The One and Only – Shaquille O’Neal, in White Tie and Tails, Makes His Conducting Debut Leading the Boston Pops Orchestra and Tanglewood Festival Chorus in “Sleigh Ride”, as Part of a Holiday Pops Concert, Monday, December 20, 8P.M., at Boston’s Symphony Hall.
For those of you that didn’t have the opportunity to see the lunar eclipse last night, William Castleman has come to the rescue!
The Pros of Net Neutraility
Net neutrality is the guiding concept behind everything that we get to do on the Web. Right now, there are no restrictions of any kind on access to content on the Web, no restrictions on downloads or uploads, and no restrictions on communication methods (email, chat, IM, etc.) Net neutrality is the assurance that access to the Web and its content will not be blocked, slowed down, or sped up depending on where that access is based or who owns the access point(s).
Net neutrality in the context of the Web is somewhat new, but the concept of neutral, publicly accessible information and transfer of that information has been around since the days of Alexander Graham Bell. Basic public infrastructure, such as subways, buses, telephone companies, etc., are not allowed to discriminate, restrict, or differentiate common access, and this is the core concept behind net neutrality as well.
The Internet has grown at a phenomenal pace since its beginnings in the early 1990’s, and this growth is largely in part due to the protections and freedoms that net neutrality affords. Groundbreaking ideas and innovative products such as Google, eBay, YouTube, and torrents have gotten to where they are today because of net neutrality, and there are literally thousands of new start-ups, online stores, and simple ecommerce sites that start every day with the same chance to make it big.
Net neutrality encourages creative expression. For example, a mom talking about her kids has the exact same opportunities to be heard online as the millionaire giving a talk to his stockholders via podcast. Without net neutrality, this opportunity would be limited at best, and completely throttled at worst.
The Cons of Net Neutrality
Cable providers who invest in their networks are against net neutrality, since they believe tiered access – paying for different levels of Internet service – could pay for more sophisticated infrastructure, which would benefit all the users of that network. Their argument postulates that large companies could afford to pay higher fees for Internet access, which would in turn finance network improvements, which would eventually trickle down to the average Web user.
Net neutrality legislation could do more harm than good, especially since Internet technology changes so quickly. Inadequate laws could actually hinder commonplace safety practices unless specifically excluded, and provide loopholes for unethical exploits.
Remember memorizing the periodic table in high school? Well, forget it. Some information on the table is about to be reset.
The world’s top chemists and physicists have determined that the atomic weights of 10 elements – ones you’ve actually heard of – need to be expressed as an interval (or range) rather than a static number, Science Daily reports.
The new atomic weights of hydrogen, lithium, boron, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur, chlorine and thallium will more accurately reflect how those elements occur in nature.
Some years ago I had a colleague I’ll call June. It seemed that every time I went to the ladies’ room, June was there, applying mascara, combing her long, dark tresses and chatting. She also spent lots of time out on the sidewalk smoking, and in the cafeteria.
Exceedingly friendly and warm, she knew everyone and devoted much of her day to catching up on their personal news. What she didn’t spend much time on was work. A guy who sat in the cubicle next to hers once told me that he estimated she put in just two hours a day of what could be described as productive labor.
Eric Abrahamson, a professor at Columbia Business School who specializes in leadership and organizational problem solving, calls people like June “Michelangelos of work avoidance.” Abrahamson studies workplace fads and time management and has looked closely at the ways some employees manage to get paid to do nothing. He doesn’t advocate their practices, but he says that understanding them can help managers address office inequities and make their teams more productive.
When I was a kid, there was nothing that tasted better than ice cold water from the hose. I’m not sure if it was all the drugs in the Flint water system, or just a childhood joy, but it was somehow the best H2O I’ve ever had.
You’d think after spraying himself the first couple times he’d figure it out or at least realize he’s getting wet. The look of satisfaction on his face when he finally gets a drink though is absolutely priceless.
