that grants them particular rights (e.g. right to free speech, free assembly, free press, right to privacy, etc.) but that's in fact NOT what the document says.
Take the First Amendment (emphasis mine):
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.That could be rewritten to say "Congress can't:
- stop free speech
- make you follow a particular religion
- stop the press from saying whatever it wants
- stop you from protesting the government
The very first Amendment to grant individual rights is the 6th Amendment, which grants the right to a fair, speedy trial with cross-examination of witnesses and a jury of one's peers. This is, in fact, the only Amemdment which explicitly grants rights. The 9th and 10th amendments simply reserve rights to the people.
When I hear someone say "I have the right" (and I've done it too, so I'm criticizing myself), they're dead wrong, unless they're talking about the Sixth Amendment. But in the same vein, when I hear someone rationalize that the government can impinge upon the restrictions laid out in the Constitution, it frustrates me. We've set limitations on our government, explicit ones. They're not significant, or particularly hard to follow. Some of them we don't even really need (see the Third Amendment). But they are there. And they must be followed.
Our government is unique in that we have denied it certain abilities. My friend from New Zealand told me that their "Bill of Rights" is just another law, and that it grants rights that can be taken away by other legislation. In comparison, our Bill of Rights is a document that supersedes all other legislation, not simply because it's in the Constitution but also because it specifies what rights are denied to the government.
The Antifederalists, the main proponents for the Bill of Rights, feared the government. They fought the Revolution to get away from the government of England, which they saw as obtuse and uninterested in the needs of the colonies. They wrote the document to ensure that the government, not the people, were restricted from certain actions. And that places the onus on the government to prove not that we have a right they can deny, but that they have an obstacle that public interest dictates be ignored. And that is the beauty in the Bill of Rights.
6:30 pm | Comment (2) | Print | Categories: Law, Washington, DC
June 27, 2008
With the election season in full swing, I seem to get the equivalent of personal spam - forwarded messages that make voracious claims with shoddy evidence. So, in an effort to dispense with the loads of junk mail I have to wade through from the dozens who forward stuff my way, here are five easy rules to use when you think I might enjoy something.
- Will it spark a conversation? If I'm never going to discuss it, with you or anyone else, don't forward it.
- Is it factual? If Snopes debunks it, and you forward it anyway, my opinion of you goes way down. Period.
- Is it controvertial? Pictures of Barack Obama not wearing a flag or saluting one. Tracts or religious writings. Things that attack a particular ethnicity or group. I don't want them. Keep them out of my inbox please.
- Is it an article in a reliable publication? If someone wrote it and got paid for the writing in exchange, and it's on an interesting topic, send me a LINK.
- Are you family? If you're not family, apply a stricter standard to what you forward. (Timothy, you're family!)
These rules will help keep me sane and you not from being forwarded to my junk box! Thanks for your cooperation!
6:11 pm | Comment (0) | Print | Categories: Uncategorized
June 26, 2008
This fall, I've been invited to speak at ZendCon, a conference of PHP developers. I'll be speaking on "Managing Permissions for Robust Applications," which is a talk on a library I wrote for managing application permissions.
This is my first time speaking at a conference, and I'm very excited about it. The conference is in Santa Clara in September. I'm sure I'll see some of you while I'm in California!
2:38 pm | Comment (1) | Print | Categories: PHP, zendcon08
The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home. ~ Antonin ScaliaAnd with that holding, the Supreme Court made the first definitive determination as to the meaning of the Second Amendment since the framing of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights in the 1790's.
The decision, essentially a Scalia grammar lesson, articulates that the Second Amendment allows for the possession of a weapon by private citizens for private purposes. After swallowing an NRA brochure, Scalia argues that the two clauses of the Second Amendment do not rely on one another, and thus grant rights to private gun ownership.
The 5-4 decision reflected the conservative bent to which the Court has moved in the past few years, and serves to articulate the damage that the Bush presidency has done to the judiciary. Had O'Connor remained on the court, this decision would have fallen quite differently, if it had been decided at all (though there is no way to determine who voted in favor of hearing the case).
