Here is a prediction posted by Peter Nieh from Lightspeed posted at Renewable Energy World.

“Lightspeed has invested across several cleantech areas, including solar (Stion), biofuels (LS9, Solazyme), clean coal (Coaltek), LED lighting (Exclara), and energy storage (Leyden Energy, f/k/a Mobius Power). Here are some of our cleantech predictions for 2010:

Stop Usage Based Billing

Usage Based Billing in a Nutshell

In August of last year research for my personal blog in the wind first brought Usage Based Billing to my attention. UBB is a technical issue filled with jargon so new much of it isn’t even in wikipedia, making it hard for ordinary people like me to understand. I’m not a programmer, I’m a mom, an artist and a writer, but I thought it important enough to create this public service blog to share the things I’ve learned to try to help other Canadians understand Usage Based Billing.

The left side bar lists of all the blog posts as an index to allow this blog to serve as a reference. I’ve tried to cover issues and technologies in as much depth as I can handle. (The glossary is probably the best place to start.) There is also a listing of websites and blogs there. The right side bar is loaded with links to specific articles which may also help understand the issue.

But for today’s purposes, we’ll just do a quick recap:

Fifteen years ago Canada was an internet technology leader and Canadians could connect to the internet at reasonable rates. Today we pay some of the most expensive rates in the world for mediocre service. The reason is simple; the internet carriers (Bell/Rogers) chose to make only minimal infrastructure re-investment.

Families upgrade when they can.

As a mom I know that computer systems are obsolete after about six months.

As a mom I know it is important to buy the best system I can afford so that it will last the longest.

I need the best value for the family. Moms have to keep computer systems running far longer than programmers or corporations because families can’t afford otherwise.

Even so, there is not a single component on my desktop that I had 15 years ago. My system has changed many times over in the last 15 years. Because I have re-invested in my infrastructure.

Bell Canada has told the CRTC that Usage Based Billing is necessary. They say they need more income or they can’t improve their infrastructure. But what they did NOT tell the CRTC is that any infrastructure problems Bell Canada may be experiencing is because Bell Canada chose not to reinvest in infrastructure improvements for the past fifteen years.

Canadian customers have been paying premium prices for a steadily declining service. In order to encourage ISP competition the Canadian government mandated Bell Canada to make wholesale bandwidth available to Independent ISPs. The Canadian government encouraged these Independent businesses to set up shop so Canadian consumers could have Internet competition. Bell Canada was allowed to set the rates charged (astronomical) but in spite of that, the Independent ISPs have not only survived, they are now at the point of offering meaningful competition. They have a loyal customer base. But Bell Canada does not want to have to compete.

Canadian Independent Internet Service Providers include:

MTS Allstream, Primus, Yak, SureNet, Electronicbox, Skywaywest, MNSi, apexia, START Communications,  Accelerated Connections,  Egate, AEBC,  Wightman, Caneris, Acanac,  Vianet, Interlink, Lightspeed, Execulink, Telnet, Auracom, The Internet Centre, goZOOM, Diallog, KOS, Telinet, Compu-SOLVE, Merge Internet, NINA-IT, Broadline Networks, ISP.ca, Odynet,  Airnet and of course the Independent ISP I am happy to use, TekSavvy.

easier than competition

Bell Canada was caught “throttling” the internet service of the customers of the Independent Service Providers. Over strenuous protests from both customers and Independent ISPs, the CRTC actually gave Bell Canada permission to continue to interfere with internet service of their competitors customers.

This is a business practice unprecedented in any nation aspiring to free markets and democracy.

That wasn’t enough for Bell Canada. Now they want to additional levels of billing, again, not just for their own customers, but for the customers of the Independent ISPs. In addition to the near highest internet rates in the world Canadians are already paying, Bell wants us to pay them Usage Based Billing and apply usage caps which will double the rates of moderate internet users and exponentially increase the rates paid by heavy users. This will certainly harm Canadian internet customers.

Implementation of Usage Based Billing will most likely put the Independent ISPs out of business because these CRTC rulings will have removed their ability to compete. Since the Independent ISPs will merely be able to offer inferior rate packages as dictated by Bell Canada, they certainly won’t thrive.

Canadians don’t understand computer numbers

Although I’ve used computers since the 1980’s, I am a user, not a technical person. We users do not understand things like bandwidth (particularly since it means different things… see glossary again). A long time ago there were bits and bytes. Kilobytes. Megabytes. Now there are are Gigabytes and Terabytes. These words sometimes mean big and then all of a sudden they don’t. I remember when my sister had a computer with an incredibly big hard drive… two whole gigabytes. Today my digital camera has an 8 gigabyte memory card.

My essential point is that since most Canadians do not understand how much bandwidth is required for the the things we do online, we won’t know what we will need to do to cut back our internet use so that we can continue to afford it. This means that the biggest worst effect of Usage Based Billing will certainly be that after paying the first huge internet bill, Canadians are going to use the internet as little as possible. Anyone who doesn’t think that this will do serious damage to the Canadian economy is in denial.

The internet stopped being a luxury some time ago. It has become a key economic tool.

Solomon Joseph Solomon′s painting of Ajax and Cassandra

Pretty big nutshell.

Now what?

RobertX asked what my predictions for UBB in the New Year would be.

I’m no Cassandra (which is just as well, actually) so I can’t predict what will happen to Usage Based Billing in 2010.

What I can do is speculate.

What might happen if they implement Usage Based Billing?

Since the CRTC has provisionally approved Usage Based Billing– on the basis of Bell Canada presentations unsubstantiated by evidence– Usage Based Billing could very well be implemented. Although the CRTC chose to ignore all of the dissenting voices, the CRTC did ask Bell Canada for some clarification, as well as the legal challenges the Independent ISPs have offered, so Usage Based Billing is still not a foregone conclusion.

Implementing UBB on the Quiet?

Because the bulk of the mainstream media “news” outlets haven’t actually informed Canadians that UBB is an issue– let alone one that they need to be concerned about– most Canadians still don’t know anything about Usage Based Billing or what it will mean to them.

It would be very possible, ridiculously easy even, to implement Usage Based Billing quietly. Even if the Independent ISPs forward a warning to customers, most people don’t read all the junk mail routinely include with our invoices. So implementation might well be slipped into effect without warning.

Since there isn’t likely to be a big outcry before UBB implementation, the CRTC might allow implementation of UBB thinking it won’t cause much of a fuss.   After all, Bell Canada says its necessary.   Bell Canada has many investors.   Bell Canada has many employees.   Which is why Bell Canada is so powerful. Rich.   Canadian consumers aren’t.

There will be a fuss. But it will come AFTER UBB implementation.

When most Canadians get the unhappy surprise that their internet bills have gone through the roof– for no reason other to enrich Bell Canada– there will most certainly be a fuss.

