My Most Recent Online Chess Game Win

Check out my most recent online chess game win, in my first game against SK-B (white pieces; norsehorse plays black), here [via Chess.com].

Once the game board loads, one clicks the forward > button (i.e., move buttons found just below the board) in order to move the pieces forward as the game had played out in order to examine or observe the game. The back < button allows one to reverse a move in order to track or observe it better.

In addition, toggle the Move List button (bottom right of chess board) in order to view the notation of moves as well as my notes concerning certain moves

Since it is an already played game, you will not actually be playing the game of course, however you can walk through the moves.

My 1st Ever Draw*

Finally figured out how to blog up a played chess game and, thought the resulting draw*(my first ever, that I recall anyway) of a recent online game played between Norseman and myself (our sixth game) was definitely worth being my first such game post, here [via Chess.com Website].

Once the game board loads, one clicks the forward > button (i.e., move buttons found just below the board) in order to move the pieces forward as the game had played out in order to examine or observe the game. The back < button allows one to reverse a move in order to track or observe it better.

Since it is an already played game, you will not actually be playing the game of course, but you can walk through the moves.

In fact, after blogging the post up, I walked through the game and had to do back moves several times in order to process and understand the moves as well as other options and missed opportunities (if any) better.

It was quite the dance around the board.

This was my 6th game with Norseman. We appear to be somewhat evenly matched in skill. It was a tough and fun game, especially toward the end.

Norsehorse

Bagel Radio Playing My Song

Am listening to the weekly live Bagel Radio 480 Minutes show (starts at 9 a.m. Pacific Time and runs until 5 p.m. PT), an Internet radio broadcast produced by DJ Ted Leibowitz aka Bagel Ted via Live365.

In fact I just got online at the one computer in town with sound capability and began tuning in to the show a short time ago. Then I shot an instant message to Ted about the promo for his show with someone talking about what their favorite type of bagel is.

Ted replied quickly and informed me that he had gotten the song I kept requesting for a long period of time over the years. The song is World Party – Ship Of Fools – Private Revolution [length: 4:30]. Check out a previous blog post of mine concerning the song(s), here (Saturday, October 07, 2006).

[Thank you Ted!]

For additional information about Ted’s weekly Internet radio show, be sure to check out the Bagel Radio blog.

Bo Muller-Moore, Eat More Kale, in the News

Read about how Montpelier man has a not so ‘Comcastic’ experience, here [via Times Argus; Saturday, November 25, 2006].

fyi: Eat More Kale

P.S.

Read a related article, here [via Times Argus; Saturday, November 18, 2006], within which mentions:

[...]

… “Customers who continue to have problems should contact 1-800-comcast for resolution of their problems” …

[...]

Customers who continue to have problem or are unhappy with the service can call the public service department at 828-2811 to file a report. There is also an on-line complaint form on the department’s Web site at http://publicservice.vermont.gov/consumer/consumer.html.

Read the article in full, here.

All this seems to provide an entirely new or different meaning to Comcast‘s message: … Welcome to a world that’s ComCASTIC!

CBS Innertube

*Updated*

Have just come across this and, while I know absolutely nothing about it yet, apparently one can now watch full episodes of fan favorite CBS television network shows for free online, here [via WCAX - Channel 3 TV - News (Burlington, Vermont) Website].

*Update*: In addition, ABC (full episode streaming, here) and NBC are also featuring full episodes of some of their own fan favorite television shows as well.

*Note*: last updated on Saturday, November 11, 2006 at 12:37 AM [EST].

"Rural Areas Left in Slow Lane of High-Speed Data Highway"

Must-read article, here [New York Times; Thursday, September 28, 2006 (two pages)].

Dear Senator Jeffords:

*Updated 4x*

[...]

• Do you support Network Neutrality — the principle that guarantees that all Web sites and services are treated equally on the Internet?
• Can we count on you to take a stand against giant phone and cable companies and oppose Senator Ted Stevens’ telecommunications bill (H.R. 5252) unless stronger Net Neutrality protections are added?
• Will you make a pledge today to personally guarantee that Net Neutrality is a part of any future telecommunications legislation?