The full effect of the ruling has yet to be seen, as the ruling does not legalize gun posession in the District per se; the details must be determined by the lower court in a manner consistent with the opinion, and DC could still institute policies that would make handgun registration prohibitively difficult (a complex language test, for example, or a prohibitively high filing fee). Criminals who are arrested for gun violations will likely continue to avoid registration, and it is unlikely that conceal-carry permits will be issued in DC, meaning that law-abiding citizens will only be able to posses these firearms in their homes.
Still, the thought of criminals stealing legitimate handguns is frightening, and the Court erred today in it's decision. Here's hoping for an Obama victory, and a quick overturning of this decision.
1:04 pm | Comment (2) | Print | Categories: Crime, Law, Washington, DC
June 23, 2008
Zimbabwe isn't the only country in the world that practices political intimidation by government officials.
Apparently it's alive and well in the Bush administration, too.
New TSA security rules require that any person who wants to fly must provide ID, and if they forgot their ID, they must submit to a questionnaire, in which one of the questions is about your political party affiliation.
Knowing that terrorists *always* tell the truth, the TSA thinks that these questionnaires and additional security measures, not to mention the "verification" of one's face and name, are satisfactory to stop terrorism. In truth, we are moving ever closer to the Orwellian "Big Brother" state one step at a time, and the freedom they advocate protecting is the same freedom they restrict and revoke with impunity, under the guise of "national security."
Such is your legacy, Mr. Bush. It's the same one owned by Robert Mugabe.
Privacy: What's It's Like To Fly With No ID Under The TSA's New Regulations ~ Consumerist.com, 6/23/2008
1:23 pm | Comment (5) | Print | Categories: Privacy, Security
June 21, 2008
The Post article goes into detail, but this is an issue that I've written about before. I contacted a gentleman the National Park Service last week regarding the DC War Memorial, and he indicated that there is movement on fixing up the Mall in general and that monument in particular.
Those of you who have representation in Congress, I ask you to urge your representatives to fund maintenance of the Mall. This national treasure brings more visitors than the Grand Canyon, and deserves a place of national prominence.
12:19 pm | Comment (2) | Print | Categories: Washington, DC
June 20, 2008
As gasoline prices rise, a number of employers are giving employees the option of engaging in four ten-hour days instead of five eight-hour days. The goal is to reduce the overall cost of commuting by reducing the commute. I like the idea.
In fact, with such an emphasis on work-life balance, I'm not entirely sure why more companies don't embrace the four-day workweek overall (though according to the Washington Post, they are). There may also be benefits for employers - freeing office space, increased efficiency (I calculated that my efficiency would be increased 5.8% if I were to engage in a 4-day workweek), and happier employees who liked the perk of a day off that their friends didn't get.
Still, a ten-hour workday presents a challenge, as it means a typical employee would work from 8 AM to 7 PM (assuming a 1-hour lunch break) four days a week. Since most evening events start at 7 PM, this either means missing those events or starting work earlier. Not potentially family-friendly to some parents.
As fuel prices continue to rise, we'll have to see how companies respond, with either adjusted working schedules or more telecommuting positions. It's an interesting proposition, to be sure.
8:38 pm | Comment (0) | Print | Categories: Economics
June 19, 2008
Congress has acquiesced to the Bush administration, permitting warrantless wiretapping of American citizens for dubious purposes and shielding phone companies from liability for cooperating.
In a bill that I'm fairly certain included funding a shredder for the Constitution, Democrats worked with the White House to produce a compromise that is neither fair or appropriate.
Democrats that vote for this bill are weak, and should resign from Congress immediately.
As a card-carrying member of the American Civil Liberties Union, I am outraged that my Congress would ever allow a trampling of the Bill of Rights in this way. An inclusion of the right to privacy the Constitution does not contain; but an implicit right to be free of warrantless intrusion on our lives and communiques it does guarantee.
7:24 pm | Comment (1) | Print | Categories: Phones, Washington, DC
So...I'm another year older. Yesterday was my actual birthday, but I was busy and didn't blog.
Odd day, actually.
