Sean brought a few websites to my attention today and based on the fact that everyone whom visits here obviously uses the internet (in some form or another) you should be interested in this.

Quoted from – savetheinternet.com.

What is network neutrality?
Network neutrality ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äù or “net neutrality” for short ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äù is the guiding principle that preserves the free and open Internet.

Net neutrality ensures that all users can access the content or run the applications and devices of their choice. With net neutrality, the network’s only job is to move data ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äù not choose which data to privilege with higher quality service.

Net neutrality is the reason why the Internet has driven economic innovation, democratic participation, and free speech online ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äù and the public demands Congress not dismantle it. It’s why the Internet has become an unrivaled environment for open communications, civic involvement and free speech.

What’s at stake?
Decisions being made now will shape the future of the Internet for a generation. Before long, all media ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äù TV, phone and the Web ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äù will come to your home via the same broadband connection. The dispute over net neutrality is about who’ll control access to new and emerging technologies.

On the Internet, consumers are in ultimate control ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äù deciding between content, applications and services available anywhere, no matter who owns the network. There’s no middleman. But without net neutrality, the Internet will look more like cable TV. Network owners will decide which channels, content and applications are available; consumers will have to choose from their menu.

The Internet has always been driven by innovation. Web sites and services succeeded or failed on their own merit. Without net neutrality, decisions now made collectively by millions of users will be made in corporate boardrooms. The choice we face now is whether people can choose the content and services they want, or whether the broadband barons will choose for them.

What can I do to help?
Sign the savetheinternet.com petition.

Call your representatives today ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äù especially if they’re on the House Commerce Committee ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äù and demand that net neutrality be protected.

Encourage groups you’re part of to please join the SavetheInternet.com Coalition.

Tell your friends about this crucial issue before it’s too late.

So, as you can see I’m asking you to head over to savetheinternet.com and sign this petition. Do not let ISP’s regulate our internet services.

I’ve noticed a trend with fellow webmasters that I’m just not too crazy about. With the rise of blogs on the ‘net, it’s almost inevitable that someone will find you and ask you to design a theme for them. This is just fine and dandy because all money is good money.

The problem I have is with those who get paid and don’t actually do any work. I surfed through a few portfolios today the running theme between them all was the fact that they were all based on the SAME theme. The only thing that was changed was the header image. Now, normally I wouldn’t really notice but I found this to be a little absurd. One girl was basically charging $50 for WordPress themes that were all using the same code. The only changes were in the header images and CSS coloring. I went through her ‘theme preview’ and saw that all coding was the same.

If she was charging $50 for amazing images, then of course I would understand. But she’s not…it’s like she’s surfing through Getty images, and cropping the watermark out and then slapping it onto the template. If someone wants a simple theme – fine go for it – but when you’re paying $50 for something, you’d expect that person to spend more than FIVE MINUTES working on your theme, wouldn’t you?

I work on the ‘net, it’s my main income right now. I make it a point for every single client to start from scratch. Yes, as far as the WordPress files go for index.php and comments.php I take the ‘classic’ theme and edit it to match the particular theme I’m working on. However, the outcome of each theme looks different 99.9% of the time. I’m not taking the same two-three column layout, strapping a header image into it and then edit style.css – that isn’t WORK, that’s called screwing over a customer. The idea is to make the customer HAPPY this way they are a RETURN CUSTOMER. If you screw the customer over, there’s the chance that they just won’t come back a second time. If they do, then abuse it because they’re idiots and don’t know any better anyway.

I just can’t understand how anyone could recycle a layout (probably the same code they use on their OWN blog) and edit a few things then turn around and sell it for $50-$100. I find it to be completely absurd.

Maybe it’s because I’ve run my own business for so long…or maybe it’s because I have respect for my clients. Who knows? I just don’t quite understand how people could do such things. I’m aware of the fact that 50% of the internet is brain-dead, but good lord taking them for granted is just horribly bad business etiquette.

So, answer me this – Do you think it is acceptable to charge $50-$100 for something you?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ve put five minutes of work into?

Comment your little hearts out, I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢d really like to know what someone else thinks.

After Joe died, I had no concentration level whatsoever. It took me almost a month to get back into the swing of things, especially with school.

I finally picked myself up and said “Okay, it’s time to get back to business.” I went ahead and completed the multiple-choice questions connected to my final course (English). I also completed the two essays required for this particular module. Upon the completion of this module, I’m basically finished with school. All I have to do is wait for them to grade the essays and then send me my degree.

The problem: They’re taking their fucking sweet assed time grading my essays!