Usage Based Billing will cause untold damage to Canadians and the Canadian economy. Usage Based Billing may in fact be the tipping point for Canadian consumers.   Once implemented Usage Based Billing won’t be in the dark any more, and although slow to anger, Canadians will be angry. Very Angry.

Any or all of the following could well result from implementation of Usage Based Billing:

• independent Internet Service Providers put out of business due to CRTC interference
• Independent ISP class action lawsuits brought against Bell Canada, the Government of Canada, and the CRTC
• media coverage as Canadians angrily demand to know who is responsible for Canadian overcharging
• Canadians will want to know why we pay the highest rates in the world for mediocre internet service
• cabinet overturning the ill advised CRTC decision to allow implementation of Usage Based Billing
• Government dissolution of the CRTC because of the public outrage over CRTC decision to allow implementation of Usage Based Billing
• Canadian class action suits brought against the so-called Canadian “backbone” ISP carriers for fraudulent charges for levels of service they don’t deliver because of throttling
• Royal Commission to investigate malfeasance or corruption of CRTC
• political upheaval, elections
• the Pirate Party of Canada might well form a majority government and ensure Canadian Net Neutrality through laws prohibiting ISPs from being content providers

It would only be reasonable for the Independent ISPs to defer any CRTC orders allowing implemementation of Usage Based Billing in the absence of a sitting government. Certainly it is reasonable that a Minister of Industry might over-rule bad decisions made by the CRTC. After all, it happened for Wind Mobile.

Particularly since implementation of Usage Based Billing will require mammoth outlays of investment for usage monitoring equipment. If I ran an Independent ISP, I would not be willing to lay out funds before exhausting every possible avenue.

Implementation of Usage Based Billing cannot possibly be undertaken until the Measurement Canada holds a consultation with stakeholders. It would be incumbent on Measurement Canada to establish approved Marketplace Monitoring, Standards Calibration, Traceability, Delegation of Authorities, Complaint Investigation, Accreditation and Auditing standards just as they do for the natural gas industry.

Implementation of Usage Based Billing should not be undertaken without a framework of rules, as well as enforcement and auditing by the Privacy Commissioner.

What might happen if the CRTC reverses the decision and rules against Usage Based Billing?

I would happily wind down this blog.

The Independent ISPs would be able to get back to the business of providing excellent internet service to Canadians.   Now freed from frittering away their profits in court, they would be able to continue to expand and grow.

Those of us customers who have been aware of the Usage Based Billing threat would be happy, even though we are paying some of the highest internet rates in the world for mediocre service.

Pretty much everyone would be happy.

Everyone except Bell Canada.   The Bell Canada dream of eliminating the competition would have failed, so Bell Canada would not be happy.

Perhaps Bell Canada would start acting like a real company.   They would need to lower the dividend payments they make to their investors and instead reinvest in infrastructure.   Instead of using their “loyalty department” to offer quarterly bribes, maybe Bell Canada would treat their customers better overall in an effort to keep them, by offering good service for fair value.

It isn’t that Bell Canada has not been paid more than enough to upgrade the infrastructure, it’s that Bell Canada has spent large quantities of money on other things… like trying to start up a music downloading channel. (#fail)

You just never know.

STOP Usage Based Billing

This makes it all the more important for Canadians to sign the petition.   If you haven’t yet, sign the petition, and encourage everyone you know who uses the internet to sign the petition at http://dissolvethecrtc.ca/.   Lets keep the heat on.  Spread the Word.

BREA, CA – December 18, 2009 – (Motor Sports Newswire) – American Suzuki announced the Rockstar Makita Suzuki Amateur Team plans for the 2010 season. Led by Motocross Support Specialist Brian Noah, the 2010 amateur MX team will consist of 16 racers ranging in ages 10 to 17 and will focus on grooming this young talent for success. The racers will be competing on Suzuki’s lineup of championship-winning bikes, including the RM85, the all-new RM-Z250, and race-proven RM-Z450.

“This year will be an exciting year for Suzuki and our sponsors. Beginning at the Mini O’s in November, Suzuki destroyed the competition gaining more championships than any other manufacturer in the most competitive classes, which included the 85 age group, Supermini, 250/450A, 250/450B, and Schoolboy classes,” stated Brian Noah. “There is no doubt in my mind that this solid group of riders will be capable of doing more of the same in 2010.”

The Rockstar Makita Suzuki riders slated to compete on the RM85 in the 85 9-11 class are Sean Cantrell from Newbury Park, Calif., Jake Masterpool from Austin, Nevada, Tristan Miller from Alpine, Calif., Michael Mosiman from Sebastapol, Calif., and Rookie White from Winchester, Calif.

Also competing on the RM85 in the 85 12-13 class will be Alexander Frye of Huntingtown, Maryland, Steven Gretchen of McMechen, West Virginia, and Jordon Smith of Belmont, North Carolina. Competing in the 85 14-15 and Supermini classes will be Jesse Masterpool of Austin, Nevada, and Jace Owen of Charleston, Illinois.

Aboard the all-new Suzuki RM-Z250, Joey Savatgy, from Thomasville, Georgia, and Jeremy Martin, from Millville, Minn., will compete in the 250B and Schoolboy classes. Bryce Stewart from Canyon Lake, Calif., will be competing on the RM-Z250 and RM-Z450 in the 250B and 450B classes.

In the 250A and 450A classes, Gannon Audette, from Cairo, Georgia, Austin Howell, from Red Bluff, Calif., and Nick Paluzzi of Riverside, Calif., will all be utilizing the RM-Z250 and RM-Z450 motorcycles in 2010.

The Rockstar Makita Suzuki Amateur Team would like to thank the following sponsors for providing support to the team in 2010:

Boyesen, Braking, Cometic, CTI2, Dunlop, Excel, E-Z Up, Hinson Racing, Hotcams, Lightspeed, Makita, Matrix, Maxima, Millenium Technologies, Motion Pro, Moto Tassinari, One Industries, Pivot Works, Pole Position Raceway, RK, Rockstar Energy Drink, Sunline, Tag Metals, TCR Wheel Lacing, Thor, Twin Air, Vortex Ignitions, Vortex Racing Components, VP Race Fuels, and Wiseco.

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One of the best things about my job is getting to see the games users of our tech are creating.  Check out this really cool tech demo from Artifex Mundi.

I just saw that Gamebryo LightSpeed made the finalist list this year for the Front Line Awards. Always good to see your hard work recognized in the marketplace. Even if we don’t win, it’s cool to be nominated by your peers.

dba

Walkway at the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. – Leo Villareal Multiverse.

Nope, not going to win any awards for my camera work.

