Happy Singles Awareness Day
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Singles Awareness Day 08
Well, it seems the thought of that evil holiday that rolls around in February is starting to creep up so its about time for me to roll out the decorations.
Happy Singles Awareness Day
Happy Singles Awareness Day
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Conservativism = Excuse to not think?
I was raised in a family who always had conservative views and, naturally, many of those views I still embrace. Being someone who truly believes in conservative values always embraced the Reupublican party because of their support of things like pro-life and other conservative views. In the past year or two, my views have drastically changed and I now have to say I support the democrat party more than the republican - by a long shot.
This doesn't mean that I think we need to stop protecting the unborn but I do certainly believe that we need to be A LOT less militant about it. I'm also sick of the conservative values that the Republican party pushes to be nothing more than a cover-up to some other extremely disgusting things that are happening. The Republican party is becoming the party that produces the "preacher's kid" syndrome in it's followers. While the Democratic party has similar effects (as does ANY organization), there seems to be a huge emphasis on it in the republican party -- almost as if there is a secret agenda (do some research on AT&T conspiring with the NSA and President Bush signing an executive order to stop any investigation - Start Here).
There has always been this epidemic in polotics that people just do as their told. People sign on to a party and they just go in and pull the lever for their party rather than actually thinking about what is going on. The problem we have now is that we are all becoming more and more "mentally lazy". We don't want to have to think about something because it's so much easier for someone else to tell us what to do and we let people tell us what to do until it's too late to fight back. We're relinquished many rights just by standing still because we were too lazy to fight (and we're about to see is happen again if people don't start standing up for Net Neutrality). All of us just listen to what our parents, our churches, and our political parties say. We obey. And ultimately, a few key people just changed the course of history by using each one of us as drones. We've become slaves to the afforemention beings. There is a huge need to respect our parents, our churches, our leaders, and even our own political parties but this is NOT an excuse to go brain dead and let all of them brainwash us.
We have become so mentally numb in things that we pass around emails that completely damage someone or something with points that are nothing more than fiction. We allow people to be damaged because we pass around a single email that was probably written by a single person. We become just as responsible as the person who wrote that email - responsible for destroying someone's life and career. The most recent example of this is an email circulating that claims Obama is an anti-American muslim. This email even references that snopes.com has confirmed this to be fact and plays on the fact that no one checks the facts before telling others about it. Because we are so brain dead (by choice), we dont even bother to notice contradictions in the email we read (such as a father who left when a child was only 2 can't really be that instrumental in raising a child according to a specific religion) and we become a drone to someone who wrote a fantasy email about the way he or she wants things to play out. Judging by the way the republican party has responded to numerous things, do you really think it's that far fetched that a die-hard conservative sat down and dreamed up these lies to attack someone who might really be a threat to them... yes, to THEM... not neccesarily to our nation. Political parties are not about what is best for our nation but whats best for the wallets of those running the parties.
It is true that we live in a country that we have the ability to choose our leaders but because we have all become lazy, we are forfeiting that right. We are allowing people who have self-interest tell us what is best for us. When a company lists us a reason why we should use their product rather than their competitor isn't it a good idea to evaluate both products instead of just listening to the one company? Of course they are going to tell us their product is great and their competitors is bad because they want us to by their product because that is the only way they make money. Maybe we've matured enough to realize the absurdity of political television ads but now we're allowing ourselves to be the medium that lies are spread -- simply because we don't want to spend a tiny bit of time looking into the reality of the situation we're about to take a stance on. I don't know anyone that would take the stage and explain to everyone what the string theory is all about because few of us even know -- but yet we're willing to take the stand for someone who wrote an email whom we've not only met but we don't even know his or her name.
People continually tell others that you have no right to complain about the state of our country if you don't vote but if you're also the one spreading lies and doing only what you are told to do, well, you have no right to complain either. When we're stuck in a dictatorship and we're all complaining about it, it's really just going to be on our heads because we sent out false facts in emails damaging someone for being racial muslim when the reality of the situation is that he has many roots in Christianity. Maybe because instead of actually changing the way you handle emails that you forward on you just stop forwarding them to the people that are actually going to check the facts and make you feel bad and forward only to those that will continue the "chain of drones".
P.S. - I really am not intending on making anyone feel bad but this is something that I am very serious about and I think others need to be serious about. We're not talking about passing on an email that says the weather is going to be 90F rather than 60F but, instead, we're talking about passing on lies that very well could damage the chances of hope for our country. I'm not saying which canidate is the solution but I am saying that we need to look into things a little bit more before we spread lies that could damage someone that may well be the best thing for our country.