I’ve worked very hard to get into school, and twice as hard to maintain a 95/100 average. I’ve emailed them three times and no response IN A WEEK. I’ve called them, and it seems that ALL OF THEIR LINES WERE BUSY! I’m so completely and totally annoyed about this, it’s not even funny.

I want to get a job outside of the house that doesn’t require bagging groceries. No there’s nothing wrong with bagging groceries – it’s a living…but not one that I want to do again. Been there, done that!

All I want is to get my degree so I can head up to the hospital and file an application. Then I can finally get out of the house during the day instead of sitting here WAITING like a little puppy for work to come in.

Is that so wrong of me? Am I like shooting my goals TOO HIGH? I just don’t understand?¢‚Ǩ¬¶I really don’t. I’m almost completely at the end of my rope. People are dropping like flies around me, I have hardly any money coming in (other than hosting fee’s that all go right back to the server). I just don’t get it.

In situations like these, the one person I would go to is Joe. He was my crutch and that crutch is long since gone. And even though I’ve turned into a schizoid and still talk to him on occasion as though he’s sitting right here, there’s never any kind of response that sets my mind at ease. I know it’s pathetic, I’m fully admitting to that. I just don’t know how to deal with it any other way. It’s been a month (as of April 7th) and I’m still waiting for him to call me and tell me it was all just a cruel joke and he’s been on vacation or something.

How does someone get through the rest of their life when their life-line has basically been sliced, diced, and julienned? Please, answer this for me because I really don’t understand.

I’ve had people tell me that I have to start taking care of myself, I have the ability to get through things on my own, blah blah blah. I am independant, that’s not the point. Everyone, no matter who you are, has that ONE person in their life that they can go to for emotional support. Whether it be a family member, friend, boyfriend/girlfriend, husband or wife, that person is there for you 100% whenever you need them.

Yes, I have Alicia, John, Heather, Christie, Stick Boy, Miranda, and the list continues. I love them all, but all of them combined will never have the same kind of effect on me that Joe did. He was at my beck and call for six years, six fucking years, and now I’m left here in the dark wondering when he’s going to pop up and let me know that everything will be ok.

I’ve closely considered going to one of those John Edward seminars, but there would really be no point in that. The only questions I have for Joe are very simple ones that are yes and no answers. One of those “Tap twice for yes, once for no” kind of responses.

#1 – Did you die peacefully? Yes, I’m aware of the fact that you were in constant pain because of your illness, and were very sick the night that you passed away. But was it a very painful death or did you just fall asleep and not wake up?

#2 – Are you still here? I just need to know if you’re still watching over me the way you used to. Always being at my side was something you probably did better than anyone. Yes, we faught, every relationship has its downfalls, but are you still at least here to keep an eye on me and nudge me when I’m doing something stupid?

#3 – Are you proud of me? You were the driving force behind my going back to school, you were going to be there to see me through it and help me with anything I didn’t understand. You held up to your end of the bargain, you showed up here when you were supposed to go somewhere else just to help me get through my Chemistry homework. Why couldn’t you be here long enough to see that it paid off and I’m finally graduating? I looked to you for everything because I know you’d never steer me in the wrong direction. Are you at least proud that I’ve now reached my goal?

I’ve written the same three questions down over, and over again. Few have told me to write him a letter, that’s as far as I can go without completely and totally breaking down. Yes, that are three literal questions from my private journal.

I’m just……BAH!

I’m so fucking annoyed right now it’s not even funny. I went grocery shopping with my sister because there’s like no food in the house. Dad gave me money (just in case) because he knew that business has been slow these past couple of weeks. I went to charge the groceries on my card so that I didn’t HAVE to use my dads money and for some god forsaken reason (yesterday) I was hit with an overdraft fee that left -$35 in my bank account. So I wound up having to use the money he gave me, which I’m very unhappy about. I have no money, and no patience. It’s starting to really tick me off.

I can’t do anything with Source-1 at the moment because out-sourcing is on hold until some stupid client actually PAYS for the site he’s HAD for the last month. So now I have to do any and everything I can to push AGn Solutions or head down to freaking CVS and wonder if they’d hire me again. According to my last manager there, he didn’t put me down as ‘Unhirable’ but of course the fucking bastard Allan didn’t like me and probably changed that anyway.

I don’t know what the hell to do. I really do need business to pick up though, so I’m gonna throw a few things out there:

$20 Deal – Webhosting, Domain Purchase, Website Template.
$30 Deal – Webhosting, Domain Purchase, Website Template, Lifetime Advertising in 468 rotation.
$40 Deal – Webhosting, Domain Purchase, Website Template, Lifetime Advertising in BOTH 468×60 & 200×40 rotations.

