Music

I love music. I listen to it constantly. I am listening to
it right now and I almost always do my schoolwork while listening to music.
Except when I do math. I am not able to do arithmetic while music is playing. I
believe the reason is because I need another level of focus when
adding/subtracting and applying formulas. But, throughout high school and now
into college whenever I have to write a paper the first thing I do is turn on
music. Today, I use Pandora. Pandora is such an excellent website. It allows
the user to type in their favorite artists, songs, or types of music and they
in turn come up with a playlist of that artist or genre and other
artists/genres which are similar. I hardly ever skip songs because even when I
find something new it is so similar to the type of music I like that I more
often than not just let it play. The other thing I like about Pandora is seeing
other people’s Pandora’s. Everyone’s musical tastes are different and when I am
with friends we all sort of listen to the same things but create your own music
station, as Pandora allows, opens up such a myriad of possibilities that
everyone breaks off in their own direction. I have found a lot of new bands and
songs that I had never heard before, through Pandora, that I otherwise would
have never encountered. But I couldn’t do without music. For years, in my car I
would listen to AM SportsRadio. But now, after about 20 minutes of driving my
mind and body needs music, it needs a beat, it needs that uplifting inspiration
that the perfect song at the perfect time can provide. I wonder what I will listen to when I am 50 or 60. Will I like the current pop music or will I listen to an oldies station.
What will that oldies station play? Will it play Eminem or Linkin Park? Or will
it just play Michael Buble? I know one thing, I’ll be listening.

Blogging

I am so surprised at how many people blog. I was talking
with friends this weekend, a couple of whom are teachers and they explained to
me that they blog all the time as a way of getting their feelings out,
expressing their opinions, and communicating with those outside their immediate
social circle. It surprised the hell out of me. I knew several of these
individuals in college and they hated writing papers more than anything in the
world. Now, the voluntarily write their blog for what seems like no reason. In
earlier posts I have talked about how social media creates a culture where
everyone feels they must express themselves and what they have to say is
important. I think that is what this is all about. I even talked to my friends
and explained that many of them, because they work with younger children, have
little adult contact during the workday and perhaps that is what motivates them
to write their blog. The fact that they strive for a connection with people on
a similar intellectual level. They rebuffed my idea and said that they simply
find writing therapeutic and while writing their blog they often are able to
replay certain instances during the day or in their life and gain a different perspective.
I have heard a lot of writers say that for them writing is a release and that
it relaxes them. That newspaper writers who go into television still write
often because it is a habit and quite simply a way of life. In taking classes,
I too have to write a lot and while I do find things out about myself through
the process I very rarely find the exercise therapeutic. But, perhaps as time goes on and I continue with this blog I will find that getting my thoughts out does provide some sort
of stress relief.

Forms

I was so surprised how easy it was to create a form for this
weeks assignment. As I explained in an earlier blog post, coming into this
course I thought I had a very good grasp on the internet, computers, privacy,
and all the issues surrounding new technology. I knew I did not know how to
write web pages and, honestly, it has something I have always been scared of.
It is a great skill to have because should someone ever start their own
business, or just want to get their voice and opinion out there a website is a
great way to do that. But, I was always wary of learning how to write web pages
because I thought it must be incredibly hard. This semester we have learned how
to blog, write simple text and even embed pictures and videos on our webpages
but up until this week I didn’t realize how simple creating a website is.
Almost every major website has some sort of form where you enter your username
and password, date of birth, address, etc but I never thought about how those
boxes are created or work. The assignment this week was to create those boxes
and it is amazing how a few simple lines of code can produce something that to
the untrained eye seems so complex on the page. I cannot wait for next weeks
assignment because every week it seems we are stepping up the difficulty and
right now, we are getting into things that can really get eyeballs and create
traffic to a website. I hope everyone in the class is as interested and engaged
as I am. I wish I had taken this course years ago so that I could now be
applying my skills of web design. It is so simple yet so powerful. I have
always enjoyed jobs where you can see the fruits of your labor. Raking a lawn,
building a shed, painting a fence, you can see the before and after and know
that what was not there before is now complete and it was due to your hard work
and perseverance. Web design is no different, what wasn’t there before is now
written and code and shows up on the page.

