Net Neutrality: What it means

Ok, I know alot of you don't really understand the concept of Net Neutrality, so I'll try to give you a primer on how the system works.

ISP's (Internet Service Providers) such as Comcast, Suddenlink, Verizon and Time Warner handle all of the information that flows to and from your computer or phone. As such, they know where each bit of information comes from and where it's going.

Right now, they aren't allowed to do anything with that knowledge. They have to treat every bit just like every other bit. Whether that bit comes from Netflix, Microsoft or that little store down the street makes no difference. THAT is the 'Neutrality' in the phrase.

If the new regulations go into effect, the ISP's will be permitted to start segregating those bits. If Netflix pays a fee, their bits will get priority and everyone else's will just have to wait.

You see, bandwidth is a zero sum game. There is only so much to go around, so in order to speed someone up, someone else HAS to be slowed down. The only way to fix that is to build more of it. That costs money, but charging for priority access to a limited network MAKES money. You can see which one the ISP's would prefer. Google and Amazon have been the prime movers behind killing Net Neutrality. They want more bandwidth and this is the only way they can get it.

Something few people think about is the course that their data takes on the internet. From your computer, it goes to your ISP. From there, it goes through many systems, all owned by OTHER ISP's, until it reaches the ISP of the website that you want and then to the website itself. After all, websites typically need to buy their own access. While Google might be able to build their own portal onto the internet, pretty much everyone else has to use an ISP just like you do. Under the rule of Net Neutrality, that's the end of the story.

Under the new rules, something else happens.

If a website wants to avoid the slow lane, they have to negotiate a deal with their ISP. Simple, right? Not so much, because then they have to negotiate deals with EVERY OTHER ISP that their data will travel through.

Nobody, except the really big boys, will be able to afford that.

The end result? The little guys go out of business, leaving the giants to provide everything on the internet. It harkens back to the early days of TV. Many companies tried to get into the business, but we ended up with only the Big Three. If you wanted to watch, you watched NBC, ABC or CBS.

That is the future of the web without Net Neutrality. If you want something on the net, you'll have a very small pool of sources. Fewer sources mean higher prices. That's just how it works.

Whew, that ended up longer than I thought it would. A bit. If you made it this far, then congratulations! Hopefully, you now have a better idea what's at stake here.

Go do something about it.

A Rarely Used Word

Earlier today I used a word in response to a story shared by a dear friend. Hardly unusual, as I tend to use a great many words. You may have noticed this from time to time. This particular word, however, is one that I rarely have an opportunity to use.

"Interregnum."

It's proper definition refers to the time period between the death of a king and the crowning of his successor. A Latin term directly translatable as "Between kings."

I used it to reference the last 23 years. From the fall of the Soviet Union until Russia's present actions in the Ukraine. They have spent this period deciding what they are and (apparently) a decision has been made.

I think that it will only be a matter of days before they move in and annex the south-eastern half of the country, if not the entire nation. The moment that occurs, we will be living in a new world and the interregnum will end.

What shape the world will take after that can only be conjecture at this point. It's unlikely that they will be satisfied with their meal, but it will take time for them to digest it. The years to come will be spent by Europe in fortifying positions and nervously watching the giant wrestle with it's old possessions. Whether we (or they) will interfere with the process is yet to be seen, but the answer to that question will shape the coming century.

Really, I'm no more a fortune-teller than you, but you can feel the strings vibrating from half a world away.

"The King is dead! Long live the King!"

Or not.

The show is just starting.

The Contract

My beliefs about how to live life can be summarized using a few words:

Do no harm.

We are all familiar with this simplified summary of the Hippocratic Oath, but it means far more to me. I believe that every act of harm does violence, not only to the victim and the perpetrator, but to everyone else as well.

Do no harm.

Every child left hungry, every person struck by a loved one, every soldier left bleeding on the battlefield, every prisoner breathing his last in the chamber and every pet abandoned by it's owner diminishes the humanity of us all.

Do no harm.

Every person will immediately see possible additions or exceptions to this simple statement, but I see no need. It is up to each of us to make of it what we will.

Do no harm.

It is a journey with only one possible end: failure. I am imperfect, just as every other human being living on this whirligig spinning in space is. That doesn't mean that I shouldn't strive for perfection, even knowing that I will fail.

Do no harm.

I do not expect others to feel as I do. For me, this is a contract that I make with myself, no one else. I do, however, hope that more people will make similar contracts with themselves. Many already have.

Do no harm.

I have only to see gentle humor in the eyes of Gandhi or the Dalai Lama or the solemn determination in Dr. King's face to know that I am doing the right thing. If one must be said to have a religion, then this is mine.