This doesn't mean that I think we need to stop protecting the unborn but I do certainly believe that we need to be A LOT less militant about it. I'm also sick of the conservative values that the Republican party pushes to be nothing more than a cover-up to some other extremely disgusting things that are happening. The Republican party is becoming the party that produces the "preacher's kid" syndrome in it's followers. While the Democratic party has similar effects (as does ANY organization), there seems to be a huge emphasis on it in the republican party -- almost as if there is a secret agenda (do some research on AT&T conspiring with the NSA and President Bush signing an executive order to stop any investigation - Start Here).
There has always been this epidemic in polotics that people just do as their told. People sign on to a party and they just go in and pull the lever for their party rather than actually thinking about what is going on. The problem we have now is that we are all becoming more and more "mentally lazy". We don't want to have to think about something because it's so much easier for someone else to tell us what to do and we let people tell us what to do until it's too late to fight back. We're relinquished many rights just by standing still because we were too lazy to fight (and we're about to see is happen again if people don't start standing up for Net Neutrality). All of us just listen to what our parents, our churches, and our political parties say. We obey. And ultimately, a few key people just changed the course of history by using each one of us as drones. We've become slaves to the afforemention beings. There is a huge need to respect our parents, our churches, our leaders, and even our own political parties but this is NOT an excuse to go brain dead and let all of them brainwash us.
We have become so mentally numb in things that we pass around emails that completely damage someone or something with points that are nothing more than fiction. We allow people to be damaged because we pass around a single email that was probably written by a single person. We become just as responsible as the person who wrote that email - responsible for destroying someone's life and career. The most recent example of this is an email circulating that claims Obama is an anti-American muslim. This email even references that snopes.com has confirmed this to be fact and plays on the fact that no one checks the facts before telling others about it. Because we are so brain dead (by choice), we dont even bother to notice contradictions in the email we read (such as a father who left when a child was only 2 can't really be that instrumental in raising a child according to a specific religion) and we become a drone to someone who wrote a fantasy email about the way he or she wants things to play out. Judging by the way the republican party has responded to numerous things, do you really think it's that far fetched that a die-hard conservative sat down and dreamed up these lies to attack someone who might really be a threat to them... yes, to THEM... not neccesarily to our nation. Political parties are not about what is best for our nation but whats best for the wallets of those running the parties.
It is true that we live in a country that we have the ability to choose our leaders but because we have all become lazy, we are forfeiting that right. We are allowing people who have self-interest tell us what is best for us. When a company lists us a reason why we should use their product rather than their competitor isn't it a good idea to evaluate both products instead of just listening to the one company? Of course they are going to tell us their product is great and their competitors is bad because they want us to by their product because that is the only way they make money. Maybe we've matured enough to realize the absurdity of political television ads but now we're allowing ourselves to be the medium that lies are spread -- simply because we don't want to spend a tiny bit of time looking into the reality of the situation we're about to take a stance on. I don't know anyone that would take the stage and explain to everyone what the string theory is all about because few of us even know -- but yet we're willing to take the stand for someone who wrote an email whom we've not only met but we don't even know his or her name.
People continually tell others that you have no right to complain about the state of our country if you don't vote but if you're also the one spreading lies and doing only what you are told to do, well, you have no right to complain either. When we're stuck in a dictatorship and we're all complaining about it, it's really just going to be on our heads because we sent out false facts in emails damaging someone for being racial muslim when the reality of the situation is that he has many roots in Christianity. Maybe because instead of actually changing the way you handle emails that you forward on you just stop forwarding them to the people that are actually going to check the facts and make you feel bad and forward only to those that will continue the "chain of drones".
P.S. - I really am not intending on making anyone feel bad but this is something that I am very serious about and I think others need to be serious about. We're not talking about passing on an email that says the weather is going to be 90F rather than 60F but, instead, we're talking about passing on lies that very well could damage the chances of hope for our country. I'm not saying which canidate is the solution but I am saying that we need to look into things a little bit more before we spread lies that could damage someone that may well be the best thing for our country.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Still need more "proof" about Twitter's impact?
Washington Post: How Frozen Peas Started a Movement
Not more than an hour ago, The Washinton Post put this story online that is running in tomorrow's Loudoun Extra. The situation with @susanreynolds and her struggle with breast cancer and The Frozen Pea Fund is now gaining huge media attention.
I am extremely proud to be part of such an amazing community of people. The Frozen Pea Fund has now raised more than $7,000 to aid in The American Cancer Society's efforts to fight breast cancer. In addition to that money, there is now well over $1,000 raised for the husband of @ashPEAmama who now has to raise 2 children on his own after her tragic death yesterday. Can you imagine in less than a month a community of people, who share one thing in common (twitter users) and are misunderstood by many as to why they want to share so much of their lives to the public, have raised more than $8,000. These are just regular people -- people who care about their fellow "tweeters".
