Local blogger Brian Conley, of Alive in Baghdad was one of two people arrested while reportedly trying to tape protestors in China yesterday. The story first hit my radar yesterday afternoon via a post on Twitter. Details were sketchy, but today's Inquirer has a few more details:

Brian Conley, 28, of West Philadelphia, and Jeffrey Rae, 28, of Wayne, Delaware County, went to China hoping to videotape protests staged by Students for a Free Tibet, according to Conley's wife, Eowyn A. Rieke. (See Conley's video blog at Alive in Baghdad.)

"We knew that the Chinese government is extremely repressive and that they might respond to any effort to get the word out about Tibet strongly," said Rieke, who is a doctor. She is 31 weeks pregnant with what will be her first child. "So I have been stressed and worried, but overall, in the context of things, what he is experiencing is pretty minor compared to what many people have at the hands of the Chinese government ...

Read the entire story at Philly.com

cbs3.com - A Tale Of True Blog Love:

"Not only do Marisa and Scott have their own professional blogs, (www.slashfood.com and www.macuser.com) they also make time for a shared blog "ForkYou.tv," which serves as a light hearted cooking show."

I feel so bad for missing the Philadelphia Blogger's Meet up yesterday!!! If it was on any day but Wednesday I would've been there!!! Oh well I heard the ones who attended had a good time. It even made it to cbs3.com *kicking self*... Thanx to Karl Martino of www.phillyfurture.org for spearheading it.Hopefully next time I will be there to video the occurrence... Were you there? What tidbit did you take with you? Let me know here: http://myphillynetwork.com/content/philly-bloggers-meetup-sans-my-philly-network

Just wanted to shout out to Above Average Jane on sharing here 2000th post with the Philadelphia community. You've been a daily must read for me and so many to keep up with the political happenings in our region

More eyeballs make all bugs shallow. It's an old saying in open source development circles.

The folks at Young Philly Politics and Hallwatch.org are trying to open up our city's electronic voting results on the Web sooner and to more citizens across the region.

click for more information.

Ultimately, there should be ZERO access to that back end database and a read only version of the results should be published to a public URL. Hopefully by pressing the matter, this will change.

There happens to be a lot of different things that people do no understand when it comes to getting yourself a new vehicle whether it is through leasing it or buying it, it still requires some information to know how it really does work. The thing that you should keep in mind the most is that a car dealership does not typically finance a car lease or a loan but in turn they will most definitely have some sort of impact on how much you will end up paying on your car financing.

One good thing to keep in mind is that a car dealership will always sell you a vehicle for cash in hand. These people are third party businesses that have purchased a franchise from one or multiple different car makers in order to sell the vehicles. They do not work for these car makers and always work for themselves. It is important to realize that the dealers buy these cars themselves usually through the use of a very large loan through a bank or another type of financial institution and as a result they are also charged rates of interest on these car loans. They then need to sell the cars off in order to pay off their initial loans as well as all of the other associated costs that come with running a car dealership.

Dealers will always get cash for a vehicle that they sell to someone, it could either come from the consumer himself, or some other financial institution that has loaned out the finances to a consumer in order to purchase the vehicle of their choice through an auto loan. People are usually under the misconception that they will be able to get a discount or a better deal if they pay for a vehicle in cash but this is not the case because they in fact will make more from raised interest rates and commissions if you go about financing the vehicle itself.

When a car dealership sells a vehicle to a consumer he will usually push onto them the typical bank or financial institution that they have working with them in order to get their financing settled. A lot of these dealerships will use some of the more well known and major financial institutions that have special deals with the car makers if you do not already have one and you would be paying an additional premium for that luxury. As a consumer however, you have the ability to bring on your own auto financing company if you would like to. The point of stating this is to make it perfectly clear to you that a car dealership does not finance a loan to a consumer at all. They will not process the loans or even take payments on the loans themselves, all they will do is take the application papers that you fill out and will try to arrange some sort of financing with companies that they usually work with for a small fee.