[...]

[via Save the Internet, here]

Event tomorrow – Be there!:

Thursday, August 31 2006 at Noon
Senator Jeffords’ Montpelier office
435 Stone Cutters Way

[via Vermont Daily Briefing (VDB), here; via 802 Online, here]

My very brief e-mail sent to the care of one of Senator Jefford’s Montpelier staff:

Dear Senator Jeffords,

Am writing to ask you to please come out in strong support for Net
Neutrality today.

For more information on the subject, visit:

Save the Internet

We Are the Web

Sincerely Concerned,

[...]

Contact Senator Jeffords today, here!

Read Sen. Jeffords’ Statement on Network Neutrality (Monday, August 28, 2006).

*Update 1*: Read Net activists focus on Jeffords (Updated, corrected version) [via Vermont Guardian; 8/30/2006].

*Update 2*: Read the CCTV Action Alert, here [via Chittenden Community Television (CCVT) Center for Media & Democracy].

*Update 3*: Read some other blog posts on the subject, here (Thursday, May 11, 2006) and here (Tuesday, August 29, 2006) [via Dream Out Loud].

*Update 4*: For additional information on the subject of Network neutrality, check out the following:

• Network neutrality
  From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• Net Neutrality
  [via Google]
• Net Neutrality
  [American Library Association (ALA)]
• Net Neutrality
  See what people are saying right now on Technorati
• National Outpouring of Support for Net Neutrality
  [(blog post) via Digital Divide Network,
  A project of the Center for Media & Community at EDC, Inc]
• Jon Stewart on Net Neutrality
  [via YouTube]

Read the Associated Press (AP) article concerning the Thursday petition drop-off rally out front of Senator Jeffords Montpelier office, here [via Boston Globe; local Vermont news wire; Thursday, August 31, 2006]

Read a blog post concerning the event, here (Thursday, August 31, 2006) [via Dream Out Loud]. The post includes a photo as well as a link to additional photos, here [via VPIRG].

PS

The above mentioned Dream Out Loud blog post also provides the following link as well:

*** WATCH streaming video of today’s event here ***

The video in question is listed under Special Events, click onto the link for: Vermonters Deliver a Petition to Senator Jeffords asking for his support of Net Neutrality (8/31/06) [via Channel 17 Streaming Video; Burlington, Vermont].

*Note*: last updated on Thursday, August 31, 2006 at 4:48 PM [EDT].

Tooling the Web: Using the Internet to get there from here

Yet once again, while this column of mine is of course rather old stock and, as I had not made it available on my blog(s) before, since I am the author of the column I have taken the liberty to reprint it below.

This particular column was the third of a three-part exclusive series published back in 2000 by The Independent.

The Independent
December 2000: Winter Edition
(Vol. 9, No. 5; Pages 19 & 20)

Tooling the Web

Using the Internet to get there from here

By Morgan W. Brown

The world of computers and the Internet can seem intimidating, mysterious or abstract at times. Having access to the use of computers and the Internet does not ensure a person the ability or skills to easily navigate this electronic universe.

The Internet is more akin to being in a maze where one can become confused, disoriented, frustrated, worn down and lost rather than being a means to acquire information, find oneself or connect with others. Put simply, no one can lay blame on another for not daring to venture online by him or herself.

While there are some places which provide what could be termed driver education classes for getting around on the information superhighway, there are those who fare better with a one-on-one or personally tailored approach. However, unless one has the money and the resources to afford it, such coaching is hard to find.

Many of the struggles some people face could be a thing of the past if the obstacles they encounter were removed, or the circumstances caused by them seriously ameliorated. These barriers deprive access to valuable resources and opportunities which otherwise prove essential to improving the quality of life for individuals, families and communities.

If we expect people to move into or advance within the workforce, or to volunteer for non-profit efforts, they must be provided with the education, training, resources, tools, reasonable accommodations and opportunities that address their individual needs. This is the encouragement, support and empowerment that will be necessary if we mean to assist them to continue in the direction of their hopes which they have for the work, career or volunteer positions they are seeking.

