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Comcast: Big Brother *and* Local Monopoly
Yesterday I got a letter in the mail from Comcast. I was surprised, because I’d just paid my most recent bill the day before. I opened the envelope and was created by the title of this letter, “Notice of Action under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.”
Comcast says they got notice from HBO that they found my IP address downloading an episode of “The Wire.” That’s true. It’s just one of the many things I download from the Internet. I download computer applications, music albums, movies, TV shows – you name it, I download it to my computer.
Anyway, as you can see in the above picture of the letter, they got my IP address, name of the file, size of the fil, and even the exact Torrent I was downloading. That’s probably because HBO uploaded a dummy torrent of S01E01 of the Wire to catch “pirates” downloading.
Forgetting the fact that I cancelled that torrent because it was downloading too slow (and that I went on to find a better torrent with the entire first season), Comcast can, quite frankly, suck my balls. They’re the only ISP bowing down to the almighty studios and sending out letters to Internet users via IP address.
Believe me, it’s not my choice to use Comcast. Comcast is virulently anti-union, and they overcharge for Internet to boot (I’m paying $50/month for JUST internet). If I could use RCN, I would; but unfortunately, the only ISP able to serve my building is Comcast.
Going further, Copyright is dead. It is extremely unclear a.) what HBO/TimeWarner hopes to accomplish by uploading dummy torrents to the Pirate Bay, and then identifying those few people who download them, and then send letters to ISPs, and then have those ISPs contact those downloaders. What, do they think that will stop people from downloading their shows. OK. Have fun with that. But b.) what the fuck does Comcast care? There is so much “illegal” activity going on from people using their Internet that it’s impossible to describe. Why do they want to cut off customers who happen to download dummy torrents? I’m going to use the Internet anyway, I’m going to keep paying for their overcharged service, so they should really just save some paper and stop with their petty threats.
I said as much (in <140 characters) to Comcast's Twitter representative, Frank @comcastcares. He replies that he understands my sentiment, which is nice. It doesn’t change the fact that Comcast is enabling HBO’s futile quest to stop a tsunami with an umbrella.
May 8, 07:56 PM / Comment [13]
Polaroids from New Mexico
I spent a week in New Mexico with Lisa and her family in March. While I was there, I took nearly 100 polaroids, using an automatic Polaroid 600 and a “manual” Polaroid Land 100 camera.
I finally uploaded my best photos to Flickr. Here’s a slideshow of my New Mexico polaroids.
Created with flickrSLiDR.
Want to Watch Dirt McGirt this Weekend?
Hey! I’m trying to go to NYC for the weekend but need someone to watch Dirt McGirt from Friday evening until Sunday morning. You would need to walk and feed her Friday evening, ideally twice but that’s not mandatory. Saturday, she’d need to go out for a walk in the morning, afternoon, and evening, and then once Sunday morning. Alternatively, you can host her at your house if you’re really down for dog-watching! (Especially good for anyone wondering about the wonders of dog ownership.)
She’s really great, but kind of a handful. It’d be a huge favor if you could watch her. If you’re on the fence, let’s talk about any type of compensation – cash, tequila, really anything – to push you over the fence and into the arms of Dirt McGirt, anxiously awaiting you to play with her. No, really, she’s pretty anxious about it.
Let me know – email me, IM me, comment, whatever.
Thank you!
My TweetCloud
I put together my TweetCloud to show the frequency of words with which I tweet. Not too surprising overall: action verbs of coming or going, Dirt McGirt, and Obama. And also, a bunch of “really,” “pretty,” “new,” and “need.” Those stuck out to me. Need some new qualifiers, I guess. You can interact with the live cloud, too.
Oh, also: I protected my updates on Twitter because some folks inside the Department of Labor have been following my tweets from their Outlook 2007 RSS reader, and landing on my website and on work websites I run. They’re likely not happy with this, so now you’ll have to find some other way to stalk me, suckaz.
Dirt McGirt the Monorail Dog
In case you ever thought about owning a dog, please watch this video. This is what every moment spent at home is like. I love this dog, but man. She really likes to play.
Mar 26, 04:06 PM / Comment [2]
All-in-one me
I put together my FriendFeed this morning. It’s pretty creepy, but if you for whatever reason want to see everything I do on the internet, it’s all here.
http://friendfeed.com/michaelwhitney
Me & Hill ;-)
I found this photo this morning. It’s from freshman year at AU when Hillary spoke for a Chris Van Hollen fundraiser.