Low Rates Car Loan

Now a dealer could go about checking your credit history, but this is not for the purposes of getting you the consumer a car or vehicle loan, but is done in order to figure out quickly whether or not the consumer would even be capable of getting a vehicle or if they have any serious credit issues that are currently outstanding. The dealer is not the financial institution and is unable to approve you the consumer for a loan. The financial institution that the dealership forwards your filled out application to will do their own set of credit history checks as well as check out your past payment history and your overall debt to income ratio. This check is a lot more well done then what a dealer could possibly do so if you happen to have a dealer check out your credit and tell you that you are alright, they really may not have any idea at all so keep this in mind as well.

When the financial institution is done checking out your credit worthiness you will be classified in one of three types which are prime, near prime, and sub prime. Prime means that you have a great credit profile and have a higher score usually above six hundred and eighty, as a result of this you will be offered the best possible interest rates on your loan. Near prime usually will fall around the six hundred and twenty to the six hundred eighty mark and will usually mean that you could pay as much as four or so percent more then someone that has a prime score. If you happen to be below that and are considered to be sub prime then you are going to have some issues with finding a lending institution that will be willing to give you a auto loan and when you do end up finding a good one the rate of interest you will be paying is going to be very high.

Subprime Car Loans

You should also be aware that a car dealership has the ability to change the rate of interest that you would be paying on your car loan. One of the types of hidden fees that some shady car dealerships will try to include to consumers when they purchase or lease a vehicle is to mark it up so that your interest rate is increased regardless of your good credit score. This sort of markup can go up as much as two percent on your overall rate of interest and this particular markup of your interest rate will never be mentioned on any document that you would ever be signing. The car dealership will say that this increase can be considered justifiable because it helps them cover the cost of getting the consumer the financing they need but it is just additional profit or is used to make up for something they may have given to you somewhere else in the car deal. The most a car dealership is legally allowed to mark up your interest rate is by two and a half percent.

Something that a lot of people will ask when they go about getting a new car or vehicle is whether or not they are able to negotiate for their own rate of interest. In a lot of these situations you will not be able to negotiate the base rate of interest that a lending institution gives to you but you will be able to try and haggle down the markup that a car dealership tries to give to you. You should know that though some car dealerships practice this shady act not all of them take part in it. You should also realize that the better credit profile that you have the better rate of interest you will receive over all from the financial institution. So knowing what your credit profile looks like and shopping around on the internet is of the best things you can do for yourself before even ever walking into a car dealership.

Student Car Loans

Even if a car dealership does check your credit it really does not matter and this is a mistake that most people think occurs. Just because they said it looks good on their end it does not mean it is a done deal for you. When a consumer buys or leases a new vehicle with a car finance they will usually sign papers that state that they agree to purchase the vehicle using funds that are provided to them through a financing company and if they are not approved by the company the deal itself is considered nulled and voided unless they are able to secure another way of financing. Once this is done the car dealership is in no way again involved in the monthly repayment of the loan itself and is no longer responsible for it.

If you happen to have poor credit and come across problems trying to get approved for a vehicle because of your past payment history or debt to income ratio there are still a couple of things that you can do in order to get yourself that car of your dreams. Often times a co signer will allow you to get a vehicle without much of a problem. Other times a financial institution will ask for a large down payment to off set the high amount of risk that you have shown to them through your credit history. This will usually allow you to keep the same monthly payments while having the overall cost of the vehicle to go up. Even if a dealer lets you drive away with the car if the bank or financial company comes back to them denying the loan application the vehicle still will legally belong to them and they will require you to return it regardless of anything that you could have signed originally.

Private Party Car Loan

So when it comes down to it you should always know what your personal credit profile and score is before even walking into a car dealership just to make sure that you will not be startled when something goes down later on. The next thing you should do is to shop around for a good car loan that is flexible for all situations online before going into a car dealership so that you are prepared with money in hand in order to make sure that the car you are buying is yours and not the dealers. There are many different places to do this online and getting multiple quotes from different companies will allow you to find the best possible deal regardless of your credit history and situation.