If people are expected to be able to focus, learn and then apply what they have learned, they must be provided with an environment that is conducive and supportive of these goals. Among other things, this means not burdening them with lots of hoops to jump through, piles of paperwork or financial debt. This would only serve to distract, impede or dissuade them.

To paraphrase an old saying: It makes more sense and, is much more compassionate, to show people how to fish than it is to hand them a bowl of fish chowder at a soup kitchen from time to time.

One possible way for us to get there from here would be to establish free accredited programs to educate, train and certify people in various hands-on computer, programming and internet skills in small class settings.

For anyone who wanted to learn new skills or to refresh former skills, a person would first be thoroughly taught in the basics at a level and pace that is appropriate for them. When ready, they could be instructed in more advanced skills. Key components of their education would include being trained in relationship building, and how to pass along their skills respectfully and effectively.

When each person successfully completed certain phases of their training, they would perform community service during which they tutor others one-on-one (at no cost to the person being tutored) as part of their class requirement. This could be done under various forms of supervision.

After their training was over, there would also be a final period in which they perform a lengthy supervised internship. The internship would include providing in-depth, one-on-one tutoring, mentoring and training to others in essential computer and internet basics as well as sharing related knowledge, information and experience that may prove useful; all free of charge. There should not be any requirements imposed on anyone tutored by interns however, other than having each person tutored complete a brief evaluation survey at the end of the session.

The same basic standards and support would apply regardless of the skill level and training each student may engage in or complete. Once the entire training process was accomplished successfully — including having all training and intern requirements fulfilled — they would be awarded the appropriate certification(s).

These training programs should avoid an overly bureaucratic set up which would drain resources, energy and time away from students or those providing program administration, training and supervision.

Such programs could be funded and administered by a collaborative partnership between federal, state and local government, corporate and business sectors, educational institutions, libraries and other public and private entities serving the public interest.

In addition, during their training, internship and in the transition to employment, if a person is in need of support, assistance and accommodations with transportation, housing and other needs or benefits, they should be provided. This could be done through a voucher system or existing programs that meet any of these needs. But, they should be accessible via one-stop shopping.

If we made these investments in people eager to join, rejoin or move into the workforce, the dividends would be of immense benefit to our communities in ways we now can only imagine.

Besides creating a broader and deeper pool of skilled workers, these programs would provide richer and wider opportunity by giving greater access to a wider range of people. These citizens would be tutored in new skills or improve rusty skills. The new relationships between the people these programs would bring together are another benefit.

The intention and purpose of these concepts, and of this proposal, is to foster a free community-wide apprenticeship and mentoring model that can be used to help bridge several gaps across Vermont and elsewhere.

This approach is envisioned to bring people together and build good will, understanding, tolerance and community spirit, as well as address mutual needs and goals within our diverse communities. People of all ages would have a community resource to acquire skills for tooling the Web when, and if, it is needed.

It would enable more individuals, families and communities to move toward, and share in, an economic progress that today is only dreamed about. If we all work together and freely offer support to each other — especially with those most in need — we can get there from here.

Morgan W. Brown is a struggling, but “serious & persistent” writer, poet and activist residing in the Montpelier area. His life experience includes that of psychiatric incarceration, shock treatment (ECT) and being homeless.

The Independent is a Vermont publication for seniors and people with disabilities.

For permission to reprint the above article as is, please e-mail the editor of The Independent with your request to Deborah Lisi-Baker at deborah [at] vcil [dot] org and, in addition, cc your message to the author, Morgan W. Brown, at: morganbrown [at] gmail [dot] com

Read parts one and two of this particular three-part exclusive series:

• Net-Working: Revolutionizing What it Means to be Connected [The Independent; Summer 2000 Edition (Vol 9, no. 3)]
• Wandering the Internet: Turning online experiences into journeys of personal discovery [The Independent; October 2000 Edition (Vol 9, no. 4)]

Wandering the Internet

Once again, while this column of mine is also rather old stock and, as I had not made it available on my blog(s) before, since I am the author of the column I have taken the liberty to reprint it below.

