I read quite a bit around the internet, but especially on Slashdot. I’ve always found many posts insightful or just funny so I figured I would share with everyone else some of my thoughts or someone else’s thoughts on various subjects posted around the net. I guess you could call this a quote roundup.

Today on Slashdot I was browsing through the comments relating to, “Security Threat In the New Wiretapping Law“. The article gives the inference that because governments are sloppily implementing secret monitoring of internet and phone traffic, people are going to be able to exploit these monitoring systems and wage denial of service (DoS) attacks against the very system that was implemented to “protect” the people.

Besides the sheer irony of a system being put in place to protect but then is used to cause chaos, there are some real implications of privacy invasion. Privacy is one of the very basic needs of each person that is not discussed in polite company very often. Many would welcome the monitoring in order to guarantee safety, however this methodology is severely flawed. By welcoming extra intrusion into your life, such as allowing lawmakers to go unchecked with warrantless wiretapping, you are inviting another human to make judgment on your actions without them seeing anything but data. Just think, if your friend was addicted to an illegal substance and you felt that you wanted to understand more about the substance what better place to find information than the internet? Your query goes shooting over the tubes, perhaps through AT&T systems, where a NSA sniffer (that is tech speak for NSA program that records every single thing that goes over that connection, including web address, who you are, what you typed in) records the information for future data mining. This information is interesting to the government, perhaps it is red flagged as potentially dangerous, because one of the sites you hit also contained information about bomb making. Narcotics and bomb making could potentially put you in a sticky situation later on. What if searching put you on a “watch list”? What if your future employers used a system of background checks that flagged you as bad due to this watch list? All because you were concerned for a friend. This may sound extreme however it already happens with airline do-not-fly lists. You cannot find out how you got on the list; you cannot find out if you are on the list. Oh but you’ll find out as soon as they come after you.

Enough of my paranoid rambling. This is a serious thought. People do stupid things, everyone does, however if we are not able to have a second chance, a time for forgiveness, a time when your past actions are disregarded for your present actions, then everyone is guilty of doing something wrong immediately. What if the government fined you for every time you went over the speed limit? What if the government fined you for every time you listened to some music that was illegally acquired? This may be acceptable to some but consider that instead of a fine, they incarcerate you without notification of your family. Without the ability to call a lawyer. Sounds more like Saddam Hussein’s Iraq than America, however our government is already doing this in Guantanamo Bay. We are slowly edging towards an unforgiving society where no one is allowed a mistake. My fellow people, if you have never made a mistake in your life than this is perfectly suited for you. However, I would indulge that you are not any more perfect than I am and sometimes your actions are only understood by yourself.

America is a place where the rules apply to everyone. This makes things fair. When the government starts casting nets for information, they will catch the information they are seeking. Will it be in proper context? Probably not. Further, does this net apply to everyone? Again, probably not. So the real question that remains, is who is really breaking the law? I leave you all with this post from rtb61:

If they have nothing to hide, why is it secret wire tapping and secret warrants.

If they have nothing to hide, why isn’t every communication between lobbyists and politicians recorded and publicly declared.

If they have nothing to hide, why is not the activity of every law enforcement officer recorded whilst they are on duty, rather than a taser to torture why not a video camera to record.

If they have nothing to hide, why secret no fly lists.

Let’s all of us give up our secrets and privacy at the same time or maybe lets start with the people who are in such a hurry to take our privacy whilst keeping their own dirty secrets, which will be the most interesting, our little white lies, or the massive whoppers of the corrupt corporate executives, the typical lying politician, the abusive power freak law enforcement officer, and of course the biggest liars of all lobbyists.

I added the little ClustrMaps feature which basically traces your IP address to a location (semi-accurate I would figure) and then plots it onto this world map at the bottom of the sidebar over here. This should be a fun little tool. Either way, looking at my traffic for the first day you can extract some interesting information about my webpage. First, it seems that I am not getting very much traffic. Ah. It is so relaxing to have such an exciting blog. Where was I now? Oh yea, second, I believe that in fact two people have look at this site today. One was myself and the other seems to be someone from India. Don’t get my wrong here, I am sure my content could in fact attract an Indian viewer, however it is much more likely that instead it was simply the spam bots traversing the finer strands of the internet looking for another blog to riddle with the usual advertisements we’d all rather not see.

Again, a review of my traffic is below:

Oh well. I hope they enjoy it as much as anyone else does.

It is a miracle people! The great original in slam grass Leftover Salmon is back for some festivals this year. Playing at both High Sierra Music Festival and All Good 2007, these guys are looking to jam for us all. Here are the dates:

High Sierra Music Festival
July 7 - 8, 2007
Quincy, CA

All Good Music Festival
July 15, 2007
Masontown, WV

A little sentimental touch… I haven’t seen Leftover since I went to my very first music concert back in 1996, Charlotte, NC for Widespread Panic. Leftover opened and played during the set break for the Spread. Quite a gap I have had; not seeing them in over 10 years! Anyway, perhaps this will motivate me to hit the Sierras for once. Why not travel all the way across the county to see them once, only to travel back across the country to see them again?

Please remember Larry Keel is coming to Starr Hill this Thursday and you can see some more kickin’ slam grass.

oh yeah, Joe? you had a few predictions and resolutions, did you? well i had a few myself, and they are these:

to continue to try and to manage more and more responsibilities at work and at home. this includes the art thing. balance is key and something i’m trying to achieve without it overwhelming/frustrating me. what can i say? i can be lazy.

to be a better counselor at the group home that i work for.

to not worry so much and to enjoy things more.

and finally, to create more live paintings this year than i ever have prior. so, with that in mind, Friday night was a nice little kick off to the year at Frankfest. check out my blog for specifics if you’re interested…here’s the painting in the meantime, lovelies.

Happy New Year everyone. Yes, the blog has been neglected for some time, but please do not interpret that as me not caring. Remember, I pay for this shiz so obviously I am going to use it. I try not to do sappy goals, but I believe last year I resolved to see more music than I had ever before and it happened. I will do a yearly round up soon. Again, let’s keep resolutions realistic:

1. Tape more music. I saw a lot and could have taped more… well not much more but still.
2. Challenge my mind. I want to read more and expand my horizons some. This can include sports, friends and just acquiring new skills.
3. Be a better person. This involves being patient and understanding for everyone. I want to respect my sisters and brothers the best I can and hope for the same.
4. Keep on being me and being free.

5.23423424234234. Yes it is decimal because we know it probably won’t happen but I want to do a blog post every week. Perhaps some poetry too.

I owe you all a lot of pictures and sketchy videos. They will be delivered.

Peace out you all and have a great year.

Joe’s Predictions:

2007 will suck more than 2006. I am sorry but I think it will happen. We’ll have a good run with the democrats controlling congress and the senate, however ‘ole Dub-ya will veto the crap out of stuff. He doesn’t seem to be on the side of the people. We will see a growth of people wanting the general good for the earth, however corruption will play a key part in the downfall of some great parts. Open source will spur the private sector to invest greatly into the future.

2008 will bring the end of the darker times. The Middle East will be a disaster however, in that wake people will gain a common appreciation for each other.

2009 has gains in the technological field including unfathomable processing capacity along with the advent of a more flexible programming language that makes software easier and less prone to bugs. This will be supported by an open source movement.

2010 will bring the end to storage problems for personal data.

2011 all information will finally be free.

2012. We’ll see what happens at the end of the Mayan calendar. The human capacity to acknowledge and consume information will become infinitely more accessible, giving rise to unlimited knowledge.

People will recognize that we are connected in many more ways that what appears. Thoughts and ideas will be more easily shared.