Moving Day -- PLEASE NOTE!
15 years ago
TTDT - Teach Your ISP How To Sew Up Its Market Share
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Stay with me here -- This is a follow-up to my post on July 5th about net neutrality
If you don't understand what a TTDT is -- read HERE.
I was going to give myself (and you) a break and simply post a "Holy Grail" video, but there are only 3 days left before FCC comments close, and I got all, you know, activist, and shit . . . .
Portly Things to Do Today Option #1:
Comments to the FCC on net neutrality close this Friday, the 13th (Isn't that a great date? In my witchy little heart, I decree it lucky for net neutrality, unlucky for those who oppose it.). If you haven't done so already --
Go to www.savetheinternet.com and post your comments to the FCC about why you believe that net neutrality must be preserved.
Portly Things To Do Today Option #2:
Write a letter -- yes, a real letter (and send an email) to your ISP, telling them how they can secure their future market share (read below) by becoming the first ISP to declare that they will insure net neutrality for their customers -- I've included links to corporate info about various high-speed ISPs at the bottom of this post -- if none of these is yours, go to Hoover Profiles at Answers.com to find your ISP's corporate address and info -- and here's a template, based on the letter that I sent my ISP:
========================
Dear [ISP CEO]
I've used your ISP services for the last [insert # of years]. I would like to continue using the service that I currently purchase from you, but I have concerns about net neutrality, and whether your company will make a commitment to my rights as a customer.
I purchase service from you so that I can enjoy the wide range of content currently available on the internet. I do not want you to decide for me what I can download quickly, by implementing for-pay "fast lanes" that would prevent me from having equal access to the sites I want to see.
I urge you to take an evolutionary step -- to become the first ISP in the nation to adopt a policy insuring that consumers will be able to access what they want, when they want it, at the connection speed that they are paying for. I believe that there are thousands of internet users who would prefer your service if you provided such an assurance.
I currently have [number of different] high-speed ISP options available in my area. In the future, I will choose my Internet Service Provider based on which provider assures my full access to the entire internet. I will be sending this letter to my friends and business contacts and encouraging them to make their ISP choices based on which company makes a real and tangible commitment (via written policies) to the concept which is now commonly referred to as "net neutrality".
I believe that the first company that makes such a commitment will obtain a substantial lead in costumer loyalty and brand reputation.
This is a claim that I think any ISP could crow about proudly "Our Service -- Your Choice".
If any ISP in my area takes action to assure net neutrality, I will move my service to them immediately, even if it means paying more money. I want to know that my ISP is dedicated to bringing me the freedom of expression and choice that I want in my internet experience.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
============================
Feel free to copy and paste to your heart's delight, and if you choose to write something different, remember this salient point:
- The first ISP that commits to net neutrality in a "real" way (written policies, public announcement) will, I believe, obtain a huge customer base. It won't matter if other companies "pile on" -- they will still be able to say "We were the first. Aren't we great?"
Millenium Digital Media Chairman and Chief Strategic Officer: Kelvin R. Westbrook President and CEO: William J. (Bill) Shreffler SVP and Chief Marketing Officer: Rudy Tober Millennium Digital Media 120 S. Central Ave., Ste. 150 Clayton, MO 63105 MO Tel. 314-802-2400 Fax 314-802-2300
Comcast
Chairman and CEO: Brian L. Roberts
EVP and COO; President, Comcast
Cable: Stephen B. (Steve) Burke
EVP, Co-CFO, and Treasurer: John R. Alchin
Comcast Corporation
1500 Market St.
Philadelphia, PA 19102-2148
PA Tel. 215-665-1700
Fax 215-981-7790
DirectTV
Chairman: K. Rupert Murdoch
President, CEO, and Director: Chase Carey
EVP and CFO: Michael W. Palkovic
The DIRECTV Group, Inc.
2230 East Imperial Hwy.
El Segundo, CA 90245
CA Tel. 310-964-5000
Fax 310-535-5225
Time Warner Cable
Chairman: Don Logan
President, CEO, and Director: Glenn A. Britt
COO: Landel C. Hobbs
Time Warner Cable Inc.
