Peer-to-Peer Blog: Pulled Plug and Pork

By David Byrd

The weekend was a short one with me having to travel on Sunday. I considered not having a recipe this morning but that would have been wrong. Friday night we had Chinese takeout. Surprise! Yes, sometimes we order in. Saturday, I smoked salmon, chicken, bacon and a pork butt. If you think you can only get great pulled pork at a barbeque joint, you are wrong. All you need is a smoker, good rub, and patience. It takes all day to make so start early in the morning if preparing for dinner. At 225^oF to 250^oF, the butt will take 8-10 hours to cook. The recipe is very simple and very easy to make with great results. We like our butt both with the simple rub and after cooking mixed with vinegar and hot sauce (Carolina style). Pulled Pork is the recipe of the week. Enjoy!

The Internet Is Off

As I noted last week, governments view the Internet as both an instrument of commerce and information flow and as an enemy of the state during times of turmoil. Egypt pulled the plug on the Internet last Friday and has not restored service. It is attempting to control the flow of information and disrupt the ability of mostly peaceful protestors from communicating and assembling. I know Lieberman and Collins believe their bill Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act” is a good thing. I do not. The law can be misused and it is too loose in its definitions. At no time should we voluntarily give up our rights to free speech and the ability to peacefully confront our government. It may come as a surprise to some that there already exists a law giving the government extraordinary power over our communications. The 1934 law that created the FCC establishes that in wartime, or during a state of public peril, disaster, or other national emergency, the president may authorize the use or control of any station or device.” To some this is enough to give the president control over resources (servers, routers and databases) that make up the Internet.

We can agree or disagree that is the case. However, we should all agree that additional power should come with restrictions and review. Oversight and openness is a must for true freedom. As we expand the use of the Internet to commercial purposes, VoIP, Unified Communications, presence, instant messaging, interactive real-time operations and business support systems, and eCommerce, we cannot casually, without debate, hand the reins over to our elected officials. This is not about silencing Facebook and YouTube. This is about potentially silencing your business and you.

IT Expo on Wednesday

David Byrd is vice president of marketing and sales for

Broadvox

, and is responsible for marketing and channel sales programs to SMBs, enterprises and carriers as well as defining the product offering. Prior to joining Broadvox, David was the vice president of Channels and Alliances for Eftia and Telcordia. As director of eBusiness Development with i2 Technologies, he developed major partnerships with many of the leaders in Internet eCommerce and supply chain management. As CEO of Planet Hollywood Online he was a pioneer in using early Internet technologies to build a branded entertainment and eCommerce website company partnered with Planet Hollywood. Having over 20 years of telecom sales and marketing experience, he has held executive positions with Hewlett-Packard, Sprint and Ericsson.