This is a must for everyone who want to earn money very fast. There are so many ways to get a part time job.
There are many many home based internet jobs available like pay for click, click to earn, etc...But, this is a
real genuine job if you do your work sincerely. Why not you spend a minute by visting this site. Get registered
if you are interested. Otherwise, it is just a minute of your time is wasted. The details are in the link provided
below...http://moneymakemachine.blogspot.com
http://jobsteens.blogspot .com

Hey all:

MMP and Temple have rescheduled our Public Forum on the Future of the Philly WiFi initiative for next Wednesday night. We understand that there are some serious negotiations in the works and we hope there will be a deal announced shortly. Please come next Wednesday. In the meantime, here is the basics regarding the forum:
The Future of Philadelphia's Wireless Internet Initiative:A Public Forum
When: Wednesday, June 18, 6:30 p.m.
Where: Tuttleman Learning Center, Room 105,
Corner of 13th St. and Montgomery Ave. Temple University
Panelists Include:
Mark Rupp, Principle, Boathouse Communications
Beth McConnell, Executive Director, Media and Democracy Coalition
Karl Garcia, Technical Staff, Google's Wireless network, Mountainview, Calif.
Greg Goldman, CEO of Wireless Philadelphia
Phuong Ninh, Philadelphia Student Union's Youth Leadership Team
Bill Green City Councilman-At Large
Invited, representative from the Nutter administration
The Media Mobilizing Project and Temple University's School of Communications and Theater are co-hosting a public forum to discuss the future of affordable broadband Internet access in Philadelphia. Please join us in helping to shape the future of the network and ensuring that all Philadelphians-regardless of their income or education levels-have access to affordable, high-speed Internet.

Tips to Creating Online Survey
Know complete side-by-side comparison of Survey Software

You may also be interested in these review sites...Employee Scheduling Software

Email Marketing Services

Website Traffic Statistic Service

Surveys are all around us. Companies rely heavily on customer satisfaction and one of the best ways to understand the consumer is through survey. Unfortunately, not all surveys are created equal. Some are poorly written, which produce inaccurate results, or they are targeted to the wrong audience, again producing inaccurate data.

If a record company wanted to know the popularity of Rap CDs, it would be foolish to survey suburban grandmothers; however, surveying urban teenagers would produce better results. Here are a few tips to conducting successful and accurate surveys.
Online Survey Research
Like any major project, research is necessary. It is imperative to plan every step of your survey, before ever typing a question. One of the most important places to start is know your audience. Like the Rap example, it would be unwise to start blindly distributing surveys.

Additionally, in defining your target market you also find a section of people that will be more willing to take the survey. Those who care about your product or survey will be more likely to participate and give truthful answers.
Online Survey Design
Surveys may often look simple in design; however, they can be a very tricky piece of work. The choice of questions, style and design can potentially make or break a survey.

Use clear and concise language when writing questions. Use questions that begin with who, what, where, when, why or how. Although not fool proof, these types of questions often avoid the language pit falls often associated with online survey.

Avoid loaded, leading, double barrel, ambiguous or compound questions. Also, avoid questions that use jargon or double negatives. Loaded or leading questions may hint to the respondent how you expect the question answered, whereas, ambiguous or compound questions can be confusing. All these question faux pas can be easy to commit without realizing it. Many of us have taken surveys were we didn't understand the nature of the question and were unsure how to answer.

The design of a survey should also be simple, yet comforting to the respondent. Do not make surveys too long or complicated. Often these deter people from completing the survey, or participating all together.

