Internet News.

I read on the internet that a large percentage of news in blogs is repeated and not original news.

Taking steps backwards.

The decision made by some Internet Service Providers to try the usage based billing system seems like a huge step backwards to me. Why not upgrade the connection speeds instead? I know it is possible to have a much higher speed but for some reason most people are being throttled. This is a blatant refusal to move forward in technology in my view.

From Frontmen to Fathers.

The transition from a single man to married with children is a big deal. It's an even bigger deal when it happens to the frontman of a rock band. Scott Stapp and Aaron Lewis are perfect examples. Creed's "My Own Prison" and Staind's "Dysfunction" albums were good albums. Heavy, driven, and edgy. Having a kid changes a man and that change is very obvious in Creed's "Human Clay" album, and Staind's "14 Shades of Grey" album.

These men clearly had their edge softened as a result of having kids. Now I can't rightly chastise these fellas for their new found happiness. I think it's wonderful that these people have found their heart, but I do think that it is sort of a detriment to rock music especially. Creed is obviously no longer a band, Staind is still going strong, with many chart topping songs. But I don't think that because it becomes popular that it's necessarily the best music. Most people's musical tastes are horrible and led mainly by the radio and heavy promotions.

My point is that if a person's writing style is directly connected to what is going on in their lives, it can be expected that the emotions portrayed in each album is going to be affected greatly. The only way to keep one's music consistent throughout the years is to sing about other things beside personal turmoil and changes I suppose.

Television Is Dead. To me anyway.

A Season Without Hits

This article prompted me to post this, so blame CNN. Ever since I started working from home I have become incredibly televisionless when thinking of how often I used to watch. I estimate I watch television for a maximum of an hour a day on weekdays, during the daytime block, usually to watch Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert while I eat depending on the time.

The weekends are the bulk of my watching time since I am free then. That doesn't mean I don't watch shows elsewhere though. The bulk of my watching habits come in the form of free online content. Most of the networks offer something in the way of free entertainment online.

NBC, CBS, ABC, USA, South Park, Tom Green for a pretty good Tom Snyder style talk show.

Joost has a downloadable program with a lot of free content, if only my computer liked the program better I might have used it more. I just stumbled upon Hulu which I'm getting ready to try. Also if all else fails there's Alluc. Alluc is a site that just has links to other sites that people post that gives the location for the most part to illegally posted shows on several different sites.

I'm not against trying out other options that have a subscription format. I've already had a stint with Netflix. I may try Vongo next, although I'm iffy about how well it will play on my computer after trying Joost.

But one thing is for sure, I'm not very fond of the idea of having to pay for each episode of a certain season. I have never touched iTunes, I have given some thought to trying the amazon unbox, but 2 dollars an episode makes me want to cry a little. I would rather watch five ads throughout an episode on the network's site. Many more ads than five and I might start to get perturbed though.