I can’t help myself, the two times I’ve experienced this at the NGA I’ve been dumbstruck. It’s mesmerizing, beautiful, sparkly, and just plain COOL. And it reminds me of the effect in Star Wars whenever the Millenium Falcon (finally) makes the jump to lightspeed. I know next to nothing about light sculptures or installations so I don’t really have the vocabulary to discuss it, and I wish my little clip was better, because it’s really only a sliver of the actual experience.

Something I CAN expound at length about, and I know Alison can too, is Mr. Rothko. Maybe someday we should have a blog-off and see who writes a better blog about a specific work of art? Or not.

I have a weird habit of taking detail shots of my favorite paintings – inspired, I think, by all the detail slides my art history professors would take themselves (when on vacation?). They would then usually apologize about the poor quality of the image. Or they would apologize for not having a detail of something and try to describe, at length, what the detail proved about the point they were trying to make and how we would just have to “imagine” or “trust them.” Did your professors do that, too? No? Someday I’ll put together a gallery of all my random detail shots of everything from the Ishtar Gate to shadows of Calder mobiles. Or not.

I noticed some activity between Fusion-io and Pliant recently — they share Lightspeed as a venture partner. ’nuff said.

And I’ll say it again: It’s not fair to regulate what an 18 year can view on the internet based on what is appropriate for a 5 year old. Not only is it not fair, it’s not allowing teachers to reach some of our TEKS (state objectives).  I am sick and tired of having people who have no idea WHO I teach, WHAT, I teach, or even HOW I teach it.

Babynames.com is now open at school, but I have serious problems when I teach Paradise Lost and Dante’s Inferno. My head spun when I tried to have my students go to www.hellpizza.co.uk to examine the pizzas and try to identity the allusions in the pizzas (did they come Inferno, Paradise Lost, or the Bible?) – the students were blocked. We weren’t given a reason why – just the white screen on censorship.

And please don’t tell me to write a Help desk ticket – I’ve done those before, and (if they ever get allowed), the teachable moment is gone. even if they get it approved for the next day, I might already be in another unit – I *am* on an accelerated schedule, you know.

I was told by one person that I should have my web page requests turned in at least 32 (preferably 48) hours before I want to to use. Cute. There are two issues here sparky, that I’d like you to consider:

1. When my students do research, I have no idea what webpages that they will stumble upon and read. Sure, you could say that I could take all of the extra time to determine a set number of appropriate webpages and only allow students to go to those webpages, but that is ridiculous. Since when is it appropriate for teachers to constrict learning? That’s like saying we will ONLY use the textbook to learn from. No workbooks. No experiments. No demonstrations. No field trips. Nothing. Just the textbook. Also, it’s not in line with the College and Career Readiness Standards. Do you think NetTrekker prepares high school students for internet-based assignments in college?

2. There is NO WAY for teachers to determine what webpages are restricted to students, so even if I wanted to comply with #1, there is really no way for me to, unless you want me to send IT a copy of every webpage that I use instructionally?

Argh. Anyone out there have any tips dealing with the censorship of the internet?

Panel: The Who, The What and The Hopes: Broadband Stimulus in Minnesota. Bernadine Joselyn, Blandin Foundation; Danna MacKenzie, Cook County; Jackie Vanasse, Leach Lake; John Schultz, Windom. Moderated by Jack Geller, U of M Crookston

I’m afraid I missed part of the session on the stimulus applications. I’ve read and heard about the various applications before – so what was interesting to me was to see how the initial drive to get broadband remains despite the mounting obstacles. Danna spoke about the referendum in Cook County. (There was a referendum to allow Cook County to provide phone service; it needed a super majority to pass; it got 56% and didn’t pass.) Yet they forge ahead. John Schultz sort of spoke for Windom and Leech Lake – to hear the need for broadband in Leech Lake, which is un/underserved by pretty much any definition was telling.

To hear about how Blandin worked so early on to get community participation across the state. Signs point to that sort of application being the focus of the next round of ARRA grants. Jack Geller pointed out that place and collaboration will mater in future rounds of funding.

I was catching up on the stuff in my feed reader today and discovered that a new SF magazine, Lightspeed, is coming out in June, and John Joseph Adams will be fiction editor. I think this is exciting news. Guidelines will be posted in December, and they open to submissions in January.

Being dropped from their record label hasn’t stopped them. This video is for “My Turn,” which is the third single from Scars.It features Lightspeed Champion on vocals. It’s a good track in an otherwise tawdry album.

No, not the great Billy Joel song,  just an example of one of the many places you may find a Star.  Franklin Hill Vineyard in the Pocono Mountains, Pennsylvania has installed Star’s TSP100 printers with Mac computers throughout the winery’s four retail outlets and inside the “wine tasting room” at the winery itself.

The POS systems were installed solely by the vineyard’s owner & operator. The TSP100, running on the Mac operating system with xSilva’s LightSpeed –Mac-based POS software. 

Between the compatibility with POS software and the TSP100’s “plug & play” functionality, adding the printer to the system was a simple step the owner was easily able to manage on his own, not needing to make even one phone call to Star for support in the install or operation of the TSP100.  

The TSP100 has proven to be a fast printing, hassle-free receipt printer for Franklin Hill.  An attribute much appreciated during the hectic holiday buying season from Thanksgiving to New Years; the winery and retail stores busiest time of year.

One of the most common reasons a Venture Capitalist will pass on a deal is simply a matter of size.

This doesn’t mean they think the  idea is bad, the entrepeneur isn’t capable of delivering on the promise or the business will fail. They just don’t think the opportunity is big enough for them to get involved.

The VC’s logic is very simple. Why do I need the hassle of managing 10 to 20 small investments when I can achieve the same scale of returns on a single investment? 

In 2007,  Lightspeed Venture Partner’s Jeremy Liew presented a piece at the Web 2.0 Conference on the challenges you would face trying to build a $50 Million eCommerce or online media business. He then followed up the discussion with a couple of posts on the Lightspeed blog.

Jeremy’s position was simply this: The cost of building and maintaining an online media business today is negligible. So it is relatively easy to breakeven. The problem is you need to be big to go public and that, in web terms at least, is extremely difficult to achieve.

Here are the links to Jeremy’s presentation and blog so you can see the discussion in full.

•  The original web 2.0 Power point presentation
• 3 Ways to build an online media model to $50 Million.
• More on building an online media company to $50 Million

Anybody thinking about raising finance for their next big web idea should spend a little time taking a look at what Jeremy has to say.