290 Harbor Dr.
Stamford, CT 06902-7441
CT Tel. 203-328-0600
Fax 203-328-0690
QWEST
Chairman and CEO: Richard C. (Dick) Notebaert
EVP Operations: Barry K. Allen
EVP Mass Markets Group: Paula Kruger
Qwest Communications International Inc.
1801 California St.
Denver, CO 80202
CO Tel. 303-992-1400
Toll Free 800-899-7780
Fax 303-992-1724
AT&T
Chairman and CEO: Randall L. Stephenson
SEVP and CFO: Richard G. (Rick) Lindner
SEVP Executive Operations: James W. (Jim) Callaway
AT&T Inc.
175 E. Houston
San Antonio, TX 78205-2233
TX Tel. 210-821-4105
Fax 210-351-2071
VERIZON
Chairman and CEO: Ivan G. Seidenberg
President and COO: Dennis F. (Denny) Strigl
EVP and CFO: Doreen A. Toben
Verizon Communications Inc.
140 West St.
New York, NY 10007
NY Tel. 212-395-1000
Toll Free 800-621-9900
Fax 212-571-1897
Note for those who have taken the 30-day Angst-Loss Challenge. Performing both options DOES increase your cred.
Carry On.
Posted byPortlyDyke at 1:10 PM 2 comments
Labels: angst-Loss, Politics, Progressives, Teh Internet
Fatty-fying
Monday, July 9, 2007
I read a post over at Petulant Ramblings yesterday, about HP's new "Slimming" technology.
I found this rather (painfully) funny, as just days before, I had gone to some trouble to:
"Fattify" this woman . . . .
Into this woman.
I thought it was pretty hideously hilarious that I spent some significant time in Photoshop HELLp to achieve the above effect, when HP would gladly spend time, resources, and programming hours to help me reverse it with the mere click of a button!
For those of you who have taken the Angst-Loss Challenge -- this is not actually a TTDT -- (It's completely optional, and neglecting/refusing to do this does not constitute a breach of your 30-day challenge) -- but if you've a mind to - contact Hewlett Packard and request a "fattening" feature that is just as easy to use as their "slimming" effect, so that you can help your friends out when they look too anorexic in your photos.
(The really crushing irony is that the woman in the graphic above at left would still be considered "fat" in our society.)
Posted byPortlyDyke at 8:45 AM 5 comments
Labels: angst-Loss, Body Acceptance, Fat
Take the 30-Day Angst-Loss Challenge
Sunday, July 8, 2007
I've actually been thinking about this for a while. I love reading blogs. I have, in the past, daily gotten my panties in a wad, unwad-ed them, read again, wad-ed again.
And . . . .
I have profound questions about what is actually accomplished by all these knotted knickers. I want to be informed, but I don't want to just piss and moan.
It's fun, I admit it -- to commiserate with cronies, work myself into a righteous wrath, allow my wit-demons to take over . . . . . but what does that actually change?
So, I invite you to join me in "The Portly Dyke 30-Day Angst-Loss Challenge".
For the next 30 days, I'm not going to post (or comment) about anything, unless I also take some form of action on the issue that has got my undies in a bunch.
If I post here, and I'm complaining/bitching/moaning/pissing/ranting, I will include a link at the bottom of the post which leads to an action that I will, myself, have already taken (writing congress, donating money to a cause, etc), and I will encourage those who join me in the 30-Day challenge to take this action, too, or to report, in comments, another action that they have taken.
If I post here, and I'm celebrating/loving-up/rejoicing over something (a video I loved, a post that changed my mind, etc.), I will include a link at the bottom of the post which leads to an action that I will, myself, have already taken (sending an email of congratulations/appreciation, donating money to a cause, etc), and I will encourage those who join me in the 30-Day challenge to take this action, too, or to report, in comments, another action that they have taken.
