Pictures from the United4Iran DC rally

I've been following what's going on in Iran since the disputed June 12th election. I have some hope that this country will finally turn the corner and get rid of their current dictatorship. I want to help the protesters in some way because I know dictatorships will not just step aside quietly. Rallies held in different world cities were held on Saturday, July 25th to give support to those who are opposing the corrupt, illegitimate government in Iran. I of course went to the rally held in Washington, DC. The DC rally was organized by United4Iran and Where's My Vote DC.

The rally began in front of the United Nations office on 18th and K St NW. I arrived a few minutes after its scheduled start of 4 o'clock. There was already a small group of approximately a hundred people:



The protest had swelled to a crowd that covered the entire block. It was exciting to see. We marched towards the National Mall at about 5:30:





The rally had grown so big it was stopping traffic:



We ended up on the National Mall. A stage was erected for some speakers and a musical performance. I sat through four speakers, three of them were Nobel Peace Prize laureates. It was nearing 7:30, I was tired, sweaty and feeling gross, so I decided to head home and get something to eat.

Here are some pictures from near the end of the rally:

My pictures of the Real World DC cast so far

My first encounter with the Real World DC cast was at the Washington Sports Club and naturally didn't have my camera ready. Ever since then I made sure to keep my small camera with me just in case I need to take a picture of something at the Real World house on my way to or from work.

Well I got lucky this week. On Monday, July 13th as I walked by the side of the Real World house I looked over at their patio area that faces 20th street and one of the cast members is sitting at the table appearing to be writing something. I don't know his name but he's the one that wears the bandana headband. I call him the "rico suave" guy. I have a feeling he's the loner of the group:



On my way home from work today at around 4:30 as I'm crossing S street towards the Real World house, I see practically the whole cast come filing out with camera crew filming right in front of them. I walked down to the end of the next block and waited to see where they were headed. They headed down Connecticut Ave and appeared to be in a good mood. I snapped this picture directly across the street:

See how much those meetings really cost

Ah meetings. Some organizations just love to have them. The thinking goes, if there's a problem, just have a meeting. If the problem still isn't solved then just have more meetings. Meetings on top of meetings. Sure you would like to put a stop to this right away, yet still keep up the appearance of being a 'team player'. Well now you can win the argument by showing exactly how much sitting around at a meeting costs in real-time with the super-handy Meeting Ticker. Just type in the number of attendees, approximate hourly salary, and the meeting start time and the Meeting Ticker does the rest.

Free TV on the web may soon not be free

You thought you were pretty smart. You got rid of your cable tv service and now watch your shows online on Hulu for free. The cable television providers were not going to take this lying down. Time Warner and Comcast will start a pilot service called TV Everywhere that will allow cable subscribers to watch shows online according to Wired's Epicenter blog. The shows offered on TV Everywhere will likely feature shows from Time Warner-owned networks, TNT and TBS among others.

Basic cable shows now found on Hulu will migrate to TV Everywhere. If cable television providers think by offering a online television service for current subscribers will prevent customers from leaving they may be in for a rude awakening. iTunes offers a host of shows from both broadcast and cable networks, though not offered for free, are reasonably priced for a whole season. Instead of buying access to shows you don't want, iTunes allows you to buy just the shows you want to watch when you want. It is cheaper to buy season passes for a handful of shows on iTunes than to subscribe to basic cable for an entire broadcast season.

Introducing the Google Chrome operating system

It was only a matter of time before Google developed their own computer operating system as an alternative to Microsoft's Windows. Despite the newfound popularity of Apple's iMacs and Macbooks represent slightly under 8 percent of the American PC market. Customer friendly versions of Linux, like Red Hat and Ubuntu never posed a serious challenge to Windows.

I think Google might have a chance because they are introducing their Chrome operating system at the right time. The need to have a host of programs installed on your computer accompanied with large amounts of disk space is much lower now than it was just a few years ago. Much of the regular tasks performed by installed programs on the computer can now be done using internet-based applications. Storing photos, editing documents, listening to music can now be done in the "cloud" or by basically employing large servers. Rather than keep offering more and more features in an operating system, the trend will likely be in the opposite direction of offering just basic features with more emphasis on speed and security. I'm a Windows Vista user and I wish I could uninstall Windows programs I never use like MovieMaker.

Andy Warhol uses a Commodore Amiga

This is a video of Andy Warhol during early 80's using a Commodore Amiga computer to paint a portrait of Blondie's lead singer, Debbie Harry. At that time, Commodore Amiga was cutting edge when it came to creating digital art.

Encountered Real World DC cast at my gym

I knew it was only a matter of time before I ran into the cast members of the MTV reality show, Real World DC. I work right across the street from the house where they are filming the show. Reports online said the cast moved in this past weekend. Tuesday I headed to the Washington Sports Club right after work located one block up from my building. I didn't notice anything odd when I checked in at my gym's front desk. It wasn't until I was about to start running on the treadmill when I noticed the Real World DC was filming. A small film crew was filming this brunette running on the treadmill in the row in front of me. She was trying to act like a camera was not positioned right next to her face. For a brief moment, I almost felt bad for her, but then I remembered she signed up for this.

I thought it was just this one cast member at my gym but I was wrong. I was doing some push-ups where most of the machines and free weights are located when I slowly realized that half of the cast was here. I recognized one cast member from pictures posted on the Anti-Real World DC blog, a blond guy with a N'Sync haircut. They didn't do any filming in the main exercise area. The film crew was off to the side, watching tv, looking almost bored. I noticed the brunette, the blonde guy and a tall black guy all left together and head to the locker rooms. I didn't see any of them on my way out. This likely will not be the last time I encounter the Real Worlders around where I work.