In a survey, images, pictures or graphics can be fun and useful. However, they can become obnoxious if used inappropriately or excessively. This is common on Internet surveys that have more creative control than traditional paper or interview methods.
Online Survey Conduction
There are many different ways to conduct surveys. Email and online survey have become the most popular methods. Some of the more traditional ways are through voluntary paper handouts, mail, telephone and face-to-face interviews.

The way you conduct your survey depends on a number of factors including time, resources, money and target market.

Those with extremely bad experiences or extremely good experiences usually complete voluntary surveys left on service counters or restaurant dining tables. In order to get a decent response from snail mail participants you need to send out many more surveys than you expect to use. Usually only a small percentage of surveys are returned. A good way to improve response is to include a stamped, self-addressed envelope.

Email and online are becoming the most popular forums for conducting surveys. They are easier for people to respond to and almost painless for the surveyor. Often results can be directly downloaded from the survey's website to an analysis program.

Consider who will conduct your survey. Sometimes using a third party, neutral survey company may be in your best interest. People may feel more secure answering questions truthfully if they know the person listening has nothing to gain or lose from their responses.

Before administering your survey, always conduct a pre-test. A pre-test gives you an idea about what others think of the survey. They make sure all the questions and instructions are easy to understand; additionally, you can see how long it takes to complete and how others think and feel.
Online Survey Analysis
Your sample size can often make or break your survey results. If the sample is not large enough your results may be inaccurate. Your sample size depends on the type of survey you are conducting, who your target audience is and your desired margin of error. For a small survey, 100 people would be a good number.

Additionally, consider what results are important to you. If simple frequency tables and charts are enough, then conducting and analyzing the results yourself would suffice. However, if you would like to understand standard deviation, correlation and chi tests within your study, then hiring an independent analysis or survey research company may be in your best interest.

It doesn't matter what the survey is about or what the company does, it's best to approach every survey or poll with the utmost delicacy. Survey construction and design may appear easy, but no survey is ever simple. In order to achieve good results, you need good research, questions and strategy.

On June 12, 2008, Earthlink Wireless plans to disconnect their municipal WiFi service in the City of Philadelphia. For the sake of being timely, I am releasing my unfinished documentary about the joint program between Earthlink Municipal WiFi and the local non-profit, Philadelphia Wireless, forgoing further editing and technical corrections.

My aspiration for this film was to represent the personal insights of a few Philadelphians and their hopes for how municipal wireless service could affect positive change in their city.

Philadelphia Wireless (the local non-profit) is still searching for a new provider to manage the network, continuing their mission of bridging the digital divide by providing internet service to those who can't afford it.

Please forward the link to anyone you think might be interested in this topic.

Change is in the Airwaves: A Documentary about the Philadelphia Wireless Initiative from George Rausch on Vimeo.

“Good evening, M’am.” The gentleman startled me, as I did not hear him approach as I stood on the darkened street, outside a lovely Victorian era house. “Good evening,” I replied, “I was just admiring your home.” Thank you,” he responded, “but my wife deserves the credit. She did all the work.”

A rather pedestrian conversation, if not for the fact that the “gentleman” I was chatting with was actually an adorable little teddy bear wearing flannel pajamas and a wizard’s hat. (I didn’t dare ask the species of his wife.)

Have I neglected to mention that this chat was in text form, and taking place on my computer screen? Yep, it was just another evening in Second Life, the online 3-D virtual reality world that I have been visiting with all too much regularity.

Oh wait – how rude of me! I haven’t properly introduced myself. I am “Cyn Peccable,” a steampunk Victorian woman of little means but great reserve (or at least that’s how my Second Life profile reads.)

Um…yeah…seriously…I’m waaaay too into this.

But let he who is without a time-wasting hobby cast the first stone…keeping in mind that in Second Life, you could throw that stone haphazardly about in a glass house without breaking a single window -- cool!

Mixed imagery aside, my attraction to Second Life can be summed up in two words: no cellulite.

So, what’s a person to do with their nice cellulite-free avatar? Explore! Shop! Make friends while shopping! Shop! Try on the stuff you bought shopping!