It provides some lemon juice to the mainstream silicon valley success stories of Facebook, Youtube and Google and puts some much needed perspective on the pervasive idea among Web 2.0 start-ups that the “Exit Strategy is the new Revenue Model“

As Jeremy points out in his presentation: Plan A can’t be “Get bought by Google”

Whether you’re North or South this week, there’s lots of fun to be had.  In San Francisco, on W 10/28 the Digital Media Conference West is at the Hotel Kabuki (1625 Post) and on Th-F 10/29-30 the Virtual Goods Summit is at the Westin (50 3rd/Market).  In LA, on Tu-W 10/27-28 Jeff Pulver’s 140 Characters Conference is at the Kodak Theatre, on Th-F 10/29-30 the Billboard Film & TV Music Conference at the Beverly Hilton, and on F 10/30 OMMA Video is at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza.  CTAM is already in full swing in Colorado. Here are the guides:

SAN FRANCISCO

W 10/28, #DMCW, Digital Media Conference West
9, Top Digital Media Trends
9:30, Jay Adelson, Digg/Revision3
10, Break
10:30, Curt Mavis, Lionsgate, Scott Brown, Cisco…
11:20, Madeline Herdrich, Paramount, Allen Duan, MTV, Kate Connally, AddictingGames, Rani Choen, TuneWiki, Tim Chang, NVP, Ted Cohen…
12:15, Jason David, Disney.com
12:45, Craig Newmark, Craigslist
1:45, Adeo Ressi, TheFunded.com
2:15, Kevin Yen, YouTube, Anthony Soohoo, CBS Interactive/TV.com, Mitch Galbraith, FOD, Joy Marcus, DM, Liz Gannes, NewTeeVee, Stephen Condon, ATT…Kuk Yi, Best Buy Capital, Chris Petrovic, GameStop Digital Ventures, Jeremy Liew, Lightspeed, Charles Hudson, Serious Business…
4:15, Tom DeLuca, Warner Home Video, Martin Green, Meebo, Rob Griffin, Havas, Jim Louderback, Revision3…Gannon Hall, Kyte, Andrew Lacy, Tapulous, Bryan Perez, NBA Digital, Are Traasdahl, ThumbplayJoe Jasin, DNA Investments, former SK Telecom..Elizabeth Churchill, Yahoo! Research, Allen Guo, Yobo, Mary Hodder, Dabble, Michael Trigg, hi5…
5, Cocktails

Th 10/29, #VGS09, Virtual Goods Summit
10, Amy Jo Kim, Shufflebrain
10:25, Brian Balfour, Viximo
10:50, Jinen Kamdar, Ning
11:15, Vikas Jambool/Social Gold
11:45, Lunch
1:15, David Jesse, Gaia Online
1:40, Jameson Hsu, Mochi Media
2:05, Cary Rosenzweig, IMVU
2:30, Bill Grosso, Live Gamer
2:55, Break
3:20, Melinda Byerley, Linden Lab
3:45, Fernando Paiz, Turbine (DDO Online)
4:10, Lex Bayer, Spare Change, Adam Caplan, Super Rewards, Ron Hirson, BOKU, Will O’Brien, TrialPay, Roger Wood, ORCA
5, Siqi Chen, Serious Business
5:30, Cocktails

F 10/30, #VGS09, Virtual Goods Summit
9:30, Charles Hudson, Serious Business, Tim Chang, NVP
9:45, Justin Smith, Inside Social Games
10:15, Benjamin Joffe, +8* (Plus Eight Star)
10:45, David Wallerstein, Tencent…
11:30, Geoff Cook, MyYearbook, Jon Earner, Playfish, Steve Meretzky, Playdom, Keith Rabois, Slide, Andrew AT Trader, Tim Chang, NVP
12:30, Lunch
2, Zhan Ye, Gamevision/Giant
2:30, Philip Yun, mig33…
3:15, John Smedley, Sony Online Entertainment
3:45, Break
4:15, Bigpoint, Outspark, WildPockets, IGG…
5, PayPal, Incomm, Zong, Offerpal…
6, Offerpal Afterparty at Harlot (46 Minna)

LOS ANGELES

Tu 10/27, 140 Characters Conference
8:45, Jeff Pulver, @jeffpulver, Jeffrey Hayzlett, CMO, Kodak, @jeffreyhayzlett
9, Cyndi Stivers, EW.com
9:10, @davewiner, Author, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Fail Whale
9:20, Investing in REal-Time:  Ron Conway, @bijan, @howardlindzon, @scobleizer
9:40, @jeffreyhayzlett
10, @porterVA, Virgin America
10:10, @davidsaranga
10:20, Aaron Bleyaert, Tonight Show blogger, @bigbley
10:30, @timkring, Heroes
10:50, Break
11:05, @ariannahuff…
11:55,@insightfultoo
12, @sarah_ross, Katalyst Media, @sadaoturner, Ryan Seacrest fantweets..
12:20, @scottporad
12:30, Break
1:30, @jackgraycnn, AC360 producer, @jane_bickingham…
1:45, Google Wave
2, @billybush, Access Hollywood
2:10, Public Policy & The Law
2:25, @twittermoms, @masters212
2:35, Jeremy Welt, WB Records, @jblogg, Ted Cohen, TAG Strategic..
2:55, @jeffreypollack, World Series of Poker…
3:25, @stoweboyd
3:35, @jacobsoboroff, AMC News, @maegancarberry, HuffPo, @tedstew, Variety…
3:45, @hardlynormal
4:05, Police Chiefs That Tweet
4:25, Break
4:55, @wmmarc
5:05, @kevinpollak
5:25, @dougbenson, @mattbraunger, @robnuebel, @nerdlist
5:40, Fitting 140 characters into your life stream
7:30, After-Party

W 10/28, 140 Characters Conference
8, Education/Health
8:50, News:  @alexiatsotsis, @latimesnystrom, @ksablan, @mmilian, @richardrushfield
9:10, @odednoy, xen
9:20, @pr_couture, Red Door Interactive..
9:35, @hankwasiak
9:45, @slackmistress
9:55, @maheshmurthy
10:05, Authors: @markvhansen…
10:20, Brands:  @pacsun, @wlosangeles, @kogibbq, @kazkang
10:50, @cc_chapman
11, Break
11:15, 12 Seconds TV, @thesolster
11:25, @scobleizer, @wingdude
11:50, @drew
11:50, Photography
12:10, China
12:30, Break
1:30, @bing
1:35, @samgo, MSNBCi Twitter Team
1:40, @sass
1:45, Small Business Trends
2:10, Sports Brand Identity @kathleenhessert, @rking, @tomjolly
2:50, @jessicagottlieb, monetizing moms
3, Twitter for Rockstars @ashleypoole1, @dngrsdame, @actordougjones, @melissaschuman
3:15, Fans, followers, freinds
3:25, Luxury Brands
3:35, Mike Jones
3:50, Lifestreaming
4:05, @loic
4:15, @adventuregirl…
4:25, Publishing
4:45, @tomandrus
4:55, Musical performance @royzuarets
5:05, @fredfraver
5:30, @benparr