My suggested actions will (nearly always) be tangible and direct. They will (nearly always) NOT be ambiguous suggestions like: "Love someone today!". My goal is to suggest real actions that require 15 minutes or less of the reader's time to complete. I pledge to help out by doing research that leads people to links that are swift, sure, and effective.
In future, such post titles will probably begin with, or include, the acronym "TTDT" (Things To Do Today). Any posts I create that are simple personal musings/revelations will probably not include this acronym.
I'm just so sick of complaint, and pissing, and moaning (especially my own). Sure, it's fun for a while, but it tends to leave me feeling hollowed out and empty, like bad porn.
I really do believe in the power of collective consciousness. I believe that, if we use our voices, words, and energy for change, change will occur.
I refuse to succumb to the whining passivity of victimhood. If the shit hits the fan, I want to know that I did everything that I could to move the fan, compost the shit, and raise my awareness of the power inherent in my own Being-ness.
Step One in joining me is this:
Post a comment here stating that you accept "Portly Dyke's 30-Day Angst-Loss Challenge".
Step Two:
Bitch, rant, piss and moan away -- AND take a direct action on the thing that's chapped your ass.
Today's TTDT?
Accept this Challenge.
That is all.
Posted byPortlyDyke at 1:00 PM 10 comments
Labels: angst-Loss, Politics, Progressives
My First Real Rant
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Today, while reading comments in a thread about Peggy Noonan's helpfulness to little brown people, I stumbled upon this little gem:
"I am a lifelong Democrat who is sick and tired of people trying to make
me feel that I OWE illegals something because their ILLEGAl presence should make me feel SOOOOOOOOOO fortunate that I am an American.
YOU want illegals here, YOU pay for them. Sponsor a family, smartass, and see where you end up. I no longer give to food banks, churches, fund drives that help illegals. I now spend my money on my relatives, especiallly the young families, by buying them groceries. I think God will smile on my 10% tithe going to my family.
If Americans wise up, we can make it VERY hard for illegals to drain our medical, social, and moral resources."
Wow. Just . . . wow.
I responded with a comment, but the comment box was simply too short for me to speak my piece. So here's everything I wanted to say:
Dear Jan -- Are you native american? If not, where did your family come from, and when?
My great-great-grandfather immigrated from Sweden in the 1800s, and when he got here, he was helped by a number of government, church, and social programs -- not the least of which was the Homestead Act of 1862, without which, he would never have been able to own property upon which to farm.
He didn't speak English when he arrived. He barely spoke English when he died. Also true of my great-grandfather, but he was born here, so no prob, eh?
US Naturalization had no English requirement until 1906, and the length of residency required was 5 years -- for everyone. No one had to get a "green card" to establish this residency in the US at the time he arrived.
Language barriers are the primary reason given, by people who otherwise qualify for citizenship, when asked why they don't apply. (There are exceptions to this requirement for those over 50, or who are deaf or other-wise disabled).
I'm guessing you were born here. In which case, you didn't have to file (and pay) for a green card, wade through piles of forms and waiting periods, or actually take an oath to "uphold the Constitution" (which immigrants are required to do), in order to enjoy the rights of US citizenship.
Cost for a green card triples at the end of this month, to $930.00 USD -- cost for citizenship application nearly doubles -- to $595.00 USD on July 30, 2007.
So, if you've ever gotten all weepy at the statue of liberty, while reading: "Give me your tired, your poor . . . " and thought of your own ancestors, you might want to re-think your definition of "illegals".
When we make legal citizenship so expensive, so arbitrary, and so difficult for those who want to come to this county, it's no small wonder that there are so many "illegals" (as you call them).
Cost of filing for citizenship (please note: this doesn't assure you of citizenship) -- $1,525.00 as of July 30, 2007, once you add up the required green card and citizenship applications. Plus the cost of finger-printing, etc.. -- Oh, and you get to pay $19.95 just to download the application online. And the study guide for the Citizenship test is $59.95. (Unless you're really persistent, and look beyond the initial Google result -- past the commercial venture that is making money off this, and can wade through all the links to find the "free" form at the actual government site.) But hey, you can get them both together for just $79.95!