Internet was down at work. Had to go home to work. Then, we had thunderstorms last night (as seems to be so common around here). Enjoyed the day though.
The interesting thing about birthdays is after the fact they represent a lot of work - thanking those who wished you a great day, sending notes to gift-givers...not that I didn't mind the well-wishes and gifts, or wouldn't want them next year.
Anyways, to all the well-wishers, thank you. I think I got most of the texts replied to and the facebook wall posts answered, but if I forgot anyone, it wasn't on purpose.
I'm a year closer to a quarter century, at which point I'm fairly certain I will indeed be old.
10:07 am | Comment (1) | Print | Categories: Holidays
Any good parent remembers telling their kids NOT to eat the Legos. And while I don't recall my mother saying that to me, I'm sure at one point she did. How are parents supposed to manage?
"Ok, Johnny, you can only eat the Legos that are soft..." What?
Kellogg's Lego Fun Snacks Sends Mixed Messages To Your Child ~ Consumerist.com, 6/19/2008 (Warning: Contains Vulgar Language)
8:20 am | Comment (1) | Print | Categories: Bizarre
June 17, 2008
The report discusses, in detail, the threat commercial over-fishing poses to our oceans. It also ranks supermarkets based on their seafood offerings, and challenges them to do better by reducing the sale of endangered fish species and encouraging sustainable seafood practices.
Congratulations to my fellow team members on getting this project out!
11:56 am | Comment (0) | Print | Categories: DC PHP, Politics, Washington, DC
June 15, 2008
Here's a math problem for you...
What happens when you take a $399 device and subtract $199?
If you expected to save $200, and you're talking about the iPhone, you'd be wrong.
Let's use a nifty comparison chart:
| Original iPhone | iPhone 3G | |
|---|---|---|
| Phone Price: | $399 | $199 |
| Cheapest Voice Plan | $39/450 min | $39/450 min |
| Data Plan: | $20/mo | $30/mo |
| Text Plan | 200 free | $5 for 200 |
| Price After 2 Years: | $1,815 | $1,975 |
This means that after you pay for your iPhone and your service, your actual total cost is $160 higher at the end of the two year contract.
Sneaky.
8:13 pm | Comment (1) | Print | Categories: Apple, Bizarre
June 14, 2008
As most Metro riders know, there's nothing more frustrating than hurriedly saying goodbye to a friend, rushing into the rail station, and watching your train leave, with another 11 minutes behind it. Yet it's a common experience for most of us who ride the Metro.
Now, it may be a thing of the past. Metro has started offering a new service that emulates the passenger information screens that hang in stations and announce the wait time for varying trains on varying lines.
For those with a mobile web device (like an iPhone, Blackberry, Voyager, or Treo), they can view train arrival predictions by visiting http://www.wmata.com/mobile and selecting their station.
I think this is really neat, and it will save me a lot of time and trouble!
10:28 pm | Comment (1) | Print | Categories: Metro
So...I've run out of good books to read on the Metro while on my way to work (or enduring endless delays). I'm taking recommendations!
2:48 pm | Comment (4) | Print | Categories: Metro, Reading
June 13, 2008
A massive power outage affecting downtown DC and including the White House has shut down traffic signals and much of the Federal government's Federal triangle office complex on this Friday the 13th.
Riders on Metro experienced delays and dark stations due to the power outage and a separate fire on the tracks, while sixty traffic signals are still out around DC. Dupont Circle Metro station has been closed, due to the fact that the 188 foot-long escalators are not functioning. One man was hospitalized after reporting heart problems as a result of ascending the escalators, and fire officials treated nine others for being overheated. Dupont Circle is the deepest station in the system, and climbing the escalators from top to bottom is the equivalent of climbing an 18-story building.
Pepco (the utility company for the District) is unsure as to when services will be rest of the District. Their own headquarters was affected by the outage.
Live Coverage:
WTOP
Washington Post
WMATA (Metro)
DC Government
Updated at 6/13/2008 @ 11:22 am Power has been restored and Metro Center has reopened after a closure from a second fire. Dupont Circle is also open.