Not more than an hour ago, The Washinton Post put this story online that is running in tomorrow's Loudoun Extra. The situation with @susanreynolds and her struggle with breast cancer and The Frozen Pea Fund is now gaining huge media attention.
I am extremely proud to be part of such an amazing community of people. The Frozen Pea Fund has now raised more than $7,000 to aid in The American Cancer Society's efforts to fight breast cancer. In addition to that money, there is now well over $1,000 raised for the husband of @ashPEAmama who now has to raise 2 children on his own after her tragic death yesterday. Can you imagine in less than a month a community of people, who share one thing in common (twitter users) and are misunderstood by many as to why they want to share so much of their lives to the public, have raised more than $8,000. These are just regular people -- people who care about their fellow "tweeters".
Blogstipation and other associated words
Blogstipation = Having things to write that you can not get started on or continue. Can be either a physical limitation (having no time) or a psychological condition similar to writer's block.
This is the opposite of Blogorreah; the inability to stop writing whether it be based on interesting facts or unsubstantiated babbel.
There is also inblogestion; the occurance of sickness after writing something that you realize was not all that pleasant.
Thanks @ninjapoodles and @mousewords
This is the opposite of Blogorreah; the inability to stop writing whether it be based on interesting facts or unsubstantiated babbel.
There is also inblogestion; the occurance of sickness after writing something that you realize was not all that pleasant.
Thanks @ninjapoodles and @mousewords
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
The world loses a tweeter (@ashPEAmama)
I am a strong believer that anything bad can bring at least some good. While it doesnt make the bad any easier, at least we can be happy for something good.
This morning the Twitter community lost @ashPEAmama to a vehicle accident. I never got the chance to follow Ashley but I saw many of the people that I followed mention her name in a lot of thoughtful tweets. There obviously was more to her than "just another person". I wish that I would have had a chance to get to know her more but I'm sure she made her impact in the world where she was meant to.
I still constantly hear people question the purpose of Twitter. People don't understand it and they really dont seem to want to understand it but, to me, Twitter is a strong community that pulls together in many different scenarios. Just last month we saw the birth of The Frozen Pea Fund which is a cause to raise money for breast cancer. The reference of this came from one of the most beloved tweeters in the D.C. area, @susanreynolds.
Aside from these drastic stories that (rightfully) take the spotlight, the Twitter community is a source of encouragement for everyone's day to day life. There is constant joking around with friends (some that we know personally and some that we only know on Twitter) and mixed in with that joking is the serious conversations about politics, the world, technology, the weather..... and how everyone is feeling. Just a couple weeks ago my good friend @linuxchic's song had broken his nose. She received many tweets asking if he was ok. And appreciation rarely goes unnoticed. She has another good example of the twitter community on her blog about video games.
If you think all of this isn't enough, there is the ever popular storey of @LAFD Los Angeles Fire Department who used Twitter to communicate information about the Wildfires and has continued using the technology for crisis management.
My heart truly does go out to the family of @ashPEAmama and to those who became close with her on Twitter. There is always a reason that things happen and there are ways that we can honor Ashley and there are things that her life and death will be used as a testimony to others. I am, again, amazed at how the Twitter community genuinely cares about their followers.
This morning the Twitter community lost @ashPEAmama to a vehicle accident. I never got the chance to follow Ashley but I saw many of the people that I followed mention her name in a lot of thoughtful tweets. There obviously was more to her than "just another person". I wish that I would have had a chance to get to know her more but I'm sure she made her impact in the world where she was meant to.
I still constantly hear people question the purpose of Twitter. People don't understand it and they really dont seem to want to understand it but, to me, Twitter is a strong community that pulls together in many different scenarios. Just last month we saw the birth of The Frozen Pea Fund which is a cause to raise money for breast cancer. The reference of this came from one of the most beloved tweeters in the D.C. area, @susanreynolds.
Aside from these drastic stories that (rightfully) take the spotlight, the Twitter community is a source of encouragement for everyone's day to day life. There is constant joking around with friends (some that we know personally and some that we only know on Twitter) and mixed in with that joking is the serious conversations about politics, the world, technology, the weather..... and how everyone is feeling. Just a couple weeks ago my good friend @linuxchic's song had broken his nose. She received many tweets asking if he was ok. And appreciation rarely goes unnoticed. She has another good example of the twitter community on her blog about video games.
If you think all of this isn't enough, there is the ever popular storey of @LAFD Los Angeles Fire Department who used Twitter to communicate information about the Wildfires and has continued using the technology for crisis management.
My heart truly does go out to the family of @ashPEAmama and to those who became close with her on Twitter. There is always a reason that things happen and there are ways that we can honor Ashley and there are things that her life and death will be used as a testimony to others. I am, again, amazed at how the Twitter community genuinely cares about their followers.