Books I Acquired in the Laundry Room Last Night
» Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, Doris Kearns Goodwin (link)
» Crime and Punishment Fyodor Dostoyevsky (link)
» Diary: A Novel, Chuck Palahniuk (link)
» Fever Pitch, Nick Hornby (link)
» Comic Book Guy’s Guide to Pop Culture, The Simpsons (link)
All that, plus an unopened moleskine and a new diary.
Can you guess which book is on my coffee table, of all these finds?
Blabbering iMac Video #1
In which I discover I can talk to my computer.
Jan 26, 06:29 PM / Comment [1]
On Caucus Day, a Slightly Nostalgic Iowa 2004 Retrospective
Today is Caucus Day in Iowa, arguably the most inherently undemocratic way to start of the official election of the world’s beacon of democracy.
All that aside, I’m still slightly nostalgic for the three weeks I spent in Iowa in 2004 organizing students to caucus for Dean. To give some perspective on the timeline for 2004 versus 2008:
2004 Caucus date: January 19
2008 Caucus date: January 3
I only arrived in Iowa on December 31, 2003, and had three weeks to organize two colleges and four high schools to turn out for Dean. This year’s schedule is so crunched it’s a completely different ball game.
Anyway, to complete this nostalgia, here’s a slideshow of photos from my time in Iowa in 2004.
Polaroid Zen
For the last four months or so, I’ve been using an old Polaroid 660 as my only camera. My two-year-old digital camera can no longer focus, and I don’t want to pay for both 35mm film, processing, and putting the photos onto a CD. I’m also lazy and want instant gratification.
My goal with the Polaroids has been to capture scenes as I would with a normal camera, and let the nature of a Polaroid photo add its own thing to what I frame for the shot.
I just added what I think are my favorite Polaroids to date – and I have a 3” high stack of them on my desk. You can see them at my polaroid page.
It's finally happened: Canada invades United States
I’ve been home in Buffalo since Monday, and there is a disturbingly larger number of cars with Ontario or otherwise Canadian license plate. For the first time in a long while, the Canadian dollar is worth more than the US dollar. As of Saturday Nov 24, $1 US is worth only 98 cents in Canada, and so our northern neighbors continue to come in droves to our malls.
The Buffalo News investigated the invasion in its Black Friday coverage:
Sue Hazelwood of Brighton, Ont., led a posse of shoppers, which included two daughters, a daughter-in-law, and two granddaughters, through the Galleria. The seasoned, crossborder shopping gang drove 3z hours to Niagara Falls, N.Y., on Thursday. They got hotel rooms, rested briefly, then headed to the outlet mall just after midnight.By 6:30 a.m. they had begun their assault on the Galleria, armed with detailed lists and walkie-talkies to keep track of each other. [...]
Already a fan of stores like J.C. Penney and Disney, which don’t have outlets in Canada, she said the strong Canadian dollar — worth $1.01 U.S. on Friday — will keep her and her family members on this side of the border through Saturday.
Forget everything else about George W. Bush in his quest to become the Worst President Ever. Canada has invaded the United States to take advantage of the weakest dollar in 30 years, and they’re not leaving any time soon. Thanks, George.
I am now officially disenfranchised
I am officially a resident of the District of Columbia. Yesterday I turned in my New York State driver’s license for one from the District of Columbia, along with DC plates for my car. (Since September, I’ve been driving around with a single New Mexico plate that expired in February 2006.)
Thanks to the Motor Voter form, I also registered to vote in the District. Perfect timing, too: the mayoral election was last year, my Congressional representative cannot vote, no representation in the Senate, and in 2004, John Kerry won DC’s three electoral votes with 89% of the vote – so my vote in the District of Columbia won’t matter for a long time.
Oh yeah, I’m now an organ donor for the first time – I probably don’t have any use for anything after I’m dead.
ManPageant Wrap Up
I’m finally wrapping up what happened with last Saturday’s Glorious ManPageant Mustache Competition. As you can see in this photo, I think I did a pretty good job of dressing like Mike Ditka.
Unfortunately, I didn’t win anything but an honorary medal for participating. I did raise nearly $300 for Capital Queen for a Day, which I am very proud of! It was far more than I expected, and thank you to everyone who contributed to my mustache. Your support is much appreciated. You can see photos of the event here.
See the hot woman in the middle? That is Miss District of Columbia, and she emceed the event. And as she reminded the audience throughout the event, she’s dating Washington Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell. But that meant bad news for me in my Chicago Bears clothes – she booed me for the whole time I was on stage and repeated “Go Redskins, Boo Bears!”, as well as “I’m dating Jason Campbell.”