10:11 am | Comment (0) | Print | Categories: Electricity, Metro, Washington, DC
TC The Terrible ran a blog entry yesterday disavowing the Metro and claiming that as a "rich white guy" he could afford to buy gasoline and skip riding with the "dregs of society." And it all got me thinking about whether or not Metro was really the cheapest way to get about.
His argument is as follows:
Parking at the Centreville Park and Ride was free. The 12C bus to the Vienna Metro station was $1.00 and took 25 minutes. The Orange Line train from Vienna to Ballston was $3.10 and took 20 minutes. The bus from Ballston to the office was free since I had transfered from the train, but took another 10 minutes. That’s $4.10 to ride the system for 55 minutes. Round trip that comes to $8.20 and two hours each day.He continues on to argue that the fixed price of owning a vehicle is a non-issue. That's where we disagree.
Driving from my house (a mile or so west of the Centreville Park and Ride) to the office is about 23 miles. My non-hybrid compact 5-speed averages 30 mph, so at $4 per gallon it costs me $2.93 to drive to the office. The drive is about a half hour in the morning because I leave at the butt crack of dawn. Afternoons when I’m forced to share I-66 with mere mortals takes about an hour. Round trip is $5.96 and 90 minutes per day.
Every day, it costs me $1.25 to ride the bus to Foggy Bottom, then another $2.85 to get down to Alexandria. It's cheaper on the way home, at $2.85 for Metro but only $0.35 for a Metro-to-bus transfer, making for a total of $7.30 per day, round trip.
I don't own a car, but if I did I'd probably get a pretty fuel efficient one (like a Yaris). Say, 40 miles per gallon highway, and it's 9.7 miles to and from my office. That's $2.43 a day, even with gas at $4.50 a gallon.
But I think that the cost of owning a car does need to be considered. Since I don't already own one, I'd pick up a $200 a month car payment (pretty low, actually), plus $125 in insurance (I'm still under 25), and roughly $75 in saving to maintain the car per month. Being generous and spreading the cost of the car over 30 days instead of only 20 (the days I work), that's $400 in car cost and $48.60 in gas for the 20 days I work, for a total of $448.60.
In contrast, I spend $146.00 on Metro per month, which is 67% LOWER than if I owned a car. The time saved per trip would be only about 15 minutes, meaning that I'd be spending $0.50 per minute of time saved. I don't pay $0.50 a minute for long distance!
There are obvious benefits to owning a car - among them, the freedom it provides and the ability to travel anywhere, any time, as long as you have the money to fuel it. But to me, the costs of buying, insuring, and maintaining something that I will also have to register, park, and be concerned about are far outweighed by the benefits. Likely in my life I will again own a car - but for now, the absence of one makes my life much simpler.
NOTE: In the interest of full disclosure, it is worth noting that there were severe Metro delays caused by a downtown power outage and track fire (fire probably caused by a power surge). However, though it took me 90 minutes to get to work, 60 traffic signals are out throughout the city. I can't imagine THAT is improving traffic flow...
9:04 am | Comment (1) | Print | Categories: Metro, Traffic, Travel
June 12, 2008
The lead story for the night is that Alexander Ovechkin has been named hockey's 2007-2008 MVP. Though the Washington Capitals failed in their playoff bid and were eliminated in Game Seven against the Philidelphia Flyers, Ovechkin is largely credited with performing well enough to send them to the playoffs in the first place. He set a goal record for this season, beating the goal record set in the previous season, also set by him. Congratulations, Alexander.
Update: Bruce Boudreau, the Capitals coach who a year ago was a minor league coach, has won the Coach of the Year award in the NHL. He is credited with turning around the Washington Capitals, a team that was worst in the league, into a contender for the Stanley Cup within five years. Though Ovechkin's award was well expected, Boudreau's award was a surprise, but a well-earned one. Congratulations to the Washington Capitals.
In the Fire That Wouldn't Die, a local restaurant caught fire tonight. The restaurant adjoins the burned strip club from January's misadventure with flames. Fire crews are on the scene as I write this.
