damn squatters...

There was a time when I had respect and even admiration for squatters. The "legitimate", original squatters that is. As for this new breed of net, blog, place-holder types I care not.

This is a strangely appropriate first post for the concept of this blog.

Protean-Times is my take on the malleable and ever-changing world that we live in and will live in from day to day, moment to moment. It seems that the time segments are getting shorter and shorter as we advance in myriad ways. In days gone by a technological paradigm shift such as the introduction of the telephone was hailed as a BFD in several ways. From early adopters to die hard haters of the idea eventually all people would be affected for better or for worse. Not unlike the introduction of television, which to my understanding is much more pervasive than the telephone but also just as influential as far as technological shifts are concerned.

So then there came the internet and the web. A sort of amalgamation of the two previous techno-communication leaps. A technology that is evolving, changing and growing even as I write this. Sure it has it's benefits and it definitely has it's problems. And for sure it is here to stay, that is as long as we don't all go completely bananas and explode the planet or have the extreme misfortune of intersecting orbit with an asteroid. But back to the topic at hand. A less intense but also prevalent issue of change in how the world is and will be. I myself am old enough to remember BBSes and the days when the "internet" was infinitely open. Well that is not so much the case anymore these days. Yay Protean-Times. Which is mildly affected by the condition of net-squatting. I had this great idea just ten minutes ago, "I've got it! That's the perfect name for my new blog." *enters original idea in and checks availability* "Sorry that name is taken." Well damn, *checks to see what the blog that is using my perfect name looks like*. To my not-so-much surprise it is being taken up by a squatter. No posts, no nothing, up since 2006. Which is the problem I had the last time I thought about doing this. Well, it's nothing that a little hyphen won't solve thankfully. But it is still annoying. And yes I do understand the policy and the free-speech concerns that make the policy so. However, I do have to say that if you aren't going to do anything productive with the name, put it back. Now, obviously, this is a minor nuisance and there are definitely better things to focus on but I just thought I'd gripe a little about this brand of squatting to get the juices flowing and to make a first post...

For what it's worth, squatting in the traditional sense is a-okay with me. Old school squatting involves people re-appropriating abandoned spaces to serve a purpose. This new school sh!t is just the opposite, throw up a flag and tell everybody else to GTFO even if your flag is waving over an empty, unused place with no purpose at all.

So at the end of the day (and this post) I'll say put a few things on the line here.

Firstly, as the name suggests, this is a place for me to talk about change. And since nothing ever stays the same for long in this world I should have no shortage of topics.

Secondly, I like to rant about random sh!t, so this should serve me well and hopefully you too (that is if you like to hear other people rant about random sh!t).

Thirdly, I make no guarantees about acurancy, usefulness, or importance of anything I talk about here, not now, not ever. Standard disclaimer here.

Fourth, I may at times tend to use strong language, bring up difficult or controversial topics or harbor opinions that others may find offensive. You have been warned, bitching about it after reading this will only make you look like a jack-ass to me and likely others. In any case feel free to say whatever the hell you want wherever the hell you want but also don't expect any sort of special treatment here. This is my sandbox and I decide who gets to pee here, not you.

And lastly, (and somewhat importantly to the ideal of this first post) if I at whatever time in the near or distant future decide to give up this idea of "being a blogger" (hey it could happen, I often change my mind and sh!t happens) I swear that I will give up, make available or otherwise release this blog's name back into the wild so that others may use or benefit from it.