This particular column was the second of a three-part exclusive series published back in 2000 by The Independent.

The Independent
October 2000 Edition
(Vol 9, no. 4)

Wandering the Internet

Turning online experiences into journeys of personal discovery

by Morgan W. Brown

People often ask me how I manage to come across the various information I do, whether acquired online or elsewhere. The information in question comes my way by being mindful (i.e., fully aware) while either wandering the Internet or the real world. It also comes from the many connections and relationships I have developed with others. These personal contacts help to provide greater opportunity to engage in support, networking and the mutual sharing of information.

At first, I reluctantly used the Internet. All I knew about the Internet came from reading newspapers, watching the TV, listening to the radio, or by word of mouth. None of it excited me or made me rushing to go online. Computers and the Internet intimidated me, made me leery of using them. I also did not have a computer with online access and was not sure how well it would work for me to use a public computer connected to the Internet.

That changed when Butch Ponzio told me about a free, web-based e-mail service to use if I could get online. A public access online computer had recently been made available at the library in a small rural village in the Northeast Kingdom where I was living, and in which I felt extremely isolated. Finally, inside that cozy red brick building I dared sit down and give it a try. Some children and librarians offered help, showing me some of the Internet basics. I never could have done it without their kind and generous assistance, and things have not been the same for me since. Internet access has been tremendously empowering.

Ever since those first days three and half years ago when I sat in front of the public access computer I have been wandering the Web. My only online access comes either from public access I find at libraries, colleges and the like or at the homes or offices of friends and allies. This has given me access to web-based e-mail, the ability to build my own web pages via web-based services that offer space freely, and the ability to search the Internet to my heart’s desire (or until I have to get off the computer).

I have found that what usually works best for me in my life experiences in the real world is also what often times works best for me in the virtual world.

What I mean is this: ideally, and generally, speaking I go in or out a door and down one path and then another, and so on, in the real world. These doors or paths are sometimes literal, but are also figurative and come to represent opportunities, crises, experiences or moments in time. Yet it is how I do so that is important; it makes all the difference between whether I find what may be needed or the quality of what is found. It depends on the level of awareness I allow myself to operate from and what I free myself to be open to. When I go in or out a door or down any path and am being mindful, I am experience and take in as much as I can at any one moment. When I am in any one place I do not concern myself with where I have been before or where I will be next. Neither do I concern myself with analyzing, processing or otherwise understanding what it is I am experiencing, encountering or observing at that time. Those thought processes wait for another time and a completely different context after freeing the mind of what I think I know. This mindfulness better affords me to be more open to learning what each moment and experience has to offer.

None of this is a state of mind or a philosophy to me. It is a way of being, a way of life. It is simply Being. It is meeting life on its terms and living it naturally and fully as it comes and flows. I merely take of these moments and experiences — and then later make from them — what I need and can soak up as I wade through and swim its currents and depths. What I end up doing is exploring and experiencing my own currents and depths more than anything else I may believe that I am exploring and experiencing. These are journeys of personal discovery. Each person must find their own way of being and way to undertake their journey; there is no one way to exist or experience life.

I engage in mindfulness with whatever I am doing. I could be writing, out for a walk, enjoying the company of a friend or a stranger or online. In this way I am most open to exploring every opportunity and experience around me that may be happens and unfoldings moment to moment.

This involves a great amount of mindful wandering or journeying. As these terms would imply, this approach means going beyond established boundaries and expectations within and outside of ourselves that often limit and constrict what could be a more peaceful coexistence, a broader life experience and a deeper spiritual fulfillment with oneself, others and all life. There is nothing aimless or selfish about this. It demands great effort and much personal sacrifice. The reasons or excuses for not doing so are never about having too little time for it. Rather it is about making and taking the time by making it a priority and then exercising the will by doing it mindfully.

On the question of whether to use the Internet for personal use, activism and advocacy: I say, go for it. Wander and explore your own inner currents and depths; plumb the opportunities and experiences available for personal discovery found in the realm of cyberspace by going online any chance you can get.