Average time to process a naturalization request -- 2 years (after you have fulfilled the 5 year residency requirement -- just 3 year residency requirement if you've married a US citizen ! What a deal!). Oh . . . unless you're unlucky and have the wrong name, in which case, it might be 5 years after you apply for naturalization.
So, I fear that I'm going to "make you" even more sick and tired, Jan, by suggesting that you are, indeed, very fortunate to have been born here. I don't think that you "owe" anyone anything (unless you agreed to incur the debt). I do think that, if your ancestors benefited from an open immigration process, and a concept of equality for all in that process, and if you, and your family, have benefited from these processes, that your expressed attitudes are rather hypocritical.
You have been automatically endowed, by virtue of the location of your birth, and the nationality of your parents, rights that other people have died to defend, and died in the hope of obtaining. You didn't have to pay money, learn another language, take a test, be sequestered from traveling to visit your loved ones, or take an oath to defend the Constitution. You simply had to be born.
I despise the attitude "Well, I've got mine -- everyone else can fuck off!" I despise it in corporations, political figures, social groups, and individuals.
I consider it, dare I say -- Un-American.
And now, in interest of something I've been thinking about, I'm going to take an action on everything that I bitch about, and send a letter to the INS about high fees and inefficient processes.
Posted byPortlyDyke at 3:02 PM 8 comments
Labels: Immigration, Politics, Privilege, Racism, Xenophobia
In the Incubator
Friday, July 6, 2007
I am going to be "ITC" (in the Incubator) tonight. I have what I think is a really good idea cooking, and it needs just a few more hours to get nice and warm and yeasty. Check back tomorrow and see if my genius is flowering, or if I'm just being a lazy bitch waiting for the virtual pub to open at Shakesville.
Posted byPortlyDyke at 4:07 PM 0 comments
Labels: Blogging
Information is Power -- Don't Just Sit There
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Fucking DO something!
Net Neutrality. Universal Internet Access.
You may think these words don't concern you -- but I Urge you ---Do something!
On July 13th, the FCC will close comments from the public on the issue of net neutrality. Please take a moment to visit www.savetheinternet.com and submit your comments to the FCC about why you want to see net neutrality preserved. Your voice is important.
I believe that Net Neutrality may be the single most important issue on the our cultural plate at the moment. Yes, there are wars, and famine, and lots of -isms that need confronting -- I encourage you to take action on those things as well -- but if you are reading this, or other political/social/cultural blogs, news, and online content that helps you to understand and keep informed about those issues, you are doing so through the internet.
If you don't understand all the fuss about net neutrality and universal internet access, get educated.
Maybe you might want to start with something like this:
Broadband Reality Check (from savetheinternet.com)
So what’s the real skinny?
- There is no competitive marketplace for Internet access in the United States. More than 95 percent of residential high-speed lines are owned by telephone and cable companies. That is a rigid duopoly by any standard. (Source: FCC)
- The result of duopoly control is higher prices for slower connections to the Internet. Compared to citizens in other developed nations, Americans now pay 10 to 20 times as much for far slower Internet services than those offered by modern European and Asian countries. (Source: Broadband Reality Check II)
- A full 37 percent of ZIP codes have one or fewer choices of a wired broadband provider. (Source: FCC)
Do something. Do it right now. Don't just bitch about it, and then complain later that your bitter predictions have come true. Believe me, I think a 45MBps connection, and true access to everything on the internet is going to give you much greater satisfaction that all the moaning and righteous wrath you could ever muster.
The sites I've listed above have great suggestions on what to do, and make it very easy for you to do it.
Please do it. I have. It's not too late for you to comment, object, make your voice heard.
It will take you, like, fifteen minutes, max -- Do something.