Th 10/29, Billboard Film & TV Music
8, Breakfast
9, Billboard Welcome
9:15, Music Supervisors:  Thomas Golubic, Breaking Bad, Richard Glasser, Crash, Frankie Pine, Brothers & Sisters…
10, Twilight Soundtrack:  Livia Tortella, Atlantic Records, Pual Katz, Summit Entertainment..
11, TV As The New Radio:  Peter DiCecco, Disney-ABC, Kate Juergens, ABC Family, Dawn Soler, ABC Entertainment, Frank Valenti, OLTL, Steven Vincent, Disney-ABC
12, Chris Wenitz & Alexandre Desplat, Twilight
1, Lunch Break
2, Ron Broitman, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Joe Mondry, Cherry Lane, Linda Newmark, UMPG, Randy Wachtler, PMA
3, Breaking into the Business: Ali Dee & Lamont Dozier, Songwriters..
4, Sacha Baron Cohen, Borat & Erran Baron Cohen, Composer
4:45, Music Supervisor Face Time:
Patrick Arn, President, Gotham Records
Brian Black, Music Supervisor/Soundtrack Producer, Zoophoria Music
Mike Boris, Executive Music Producer, McCann Erickson 
Rudy Chung, Music Supervisor
Mason Cooper, Music Supervisor
(Bonny Dolan, Executive Producer & Artist Liaison
Didier C. Deutsch, Record Producer, Sony/Legacy
Arlene Fishbach, Music Supervisor
Janet Fisher, Music Supervisor
Paul Glass, Supervising Music Director, “One Life To Live”
Richard Glasser, Exec in Charge of Music, Music Supervisor 
Rich Goldman, CEO, RipTide Music
Joel Goodman, Composer 
Kat Green, CEO, Bad Ass Music & Hella Good Records 
Keatly Haldeman, CEO,  pigFactory Music
Colin Kelly, Director, A&R, Gotham Records
Beth Krakower, CineMedia Promotions
Chris Langrill, Manager of A&R/Music Supervision, Man Made Music
Glenn Litwak, Partner, Litwak & Havkin
Teri Nelson Carpenter, President, Reel Muzik Werks, LLC(
Jeannette Perez, Sr. Director Soundtracks, Film & TV, RCA/Jive
David Polemeni, VP, Head of Film & Television, S1 Songs America
David G. Powell, Music Supervisor, The Music Bridge LLC
Davis Powers, VP of Music Programming, Current TV
Jen Pyken, Music Supervisor, Lucky Duck Music
Andrew D. Robbins, Director, Film/TV Music, MusicBox, LLC
Christian Salyer, CEO, Blazed Out Music
Joe Solo, Composer, Producer, Songwriter, Joe Solo Productions, Inc.
Jeremy Sweet, Music Supervisor, Smashtrax Music
Jonathan Weiss, Music Supervisor
Michael Welsh, Music Supervisor and Rights Clearance Specialist
Angela Rose White, Founder/President, DaBet Music Services
Josh Zieman, President US Operations, Dramatico
5:30, Roundtables – How to Pitch Getting Your Music Placed in Film & TV, Master and Synch Rights, Getting Music Placed in Commercials, Licensing Music, Making Music Documentaries,  Maxxing a Sync:  Gaining Exposure in Film & TV, Creating Music for Brands and TV, Building the Right Relationship for Film & TV Placement
8-1, HunnyPot Afterparty, 6801 Hollywood Blvd, 4th Floor

F 10/30, Billboard Film & TV Music
9, Breakfast
9:30, Fame:  The Anatomy of a Film Score – Fame
10:30, Anatomy of a TV Show – Glee
PJ Bloom, Music Supervisor
Adam Anders, Music Producer, “Glee”
Glen Brunman, Soundtrack Consultant, Columbia Records
Geoff Bywater, Head of Music, 20th Century Fox Television
Ward Hake, VP of Music, Fox Television
Lea Michele, Grammy Award Winner
11:30, Music for Commercials
12:30, Music from HBO’s True Blood
1:15, Break
2:30, Mary J Blige
3:15, Music of Battlestrar Galactica
4, Video Game Music
5, Transitioning from Music Supervision to Producing
As fees for music supervisors are dropping and competition is getting tighter, supervisors’ expertise on music-oriented films and TV shows are still in demand. Hear from several music supervisors who have made the transition into producing for TV and film about what it takes to make the switch — and why the skill sets needed for both jobs dovetail.
6-7, Poolside Cocktails

F 10/30, OMMA Video
9, Opening Remarks
9:15, Fuse Capital
9:45, Digitas, IPG..
10:30, Hulu-TV Killer or Killer App?
11, Break
11:15, Greg Colvin, Fox, Karin Gilford, Fancast, Anthony Soohoo, CBS Interactive, Charley Shoemaker, Nielsen…
12, Break, TubeMogul…
1, Lunch:  Ooyala, Auditude…
1:45, Keynote:  Illeana Douglas & Dominik Rausch, Easy to Assemble, Rob Barnett, My Damn Channel, Douglas Sarine, Beatbox Giant Productions
2:30, Video Metrics
3:15, Break
3:30, Leveraging Interactivity: Hayden Black, Evil Global Corp….
4:15, EQAL, Generate, Revision3, Alloy, Zenithmedia…

We met pilot Kevin Eldredge at Reno Races this year.  We spoke with him about the races and about his jet plane. Kevin shown us his incredible Sbach. Aerodynamic, super powerful, very smooth and looking like a bullet ready to pierce the air.

Kevin is an experienced pilot from California,who started as a commercial one. He is also a helicopter pilot. From 1985 to 1989 he was a flight mechanic on Huey helicopters at Edwards Air Force Base. See below his dynamic videos from Reno Air Races 2009.

Ken and I were chillin at my office today talking about music, and it really surprised me that he’s never heard of Lightspeed Champion! :s Well, if you’re still wondering who he is at this point, enjoy this uber radical 10 minute masterpiece of his. I really hope you like it!

First of all, you need to read the Product Tour – Editing Behaviors tutorial. I followed the tutorial step by step. I set the break point and I started a new game. Unfortunately, the game didn’t stop in the breakpoint. After little bit research, I realize the tutorial jumped out the whole section for setting up debugger. I went back and read the Establishing a connection between Toolbench and your game in the chapter Script Debugger: Introduction.

Basically, you need to establish a connection between the game and the Toolbench thought Asset Controller.

1. Add the following code  in your Gamebryo\Samples\GameDemos\MangledMetal\Win32\VC80\Release\Config.ini file. This this the configuration file for your game.

[ChannelManager]
ListenPort=13215
ListenIP=127.0.0.1

This code tells the game to connect to Asset Controller in your system tray though 127.0.0.1(loopback network) and 13215 prot.

