Agatsu

I ought to say, that the counterpart of the Forces of Awesome is the Way of Wonder, presently exhibited in a near-by shaded structure by some nuns and a gaggle of Balgüeño children. It is here and now. Like masa katsu versus katsu hayabi.

I have a new phone number: 505-829-7858. Give it a try! Many thanks to John Wyss for gifting me the phone and chip. You can also try sip:762546@fwd.pulver.com, if I'm around my computer.

The Red Libre de Ometepe means many things to many people. It helps business people connect to their customers and each other. For students and teachers, it's a research tool, and a "window to the world". For BOSIA, it's a way to bridge worlds, and to improve the quality of education on Ometepe. For me, it is an opportunity to learn, to extend myself into the world, and to experience life more fully.

The very protocols on which the Internet and the RLO are founded afford this flexibility. As the network of networks becomes ubiquitous on the island and in the world, people will be able to find new ways to interact and organize themselves. These possibilities are the cats in the box of globalism, a profound storm of liberalization that spares none.

Such dramatic and rapid change in all sectors of society opens chances for shifts of power. It is my intention to pull against the concentration of power, and to do what I can to empower individuals to understand and control their environments intelligently and creatively. This—the thing I want to promote, not necessarily the promotion itself—is what I call (with tounge in cheek) "the force of Awesome." It is counterposed to that of Good, which is the best a governing body can hope to attain.

All classes of use of the network—for business, in education, in public places, basic services, advanced services, anti-social or normal activities—can be part of the path to empowerment and self-realization. Some things have to come before others, but I am enduringly, patiently committed to the goal.

I welcome any comments. Please note that this was written quickly, though.

Final Proposal

Thanks to the help of Janet Wheelock of ANETIC and Isabel Medrano, the proposal of the Red Libre de Ometepe to PEMCE has been finalized and submitted. For real, this time. The final document is here (600KB PDF, 12 pages of Spanish text and figures). It says that in the second half of 2006, the Ometepe Freenet Project would like help to do the following things:

1. install small computer labs with new computers in two schools, and staff one teaching position,


2. improve the stability and speed, and reach of existing network infrastructure through taller towers, better equipment, and better battery backup,


3. extend the reach of the network with a new tower near Charco Verde / San José del Sur,


4. get someone to do a little PR work, such as a basic website and a brochure for prospective and existing users,


5. support two student interns to work on projects such as new services, extending the network, specializing systems, or localization and translation of documents to support wireless networking in Spanish-speaking countries, and


6. support two student interns to develop a business plan and platform for public access points in communities across the island.

That sounds like a lot, because it is, but we'll have a lot more people to help out. The project is developing links with universities on the mainland, and participating in national roundtables regarding many aspects ICT development.

To diverge from the subject at hand, the author would like to complain that his big toe was savagely stung just a moment ago by a large, red wasp. Said wasp was unadvisedly constructing a nest hanging from the far underside of the desk, which the author inadvertently nudged with the aforementioned big toe upon resting his feet on a bucket. No class of life form is so prevalent at the Finca Magdalena Network Operations Center these days as the wasp.

Back to business, one of the aforementioned roundtables is on regulation. We want to "liberalize" Nicaragua's ludicrously over-regulated communications industry, including de-licensing 2.4GHz, which this project uses. Telcor appears to be taking us seriously, which is encouraging.

It's Summer, and it's warm. I have a camera now, and will try to take some pictures to show you a little more of what my world looks like. This will be fed into my Flickr stream, and may not be noted upon here. Note that Flickr provides XML feeds for your convenience.

Also, I've started to try to clean up the office. I have a long way to go.

That is all.