Posted byPortlyDyke at 8:37 PM 2 comments
Labels: angst-Loss, Politics, Teh Internet, Video
I Love (The Idea Of) My Country
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Last night, I visited Phydeaux Speaks and watched the videos he posted for "Independence Day". Two clips from 1776, then a choral performance of "America the Beautiful".
I actually got all weepy as I listened to the choir.
In spite of being incredibly strange, a lesbian, fat, and "radical" (wev that means) in my political, spiritual, and social beliefs -- I'm also so fucking American that it hurts -- born and raised a Caucasian Lutheran, in a middle-class family, in the "bread basket of America".
I guess you could say that I am living proof that neither "nature" nor "nurture" are solid predicates for assuring consistent output in the product line of society.
I love the idea of a nation where certain basic principles are placed front and center, where the rule of law overrides purely personal prejudices, preferences, and pissing contests.
I adore the notion of a government that is based on the wacky idea that human beings (all human beings) possess an inalienable right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". These thoughts make me absolutely giddy.
I want to live in that country. I want to vote in its elections, and volunteer years of my life in service to its goals, and teach children about its merits. I want to stand up and sing along with others who are hymning its praises.
The problem is, I don't think I'm living in that country right now. I don't know if I have ever actually lived in that country.
When I think back to what the Fourth of July commemorates, I wonder if the Founding Fathers were really attempting to create the dream landscape that I want to make manifest, or whether they were just pissed off about a tea tax.
I suppose it doesn't matter. They were on the cusp of an evolution/revolution of ideas. They were attempting to depart from the countless "old ways" that they had observed, read about, and discussed -- to create something previously unconceived.
I think the greatest gift that each American could give their "nation" on this, its 231st birthday, would be to re-commit to that (r)evolutionary process.
I think that Hancock, Jefferson, Adams, etal -- jumped off some kind of cliff. I believe that at least some of them attempted to create a structure that could anchor itself in some type of profound truth, yet remain flexible enough to accommodate the inevitable shifts of culture.
I believe that we are still in the free-fall of their leap.
And if that's so, an anchor may be entirely the wrong metaphor. What we need is a kite, or a wing, or a flying suit -- something stable enough to help us negotiate the up/down-drafts and thermals at hand.
When I read the news, and the bitching about the news, I try to remember that "my" country is actually still young. The Roman Republic lasted 500 years before it morphed into the Roman Empire, which lasted another 500 years. (Not that I prefer either of those models.) I often think of the USA as a gawky teenager -- pushing its weight around, popping its zits, and trying to figure who/what it is.
I often wonder: Am I really an American? The idea of a one-world government that scares the be-jesus out of many people actually seems like a pretty good idea to me, if it were based on valuing all humans, animals, plants, rocks, water, etc., and the good 'ole Earth itself.
Then, just about the time I'm wondering this, I get all verklempt while listening to " . . . for purple mountain's majesty, above the fruited plain!!" Then I think: "I must be an American -- they have created a plain just for fruits like me."
So, Happy Birthday to the US of A. Today, I celebrate what I think you are capable of becoming.
Here's a copy of Working Out Conflicts: How to Keep Cool, Stay Safe, and Get Along; by Naomi Drew, a tube of Clearasil, and an ID card, just in case you forget who you are -- see right there? -- it has a line of that song I like so much, that you might have forgotten about:
- America! America! God mend thine ev'ry flaw;
- Confirm thy soul in self control, thy liberty in law!
Posted byPortlyDyke at 12:01 AM 2 comments
Labels: Politics
Still Very Much a Work In Progress
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Posted byPortlyDyke at 10:36 PM 2 comments
Labels: Beer
The Bless-ed Balm of Truth
Monday, July 2, 2007
I had this great post in my head last night, all about the wash of relief I experienced after reading some great posts over at Shakespeare's Sister on the rather transparent attempts by the MSM to continue the Campaign to Terrorize America, and how important it is that each of us resist these attempts.
Today, after reading the news about Scooter Libby's commutation, I almost got dismal enough to abandon hope and put my post aside.
