The dangers of the internet for the governments

Governments are starting to realize the dangers the internet poses to their powers.

-Citizens in different countries are interacting together in ways they never would have before.

-People are reading news articles written by 'the other side'.

-Commentators and websites who aren't loyal to (filtered by) any large corporation are shifting the opinions of thousands.

-Politicians can no longer just say "I never said/did that" and have the country believe them. Within hours videos of them saying or doing that spring up all over the internet.

They'll try to reign the internet into their control under the guise of 'saving the children' or preventing terrorism, but they will fail. Pandora's box has been opened, and people have gotten too used to the internet as it is. They should have been where they are now 15 years ago to have any chance.

Oppose internet censorship

It's not just the English speaking countries that have fallen into apathy; it's happening everywhere in the western world. The ones who dare to oppose Internet censorship quickly get labeled as freaks who support child porn.

Matti Nikki, the most vocal opponent of the Finnish censorship system was slapped with a law suit ("spreading child pronography" when he published the filter list) and his site was censored. Nobody except us geeks care. Some of my non-geek friends are actually okay with this, since it's "FOR TEH CHILDRANS."

Fucking morons are happily giving away their freedom, and for what?

Travelling with a bike

I’m now in my early 60s. I’ve taken a number of week-long and two month-long tours. I guarantee three things: First, you’ll find that bike touring is unlike other forms of travel and that people will respond to you differently. Some jerks will be even greater jerks than usual, but the vast majority who otherwise would have ignored you, will embrace you. Second, there will be days of sheer misery when you will be cursing and asking yourself what on earth you were thinking. Third, it will give you memories and stories to last a lifetime.

in a fire a few years ago, we lost all our bikes, including a tandem. The financial turmoil, meant that I passed up the cross-country trip that my best biking buddy took, but with the insurance settlement, I had Peter White in NH, build me a new one with a Rivendell Atlantis frame. I’m admiring it as writing this, ignoring the snow and rain out my window and imagining being on the road again.

This past weekend, my wife and I conducted a ritual we’ve done every five years or so. We sit down over bagels and write out on napkins, our priority lists of the adventures the next few years. Our lists are now on the fridge and mine includes “on more bike tour,” (as in big).

Picture of the day/week

Go to work, send your kids to school. Follow fashion, act normal, walk on the pavement, watch TV. Save for your old age, obey the law, repeat after me:
I am free.

2 Idiots protesting.

The other side of the story

About 18 months ago, I was awoken at 6:00 am on a Friday by someone hammering at the door. It was a swat team in full gear, weapons in hand. They pulled me out of my house and in front of my gawking neighbors, questioned me intently, raided my place, and took thousands of dollars worth of stuff from my home including my computer and a video camera, and being a working class schmuck, I still haven't replaced it all.

When I finally got served the warrant, I was shocked that they were searching for child porn. I have never looked at, searched for or collected anything of that nature. But it was my word against theirs. They said they'd been monitoring my internet connection, but apparently their software sucks because I don't own or look at child porn.

After months of tortured waiting, they came up with nothing, and didn't bother to let me know until my lawyer contacted them and asked. In the meantime, I had to tell my family and closest friends that I was being investigated for this- and now I still wonder if the people closest to me trust me, even though nothing came of it. I have nephews and nieces who are kids, and now my brothers and sisters get to wonder if they can trust me around them, even though I have taught kids in several jobs and passed numerous background checks.

To top it off, they took all of my photos, and my back ups of those photos, dating back more than a decade- they're all lost now. I had been working on several short stories and a book- years of writing, gone, with their back-ups.

I also suffer from anxiety and panic attacks now, and feel enraged by the mere mention of the police. They screwed up my life and my relationships with my closet friends and family without apology. I wonder how many innocent people got treated the same way so the cops can play hero?