Do no harm.

I believe that, one day, exceptions to this will be unthinkable. Until that day, I will work as hard as I can to abide by my contract and to do no harm. Maybe even laugh now and again.

The Market of Responsibility

If you ask people what the hallmarks of American society are, the two most common answers are 'Freedom' and 'Personal Responsibility'.

Together, they seem to state that we are free to take care of ourselves. There is a problem with this. A society is obviously more than individuals. It is a web of connectiveness. Of obligations and responsibilities not only to ourselves, but to those about us.

Yes, obligations and responsibilities.

The most common tool used to meet these is money. So, in a way, we could view a dollar as a tangible mark of responsibility. A share, if you will, of the overall pool of what we owe to one another.

If you do look at it in this fashion, then our economy takes on a new profile. We are not all just trying to get ahead, but are instead competing for responsibility. Every dollar that you earn adds to your share. Make just a little money and you have enough responsibility to see to your own welfare. Make a little more and the welfare of your family is in your hands. Even more and the community becomes your responsibility.

Now, all too often, responsibility and authority become confused. This responsibility is not to command, but to support. To increase to liberty of your fellow human beings, not limit it. Providing freedom from want, freedom from pain and the ability to take on a greater share of the overall responsibility themselves.

So, if we have to live in a society where money is the mark of success, then perhaps we could add a bit more humanity to the mix simply by changing how we view that mark. We could see it as more than a symbol of what we have and more as a symbol of what we owe.

Our country and our world might be better for it.

The American Arena

Now that another Saturday has come and gone, I would like to point out, once again, the pure idiocy and barbarity of watching young men do themselves serious long-term damage for our entertainment.

There is no longer any doubt that playing football causes brain damage that will negatively impact them for the rest of their lives.

These young men are supposed to be in school to improve their brains, not damage them.

This will continue, unabated, until we decide that it has to stop.

Stop watching.
Stop participating.
Stop putting your own children into the arena.

Put an end to high school and college football.

The Lethargy of Darwin

Here's a surprise: Human beings aren't perfect.

In fact, we're pretty messed up. It's not really our fault, evolution is a messy business. We're supremely well equipped for life on the savannah, not so much for Wall Street. Eyes that evolved for limitless horizons fail after staring all day at a screen eighteen inches away. Hearts meant to support a running hunter collapse in a sedentary office worker.

We are just not built for this modern world that we have created.

Many people believe that we should change our way of life to better fit our physical needs. Reduce our intake of sugars and meat, exercise more and so forth.  We can certainly do so, to a degree, but our lives demand more than our physiology is prepared to give. These efforts are little more than stop gaps. Very much needed stop gaps.

One day we will be able to adapt ourselves in much more fundamental ways, but that day isn't here yet.

Right now, human cloning and genetic modification are illegal across most of the planet, with good reason. Our methodologies are so crude that using them would most certainly be immoral and unethical. This, however will not be the case for long.

The time is rapidly approaching when we will not only be adept at genetic engineering, but be hard pressed to find reasons not to make use of those skills. Like I said, we are a truly messed up species, not only physically, but mentally as well. Our instincts are no more suited to modern life than our bodies are. Fight or flight made sense ten thousand years ago, but today it leads to tragedy more often than salvation. Our thought processes are crude and mostly run under the surface, giving us little control over them.

The rate of change in our societies and technologies are outstripping nature's biological coping strategies. If we hope to survive in the long term, we will have take control of our own destinies. That means removing chance from the slow, slow mechanisms of evolution.

This WILL happen somewhere, sometime. Whether you like the idea or not means absolutely nothing. Once the process begins, there will be no stopping it. Wars may be fought, millions may die, but it will continue. We will have to decide what side of the argument we will be on. Will we stand with the past or the future?

As a man will bad eyes, bad knees, a bad heart and an addictive personality, I know where I stand.

The saying goes, "Evolve or die." Well, Darwin is just too damned slow. It's our turn. Soon.

Ode to a Hairy Face

Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm here today to inform you of a little known fact.

I have a beard.

It's long, somewhat ill kept and has more than a little gray in it. It also happens to be one of my favorite things.

Now there are many reasons that I have a beard. It's manly, all human males above the age of fifteen are SUPPOSED to have hair on their faces, it's silky soft and it keeps my meals off of my ever expanding tummy, but the number one reason is that it just keeps growing there.

I hack it back every six moths or so, but otherwise leave it be.

Oh, and I'm lazy and shaving sucks.

To all you ladies who shave 60% of your bodies every day, I have only one thing to say: you are completely nuts.

A hairy face in winter.
Keep your scarf.
I am all warm and toasty.