2. After that( It’s very important to do this step after your game connets to Asset Controller), you want to toggle the debugger. Follow the instruction of  Product Tour – Editing Behaviors. Open the EseVictim.lua and set a breakpoint in it.  Press Debug->Toggle Scripting Debugging. You will see a new debugging panel. This time, the debugger will stop after enemy hits you. ( If  the game didn’t stop. toggle it off and on once more).

]]> http://vriley.wordpress.com/2009/09/05/edmodolmstechie-stuff/ Sat, 05 Sep 2009 23:20:30 +0000 buggerlark http://vriley.wordpress.com/2009/09/05/edmodolmstechie-stuff/

Anyone use Edmodo in the classroom? I’m worried that my students will be able to create teacher accounts and then create groups and use the computer to basically IM their friends all day.

I think the assignment feature is great – but since I use Angel LMS on campus, I don’t really need that feature, but it would be AWESOME for schools that’s aren’t at a 1:1 campus just yet in our district.

Blackboard bought Angel a few months ago, so I hope that means we’ll be getting more features in the future. Oh, wait. We already have lots of features – it’s just my district turns them all off.I can fully understand why we don’t want the students to IM all users, but why can’t staff have it? Why can’t students IM their teachers?

<snark> I’m very frustrated right now. I have all of these huge goals that just keep getting stopped by IT. And it’s not like I haven’t been patient – this is my fourth year waiting on IT to meet the needs of a 1:1 school. Let me clarify - to meet the needs of a teacher who actually uses current technology in the classroom. I’m trying to be nice, but I get cranky when I get told that “no one else has this problem” – that doesn’t always mean user error- maybe that means NO ONE ELSE IS USING THE PRODUCT TO GET THAT ERROR! </snark>

Until 4:00 today, the filter was blocking every single web page today. And people wonder why I don’t take my computer home!

Ok. End on a good note.

Goals this week:
1. Use PollEverywhere this week in both classes
2. Promote my mailing list for parents
3. Figure this edmodo thing out (is it blocked at school?)
4. When is Cricket going to get with the program and do SMS?

How it all started?

Sources told the GDN that the Reliance Globalcom cable was not being used to its full capacity, which was the reason download limits existed. They claimed that if direct access was granted by Batelco to rival operators, these ISPs could provide increased access without the expensive and drawn-out procedure of laying new underwater cables – potentially meaning an end to download limits. In a statement to the GDN, Bahrain’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) revealed that efforts were already underway to resolve the issue. “The TRA is investigating allegations by licensed operators relating to alleged restrictions of access to international capacity,” the statement read.

TRA general director Alan Horne added the situation went against the government’s plan to encourage competition and choice for customers across the country, warning it could take months before any solution was found. “Ultimately, it comes back to our mandate to help the kingdom achieve competitive access to international connectivity,” Mr Horne said. “Given that mandate, it is clear that as Batelco has access to Reliance Globalcom and the landing station within its premises, we feel that this access should be available to all operators on fair and equal terms. “We’re using our tools and the law to achieve this, but of course it takes time. “Bahrain needs high-speed Internet at international competitive prices – this is the bedrock of development for any country. “Anything that inhibits that process goes against national goals.”

The accusations follow an announcement on July 23 that Batelco made a net profit of BD54.2 million in the first half of this year, a seven per cent increase over the same period last year. It is the equivalent of BD9.03m a month, BD2.07m per week, BD296,986 every day or BD3.435 every second. One industry source went as far as to suggest that Batelco was indulging in “rampant profiteering” and “spurning long-term economic growth in favour of short-term profits”. “The truth is we just don’t know how much money Batelco is making out of this,” the source told the GDN. “But one thing is sure, it is a major factor in the huge profits Batelco recently declared.” he dispute surrounds access to a controversial Reliance Globalcom landing station, which is located at Batelco’s premises in Salmaniya. Batelco signed an exclusive multi-million dinar deal with FLAG (now Reliance Globalcom) in 2004, which effectively gave the telecom giant a monopoly over the provision of international Internet access in Bahrain. However, that five-year agreement ended in March and critics claim “free and fair” access has still not been opened up to competitors. One of the reasons for this is the location of the station, which is situated on Batelco property – meaning the company can control who gets access. Sources have also alleged that other ISPs would struggle to deal directly with other international web providers – Fibre-Optic Gulf (FOG) and Saudi Fibre-Optic (SFO) – because Batelco already has “unrestricted access agreements” in place with them.

Menatelecom is one of the ISPs campaigning to obtain direct access to the worldwide web, instead of paying to go through Batelco. It has actually chosen not to deal with Batelco and maintains its own independent link to the Internet using an alternative connection through Saudi Arabia. Vice-chairman and managing director Abdul Razak Jawahery told the GDN he believed access limitations effectively meant Batelco had an Internet monopoly. “Internet prices in the kingdom remain high because of the limited access to international submarine fibre-optic links including FLAG and FOG,” he said. “There shouldn’t be just one company with monopoly access to these links and current alternatives through Saudi Arabia (such as SFO) do not provide a competitive alternative in terms of quality and costs.” Mr Jawahery, who is also executive manager of Kuwait Finance House – Bahrain (KFH), called on the TRA to step in and resolve the situation as quickly as possible, adding that if action was taken savings would soon be evident for customers. “We are depending on the TRA to urgently solve this problem and if things were to change, ISPs would be able to provide significantly greater value to customers across the country,” he added.

Another of Batelco’s competitors is Lightspeed Communications, which pays the company to access the Reliance Globalcom international cables. Managing director Shaikh Abdulla bin Khalid Al Khalifa told the GDN the issue should not be about money, but purely about what is fair. “If you look at prices in Bahrain they are substantially higher when compared to other countries – just looking at Dubai or Saudi Arabia suggests that we are paying too much here,” he said. “At the end of the day, if the landing station was actually accessible we would have spent the necessary funds getting in there. “Even if it’s going to cost us a considerable amount and investment, we will happily spend it.”

Meanwhile, Zain Bahrain general manager Mohammed Zainalebedin said all operators would inevitably be able to pass savings on to their customers if the cost of accessing international bandwidth decreased. “If you look at the past five years you will see that the price of broadband has gone down, not only in Bahrain but across the globe,” he explained. “Zain is always looking to cut its costs and let’s put it this way, if we want to be more aggressive in the market then pushing the cost structure down will certainly help. “I think what we’re seeing now (with Batelco being encouraged to open up its landing station) is a continuation of the liberalisation that has occurred over the last five years. “If we are able to get a better deal by going directly to a provider, which enhances our cost structure, then this is definitely something that we will be willing to pass onto our customers.”

Reliance Globalcom Middle East and Asia sales director Shaheed Al Sateeh added that while the company was looking to increase its provision of international bandwidth, it should be a discussion between Batelco and the TRA. “We cannot take sides with anyone, it is not really to do with what we prefer or not,” he said. “Of course, as a supplier we would like to sell as much as we can to any country, but if the regulation does not allow this then there is nothing we can do. “But we are confident that Batelco and the TRA will reach an agreement soon.”

