Fidelacchius, Esperacchius, Amoracchius.

Archive for March 27th, 2008

Some of you may be aware of a battle for the internet that is being waged in the Political arena, some of you may not, but the common name for it is “Net Neutrality”. Many people have heard of it, but most people I talk to don’t understand what it is or how it will change the face of the internet for the future. I’ve posted this very informative video which lays out why Net Neutrality is so important.

The basic idea is that your Major Telecom companies (AT&T, Southern Bell, Verizon, etc…) claim that since the internet runs over their cables, they should have the right to control access. This isn’t just content filtering, they basically want to turn the internet into a Cable TV type system. We pay for access(via AOL, Earthlink, or whoever your provider is), then you pay for Layers of access(like local TV, basic Cable, sports channels, movie channels, etc…) and they keep the profits. Can you imagine having to pay extra to get customer support for your computer, because your computers manufacturer is on a different “level” of the internet. It’s outrageous. The telecom companies had nothing to do with the creation of the internet, the browser, or most any other component used in modern day web browsing. It is also a threat to those who currently maintain their own content either personally or through a 3rd-party company (People wanting to read your blogspot blog might have to pay more just to access blogspot.com). Some of it is unclear, and both sides have been spreading their own FUD(Fear, Uncertainty, & Doubt). But it’s not hard to make the leap from Commercialized Print and Radio to a Commercialized Internet. Watch the Clip and leave a comment.

As I’ve said before my parents were great for my childhood education. I learned alot about the ocean in a few trips across the road to the Persian gulf. I learned cooking from my parents. I got a pocketknife and loved playing with it. What do all these things have in common??? Adventure is a great precursor to knowledge, especially since it requires getting down and dirty. This is another talk from TED that really resonated with me. I loved exploring even in my own kitchen (My parents kitchen). I want my kids to have this too, and I think they do…

Please watch and let me know what your impressions are…
YouTube works better, but here is the original TED Link: Gever Tulley – 5 Dangerous things you should let your child do.

Kevin Steele

I saw this video on TED.com right after the birth of Joseph. Michael has been having a rough year in kindergarten, and though his scholastic grades are top notch, his social grades have been less than stellar. This talk gave me a perspective of him that was brilliant. Kaylene and I have seen the ways which Michael is amazingly perceptive, creative, colorful, adaptable, and adorable; but hearing this perspective helped me understand how important that is. I’ve felt for a long time that my home schooling was a major contributer to my social ineptness in Middle School and much of High school. I do not however regret being homeschooled. My parents were both wonderful teachers and my mom came up with hundreds of different ways to educate and inspire me. I think I was able to keep my creativity a lot longer than others I went to school with, I just hadn’t realized it. Mom and Dad, Mom especially, thanks for all that time you spent.

Please watch and let me know what your impressions are…
YouTube works better, but here is the original TED Link: TED Talks – Ken Robinson

Kevin Steele

Lots of work to do on this site.  I’m going to start maintaining my own site.  Just to voice myself and let Kaylene be the voice of the family.  I don’t think I’ll be anywhere as active as Kaylene, but I’ll keep stuff up to date.  My first action is to take the Video’s off of the family site since they seem to be one of the items I like to manage.

Enjoy.