Be the Spark!

contribute now

RobVaughn's comments:

on Reading David Guterson

Aside: I'm sorry to say but that unlike many, I read "Snow Falling on Cedars" after getting two separate copies from friends, and was not really impressed, and the movie wasn't something I'd watch again. Then again, four million copies sold means I likely have poor taste.

This new book sounds rather cliche' - Seattle stereotypes: microbrews, smoking pot, etc. This is disappointing.

That said, I'm curious if the author actually did any research into the existing gnostics such as those you can find in Turkey and even parts of Egypt, where the isolation (living in caves as a hermit) is still followed?

It sounded like his references are all based on historical information, but was the author aware that there are still several hundred men who practice this in the Middle Eastern area of the world today?

If so, did it influence his book, and if not, I'd be curious if he's a "write what you know" style author? The overview of the book does sound like it was far more influenced by "Into the Wild" than the current, living gnostics so I would like to know how much he knows about those currently living that way? Cheers, Rob V.

posted 4 years, 11 months ago
view in context

on We've Got Spirits, Yes We Do!

Pendleton Whiskey (note: American whiskeys are spelled with an "ey" and Scotch
whiskys are spelled without) is a fast-growing brand but hardly the fastest. It might be in the top ten but I don't think so as its distribution is limited. The fastest growing whiskey in the last 3-4 years has been Bulliet, which is also, in this author's opinion, a far superiour whiskey (bourbon, actually.)

posted 4 years, 11 months ago
view in context

on An Internet Speed Limit?

Cable TV, the price of which is highly regulated, I do not and have never had, nor do I feel the need. My Internet connection, since I work from home, use it to do work and research for same, find jobs, communicate with my clients, etc. is as important to me as electricity and water. Seriously. It is key to my income and livelihood.

posted 5 years, 1 month ago
view in context

on An Internet Speed Limit?

The guest who said businesses are NOT turned off by lack of bandwidth in Portland is very wrong. I have worked for several startups funded out of California and we've always hosted our server in CA although the company was in Portland due to much greater bandwidth at a much cheaper cost in California - the expense of and lack of bandwidth in Portland is costing us major chances at being a High Tech hub and attracting high-tech business!

posted 5 years, 1 month ago
view in context

on An Internet Speed Limit?

Actually DSL vs. cable is not a clear answer: DSL guarantees you speeds - I get up to 160Kbs download speeds but never less than 120Kbs with DSL. With cable, if you're the only one on that loop, you get blindingly fast speeds - I've seen it at friend's homes - but I've also seen someone who is on a loop that has a lot of subscribers, and after work - 6-8PM - it's painfully slow - like a 56K modem. So it really depends, and as time goes on, more and more people will get on your cable loop and your speeds will slow down. It's six of one, half-dozen of the other.

posted 5 years, 1 month ago
view in context

on An Internet Speed Limit?

Carnivore was mostly leaked if you know where you look - for "an underground 2600 elite" you would know that much of the Carnivore code is available and Comcast could certainly have analyzed it, if not borrowed major parts of the system outright. Part of the reason Carnivore was dropped was because the leak showed what a farce it was. Speak of what you know - one should always take one's own advice.

posted 5 years, 1 month ago
view in context

on An Internet Speed Limit?

An "underground elite since 2600" - yeah, right - are you 45 years old? I've got original copies of the first ten years of 2600 - I doubt anyone who was involved in phreaking and "2600 magazine" back in the day would use the term "elite".

I'm with "ohreally" - show me the data - there is NO way to differentiate copyrighted vs. public domain material via the bit torrent protocol - I did research in grad school on some of the protocols used in the BitTorrent protocols and I can easily prove this.

posted 5 years, 1 month ago
view in context

on An Internet Speed Limit?

Am I the only one who does NOT understand why cable TV is the most regulated "utility" but Internet connectivity has none, gas and electric has some? Is watching television and rotting your brain (I'm guilty myself) something so important it requires heavy price regulation, but we're not willing to step up and get involved in some regulation with Internet connectivity which is creating, as mentioned on the show, an "e-divide" between the Have and Have-Nots, which as usual tend to correspond with the better education and more wealthy in the case of the former, more poor and less educated in the latter, and the latter NEEDS Internet connectivity.

posted 5 years, 1 month ago
view in context

on The Legality of Homelessness

The restaurant talked about on the show is Rock Bottom Brewery on SW 4th which blocks off an entire corner with tables and a plastic fence, and it's difficult for pedestrians, esp. since it's next to the MAX tracks, but if you're on a bicycle, much less a wheelchair, it's a nightmare. The law is simply not reinforced fairly.

As for the woman who was supposedly urinated on, etc. - in fifteen years in Portland, I've never had a panhandler do anything like that, and be nothing but polite and easy-going. Drunks and druggies are simply that - doesn't mean they're homeless, just as being homeless does not mean you're a drunk.

posted 5 years, 1 month ago
view in context

on Publicly Financed Questions

Mr. Caldwell of the Oregonian's arguments are facetious at best, insulting at worst. The idea of having "our tax money go towards a candidate who we might not support" makes no sense whatsoever - once elected, officials receive salaries and are given staff and offices to work with, all paid for by taxpayer dollars, whether or not each of us likes or dislikes each official.

Being a part of society and paying taxes means that none of us will get to have every single penny we pay be used exactly the way we would want. In this case, where a majority of voters have spoken and have decided in favor or Public Financing for Elections is no different than deciding that people can no longer smoke in restaurants and next year in bars. Not a single argument made by Caldwell holds water nor shows any understanding of how public politics works. Embarrassing!

posted 5 years, 1 month ago
view in context

on Publicly Financed Questions

Mr. Caldwell of the Oregonian's arguments are facetious at best; insulting to voters at work. The argument of "having our tax money fund someone we might support" makes absolutely no sense whatsoever - once someone is elected, they're paid a salary, and so we all pay for elected officials we didn't vote for or don't like - should we also get rid of salaries and offices for Portland officials? Part of living in society is that no every tax dollar we pay gets spent exactly the way each and everyone one of us want. I supported Mayor Potter's campaign in part because of his own self-limited contributions, and seeing that work, it makes sense to me that it will also work as a system for all elections.

posted 5 years, 1 month ago
view in context

Thanks to our Sponsor:
become a sponsor
Web Analytics