If you need assistance as I first did, there are people and programs available to help with Internet and computer tutoring. For information on where to locate these people or programs in your area, contact either the Vermont Center for Independent Living (VCIL), your local senior center or area Council on Aging.

For those living in or near Chittenden County, there is CyberSkills Vermont, which provides classes in Internet and computer skills. They also have an Online Public Access Center for those who have little or no online access of their own. They are located at the Old North End Community Technology Center, 279 North Winooski Avenue, in Burlington. For additional information call 1-802-860-4057 x 20 or visit their website at http://www.cyberskillsvt.org/

* “CyberSkills provides a model and process for community and economic development that moves beyond the issues of access and universal service.”

Funded in part by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and earned income, the Old North End Community Technology Center — CyberSkills Vermont — works with individuals, organizations and communities who want to participate in the global digital economy. More than a training organization, CyberSkills Vermont supports its neighbors and clients to build their capacity and plan their future. They also provide a working model for building the capacity of rural and urban communities to compete in the Information Economy. CyberSkills is based on the principal of “People First, Technology Second” and a process that includes: auditing, awareness raising, access, training, content production, partnerships and planning.

For more information about CyberSkills for rural communities, go to the following website, CyberSkills for Rural Communities, at http://crs.uvm.edu/cyberskills/

“The mission of CyberSkills for Rural Communities is to establish enterprises for rural regeneration in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom and Windham and Windsor counties.”

Morgan W. Brown is a struggling, but “serious & persistent” writer, poet and activist residing in the Montpelier area. His life experience includes that of psychiatric incarceration, shock treatment (ECT) and also being homeless.

The Independent is a Vermont publication for seniors and people with disabilities.

For permission to reprint the above article as is, please e-mail the editor of The Independent with your request to Deborah Lisi-Baker at deborah [at] vcil [dot] org and, in addition, cc your message to the author, Morgan W. Brown, at: morganbrown [at] gmail [dot] com

Read parts one and three of this particular three-part exclusive series:

• Net-Working: Revolutionizing What it Means to be Connected [The Independent; Summer 2000 Edition (Vol 9, no. 3)]
• Tooling the Web: Using the Internet to get there from here [The Independent; December 2000: Winter Edition (Vol. 9, No. 5; Pages 19 & 20)]

In addition, if you have not already done so either previously or of late, make sure to check out the Website of Butch Ponzio and his family: Sundog Stories.

Net-Working: Revolutionizing What it Means to be Connected

While it is rather old stock of mine and, as I had not made it available on my blog(s) before, since I am the author of the column I have taken the liberty to reprint it below.

This particular column was the first of a three-part exclusive series published back in 2000 by The Independent.

The Independent
Summer 2000 Edition
(Vol 9, no. 3)

Net-Working: Revolutionizing What it Means to be Connected

by Morgan W. Brown

Information is power. This worn out statement has long troubled me. In my opinion, it and the attitudes behind it are, at best, oversimplified. Such statements and attitudes reinforce assumptions and myths people have of themselves, others and equal opportunity.

These assumptions are part of the belief system central to our so-called free and open society. These assumptions make it easy and convenient to be indifferent to, as well as belittle, those people whose life experiences are derived out of realities that come from the festering oppression, social injustice and inequalities active on many levels in our society and the world around us.

Information is among the commodities traded, bought and sold as part of a very competitive, intensely political and heavily controlled marketplace. As such, information becomes manipulated in ways large and small. It has long been this way, and has happened for so long and is so widely accepted and commonplace that many do not even take notice, let alone take action, concerning the cultural dilemma(s) this poses and the schism(s) created and fostered. Information, like much else in society, is governed and guarded by those whose power actually comes and is rewarded by doing so.

While information may at times result in the obtaining, retaining and enforcing of power, sharing information gives it focus, direction, meaning and purpose. This is true because the consequences that can grow from information and power depend on exactly how we choose to use, define and share it. These actions define, and are defined by, what and whom it is we value as well as what and whom we do not value.