Bahrain’s government is already taking steps to provide alternative direct access to the worldwide web and recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with TATA communications, which offers the same facilities. Gulf Bridge International (GBI) is also understood to be preparing a similar service. However, it is understood direct alternative access to international bandwidth will not be available until at least 2011. Batelco Group media and government relations general manager Ahmed Al Janahi declined to answer questions on the subject, but did issue a brief statement. “Batelco does not wish to comment on these particular questions at this time because they are confidential in nature due to commercial contractual arrangements we have in place with Reliance Globalcom and other licensed operators,” he said. “Batelco is currently working with both the TRA and other interested licensed operators to enhance the existing international access arrangements for Bahrain in the foreseeable future.”

Batelco Fight Back

BATELCO has challenged its competitors to put their money where their mouth is, after being accused of monopolising access to the worldwide web. The company has hit back at claims that it is denying other telecom companies direct access to international Internet cables – leading to higher Internet prices for consumers, slower speeds and limits to how much people can download.

It argues rival firms are trying to cash in by hijacking its infrastructure, rather than taking the financial plunge and investing in their own networks. “Batelco’s investment commitment is without parallel and is unmatched by any other telecom entity in Bahrain,” Batelco Group media and government relations general manager Ahmed Al Janahi said.

Preference

“In general, other licensed operators (OLOs) prefer to wait until Batelco invests and then insist that the Telecommunications Regul-atory Authority (TRA) give them a risk-free share of that investment. “Batelco believes that this approach is a short term gain for smaller operators and does not support the long-term vision of the kingdom. “We question as to why other complaining operators have not invested in relevant infrastructure in a similar manner to Batelco?”  Mr Al Janahi argued that no telecom company in Bahrain had come close to matching Batelco by way of investment in infrastructure to deliver world-class telecommunications solutions. He said that although some operators had invested in their own infrastructure, none had invested in connecting Bahrain to the rest of the world, apart from Batelco. Mr Al Janahi was reacting to an article in Sunday’s GDN, in which the TRA issued a call for “fair and equal” access to a Reliance Globalcom (formerly FLAG Telecom) cable that links Bahrain to international websites and allows people to make international calls.

The TRA confirmed it was investigating allegations by licensed operators that Batelco was restricting such access by controlling the availability of that cable. However, Batelco insisted that did not mean it was restricting access to the worldwide web. “We strongly object to allegations that we are denying our competitors access to international cables, leading to inflated Internet prices and restrictions on how much customers can download due to an alleged ‘Internet bottleneck’,” said Mr Al Janahi. “Batelco has never had any exclusive arrangement and other licensed operators have been free to buy international capacity from Reliance under the TRA-approved agreement (between Batelco and Reliance) from day one. “If they (OLOs) do enter into such an agreement, Batelco must and will deliver a connection to them to connect directly with the cable. “Batelco offers International Private Leased Circuits (IPLCs) to OLO’s at prices set by the TRA, which enable other providers to sell their product at prices determined by the TRA to the end user. “These prices enable other providers to sell their product to the end user at lower prices than Batelco is permitted to offer by the TRA. “Currently there are five OLOs availing of this service including Mena Telecom, Zain and Lightspeed.” The GDN report never actually accused Batelco of denying other operators access to the Reliance Globalcom cable. However, it did state that the geographic location of the landing station where the cables can be accessed – inside Batelco’s premises in Salmaniya – meant it was impossible for competitors to bypass Batelco and access the Reliance Globalcom cable directly.

Sources said the company signed a deal with FLAG in 2004 giving it a monopoly over the provision of international Internet in Bahrain, in return for paying the cost of laying the cable.  They said this deal expired five months ago, when it was hoped Batelco would open up the station to all Internet providers. However, rival operators have complained this has not yet happened, in part due to the location of the landing station. “It is clear that as Batelco has access to Reliance Globalcom and the landing station within its premises, we feel that this access should be available to all operators on fair and equal terms,” the TRA said in Sunday’s GDN. “We’re using our tools and the law to achieve this, but of course it takes time.

Connectivity

“This nation needs high speed Internet at international competitive prices – this is the bed-rock of internatio-nal development for any country. “Anything that inhibits that process goes against the national direction.” However, Mr Al Janahi argued that Batelco was within its rights to protect such an asset – clai-ming the company had invested heavily in the landing station and was concerned with its long-term well-being if other operators were granted access. “Batelco is just like any other company that has invested significant capital for its distributorship,” he said. “Just as airlines invest in landing timeslots and any new airline coming in must buy its own landing slots, Batelco has paid heavily for its landing station and doesn’t consider it a fair and just suggestion that OLO’s should have equal access to this station. “Batelco has maintained this landing station for years with no mishaps and opening it to other entities could jeopardise the country’s connectivity to the outside world.”

Mr Al Janahi also claimed no other operator had elected to invest in another underwater cable that would provide access to the worldwide web, which TATA Communications is expected to lay following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Bahrain government. Apart from investments in the Reliance Globalcom cable system, Batelco says it has also invested in two other cables – SEA-ME-WE 3 and SEA-ME-WE 4 – as well as a satellite earth station to provide voice, data and Internet services. “Batelco has, so far, spent $50 million (BD18.9m) on the Global Reliance cable system and the company is committed to spend more,” he declared. “We are continually looking for reasonable and cost-effective opportunities to bring more cables to Bahrain. “In fact, we are delighted to announce here for the first time that we are currently in negotiations with two consortiums to bring two new international cable systems into Bahrain. “Such provisioning represents millions of dollars in investment to ensure that Bahrain has access to world class telecommunications. “The accusation, therefore, that Batelco is going against national goals is an alarming and incorrect statement from the TRA’s general director Alan Horne.”

Batelco also disputed suggestions that the company’s actions had created an Internet bottleneck, resulting in a poorer service and a limit on how much people can download. Monopoly Mr Al Janahi argued there was more than one way to reach the Internet and its competitors had a choice of cable systems in the region – including Reliance Globalcom, Fibre Optic Gulf (FOG) and Saudi Fibre Optic (SFO). However, its competitors argue it is still necessary to go through Batelco to reach this alternative access to the worldwide web – claiming this reinforced Batelco’s monopoly in what should be a liberalised market.

Meanwhile, Batelco refuted suggestions that it was “spurning long term economic growth in favo-ur of short-term profits”, claiming the company was one of the largest contributors to Bahrain’s economy. “We are frankly amazed at such a statement,” said Mr Al Janahi. “Batelco’s profit goes to the nation and thousands of private investors and we consider the one million plus inhabitants of Bahrain as our stakeholders. “This is why Batelco always invests in leading edge technology and providing the best services in the kingdom at the most affordable prices.”