Terrorism & Security

I am taking another online course on weapons of mass
destruction and terrorism. The topics that come up in that course pique my
interest and bleed over into my blog here. Every week in that course we must
read, summarize and respond to an article from a website (nti.org). One of the
articles a classmate of mine responded to this week was about the security
measures being taken by Great Britain to ensure the safety of the upcoming Olympic
games in London. The article explained how they are taking radical measures to
ensure athlete and patron safety within the Olympic village. It got me to
thinking. I remember after September 11th there was a lot of talk
about a return to normalcy. Rudy Guiliani was big on people living their normal
lives otherwise “the terrorists have won.” I thought about that quote when
thinking about the Olympic games. At what point do the security measures taken
actually become the terrorism. I realize that sounds like a completely
outlandish statement but allow me to try to explain. Terrorism is meant to
cause fear and a break in typical routines and lifestyle. Terrorists do this
through a extreme violent act. Security measures, especially when taken to the
extreme, do much the same thing as a terrorist act would. People in the
surrounding area have to break routine, they are subject to search and have to
change their lifestyle to accommodate the situation they are living in.
Ultimately, security measures can actually make people feel less secure because
where there is smoke there’s fire and subconsciously people wonder why such
extreme measures are being taken unless something foul is afoot. As such,
extreme security measures actually cause fear in much the same way terrorism
does. I am not advocating that we not put security measures in place I am
simply saying that the psychology of these measures and the effect they have on
the general population is an interesting topic for debate.

IPhone

I just recently got the IPhone. I had held out on getting a
smart phone for years but finally succumbed to the pressure and went to Verizon
a couple Fridays ago and joined the revolution. I was perfectly comfortable
with my old cell phone. It made calls, texts and if I wanted to take a picture
it had that capability too. The features I liked most about it were
speakerphone and the fact that I could take a picture and make it my background
as opposed to the stock photos of trees and waterfalls that they put in all
phones as wallpaper. I enjoyed the fact that when my friends and I disagreed on
some obscure fact or spelling I wasn’t the one who had to look up the answer, I
didn’t have an IPhone. But, alas times called for it and now I cant seem to put
the thing down. It is like a playstation, radio, computer and newspaper all in
one. Oh ya it is a phone too. It has speakerphone, it can take pictures and it
has way more capabilities than my old phone ever imagined. It does take a lot
of getting used to. My old phone I could navigate blindfolded but with this
phone and the touch screen it is hard to pick out or type exactly what you
want. I miss the days of T9Word as opposed to this QWERTY keyboard. It is
amazing that 30 years ago computers filled an entire room, now they fit in our
pockets and the IPhone is way more than just a computer. It makes me wonder
where the next 30 years will take us. What will be the future of computing when
I am 45 or 60, I cannot wait to find out.

Colder Weather

I dont think I will ever understand why people enjoy the fall and winter more than the summer. I love the summer, I love going to the beach, I love being outside, I love playing sports outdoors, I like the sun, the sand, I even like mowing the lawn. Right now, as fall slowly approaches and going to the beach is no longer an option, I become a little depressed. In the summer, on weekends I would go down to the beach with friends, have a few drinks, play horseshoes, tell stories, and crack jokes all while getting a tan. I just believe that everything is more fun outdoors and when it is nice out. Right now, when Saturday rolls around I really have nothing to do. I am sure I could call up my friends and we could all hang out but where, indoors? What is there to do? Sit around, watch TV and play cards? I miss the summer already. Now, perhaps part of my malaise is because I do not participate in any winter activities. I do not ski or snowboard, I never have. Why would I want to put on heavy clothing and go out in the freezing cold only to scream down a mountain at high speeds hoping I dont hit a tree. Sure, its something to do, but its not my cup of tea. I was asked earlier today what are my plans for the weekend and I didn't have an answer. First off, I have been going to weddings and bachelor parties for the past 2 months straight so its actually nice to not have anything planned but then I realized. I dont have anything planned, what am I going to do all day. Sure, I can complete my Exploring the Internet midterm but thats no fun (no offense). I guess I'll just sit around and count the days until next July and the suns back out.

Gmail

Google is everywhere. Years ago as Hotmail and MSN were exploding Yahoo/Google said to themselves, "We gotta get into this email market," and when Google does something they very rarely miss. Gmail has revolutionized email, it is an all in one chat, document, phone, email, and do it all format that is unlike anything before it. For years, I refused to join gmail. I had my hotmail account and was very comfortable with it. I thought I knew what email was. Slowly but surely my friends started telling me, "you gotta sign up on gmail, its so much easier, you gotta sign up." My hotmail account was flooded with friend recommendations to join gmail. I kept saying to myself, I know what email is all about and I am happy with my account, plus like my phone number if I ever change primary email addresses than I may miss something important. Trust me, when you are 24 years old there is no such thing as an important email, they are all chain letters and groupon offers, much like the crap that crowds my inbox now. The reason I joined gmail was because I am in a fantasy baseball league with 15 other guys and during the baseball season I would have 30 emails in a day all on the same topic. I wondered to myself, why are they doing this, it seems insane. They were all on gmail and on gmail emails take on sort of a message board type feel where people can respond and reply and it all stays in the same thread. Finally I joined and while I am a self proclaimed, gmail idiot, I have found it much easier to use than hotmail but still worry about that potentially life changing email that went to my hotmail account 3 years ago