I was doomed from the beginning – I didn’t quite have a Mike Ditka performance down, I did a poor rap to the Super Bowl Shuffle, but notwithstanding all of that, Miss DC buried me.
It was a great time though, I’m glad I raised as much money as I did, and I’ll see if I do it again next year – I already have some ideas…
ManPageant Tomorrow, $85 Raised, Come to TomTom and Text Your Vote!
We are one day away from the Glorious ManPageant and Mustache Showdown. My mustache growth, while slow, is still significant and is now visible to the naked eye. I’ve raised $85 so far, which is awesome!
What I’d really love you all to do is to come to TomTom at 7pm on Saturday (tomorrow, Nov. 3) and cheer me on in the pageant. Remember, I’ll be dressed like Mike Ditka, and I’ll likely be intoxicated. It’s just $10 at the door, and don’t forget to say that you’re donating in my name (Michael Whitney, in case you didn’t realize whose site you’re on). You can read more in this Washington Post announcement about the event, and you can say you’re attending on Facebook. As I note below, there will be a text-message based vote, so don’t forget your cell phone!
I am up against some hairy competition. We were given the list of characters competing, and there are some impressive names. Check it out:
Earl Hickey (My Name Is Earl)
White Goodman (Dodgeball)
Mike Ditka (that’s me!)
Aunt Agnes (???)
Ron Burgundy (Big expectations here)
Milton Waddams (Office Space)
Lt. Dangle (Reno 911)
Ned Flanders (The Simpsons)
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (Iraqn)
Robert Goulet (potentially dangerous competitor)
Here’s what’s going to happen, according to the organizers:
you’ll have about a minute during the “parade of heroes” round to strut your stuff. We’ll play your theme music as you are introduced and your make your way into the crowd for the catwalk.During the Slapback round, you’ll come out one by one and lady friend of yours should come up form the audience to assist you with your skit that ends with a drink to the face. It should be quick (and amusing) 30 seconds….
We’ll take a break and add up scores. We’ll announce the Best Grower, Most Money Raised, and Mr Congeniality at this point…and announce the semifinalists who advance to final the round.
You’ll be pleased to know that we’ve added a nice new touch this year… a crowd voting system… Attendees can send a text vote for you live and on site and we’ll crown a CROWD FAVORITE winner this year.
So please, do come, and let me know if you have any questions!
An Open Letter to My Apartment Management
To the People Who Run My Building, but Especially the Cleaning Person:
Spraying Febreeze does not actually remove the rotting rat carcass from the front hallway closet.
Thanks,
Michael
My Mustache: 6 Days til the ManPageant, $50 Raised
We are six days away from Lip Hair Because We Care, a fundraising event to benefit a charity that works to improve the self-esteem of girls with cancer. I am growing a mustache to compete in The Glorious ManPageant on this coming Saturday, November 3 at 7:00pm. To recap, I’m trying to emulate Mike Ditka, and will compete against other mustachioed men dressed as their personal mustache heros.
The picture above is three weeks of mustache growth. Yes, that’s weeks, not days. Can’t see it? Click for a bigger photo. It’s under my nose. Yeah, right there. This is the most facial hair I’ve ever had, so I’m at a slight disadvantage compared to my noble opponents. But with your help, we can put together an impressive bundled donation to the charity.
As of today, I’ve raised $50 from 4 people. Thanks to you who have donated! For those who haven’t yet donated, listen closely. If you’re in DC this Saturday, come to Tom Tom at 7pm for drinks and debauchery and donate $10 at the door. If you can’t make it, can you consider giving $10 to benefit the charity? You can give me cash or a check in person, or you can donate online—don’t forget write to the email address on that page and say your donation is for my mustache.
Thanks for your support! Email me with any questions.
Oct 28, 03:16 PM / Comment [1]
I'm Growing a Mustache for Little Girls with Cancer
Update: See 3 weeks of growth
It’s really not like what it sounds.
I’m participating in DC Smashed’s 2nd Annual Lip Hair Because We Care Celebration.
I’m growing a mustache for 30 days, and I need you to sponsor my lip hair! All of the money sponsored goes to a great charity to raise the self-esteem and self-confidence of girls with cancer. So, read on! Think of it like a marathon, but way lazier, and for a better cause. You can make your donation via Google Checkout, or give me a check in person.
Here’s how it works.
Every contestant chooses his “Mustache Hero” to emulate for his own mustache growth. In my contest application, I had explained why I chose my mustache hero, and waxed on mustachio philosophy.
My mustache hero is Mike Ditka.
