PSoTD

Domain name gifts.

Weird. I would think there would be enough demand for the domain politics.com that it wouldn't be wasted like this.

From the Montgomery Advertiser:

Talking to the little old lady on the corner is not the only way to keep up with what's going on in the neighborhood.

Several neighborhood associations in the Montgomery area have their own Web sites, many of which provide information about neighborhood meetings, events, neighborhood history and other items of interest to their residents.

Vera Jordan, executive director for Building Our Neighborhoods for Development and Success (BONDS), said that a Web site can be great for residents who want to maintain communication with their neighbors.

"It's important that a neighborhood association keeps pace with residents living within its boundaries," she said. "While paper neighborhood newsletters are great, some residents prefer having the option to read it online. Neighborhood Web sites are also a great tool to involve residents who like using their technology skills."

This article, although it is on an important topic, kind of misses the point. It is all about one (the homeowner association) to many (the residents) communication.

Web sites are important. However, homeowner associations would be well-advised to consider all-to-all voluntary email listservs - with stringent guidelines for discussion - to allow neighbors to talk amongst themselves, online, about the issues they find most important. It shouldn't be about controlling the message. It should be about expanding the opportunity for messages.

In the past few years, our neighborhood has discussed vandalism, animal control, ways to slow down speeders, shared property improvements, costs of running the homeowner associations, etc., etc. The key is to keep the discussion focused on the point of the email group - our neighborhood. Discussions will stray both in topic and tone, so there has to be some understandable guidelines to remind folks about.

- If cell phone service will be the way almost all personal "phone" communication is carried out in the future

- If telecommunications service is an important component of any homeland security measure

Why is cell tower placement not being coordinated at the national level?

From TMCNet:

Now, even the debate on a proposed cell-phone tower is mired in the controversy over illegal immigration in this group of ranches east of Sonoita on Arizona 82, about 25 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border.

A group of local residents has emerged in opposition to a 50-foot cell tower that Cingular wants to build here.

In addition to being concerned about aesthetics and future growth of the tower -- worries shared by many cell-phone-tower opponents across the country -- the neighbors are afraid that the tower would bring more traffic into the area by opening up communications to smugglers of humans and drugs.

"Once they recognize there is additional cell-phone contact down here, they can go to cell phones and nobody can track them," said Bevan Olyphant, who owns the Biscuit Mountain Ranch.

It's all fun and games for the boys-playing-cops at the homeowners association until they're dragged into divorce cases because of what their surveillance cameras recorded...

BlogExplosion is for sale.

The proliferation of communication towers is just going to increase, and local governments need more information. Just consider Fayetteville, Arkansas:

The city needs some one who understands cell phone issues, according to City Attorney Kit Williams. He said it may need to hire a consultant or develop expertise within city staff. "I think we need to get a handle on this cell tower thing. It’s not going to go away. There’s more and more coming up," Williams told the City Council last week. Dead zones, spotty coverage, the proliferation of tall towers, antenna clusters, coverage and capacity, stealth technology (trying to hide a 150-foot tower, for example), revenue opportunities for the city and cell tower height are issues the city of Fayetteville is faced with more and more.

Wireless industry Web sites and local dealers suggest that in the near future, the problem will be data as much as density, along with a call for new technology and higher speeds. "The tides have changed to more data services through phones versus just using it as a telephone for voice," said Dustin Scott, an Alltel store manager. "With all the smart phones and technology out, from text messaging to surfing the Web and checking e-mails, that’s the age that mobile phones are going into."

While Fayetteville’s planning commission and city council hear requests for taller towers, industry analysts Kreines & Kreines Inc. of Tiburon, Calif., say cell sites are going to have to come down in height or signals will start interfering with each other.

Ah, yes... planning. There should be no more stories of local governments approving cell towers without public notice. But there will be... local government needs MORE input for the growing communications needs, not less. Yes, it may be a hassle for those who want to approve a particular cell tower, but these are long-term issues now for communities and require as much public participation as the public desires to understand the costs and benefits.

Interesting article about how Burning Man veterans are using technology to help with the work in areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina, particularly wi-fi.

But I think there's plenty of obnoxious use of them in the world. I understand that people may not agree on what may be an inappropriate place to use the devices. Fortunately, it looks like churches, schools and the like may get to force the issue with a special high-tech paint that relies on the wizardry of nanotechnology to create a system that locks out unwanted cell phone signals on demand.

Great idea!

There's always some guy who insists that the prohibition of using a cellphone on an airplane is just ridiculous. Wrong.

Study: Cellphones can impact cockpit devices

Talking on cellphones or using laptops on an airplane could disrupt cockpit operations, especially global positioning devices that are increasingly being used to help land planes safely, according to a new study.

Researchers monitoring flights in the Northeast found that several cellphone calls are typically made on commercial flights during takeoff or final approach, two critical flight stages when accidents could occur.

Damnit, it is hard to believe how many jackasses there are in the world taking chances with the lives of hundreds of people. But I guess we'll find out that percentage of jackasses soon...

The Federal Communications Commission has commissioned a private, independent firm to study in-flight use of cellphones. The results of the study are due by the end of the year.

I have a simple solution for those caught using cellphones in flight unless of a true emergency: put them on a new Do Not Fly list. Not for terrorists. For idiots.