Sunday, January 06, 2008
When will innovation stop meaning "copy"
I just got done watching the last part of Microsoft's keynote from CES and I have to say that I was not impressed. While to many people it may seem that they are doing things that are "new" I did not see a single thing that was new. Well, I will give them the Ford Sync thing except the only thing new there is putting a few technologies together in a single package -- everything that it does could have been accomplished for at least the last couple years.
They went over a lot of stuff about Media Center and it irritated me just like any other DVR company. Even Echostar (a company that I really like) annoys me with their advertising of their "new" features they keep adding to their DVR systems. Open source technology has been doing all of the stuff these companies are doing and more for many years. And it's not really that I want to be critical about them adopting new ideas into their product but what I think is unfair is the statements that are made that they are the only one doing this and that the entire idea was from their company. MythTV can do just about everything Media Center or TiVo can do and it can do a hell of a lot more as well. MythBuntu has made the set up of MythTV just as easy as Media Center (and from some of the horror stories I've heard about Media Center, probably easier).
Then there's the Zune social. This especially irritates me. The entire concept and design is completely a rip off of Last.FM. Last.FM currently runs on many different platforms and is open source so that you can integrate it into virtually anything. I get exceptionally upset when companies try to make something proprietary that is something you want to be centralized. If you want to keep a log of all of the music you listen to and have a system make recommendations for you then you want that system to know what you listen to on every device. If you have a Zune, sure it will work for you..... but what about other devices? What about other software? Other computers? Unless Microsoft sees a profit in making a client for device x, we'll never be able to see it. If you really want to welcome me to the social, then please welcome me with the devices that I have
This post really isn't meant to be a "bash Microsoft" post but I'm really tired of any company that says they are innovators but all they do is copy the ideas of someone else and publish them as their own. It's really more of an example of where our society has gone. We no longer respect people for what they do out of the goodness of their heart or because they really enjoy it. For you to be honored you usually have to accept honor in making money. If you're not in it for the money then you are an outcast of society -- well, at least corporate america right now. People in the open source community create because they want to fill a void or because they enjoy doing it and that passion shows through in the finalized product. Same is true with those that volunteer. It seems that if you're doing it because you want to and not because you're in it for some selfish gain then your motives are questioned and people start looking for what you're trying to gain -- they can't just trust you that you really want to help.
I really do wish people would start looking at everything in life as being part of a team. The long term solution is to help one another and not be in it just for yourself. We all need to give credit where credit is due. Our society can go so much further if we just follow this simple policies.
They went over a lot of stuff about Media Center and it irritated me just like any other DVR company. Even Echostar (a company that I really like) annoys me with their advertising of their "new" features they keep adding to their DVR systems. Open source technology has been doing all of the stuff these companies are doing and more for many years. And it's not really that I want to be critical about them adopting new ideas into their product but what I think is unfair is the statements that are made that they are the only one doing this and that the entire idea was from their company. MythTV can do just about everything Media Center or TiVo can do and it can do a hell of a lot more as well. MythBuntu has made the set up of MythTV just as easy as Media Center (and from some of the horror stories I've heard about Media Center, probably easier).
Then there's the Zune social. This especially irritates me. The entire concept and design is completely a rip off of Last.FM. Last.FM currently runs on many different platforms and is open source so that you can integrate it into virtually anything. I get exceptionally upset when companies try to make something proprietary that is something you want to be centralized. If you want to keep a log of all of the music you listen to and have a system make recommendations for you then you want that system to know what you listen to on every device. If you have a Zune, sure it will work for you..... but what about other devices? What about other software? Other computers? Unless Microsoft sees a profit in making a client for device x, we'll never be able to see it. If you really want to welcome me to the social, then please welcome me with the devices that I have
This post really isn't meant to be a "bash Microsoft" post but I'm really tired of any company that says they are innovators but all they do is copy the ideas of someone else and publish them as their own. It's really more of an example of where our society has gone. We no longer respect people for what they do out of the goodness of their heart or because they really enjoy it. For you to be honored you usually have to accept honor in making money. If you're not in it for the money then you are an outcast of society -- well, at least corporate america right now. People in the open source community create because they want to fill a void or because they enjoy doing it and that passion shows through in the finalized product. Same is true with those that volunteer. It seems that if you're doing it because you want to and not because you're in it for some selfish gain then your motives are questioned and people start looking for what you're trying to gain -- they can't just trust you that you really want to help.
I really do wish people would start looking at everything in life as being part of a team. The long term solution is to help one another and not be in it just for yourself. We all need to give credit where credit is due. Our society can go so much further if we just follow this simple policies.
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Happy New Year
Well 2008 is here and the apple dropped at midnight without issue here in Winchester!
Again, I pray God blesses all of you in 2008. As for me, the only thing I care about is getting to my car for some heat! :)
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