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This NSA thing is old news

Can’t believe I forgot about this! I watched this story with great interest in the wayback. This started in 2003 and was publicly outed in 2006:

"the NSA built a special room to receive data streamed through an AT&T Internet room containing “peering links,” or major connections to other telecom providers. The largest of the links delivered 2.5 gigabits of data — the equivalent of one-quarter of the Encyclopedia Britannica’s text — per second,"

[Source, The Washington Post, A Story of Surveillance]

Google "Room 641A" for more information.

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Wired claims Google Reader killed because RSS delivers news old school

Wired makes a good point in this article but they write from a newscentric view…it reads like someone in "the industry" writing about "the industry" and screams that Wired has lost touch with the non-industry Internet user who doesn’t view everything as news. I blog. Is that news? In essence yes but you don’t need one of my blog posts flashing across your breaking news app. I write stuff that, according to my stats, people read three months after I write it. My flickr rss feed? Not news. But it is news. Yes, we could lump all media into news but that’s not really what Wired is talking about. Wired is claiming that as content is produced (they call content news) that people want it immediately. Frankly, that’s the Facebook model. And the Facebook model irritates me to no end. I miss things. Granted, there are not enough minutes in the day for me to consume everything but with an RSS reader I can selectively choose what I skip. Wired’s approach would deem that because I was in meetings in the morning, content that was published in the morning is not relevant to me.

Back in 2007 I would tell my clients that people come to the Internet for three things:

  1. Information
  2. Utility
  3. Entertainment

[Source, RealityMe, Why do people web?

I contend people go to the Internet in that order but you can go back to 2007 for that explanation. Getting back to Wired’s article, my point is that even as a very connected person, most of my day is not spent consuming media. I spend my day doing my job. Once home, I want to catch up on things. I peruse the content I enjoy on the Internet which might be an audioboo by Christian Payne, or a podcast by Jason Jarrett, or an insight from Cathy McCaughan. I don’t need it shoved at me as it happens and if that is why Google killed Reader, they made a poor decision.

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State of Me

There is an inexplicable weight to me today…a sadness out of nowhere for no reason. Perhaps this is a side affect of skipping my blood pressure medicine for the second day in a row. Perhaps this is a result of setting the bar too high for the weekend and my subconscious is lamenting the "failed" tasks. I believe weekends should be relaxing and recuperative but too often I pressure myself with unachievable mental todo lists which steal from the relaxing times. That doesn’t really fit the bill for this weekend. This weekend was relaxing and fantastic! Perhaps its my staticy headphones and poor music choices today. Perhaps I need a win. Micromilestones to the rescue!

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Happy Mother’s Day!

In particular, I want to thank the love of my life, Cathy, for being such an awesome mother to our children! Additionally, I am so lucky to have been raised by a great, caring mother who made me a priority. I am fortunate to have a fantastic mother-in-law in our children lives. And I have a wonder grandmother who never misses a birthday. There have been so many other mother figures and mothers in my life and my children’s lives that I would have to type all day simply to recognize them all.

Happy Mother’s Day! This goes out to all. Mothers come in all forms, with or without child, regardless of gender, you are there for us!

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Help Me Internet, You’re Our Only Hope

American Seating Envoy DeskAn American Seating Envoy school desk sits in our dining room. Our children used to study here. As an authentic school desk, it had seen its fair amount of usage. Years of students leaning on the desk stressed the weld and bent the support. As Cathy refinished the wood and re-painted the metal, I searched for someone to straighten or replace the support and spot weld the broken joint. A friend stepped up, and offered to handle it for me. American Seating Co. Envoy desk from Grand Rapids, MichiganAnd then I never saw the desktop again…

His job changed. He quit coming to the coffee house where we shared more conversations. Then he quit answering my calls and text messages. 17I suspect that the desktop is history. So I turn to you, the people of the Internet!

Can you help me find a replacement desktop for an American Seating Co. Envoy desk from Grand Rapids, Michigan. I do not know the year of manufacture. The only identifying mark beside the manufacturer stamp is the number 17 stamped on the back. Do you know this desk? Do you have a resource to help me replace the top? Thank you Internet!