On November 3, everyone competes in The Glorious ManPageant at Tom Tom in Adams Morgan. There are several rounds:
Parade of Heroes: Each Contestant shall walk the catwalk fully costumed to best represent the glory of his ‘stache, and do his Mustache Hero proud.The Slapback: Each Contestant shall enlist the aid of one female friend to enact a scenario wherein the Hero has a drink (liquid of choice) tossed in his face to establish the quality of ‘stache when wet.
FOUR Contestants will advance to the Semi-Final Round for the dreaded Question and Answer Round. The FOUR Semi-Finalists will randomly draw a question and must answer when it’s posed by the Emcee.
I haven’t yet decided what liquid should be thrown at my stache – Schlitz, maybe?
Contestants can win in a number of categories:
Most Money Raised for the Charity Best 30-day Growth Best Costume Mr. Congeniality Mr. 2007 DC Sweet ‘Stache!
I am pretty confident in my costume, so I think I have a shot in a number of categories, pending actually growing a mustache.
And with your help, we can raise the most money for charity. So, give it a shot: donate today.
How I Broke into My Own Apartment
It’s Sunday. The Buffalo Bills are playing at 1:00, and I can watch it on TV in DC for the first time since 2003. So of course, I need to get some Canadian beer.
I took Dirt McGirt to the corner store to buy a 6-pack of Molson with some chips & salsa. I have a ripe avocado in my kitchen, and I want to make some guacamole.
The trip to the store is routine, and I come back to my apartment at exactly 1:00. One problem, though: I have every key but the one to open the front door, which, I remembered, fell off earlier in the day. At the time I thought to myself, “I should really reattach that key before I go out again.” I never did, and now I was locked out of my own building.
Tomorrow morning I fly to Boston to move my brother out of his fifth-floor walk-up apartment. I don’t expect to post here until after Labor Day. I can’t remember the last time I traveled this much in a month. Chicago, New York City, and now Boston—I just want to sleep!
For travelers out there: I recommend trying out Google Mobile’s flight status checker. Just text the airline and the flight number (e.g., ua 14). and you get back the flight’s time, status, and even gate number.
A leap of faith?
Yesterday I took a leap for faith for humanity. I got off the bus after work and was asked by a man if I knew the area (at 16th and Euclid), because he was in from Baltimore. He then asked if I was a member of AAA, because his car broke down further down 16th, and he didn’t have his credit card because his son had it in Hampton, VA.
I told him that no, I was not a member of AAA, nor did I know any of my friends who were. He told me that he went to a store down the street and was short $7.90 for — something, I honestly didn’t hear it correctly. Could I take his money and go to the store to cover him? That didn’t sound appealing to me, because I really wanted to get home.
So, I decided to take a leap of faith. I offered to give him money to pay for what he needed. I opened my wallet and gave him $15 to make sure he’d have enough to get his car fixed. He asked for my business card so he could return the money. I left feeling optimistic that he’d return the money – but still felt like I could’ve been swindled.
What do you think? Did I let my laziness lead me into a scam? Or will this man return my $15?
Aug 19, 07:48 AM / Comment [1]
Allow Myself to Introduce Dirt McGirt
About 5 or 6 weeks ago, I got a puppy for my birthday. (Lisa gave her to me!) Her name is Dirt McGirt. At the shelter, she was called “Godiva” and was listed as a chocolate lab mix. She was mostly brown, but had a second, yellow coat that molted off as we pet her and brushed her.
I got a lot of suggestions from people who met Dirt about her other half, especially other dog owners on walks or in the dog park. Some said she was part pointer, others said some sort of hound. The trend was definitely towards hunting dog. But last week, the vet said she was most probably a Chesapeake Bay Retriever, a dog originally bred for retrieving ducks and other game.
allergies.
Today was going to be a DC tourist day – I got a ticket to the White House Garden tour and was really excited to get some photos from the Rose Garden and other gardens. The tour is only offered one weekend a year, and this was it. It was such a nice day, 80 something, sunny, and perfect.
But something started blooming last night, because my allergies have been out of control. I have been sneezing non-stop. I need a bucket installed under my nose. It is pretty much incapacitating, and I passed out for almost 6 hours this afternoon. (Every so often, since I woke up at 8:30pm, I think it’s morning and I have to correct myself that I still have to go to bed for the day.)
Unfortunately, these were not the ideal symptoms to bring myself to a garden tour. Sean, Blake, John and Pete did go, so I want to hear how it was. Hopefully I can get some allergy medication for next year.
I expect to spend the next two hours in the bathroom, because I’ve downed probably 4 liters of water in the last couple hours in a somewhat effective attempt at washing out whatever is killing me right now.
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