And find a place to live.

While I’ve mastered shopping, and even have a “partner” (my real life husband, who signed on to Second Life just long enough to take me off the market) so far I’ve resisted the urge to settle down.

Not that I’m unfamiliar with others’ residences. While Cyn is a proper Victorian lady, it seems she is also quite the peeping Tom. I’ve peered into houses ranging from haunted to Architectural-Digest-ready.

I’ve seen clam shells for mermaids, post-apocalyptic sheds for those surviving an imaginary blast, and double-wide trailers for wannabe trash.

Not to mention a gigantic undersea rusted-metal seahorse/house that would set Jules Verne’s heart a-racing (if he weren’t dead, that is.)

And plain old normal stuff too. Sometimes a house is just a house.

With all this in mind, I set off to educate myself about the cost of Second Life housing. A quick search gave me the location of a sales area, appropriately named “Home Sweet Homes.” One mouse click later, I had teleported there. (Teleporting = fun!)

Materializing in the center of an expanse of neatly-trimmed grass (that never needs mowing), I found the landscape dotted with model houses of different sizes and styles. And each lot had a large sign stuck in the front yard; if you didn’t fancy the model sitting there, a click on the sign would materialize another in its place.

In a blink of an eye, I conjured up a large 3-story Victorian mansion, complete with wrap-around porch and turret…and an asking price of 6,000 Linden Dollars (the currency of Second Life.)

Oh, did I forget to mention that the exchange of (real) money is a very real part of this virtual world?

The 6,000 Linden price tag of my Victorian dream house translates to about $23 U.S. dollars. A bargain in real life, but pricey for the SL world. And I’m not sure if I’m ready to make that kind of commitment.

I mean, it’s lovely…but why be tasteful, when you can be tacky? Methinks a castle might be more suited to my flights of fancy. As a point of reference, I decide to check out Victoriana Castle, which bills itself as “The Most Beautiful Castle in SL.”

Holy Ice Princess, Batman! Blindingly white and overdone in every way imaginable – Victoriana Castle has more spires than I can count. Its curlicues have curlicues! My blood sugar level rises to a dangerous level, forcing a quick teleportation escape…

…to “Elite Estates” -- where one can buy a castle of more modest proportions. In fact 1,500 Lindens (about $6) will get me my very own a starter castle!

Unfortunately, “Dakota Castle” is unimaginatively rectangular –and its façade bears a strong resemblance to cinder block. I half-expected to find medieval-themed dinner theater going on inside. Instead, the interior was empty, if slightly dungeon-esque (which could be a positive, depending on what one is into.)

Still…hmmm…even cinderblock could be made cozy with the right furnishings. After all, isn’t décor what makes a house (or castle) a home?

So, a new mission – furniture shopping. To that end, I enlisted the companionship of my sister, AKA “Angelique Nightfire.”

We meet in the small but elegant showroom of “Capalini Fine Furnishings.” There we playfully threw our avatar-selves onto an extremely tasteful Federal style sofa; then each chose a side of a four-poster bed (and just as when we were children on family vacations, I threatened her with a karate chop if she strayed over to my side.)

Then somehow, we veered off course. The next thing I knew, we were wearing diver’s suits outside a pirate bar. Once inside said bar, Cyn put on a kimono and served Angelique a gin and tonic.

Such is the waking-dream semi-hallucinatory Second Life experience.

Leaving Angelique to nurse her virtual hangover, my next stop was the vast showroom of “Prim Goddess Creations,” which seemed prepared to fulfill my every interior decorating need…as well as needs I never knew I had. Like – what exactly is a “cuddle rug”?

(Leading to the philosophical question: Why do avatars feel a need to cuddle anyway?)

In the bedroom section, I spy a mahogany sleigh bed just like the one in my real life bedroom (except in SL, the bed is made.)