However, I think that today's events only heighten my sense of how crucial this issue really is.
The constant hammering of the MSM's message that the world is a "dangerous" place, that our families are in peril every moment, and that the "others" (and they are legion, those "others" -- other races, other religions, other genders, other orientations) are out to get "our" stuff, "our" jobs, "our" nation, "our" values -- this barrage of crap is, in my opinion, simply designed to turn the viewer/reader/listener into a paranoid, dis-empowered, quivering mass of paralyzed inertia.
And I'm not buying it.
In my own life, I've worked with a number of strategies to handle "MSM Infections"
I've gone on hard-core "media fasts".
I've listened to/watched/read MSM, but only while I played "Death and Destruction Bingo" (a game where you make a hash-mark on your score card every time the announcer uses a word like "crisis", or "mayhem", or "tragedy", or "threat").
I invented Death and Destruction Bingo in 1999, while listening to a radio report about a plane crash in which there was no suspicion of a bombing. While reporting this, the newscaster managed to say the word "bomb" over 45 times in a five-minute report. Just so -- you know -- we wouldn't be worried that there was a bomb on the plane.
Capitalizing on "Bad News" is nothing new for mainstream newspapers, radio, or television news. However, in the "olden days", I was always told "Don't believe everything you read in the papers, kid."
Last summer, my Dad said to me "Well, you know we're already in World War III".
"Really?" I replied, "Where'd you hear that?"
"It was on the radio," he replied.
Wow. This from the guy who told me: "Don't believe everything you read in the papers, kid."
A spiritual teacher once pointed out to me that, although we are constantly told how much more violent, and awful, and horrible our world is today, if we looked back a mere 60 years and compared it at a purely logical level:
- 1942 -- World War II involved nearly every nation on the planet (only 8 nations were actually considered true "neutrals") -- Casualties conservatively were figured at 61 million people (probably more like 72 million), and the majority of people on the planet were actually feeling pretty consolidated about the idea that this war must be fought.
- 2002 -- According to Wikipedia, there are currently 29 ongoing armed conflicts going on in the world. War death-rates globally for the years 1998 - 2002 are estimated at 1.5 million according to the Human Security Report. And the majority of people on the planet are actually feeling pretty consolidated about the idea that war, in general, is a stupid fucking waste of resources and lives.
Actually, I encourage you to go and take a good long look at the Human Security Report. It's a refreshing view from someone other than the MSM -- to me, it's all about the reality of our evolution as a species.
Supposition: If humans were just vile, destructive, nasty creatures, and if our population had tripled since 1950, then wouldn't it stand to reason that our vileness, destructiveness, and nastiness would have grown exponentially as well?
You probably know by now that I am a pacifist and an advocate of non-violence. I think one tiny bit of war is too much -- I want the troops out of Iraq right now -- all of them. I don't post this to encourage you to become complacent, or accept the 1.5 million deaths that have occurred as an acceptable ratio just because it speaks to a possible proof of our collective spiritual evolution. I just wanted to provide another perspective here -- one that flies in the face of the attempts of the media machine to terrorize you.
I believe that the MSM would really love for you to believe that your neighbor is dangerous, your neighboring nation is dangerous, and that planet over there is dangerous. I believe that the MSM would really like you to believe that you are fucked no matter what you do -- that you are an insignificant, ineffective bit of flotsam floating on the tide of "circumstances beyond your control".
I don't believe it though. I want to encourage you not to believe it either. I agree with William Wolfrum -- it's time for America to deal with it's fear addiction.
My new motto: Fear -- Just Say No.
Posted byPortlyDyke at 7:42 PM 3 comments
Labels: Consciousness, Hope, Institutional Memory, Media Lies, No More Fear, Politics, Truth
Periodicity
Sunday, July 1, 2007
It's late Sunday night, I have a great post (in my head), and I need some cogitation time. So, I'm going to post tomorrow, rather than rushing my process.
That Is All.
Posted byPortlyDyke at 11:08 PM 1 comments
Labels: Blogging
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