Speaking of fires, The Heritage Foundation almost burned down this afternoon...too bad it didn't. Their poor excuse for academic research will continue to flow forth. [Drudge] via [DCist]
Metro's board scolded Metro (so presumably themselves) for the series of mishaps this week. [WTOP]
The owners of El Pollo Loco pled guilty to Federal money laundering charges over their hire of illegal workers and hiding of store profits. They were arrested two days before my arrival in DC, two blocks from where I ended up living when I got here. [Washington Post]
Updated at 6/12/2008 @ 9:46 pm
9:41 pm | Comment (1) | Print | Categories: Hockey, Immigration, Metro, Natural Disasters
Senator Obama has launched a new website, www.FightTheSmears.com in an effort to combat inaccurate portrayals of his record by right-wing Republicans.
The smear and distorted record are time-honored traditions of political campaigns, and they're techniques used by both Republicans (see Bush vs. McCain in South Carolina, 2000) and Democrats (see Webb vs. Allen, Virginia 2006).
Senator Obama has committed to running an issue-oriented, positive campaign of change, and I'm encouraged that he is not letting Republicans "swift-boat" his campaign. The website is carefully constructed and the facts are irrefutable (I checked the quotes in his books and they are as he states on the website).
The highlights: Senator Obama was born in America, is not and never was a Muslim, was sworn in on a Bible, has not made racially incendiary remarks in his books and is not opposed to the pledge of allegiance.
www.FightTheSmears.com
7:37 pm | Comment (0) | Print | Categories: Election '08
As a note, Firefox is the only supported browser for Almost Georgetown (this doesn't mean it won't work in Internet Explorer, Opera, or Safari - just that if you have problems I may not have answers :-D)
Mozilla Press Release ~ 6/12/2008
2:54 pm | Comment (1) | Print | Categories: Technology
June 11, 2008
The House of Representatives authorized Amtrak for another five years, and did so by a veto-proof margin today, marking a stiff rebuke to those like John McCain who would see Amtrak's demise.
Over the objections of the White House, the House passed the bill offering $15 billion over five years to Amtrak. The Bush administration threatened a veto, but the increasing popularity of passenger rail and the ever-decreasing popularity of President Bush limits the relevancy of the President on this issue.
The vote also means that should the bill become law, and John McCain wins the White House, he will be unable to veto Amtrak funding from the budget, as the money was appropriated before he took office. Since McCain will likely be a one-term President (he will be 76 at the end of his term), this means Amtrak will survive his "non-negotiable" position.
The House vote was 311 - 104.
7:09 pm | Comment (0) | Print | Categories: Election '08, Metro, Northern Virginia, Politics, Rail, Washington, DC
Getting home for the last couple of days on Metro has been a bit of a challenge.
On Monday, an Orange Line train derailed outside Courthouse station, which caused single-tracking around the incident and backed up both Orange and Blue line trains heading into Rosslyn station. Took me an hour and 40 minutes to get home on Monday.
Tuesday night, my train was taken out of service at Pentagon City station, and turned around (for reasons passing understanding). Then, the next train was delayed a number of times due to a malfunctioning train at Farragut West station. We sat on the train for almost an hour, and the operator even encouraged passengers to switch from hot cars to cooler ones because "we're going to be at this a while."
In all, I blame the girl on the train yesterday for the delays since she was on the derailed train the day before. But it was an interesting experience with a number of strangers who were more than happy to just chat with the people around them. You don't get THAT on the 101 at rush hour!
Let's hope today's commute home is faster, better, and more manageable.
Updated at 6/11/2008 @ 7:40 pm So much for that idea. A heat kink was discovered in the track outside Ballston station meaning trains have to share the same track on the...you guessed it! Orange Line! Oddly, today was 15 degrees cooler than yesterday, AND Metro said the derailment wasn't caued by heat because the "tracks are underground"...much like the tracks to Ballston? Hmmmmmm...
11:57 am | Comment (4) | Print | Categories: Metro, Rail
Republicans are against tax cuts increases. Everyone knows that. But Republicans can't stand against lower gasoline prices. That would certainly fly in the face of public opinion.
