Categories
Internet

Australia and Internet civil liberties

If the fight for freedom of the Internet has a center, that center would be in Australia. I’ve long found that the difficulties inherent with trying to enforce censorship and copyright laws, as well as other related legislation, seem to get tested, first, in this country.

I wrote on the possible effects of South Australian proposed legislation and it’s impact with P2P technologies for O’Reilly in a piece titled Australian Censorship Bill could Impact P2P. To read more about Australian legislation and associated impacts on online civil liberties, check with Electronic Frontiers Australia.

Categories
Weblogging

Tom Graves, shy, not!

Tom appeared first in comments, later in a Radio weblog called xio. If you’ve hung around Burningbird for long then you know Tom and know that he is not the most shy person in the block. No, I wouldn’t call Tom shy at all.

As with so many other webloggers I seem to know, Tom is another techie. Snooping around his various web sites, I also found out that he is yet another weblogging cat fan, as witness his photo of Grizzie. You can also see various photos of Tom through the ages at a personal history page. By the way, I liked the beard.

I have never found Tom to add a comment to any of my and other weblogger postings that wasn’t challenging, to say the least. In particular, he has very strong views of feminism, including a recent posting at his own weblog on the subject that hints at past experiences with women that haven’t been all that pleasant. However, Tom has never been anything but friendly to me. He may not always agree with me, but he never attacks me personally, and always has a kind word for me when I’m a little down.

Interesting fact: One thing I noticed when looking at Tom’s business site is how many of “us” within this particular weblogging circle are independent. In fact, I think the majority of webloggers I know either have their own company, work for themselves, or have a business on the side.

Take a moment and say hi to Tom!

Categories
Critters

Speaking of animals

Speaking of cat loving Australian men and other animals, I found a web site that lists some of the more interesting Australian Animals, including creatures such as the Kookaburra and the Bandicoot.

And the Tasmanian Devil isn’t just a Bugs Bunny cartoon character. Want to hear what they sound like? Make sure your cats are out of the room, first.

Categories
Weblogging

A good cobber Allan Moult

Allan’s weblog, G’Day Cobbers weblog is a treasure I discovered not long after he started. I was attracted to Allan’s photographs first — he is an extremely accomplished professional photographer — and then stayed for his humor and his interest in all things eclectic.

Of course, when I found out that Allan was from Tasmania, the Down Under of Down Under, well, I knew this was the beginning of a long and rewarding friendship.

My particular favorite postings of Allan’s have to do with Dizzy, the infamous office cat from hell who became Allan’s close friend. However, I have also appreciated Allan’s Dreamtime Story and the attack of the Spamming Politician among many other toothsome stories.

Allan has published books on gardening, travel, and craft in addition to his photography and web site design. Personally, I think Allan should put his hand to writing a novel. Something based in Australia and sexy 😉

I would link to a photo I had found of Allan, but I slipped about finding it to him and he must have snuck out and pulled it. Too bad, because I thought it was a great photo of a man with a terrific smile and a love of life and the outdoors. I knew I should have copied it to my web site for future reference…

Say G’Day to Allan!

Categories
Weblogging

Australian states and territories

Australia has six states and two mainland territories in addition to several island territories.

Of the states, Tasmania (home of Allan Moult) is known as the Down Under Down Under due to its location beneath the Australian mainland. Allan, is your home really as beautiful as the photos show? I am green with envy.

Jonathon, Garth, Victor, and zem all live in New South Wales home to Sydney, considered one of the most beautiful Bay cities in the world.

Victoria is in the southern part of the continent and is the home state for Melbourne, a sophisticated gateway to scenic ocean vistas, deserts, and mountains. Tom lives in Victoria.

The other states are Western AustraliaSouth Australia, and Queensland.

I figured with this much to see, when I finally take my long desired trip to Australia, I’ll have to stay for at least three months (visa length). What a beautiful country.