These are some of the basic premises, principles and values upon which the Internet was founded. If there is hope for the Internet to truly benefit the public good it must continue to foster these principles and values in a very real way. That will only take place, of course, by and with those who are not driven by self-interest, a secret agenda or a profit motive.

How the internet actually gets used, of course, remains to be seen and, sadly, is up for grabs. Enter each of us. In certain ways, the Internet is like any other tool used to access and share information and knowledge: we communicate and connect with others.

What we do and how we do it, or who we allow to do it for us, will define the future process and evolution of the internet, and of our society. These decisions and actions could possibly topple and create new paradigms, power structures, institutions and regimes. Likewise, it could reinforce the established ones.

Certain prior technological advances have changed entire societies and cultures within only a few generations. Personal fortunes, empires and even nations were built and came into prominence while others crumbled and waned over time. Sadly, much of this was done at the peril of others. The same holds true today.

The Internet’s introduction to and evolution within the public domain has brought about numerous opportunities compared to its technological predecessors. This is because the means to acquire, disseminate and transfer information and wealth, to communicate and network, is virtually instantaneous and unlimited. As such, information and the means to communicate promises to be more widely accessible to a greater number of people than previously possible. This, along with other factors, will continue to spur diverse and intensely creative change never before imagined.

The Internet’s ability to transform society is constricted only by the limits we place on it, the limits we place on ourselves or the limits we allow others to place on it or ourselves.

However, the Internet is not simply an electronic or virtual super highway. It isn’t the linear object or experience that some would define it or resign it to be. That said, like any other technology before it, the Internet remains a human construct – a tool by which we transmit the best and worst of our human experience. It can be used in a manner that is either constructive or destructive, positive or negative, for good or for bad: To inspire, encourage and support as well as devalue, deflate or oppress.

The possibilities and opportunities that grow from our use of the Internet will be in direct relation to whatever we bring and make from them. As with any mass-consumed technology, much of how the Internet evolves will depend on how available and accessible it is to everyone. With truly open access the Internet can become more than a promised ideal, or hope. It can become a reality. But, this requires some faith.

If we act on that faith, we have the power to use the Internet to transform our lives into a promising and hopeful reality, and one that meets our real and basic mutual needs. This power, of course, resides within each of us, and is not unique to the Internet.

The power struggle over the Internet, like many struggles, is essentially about what it is that makes us human. It comes down to whether we embrace and value each other – and all life – on a mutual and equal, diverse, humanistic and spiritual level. If not, we will continue our destructive path of exploitation, devaluation and dehumanization – a path upon which people are regarded as subjects to be controlled with information about them managed and traded by others. People in this scenario are worked to death so they can be loyal and captive consumers.

Internet or not, we must learn from the horrible lessons of our past as well as those of the present. If we do not, we will continue to endure life under the weight of an enforced superficial realm too often accepted at face value and surrendered to as being our fate.

Morgan W. Brown is a struggling, but “serious & persistent” writer, poet and activist residing in the Montpelier area. His life experience includes that of psychiatric incarceration, shock treatment (ECT), and also being homeless.

The Independent is a Vermont publication for seniors and people with disabilities.

For permission to reprint the above article as is, please e-mail the editor of The Independent with your request to Deborah Lisi-Baker at deborah [at] vcil [dot] org and, in addition, cc your message to the author, Morgan W. Brown, at: morganbrown [at] gmail [dot] com

Of course this particular column of mine was written well before I (and, for that fact, most of the general public) knew or heard anything about blogs, blogging, bloggers and the blogosphere.

In reading this column, there should be little, if any, doubt as to the various reasons and motivations behind why I have taken to blogs and blogging as has been the case thus far.

*Update*

Read parts two and three of this particular three-part exclusive series:

• Wandering the Internet: Turning online experiences into journeys of personal discovery [The Independent; October 2000 Edition (Vol 9, no. 4)]
• Tooling the Web: Using the Internet to get there from here [The Independent; December 2000: Winter Edition (Vol. 9, No. 5; Pages 19 & 20)]