That's why Congress needs to pass a law capping the price of gasoline.
I'm not much in favor of subsidizing oil or of price controls. Both don't solve our dependence on it. But putting a cap of $2.50 per gallon for wholesale and $3.00 per gallon retail would do the equivalent of tax the industry by causing them to sell their product at a loss (thus erasing their profitability).
Next, the bill should make it a crime to speculate on commodities essential to American economics or national security, including oil, gold, iron, steel and coal. It should make the penalty seizure and dissolution of all assets by speculators in those markets if the assets have not been liquidated within 90 days. It should also make the capital gains tax for speculators 150% of the profits earned, starting 15 days after the law is enacted, to help spur the sale of oil speculators' shares.
The law should also mandate that for every dollar spent on highway construction, $2 must be spent on mass transit construction. For every dollar spent on maintaining a highway, $2 must be spent on maintaining mass transit systems. In addition, the law should require that for every $1 spent on highway construction or maintenance, the state who has the highway built or maintained must allocate $1 of its own tax revenues for investment in alternative energy vehicles.
Finally, it should order the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to make available any and all oil required to prevent shortages in the United States of oil-based products.
This law should stipulate that the price cap remains in effect for no more than six months, or until oil reaches $80 per barrel, whichever comes first. It should also mandate that the law can be put back into full force upon gasoline prices reaching $3.25 per gallon, up to five years after the law is enacted (to prevent oil companies from letting prices fall so they can keep gouging consumers).
This bill won't actually become law. But it will put Republicans on the wrong side of every important issue - the economy, gas prices, alternative energy, and sticking it to Big Oil. Is it a bad bill? Probably. But it's gutsy, and it might spark a new round of national debates on the topics of renewable energy, transit construction, and reducing oil prices. Talking about the same old ideas won't get the Democrats into the White House - and it won't solve America's dependency on foreign oil either.
8:20 am | Comment (2) | Print | Categories: Economics, Frustration
June 10, 2008
Do you see something wrong with record profits for oil companies and record prices for gasoline?
The Republican Party doesn't.
They filibustered a bill today that would have raised taxes on windfall profits earned by the oil companies and allowed the Securities and Exchange Commission to reign in speculation in the oil markets. For some reason, Republicans thought that targeting speculation, which has been seen widely as the overall cause of increasing oil prices, was a bad thing. Probably because the speculators donate to Republicans.
Tax increases probably weren't the right idea, and history has shown higher taxes do get passed on to consumers. What is so mind-boggling though is that Republicans didn't simply vote against the bill - they voted against DEBATE of the bill. They were opposed to even TALKING about it. Rather than work together to find something to help American consumers, they were more interested in protecting their campaign war chests and special interests, and refused to even discuss this bill.
This is really shameful behavior. The concepts of free speech and free assembly were based on the idea that a free public discourse would ensure a free society. But Congress can't seem to ensure that same free discourse inside the chambers of democracy, and that's disconcerting. And it's a good reason for Americans to vote these people out of power.
Maybe that's why Republicans are so worried.
1:50 pm | Comment (1) | Print | Categories: Economics, Election '08, Frustration, Washington, DC
June 9, 2008
Gigaom.com has published an interesting article about how tiered internet service is likely due to the fact that cable companies recognize that unlimited broadband connections end up putting them out of business.
Here's how it works: unlimited internet lets people have access to high quality video through Netflix, iTunes, and other services. Companies like Comcast charge exorbitant rates for lower-quality programming, and as more consumers become tech-savvy, they're realizing they can buy episodes off iTunes and watch movies off Apple TV for much less than what Comcast and others want.
The solution? Cable companies need to limit how much you can download. Gigaom.com speculates that the tiers are designed to limit most people to about 75 minutes of Standard Definition video a day - not nearly enough to satisfy most television watchers. This means cable companies can remain secure in their video connection subscription rates, and help put P2P out of business to boot.
Congress needs to investigate and punish these innovation-crushing monopolies. The internet is the closest we've ever gotten to unlimited free speech, and to let cable and phone companies dictate what and how much of it people can download and utilize is unconscionable and contrary to our best ideals.