So I’m basically offering complete and total site designs plus advertising. The $20 is an 80% off kind of a thing, I’d like to think that’s fairly reasonable.

As you may, or may not know, I’ve redone my Advertising.

468×60 Rotation – $3 a month or $15 a year.
200×40 Rotation – $1 a month or $10 a year.

Right now I’m down to my last 6 people for the notebook offer. The faster I can get those knocked out, the faster I can get the $1800 and get out of this rut. If you have a credit card, and are willing to get AOL for a week, then please sign up and complete an offer. It will cost you absolutely no money at all and you’re still helping me get my last credits.

If you can’t sign up, would you be willing to put my link on your site? If so, please email me (or comment here) and let me know. Unfortunately only USA / Canada / UK residents can be involved in completing offers, which sucks because I know people from all over the world who want to help me out

http://www.notebooks4free.com/default.aspx?r=312353 – That’s the full referral link.

I really see no other options at the moment, I’m about to take a walk down to Petco and Eckerd and see what they’re doing. I’m so pissed off it’s not even funny. I don’t even have any money to get a pack of cigs and my nerves are totally on edge right now :grrr:

I had a rather uneventful weekend. For some reason on Friday night I could NOT fall asleep for the life of me. So I just decided to stay up all day on Saturday and then crash on Saturday night. It worked, after a quick half hour nap (which I think I was standing up for…oddly enough). I managed to stay awake until about midnight then I totally crashed until about 11:30 on Sunday morning. The longest night of sleep I’ve had in a very, very long time. I woke up feeling tired as hell though, so although the sleep was nice, the over sleep really wasn’t.

I spent some time with Alicia on Sunday. We drove around a little bit, wound up at the beach and then back to her house for a little while. Then I came home and made it a point to be extra lazy. I wasn’t really in the mood to deal with my sister, or the dog for that matter, so I locked ‘em both out of my room and continued reading my book.

I’m reading Messenger by Edward Lee. So far it’s pretty good, it’s about postal workers gone…well…postal. Death is flying out the wazoo in this book. I’ve never read anything by Edward Lee before, but I saw the book in the 2-for-$5 bin at Eckerd and figured I’d give it a shot. I picked up another one but I don’t even remember the title of it, it’s sitting on top of my TV but I just don’t feel like stretching to find it…heh.

A little bit of Hell has just come to earth. Would you like to become someone else? Well, someone else is about to become you. He will share your heart and your mind, he will seep into your body, he will feel all your ecstasy… And then he will take you on a slaughter fest. Occult rites. Ritualistic murder. You have become possessed. But not by a ghost. Not by a demon. It’s something much worse. Just as God has a messenger, so does the devil, and that messenger is here, now, in your town. He has a message to send…The Messenger. A diabolical novel of ultimate erotic horror…

It’s a bit bloody, quite gory and if you don’t have a strong stomach then I wouldn’t recommend it. I’m an evil person in general. So that’s mainly why I find it as interesting as it is. If you can handle the descriptions of someone being sliced stem to stern with a machete then I think you’ll do just fine and I’d definitely recommend the book.

In other news, thanks to Stacee I’m now one referral away from my digital camera. I’m still offering $20 to ANYONE in the USA or Canada who can sign up, complete an offer and then email me once their account shows as valid. There was a bit of confusion with my previous post, and one very, very RUDE person who DEMANDED the $20 because they’d SIGNED UP, and didn’t complete an offer. The steps are simple.

#1 – Get your credit card out.
#2 – Click on my referral link and sign up for an account
#3 – Ignore the small survey and continue to your account page.
#4 – Click “Complete Offer”, choose an offer. Blockbuster.com is instant and will cost you $9.99. “Get a free $40 gas card!” costs $1 and takes 2-3 business days.
#5 – Once you’ve completed this offer please wait a few days, or minutes (depending on the offer). Once I get a notification telling me that your account is valid, I expect to receive an email from YOU telling me the same thing.

Once those steps are completed, we’ll discuss what you want in return, a quick recap:

#1 – $20 OR a domain & hosting – you choose ONE, not both!
#2 – Lifetime advertising in the 468×60 rotation, a $50 value (no matter which #1 you choose)
#3 ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äú Personal weblog template, a $50 value.

So in reality, you’re getting $120 worth of stuff, just for spending $1 – $10 completing an offer for me.