BAHRAIN’s telecom watchdog has issued a call for “fair and equal” access to the Internet. It follows allegations that Batelco was denying its competitors equal access to international Internet cables. Sources told the GDN that a deal granting Batelco sole access to a cable providing international bandwidth – websites not based in Bahrain – expired five months ago. However, it has still not allowed other Internet Service Providers (ISPs) direct access to the cable, which was installed by Reliance Globalcom (formerly FLAG). Batelco’s competitors claim this is keeping Internet prices high, speeds down and meaning caps have to be put in place on how much customers can download because of an Internet bottleneck.

Vivarium.

“Step back into the river, float away, realize I want to raise the game”

The opening line from “Lightspeed” the opener for Twin Atlantic’s first outing tells the listener to forget everything you’ve heard from them before as “Vivarium” is unlike anything they have produced so far to date. There has been much anticipation towards this album, and really it has been worth it.

The album begins with “Lightspeed” opening with a punch of both drums and guitar then moulding into an epic sound that mixes everything that fans have came to know and love with catchy lyrics, a sing along chorus and almost impossible hooks this is the only way to enter into the world of Twin Atlantic

After the edgy climax of “Lightspeed” there is a pause, a second of silence before “Old Grey Face” Kicks in almost exploding with the rambling lyrics of “seeping liquid” and “yellow hands and magenta feet.” “Old Gray Face” is full of pregnant pauses where the listener waits for the next chord to strike, as they try in vain to catch the lyrics from the previous verse. the change in key around the 1:50 mark really allows the band to show how great a sound they an create just as a four piece only to revert after 30 seconds and another beat of silence to the chorus for one more thrashing of guitars and cymbals as Sam McTrusty screams the last few lyrics to anyone that will listen, one of the shortest songs on the album only weighing in at 2:50 it is the loudest and the possibly the best crafted piece of work on the album. i say possibly as it is difficult to decide once the album is over.

The next single begins with the soft plucking of guitar opening up into drums and the shout
“I’ve never been to America” the track “You’re Turning Into John Wayne” has the task of putting the bands point across, a point in which Twin Atlantic excel at, keeping your own nationality, Sam McTrusty sings in a thick Scottish accent that has been the main attraction, as people have began to tire of hearing performers putting on a fake accent as they preform, “You’re Turning into John Wayne” is their way of saying “We know where we came from and we know who we are” no need to change accents to get your message across.

“Caribbean War Syndrome” the longest song on the album clocking in at a impressive 6 minutes 13 seconds. This was the track most fans were waiting for after a posting of the demo version in February, and its easy to see that from the demo something has been created that has the ability to show what the band are really capable of, the opening has completely changed gone is the full on throttle of drums and guitar it is now much slowly and evenly paced allowing for a smaller opening building into a great crescendo  with backing vocals as strong as the front mans pleas for relief.

“What is light? Where is Laughter?” originally released almost a year ago as their first official single  on King Tuts Recordings. the new album version has more of an edge towards how it plays, there is a more together, more at one sound with each part playing at 11 rather than the normal 10.

“Human After All” Now this is the turning point with the album,  this track has only ever been heard in demo version and at gigs, only to have an actual recorded version shows that this has been well worth the wait. With lyrics as fast as the speed of the guitars its almost impossible for you to keep up as the chorus jumps in adding a new twist to the original LOFI version adding melody in the midst of the harsh cranking guitar and the illustrious beats, sinking back into melody with repetition aplenty. with the straining of guitars and drums ready to explode back into  the end with the weaning of of guitars al á all great rock and roll songs

Like “What is light? Where is laughter?” “Audience and Audio”  is an old favorite dating back to the early days of the band first released as a single in late 2007 and then on their EP “A Guidance from Colour” there isn’t much that has changed other than a tightening up in vocals and the great hooks that they have became to be known for.

Now “Better Weather” is the one that I myself have been waiting on most of all, as it is the only one that fans have never heard, and i can say from this point on that it is possibly the best song ever written by the group. the soft twanging of electric guitar over the soft cello and the constant plucking, almost sounding etherial almost something taken straight from a Sigur Rós song,  opens up to the almost inaudible words “Dearest forgetful, Here are my guilty hands, And you take them across your eyes, They help you remember” almost strange and poetic as throughout the song, there are little or no words the can explain how this song evokes every sense that lies within, and with each listen its almost a fresh taste of something so greatly sought after. And never to refrain from a good old melody there is no exclude that this song shouldn’t be without the well known and well loved twin atlantic sound building up an then fading slowly into the background as the opening verse closes the album almost making the album feel short lived.

And this is where my problem with the album lies. i find it hard to call this a mini-album, it is   an album, a fully fledged work of pure blood sweat and tears from all involved. my main gripe is that 8 tracks is nowhere near enough, however at the same time 8 tracks is just  enough, while at the same time i feel that i am more than happy with this i cant help but feel i want more, and i have no problem waiting for as ling as they like as long as they will keep pushing what they do. And i for one will be glad to see what they can do to top this, because i know that as much as they are happy with it they will always try to best it. And in my opinion at this point in time they can do no better, and they deserve to be as big as they  choose to be they have a lot coming to them if their ever growing fan base has anything to do with it

Well, I was going to blog about this class again like I did yesterday, but the filter has now blocked WordPress (among other pages that I use), even though we were promised that the only things that would be blocked were porn sites, gambling sites, and YouTube. I’m really disappointed. Blogging about my PD was a great way for me to internalize what I’m listening to and doing. I can disagree and develop my own ideas. It’s a way for me to talk without talking, without being loud and distracting others. Even now, S. is talking about intrinsic motivation with M., which is totally on topic, but still is pulling my attention away.

Even just writing in Word isn’t doing the same thing. I like being able to publish it immediately.  WordPress is now open after lunch, but I still can’t access “social networking” sites. Well, duh. This is how I network with other teachers.

Another site that I am battling over is www.urbandictionary.com. It is categorized as adult and I do agree that there are lots of adult words on that site. However, how am I supposed to understand what my students are talking about. A few years ago, for whatever reason, I used the phrase “chicken head” in class. I had been using it for about a week when a student (from another teacher’s class) came up to me after class one day and whispered “Miss, do you know what that means?” Obviously, I didn’t. I’ll let you look that word up Today at the table, one teacher shared her story about how her students used “neck” as a negative word. As in, “that’s so neck” followed by giggles. We still don’t know what that word means.

One last pet peeve: don’t tell me that we are going to lunch and then say “Whoah! Sorry! One last thing!” and then hold me in for a few more minutes. You’ve lost me already. How many times have you accidentally released students early and then try to get them back into the classroom? Good luck.