1:35 pm | Comment (5) | Print | Categories: Law, Politics, Washington, DC
June 8, 2008
To be sure, Amtrak has its share of flaws. Efficiency, timeliness, and accessible service are always issues with passenger rail.
The problem is that McCain - and a large number of Republicans including the current administration - see highways as the solution to America's transportation problems. That's old thinking. As anyone in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast knows, rail transportation is critical - for both intercity trips on Amtrak and commuter rail, and intracity trips on the subways of New York and Boston, and Washington's Metro.
Washington has seen the kind of anti-rail pro-highway conservative like McCain before. Eisenhower was pro-highway. So was Kentucky Democrat William Natcher. He blocked Metro construction, demanding that Washington be blanketed with freeways that would have destroyed the historic neighborhoods and community feeling that Washington enjoys.
With oil prices on the rise, it's time to look at alternatives to highways and freeways. The end of Amtrak would be a disaster to the Northeast, and the privatization of passenger rail would ensure its end at the hands of rising fares and declining service to small communities.
Rail is not a money-making proposition when it comes to passenger rail. It's a public service, just like the Metro. It moves people, provides efficiency, and belong to the nation as a whole. And it's threatened destruction is reason enough to make sure McCain never takes the oath of office.
9:40 am | Comment (3) | Print | Categories: Rail, Travel
June 7, 2008
So, I am announcing BrandonSavage.net Election Coverage 2008, a website dedicated to the electoral map and math that will determine the President this year.
This site will update once a week, and will reflect up-to-the-minute poll information. In addition, on November 5th I will update the map as the results come in.
So, for a spin-free, clean site, I encourage you to visit Election Coverage 2008.
12:35 am | Comment (1) | Print | Categories: Election '08
June 5, 2008
Wow. Just wow.
It's been a crazy week.
Three days of conference. Three days of geeks together, talking about geek things, and drinking bad beer. Not me so much with the drinking, but certainly the talking and geeking out part.
Yesterday we had terrible thunderstorms. So bad it shut parts of the Metro down. Predicted 50% chance of rain today, but since I bought an umbrella it wasn't going to rain.
Invited to speak at ZendCon, a PHP Conference in September in California. Very cool, and quite a resume point (if I can secure the time off).
Today working on the Greenpeace Seafood report. HTML, CSS, PHP, I think some JSP and maybe some ESP or something like that. We release next Friday. Exciting.
Shoutouts to Tony Bibbs, Keith Casey, Mike Ho, Eli White(?) and others who presented phenomenal presentations at DC PHP '08.
8:40 pm | Comment (0) | Print | Categories: DC PHP, PHP, Washington, DC, Weather
June 4, 2008
When a computer crashes, it's difficult under the best of circumstances. Usually they don't crash under the best of circumstances, though, and my hard drive failure yesterday was no exception. Still, it was the best hardware failure I've ever had.
It started with my computer freezing, totally, with the spinning wheel of death. Then a power off, then a flashing folder with a question mark, then a cryptic error message about "mack_kernel not found." Obviously this wasn't good.
I hopped online, found an Apple store, made an appointment for 20 minutes after my crash (this is a fluke; don't expect this to be normal!) and headed off. That's when the real magic started.
To say the customer service experience was amazing is an understatement. From the time I got there to the end of the ordeal, I was treated well, professionally, and with empathy and compassion. Apple had to replace my failed drive, and they agreed to do it while I waited - a deviation from normal policy but done because I was in a special spot and needed the machine for work. They also replaced my cracked top case, all under warranty, and reinstalled the OS for me.
All of this would have been for naught without backups. A year ago, Apple instituted Time Machine, which backs up every hour (provided you tell it to do so). Lucky for me, I had this system configured and my last backup was 6:21 AM the morning of the crash.
Still, I wasn't without data loss - I backed up my home folder but not my downloads, so I lost 3-4 GB of downloaded data, but it can be recovered. All of my MySQL databases are stored in the /Applications folder, which was not backed up, meaning I lost the structure of any databases that I didn't already have somewhere else. I also lost a few un-backed-up applications, though I had copies of most of the ones I did need. Still, my music, photos, documents, websites and such were recovered. Those are the important parts - the other things I can recreate or find alternatives for.
