Kudos - Praise looking for a home

The author who had the most influence on my life? Laura Lemay. Author of such volumes as: Teach Yourself Web Publishing With Html in a Week, and Laura Lemay's Electronic Web Workshop. I just sent her the following letter to say Thank You for all she has done to improve my job prospects, earning potential, and quality of life. I couldn't find a place on her blog to post this, so here it is on mine.

Who has influenced you and your life, and have you taken 10 minutes to truly thank them?

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Laura,
I was looking for a place on your blog to put a big Thank You for the books you have written.

When I first heard about this new thing called "The World Wide Web" I was just getting out of college, picked up Mozilla, and started doing a lot of "View Source". No images, no tables, just content. When I realized that I might be able to get paid for this thing called HTML, I knew I had to learn from the pros. The first book I bought was a "Teach yourself HTML..." by Laura Lemay. I do not think I have purchased another book that had more influence on me, my career, or my interaction with technology.

I had a great run before the bubble popped, and was lucky enough to have a degree in theater I could fall back on.

Five years of that later, and we are finally seeing more webdev work. I have friends making money doing podcasts. Hell, the interweb is getting interesting again!

My first interview out of the gate, and I get a one year contract at a very large bank. Why? Mostly because of the skills that I picked up from a little (Aw, who am I kidding, a HUGE) book that you wrote. It was a huge investment for me at the time ($50 or so?) but to this day, the best money I have ever invested in myself in terms of Return on Investment.

My life has changed a lot over the last 10-15 years, and if anyone asks me who my biggest influences were, you are in the top 5.

It sounds like your life has changed a lot too. It is great to see you still writing, especially since it seems like you are having a better time writing what you want. Congratulations!

Again, Thank You! Your work was not just to write lots of words and examples into forest clearing volumes, it was also work that changed lives.

-Graham Linn

P.S. As there is no place on your site that seemed appropriate for this letter, I will be posting it to my own blog, as well as adding yours to my blogroll.

Net Neutrality - Argument Against

I almost don't know where to begin.

First, I am thankful that Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) does not represent me. He does however represent approximately 626,932 Americans (As of the 2000 Census). And what do over 600,000 Americans say? That the internet is made of A SERIES OF TUBES!

Find the full audio of why he voted against the net neutrality bill here.

He complains that "My office sent me an internet" and it took almost five DAYS to get to him! Why? Because the internet pipes were full of movies being delivered by companies.

For a humorous take on why this happened, read what Ryan Singel and Kevin Poulsen have found using "Internet Forensics"

I will admit that being one of the oldest Senators might mean you do not understand "the internets" like those of us "young-uns" do. However, WHY is this man on the Senate Commerce Committee debating a telecommunications bill and net neutrality?

Listening to this man try and explain traffic routing and backbones (without understanding these terms, much less the general concepts) makes me cringe.

Do me one favor? If you read this little blog of mine, you undertand the internet better than many of our elected officials. Get out there and VOTE and actually make sure that you are represented by ELECTED officials that understand the issues you care about and are representing your viewpoints on the Senate floor.