Social Creatures

I find it amazing how different I act when I among 2-3 people then when I am around 10-12. Also, I act differently depending on the type of people I am around. If I around friends who act in such a manner as to crave attention I often take a step back and play more of a background role in the conversation and within the social dynamic. Conversely, if I am around people I do not know very well but feel a shared personality with I am usually much more outgoing and boisterous, often taking over a situation and in a sense being the leader and comic relief. I never really noticed this pheonomenon until I met an old friend during my internship at college. At that time I had a pretty set social group in which, and this sounds odd, but there were clearly defined roles. That isn't to say that people we not able to be themselves but to a degree I, and the people around me, did not overstep our bounds. I say this because when I caught up with an old friend from middle school I sort of morphed into someone who was alot more outgoing, even loud at times. I did and said things that were, in other contexts, outside my comfort zone but in the freedom of my new experiences felt natural. I had a similar experience this week at a wedding running into a few old friends and meeting a few new ones. I went back into this outgoing, gregarious personality that for years had in a sense laid dormant. I had more fun than I had in years. So, the question I am wrestling with and still asking myself days after is, which person am I really? Are my friends and 'comfortable' social roles somehow hindering me or is it the break from the complacency that is in and of itself the fun part. I am fascinated by social interactions within such a context but I am afraid to turn the spotlight on myself.

Business/Pleasure

In an earlier discussion posts I responded to another classmates explanation of a website called Khans Academy and how it is an online learning site with benefactors such as Google and Microsoft. I talked about how major corporations such as Microsoft and Google decide what to invest in. As I mentioned earlier these corporations are known for being generous with their money and are often more than willing to invest in projects that support education. But, this is still America and while being a nice guy and investng in children and education is a positive thing, for a corporation focussed on the bottom line, what is their end. It is all about the almightly dollar so much question becomes what exactly are google and microsoft getting out of their investment in Khans Academy. One could say that the more educated one is the more likely they are to search something on the internet, start their own business, or even keep up with technology (in theory). But, that seems too much of a long tail approach for a company. Especially when you factor in that these are online business and the shelf life of a website (not named google or facebook) is relatively short. The more I think about Khans Academy and their investors the more I realize that the CEO's of Google and Microsoft are vastly smarter than me and perhaps as much as I do know about the internet and business I am missing one major revalation about their investment that would help it all make sense for me.

Passerbys

This weekend I had a couple of weddings to go to. It seems like all I have done for the past month or two has been go to weddings and bachelor parties and while on the surface it may seem stressful and taxing it has actually been great. One thing about weddings is as you are getting ready, picking up your suit, driving to the location and so on and so forth you are thinking when is this gonna be over, I got dressed up for this? But, weddings are always a lot more fun than you can ever prepare for. I do not know what it is, I could be sappy and say that it is being the presence of two people in love on their most special day and perhaps that is a party of it but to me its about an abundance of positivity and old friends and new getting together for a single purpose. I often think about how many people in life I was close to and how I have lost touch with them. It is often people that you worked with or had classes with and while you were close, you were never really great friends so as you each went your separate ways and while you have great memories they are softened by the sadness that you may never see that person again. Facebook has made that whole process of reconnecting alot easier but it is still a little odd. The reason I am talking about weddings and friends from years past is because of a wedding I recently went to for a girl that I used to work with. I got to the wedding and was shocked to find that her cousin was a guy who I knew years ago and had worked with and while we were friends, played poker together and would hang out from time to time, we eventually just went our own way without any goodbyes or talk to you laters. The funny thing is that events would happen that would remind me of this guy and I would always be a bit sad that perhaps I would never see or talk to him again. So, seeing him at this wedding was serendipidous and made it a lot of fun. I think we all have a few people that we were once pseudo-friends with and may never see again and I hope that facebook and the internet, for all its flaws and misguided intentions helps those re-connections happen.

You Think You Know.

I remember signing up for this course and saying to myself, "Exploring the Internet?, that's a class, I should ace that course." But, after going over the syllabus the first day I realized that while I am experienced at surfing the internet and navigating different types of websites, I am very new when it comes to any type of web design or blogging. I have been using the internet since before high school. I can remember being over my friends house, signing onto AOL, playing Slingo for hours and hoping nobody called his house phone because it would cause us to be kicked off the site. I remember the sound of the AOL dial-up and could identify any wrong note in the system it was almost as if by pure sounds and feel I could tell if it was going to sign on or not. I have been on the internet for more than half my life, AIM took up half of my free time during high school. So, when I saw that this course was offered I said, "Piece of cake." But, exploring the internet is not about playing party poker and searching up free promo codes for amazon. It is about designing and implementing your own content onto the world wide web and having your own voice heard.