Another day, another comic. First in a two part script, the second should be following soon.

I would have had this comic up sooner but I recently took up a part time position as a private contractor for a communications company. The past few days have been brutal, to put it mildly. The site is a new construction hotel, and by new construction I mean so new there are no AC units installed yet, flooring, or anything other than basic infrastructure. Speaking of infrastructure, the voice and data cabling infrastructure has got to be the WORST I've ever seen from an engineering standpoint. I won't go into details however, I don't feel like typing that long of a rant.

As I'm sure most of you are well aware (since it's on the front page of every news site across the net this morning) that the iPhone 3G is launching today. There's allot of iPhone owners out there weighing out whether or not to upgrade to the new phone or just upgrade their software. For me it's pretty much a no-brainer. Since I was a late adopter and purchased my phone after March 27th (est.), not only will I be able to upgrade to the new iPhone at no cost, I'm actually going to get money back. AT&T stated that late adopters like myself would be paid back the difference on their iPhone 1.0 compared to the iPhone 2.0. That means I'll roughly get between $150-$200(USD) back when I take for my trade in.

Now, most of you out there know that I am no Mac lover. Most would think that odd being that I'm an artist and a musician, and the fact that when it comes to multimedia design and publishing, Macs are the way to go. I am, however, a geek in every sense of the word so functionality and operability are high on my list when it comes to technology purchases. The iPhone has allowed me to do many of the things I need to be doing while I'm not at my PC. Granted there are limitations as to what I can do in some areas, the pros outweigh the cons, for me at least.

Moving on.... (steps up on soapbox)

Not long ago I posted a story regarding the FISA bill and hoped that the millions out there who would be affected by this bill (as well as those already affected) would be able to ban together and squash the bill, preventing it from reaching Bush's' desk.

Well, either there wasn't enough opposition from the public, or the public's outcries were completely ignored by congress and the senate. The bill has passed and now each and every American is open to government wiretapping be it legal or illegal. I'm no conspiracy theorist, I do not wear tinfoil hats (MacDon), but the passing of this bill has just created a path to our country becoming a complete and total surveillance society. The UK is steaming right along the same path, as is China. Though neither the US or the UK are nearly as bad as China, if our rights continue to get trampled as they have in recent years I fear that we could see the same human rights and constitutional rights being violated more and more in the years to come, eventually having them stripped from us completely.

If you recall, the Nazis were democratically voted into power, and look what atrocities spawned from it. I'm in no way likening the US as Nazi Germany, I love my country. I'm simply stating that much can be learned from history, but ignoring those lessons dooms them to be repeated and often with catastrophic results.

I personally think that Americans are more prone to reliving the past because quite frankly, most Americans are too busy to care about what the government is doing, at least until it's too late. A perfect example, The Late Show used to do segments where they would walk around New York and ask average passer-bys questions about current events and politics. Nearly 80% of the people they question don't know basic information, some even so basic as who the vice president of our country is.

Granted, we're all busy trying to make a living, take care of our families, and most importantly these days how to pay for gas and/or mortgages. I personally see them all as minor distractions from the real problems, and it wouldn't surprise me if it was all being done intentionally to keep our focus away from even more important issues. I would like to see all of you Cubicle101 readers out there take some time to read over the current privacy issues that are arising here in the US and help to take a stand, not only for your rights, but also for the future rights of your children and grand children. When planning for the times we live in, we can't forget to look ahead at the possible consequences that future generations will face for our decisions.

(steps down from soapbox)

Ok, that's enough ranting for one post. Enjoy the comic. I may be updating later on today on the iPhone 3G / 2.0 software later on if I find anything of interest.

Stay Tooned !! Cubicle101