Runway @ MindSay 
Been busy creating and jamming and partying and spinning and chilling. Hope to see you soon.
Cheers.
Could The Information Superhighway Become A Toll Road?
There's a battle going on for control of the Internet, and if consumers don't watch out they're going to be playing second modem to the captains of industry.
The black hats are worn by a handful of media conglomerates who hope to build a two-tiered Internet, with the fastest tier going at premium prices. Everyone else will surf at reduced speeds, which can be the fast track to Net oblivion.
In the beginning the Internet was truly democratic -- anyone with a computer and a dial-up connection could log on and surf as fast as the equipment allowed. But the system was accessed via old-fashioned copper telephone wires that weren't capable of high-speed transmission.
No worry. In the 1990s phone and cable companies promised to re-wire America with fiber-optic cable, thus keeping pace with some European and Asian providers. All they wanted in return were tax breaks and the rate hikes to cover infrastructure outlays.
The upgrade would be massive. By one estimate the old copper-wire dial-up connection would take 82 years to download the contents of the Library of Congress. The fastest fiber connection can do the job in about 45 seconds. A cable connection is a waste of time. Watch this video.
The promises, however, turned out to be a lot of fast talk, billed as a "telecommunications muckraker.''
According to the group, TeleTruth, telephone companies received $25 billion in tax breaks while their revenues soared 128 percent in the 1990s. But they didn't build the high-speed system.
Should telecom and cable companies be able to influence what Web sites you visit? That’s a key question in the debate surrounding Net neutrality.
It’s an issue being fought over tooth and nail in Washington.
Supporters of Net neutrality say the government needs to step in and ensure that cable and telecom companies who offer Internet service provide their customers equal access to every Web site in cyberspace.
Those against the idea say the government needs to stay out of the Internet business and let the market forces, which have made the Internet a success, play out.
Sen. Ron Wyden is among those pushing for a Net neutrality policy. He says the lack of Net neutrality would turn the information superhighway into a toll road with the best access given to Web sites willing to pay top dollar.
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Response to todays top-blogs:
What are the requirments to be considered a homophobe?
Is just my mildly contrary comment enough to mark me as one? Is it really about the actual marriage?
If I go in for a colonoscopy tomorrow should I make a video of the process to offer as entertainment.
Didn't Al Franken already cover this moronic shtik with his Stuart Smally character?
Will I become # 4 if I re-post # 2?
I vote for 
misterghouliemisterghoulie
misterghoulie
Seriously, enough already!
Pablo
©2006
Sitting here, looking out onto the tarmac lit only by the lights that outline the runway, I have no clue as to what to expect. In reality, I feel like I’m going on a plane trip for another Spring Break vacation in the Caribbean; however, I know that I will be ending up in a city, country, and culture entirely different from my own. I know the system of government will be different. I know Amman will have different aesthetics from any American city. I know I will not be able to speak the language. I know I will not be able to even know how the street and building signs surrounding me sound when I arrive. These uncertainties are all that I am sure of; however, it is these uncertainties and differences that excite me so much!
-Joe
So my guilty pleasure is Project Runway. I used to want to be a fashion designer. (I wanted to be many things actually: doctor, astronaut, movie star, dancer. I am now a massage therapist, close enough to being an astronaut since I do space out during my massage sessions. 
). I was hooked to the finale two days ago and was generally underwhelmed by the 3 finalists' collections (last season's top 2 finalists were spectacular: Kara Saun and Jay were both AMAZING), especially since I, like everyone else, expected much much more from Santino Rice. I think he's the edgiest among the three. Judging from the results, I would have picked Daniel V instead of Chloe Dao to be the winner (She is nice though and the most consistent among them all, she usually was among the best two or three on each project). But, really the surprising irony is actually the fourth wheel Kara Janx's collection, which was also shown on the Olympus Fashion Week (for "decoy" purposes), that ruled the runway.
It was really really trendy, chic, sophisticated and edgy. And I don't even like her!! (I found her thick accent annoying, didn't know a South Africaner sounded like that). I don't think she was that great during the season and surely the judges made the right decision to eliminate her instead of Chloe. Yet, she would have won had she been in the top 3.
I'm wishing that they will someday make a reality show on finding the top massage therapist. I will beat everyone else hand down. No Doubt. 
Caitlin, her new boyfriend, his friend and I went into Boston last night. We obviously didn't get into the city until 11, so we decided to only go to one bar.
Gypsy Bar
When we first got there, there was a fashion show taking place... it was girls walking down a "runway" wearing scandalous lingerie. The boys enjoyed it to say the least. (The last girl to walk was wearing a metal ensemble, a chain for the back of her "underwear", and after walking two steps, her "bra" was not covering anything).
Going out with Caitlin is always complicated because there are too many issues. If we're waiting for a drink, she wants to go dance, if we are dancing, then she wants to keep moving around, because there are sketchy guys behind her or there are people bumping her or she needs to go to the bathroom, or something! After a while, i was just like, "i don't care about the sketchy guys, just chill".
The other thing about last night was that Caitlin brought her new boyfriend, as a mentioned. Well, her and this guy are completely insane. He basically moved in with her after a couple days of knowing her, they fight all the time, he tells her he wants to marry her, that he's in love with her. THEY FIGHT ALL THE TIME. Ugh. It was so annoying, because everything is like "we have to do this, he's mad at me", "i'm pissed at him", "we can't be in the same room as him". UGH. So his friend and I kind of chatted while they fought and left them to go dance. But that's not MY responsibility, to make sure his friend is entertained.
Needless to say, we only stayed until 1. I got dropped off at home. Tonight, Caitlin's havinga party at her house, but at least I won't have to deal with the situation by myself.
Oh, about the bar itself: Cover was $10. I ordered a "Stoli Rasberry and Sprite", (apparently also called a "Rasberry Cooler")- $8.50 It was actually a really nice place with a couple of different rooms. The music was good enough, they played a lot of good songs, but then just some weird, old songs that didn't need to be played at all.
The funniest thing was that Caitlin had kept warning me that it was a really dressy place and I needed to dress up. I wore a nice shirt and jeans, and honestly, I felt very much in place. I have a lot more experience going to bars than Caitlin does, and I don't think she realizes it. I am aware of what appropriate dress on a weekend at a bar in Boston is.