And over there -- toilets! I can’t resist the urge to walk into a bathroom display and touch the handle. It flushes! (Or more accurately, the picture of water in the bowl rotates in a clockwise fashion for a few seconds.)

Very amusing, but does it sell? In all my spying into virtual houses, I have never encountered one with a bathroom – for good reason. A virtual bathroom would only prove a rude reminder of the real life bathroom that one should be cleaning instead trying on that dreamy flowing gown.

So…bye-bye Prim Goddess!

But then I find myself in a store called “Dust Bunny”…

...prompting a glance towards the real life dust creatures forming at my feet. Seems no matter how hard one tries, some things (like housework and Britney Spears) are inescapable. Sigh.

After all my “research,” I conclude it’s easier (and cheaper) to keep my avatar homeless.

Thus resigned, I fly off to a small deserted island I’d scoped out on an earlier expedition; where a creative somebody-I’ve-never-met has turned a lighthouse into their home, complete with a life-sized (and very cuddle-able) stuffed bunny sitting by the bed.

By afternoon’s end, my avatar lies stretched out on a pillow-laden hammock by the water’s edge. All alone, save a small squirrel darting around the base of a nearby tree. It eyes Cyn suspiciously, but I don’t care.

Ah, yes…(virtual) life is good.

(If you made it here, to the end of the article, first of all, congratulations on your perseverance! Secondly, if you look closely in the last snapshot, you'll see the "squirrel" of the article was really a tiny rabbit. But I thought I had just one too many bunnies in my tale, and there is a SL squirrel that I'm fairly certain has been stalking me...so...

Hey, it's all pretend anyway!)

(To learn more about Second Life: http://www.secondlife.com/)

Uneven ground, originally uploaded by Solacetech.

At first sight, the green field above looks pretty flat, but upon a further look, you'll see the dip. Now if you have been here before, you'll know that there's a HUGE valley in front of the trees... So too today in Philadelphia it appears the "Digital Divide" has closed between The Suburbs and the urban areas. I don't believe it. Our High Speed internet prices will continue to rise because of the current wifi situation. Yes it still functions, but the service has NOT reached it's full potential and Earthlink customer service is abysmal...The latest news is that Earthlink will eventually leave with "Wireless Philadelphia" left to fend for itself. WIMAX in Philly is being flirted with but until these other services establish themselves, and cause competitive pricing, the technology gap will continue. What do you think? Please subscribe...

Find Philly Apartments on Google Map

This is a cool website that shows you apartments in Philly on Google Maps and then lets you see what stores, restaurants, schools and other locations are near a particular apartment.

Here is a quick screen shot I took.

Check it out. I think its one of the most useful apartment sites. Philadelphia Apartments

I just got an anonymous tip that supposedly, a major motion picture will be filming extensively on Penn's campus this summer.

Click to find out which film!

Sign up for the Dueling Tampons newsletter!

Join the DuelingTampons Facebook Group!

Hey all

Media Mobilizing Project, Temple School of Communications and Theatre and a bunch of co-sponsors are hosting a public forum on the future of Philly WiFi on June 3rd at Temple. The forum will host a diverse panel of speakers, while including an open space for participants to speak about the future of the wireless Internet initiative

Under Earthlink's management, Philadelphia's wireless network has faced both technical and customer service challenges, weakening public engagement. Now is a vital time to reignite the discussion about the wireless network as Earthlink officials have announced their intention to sell or transfer the 135-square mile network. With new ownership on the horizon, a renewed opportunity exists for Philadelphia's WiFi initiative to serve as a national model for community media. The promise of a city where everyone has the potential to be connected, opens new doors for economic, social and political participation.

I hope folks as part of this online community can begin to see the possibility of a well functioning wireless network and consider engaging the process. Who knows it may even broaden the number of users on Philly Future.

Check this ad out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wHM2eyTAO8 Has anyone else seen this? I thought is was right on point especially considering the latest comments over Barack's Characterization of Industrial State voters by Hillary and McCain.