Time Machine wasn't flawless, and I had to use some command line tools to recreate my computer as it was before the failure. Still, Time Machine and it's automatic and incremental backups allowed me to get as close as possible to the state of my machine before it failed - an accomplishment to which no built-in Windows product could ever hope to achieve. And with Time Machine running in the background, raising errors only on abject failure, there was little investment done on my part to ensuring Time Machine would work properly. It just worked - the way it was supposed to work.
The reality is that hard drives and computers are mechanical devices and they are prone to failure. The question is not if a computer will fail, but when. And while technology has begun to mitigate and limit the extent of the damage done when devices fail. Apple has certainly excelled in this area, and the preservation of my data alone was reason enough to validate my choice of Mac as my primary machine.
7:49 am | Comment (4) | Print | Categories: Apple, Technology
June 3, 2008
CNN is projecting that Senator Obama has officially recieved enough delegates to win the nomination, making Hillary Clinton the loser of one of the longest races in Democratic history.
Senator Obama began the night four delegates shy of the nomination, and with the way the Democrats allocate delegates, he will certainly receive enough delegates from South Dakota and Minnesota to push him over the top.
9:01 pm | Comment (1) | Print | Categories: Election '08
Hillary Rodham Clinton told colleagues Tuesday she would be consider joining Barack Obama as his running mate, and advisers said she was withholding a formal departure from the race partly to use her remaining leverage to press for a spot on the ticket.Are you f-ing kidding me? Is Hillary Clinton so delusional that she would try to hold a gun to Senator Obama's head and force him to make her Vice President? Superdelegates, jump to Obama now - lest Hillary Clinton be a heartbeat away from the office she's tried to steal from the voters this primary season.
4:29 pm | Comment (1) | Print | Categories: Bizarre, Election '08
Hillary Clinton will concede defeat tonight, according to CNN and AP.
Updated at 6/3/2008 @ 1:45 pm
Hillary Clinton's campaign has said the reports of her concession are wrong and that she is "absolutely not" conceding the race.
11:22 am | Comment (0) | Print | Categories: Election '08
June 1, 2008
One thing I've learned about having a skill that is in high demand is this:
Everyone wants your time, but no one wants to pay for it.
Seriously.
As a web developer, I get asked ALL the time if I can "help" with this project or that project. "Help" usually translates into "no pay" or "volunteer effort." But yet, when you agree to help, then they start imposing deadlines and making demands of you. Craigslist is full of these kinds of jokers, who's compensation is listed as "company shares" or "no pay - thanks as a reward." Yeah, that helps pay the bills.
Thing is, my time isn't free, folks. Seriously now. I spent a lot of effort learning what I know, and my boss bills me out at a high rate because I'm good. I don't mind helping people here and there, but I'm really done now with the whole idea of "free services" for people I know.
The worst thing you can do to a friendship is take their skill and treat it like trash by demanding things they don't owe you and act like you're their client while you don't pay them. That's not cool. Be nice to your tech people - remember, we know how to crash your computers!
9:43 pm | Comment (4) | Print | Categories: Frustration, Gratitude, PHP, Technology
Hillary Clinton is the woman who won't quit. Feeling that the nomination is her God-given right, she has refused to step aside for the will of the voters. The only thing left for the Democratic Party at this point is to neutralize her, and make sure that she cannot damage the party further.
The easiest way to do that is for enough superdelegates to switch to Barack Obama so that there are no numbers that make it possible for Senator Clinton to win the nomination.
That way, regardless of whether or not the delegations on the floor attempt to include Michigan and Florida, Senator Obama will have enough votes that he will still win the nomination, regardless of the outcome of that fight.
Then, and only then, will Senator Clinton finally be finished - when the math makes it impossible under any circumstances to win the nomination, regardless of what she tries to do.
4:31 pm | Comment (3) | Print | Categories: Election '08, Frustration