Pensieri di un lunatico minore

Jackass-hattery

Wünderkind Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) explains the Internet:

And again, the internet is not something you just dump something on. It’s not a truck. // It’s a series of tubes. // And if you don’t understand those tubes can be filled and if they are filled, when you put your message in, it gets in line and its going to be delayed by anyone that puts into that tube enormous amounts of material, enormous amounts of material.

Does anyone else feel like we’re in Brazil? I mean, I know Prague has a lovely tube system, but I don’t think that’s what he’s referring to. Perhaps he means the proverbial “pipes?”

Now we have a separate Department of Defense internet now, did you know that?

Yes, and strangely The Internet is derived from the ARPAnet and it’s successors, MilNet and now NIPR/SIPRnet. Lots of people know this, alas, just not those in power, who are not required to have a clue about anything they vote on.

Do you know why?

Because they transmit lots of sensitive information on it that they don’t want anyone else seeing? I know … I’ve seen.

Because they have to have theirs delivered immediately. They can’t afford getting delayed by other people.

Actually QoS is a disaster on NIPRnet. My experience is that performance is actually below that of the general commercial Internet (i.e., people like Level3, MCI, AT&T, etc). That isn’t their charter or priority. It’s about security, you doofus.

I just the other day got, an internet was sent by my staff at 10 o’clock in the morning on Friday and I just got it yesterday. Why?

Ack, sputter, moron, idiot.

P.S. I know this is going around, but man, this just makes my brain hurt. At least the man knows there’s only one Internet, but I suspect he doesn’t know there’s a difference between “an internet” and “the Internet.” Semantics are important.