Tipping My Hat to Technology

I wanted to say something about my Macbook, and technology in general. I'm not an Apple convert who denounces Microsoft from my rooftop, but I would like to share an experience today which made me feel good about my purchase. 

I charged my laptop last night and popped it into my fabric-sleeve zip cover and took it to campus with me. I used it between classes for nearly 2 1/2 hours straight, then closed it and headed to my last lecture. There I opened it back up and used it for another 20 - 30 minutes to browse the internet and chat with a friend, then closed it again and left for home. There I put it on the backporch and streamed pandora radio while moving furniture and hitting some tennis balls for another hour or longer. I closed it up, took it inside and still had battery life left for anything that I wanted to do. 

This scenario isn't unique to today, but has become a repeating pattern in my day-to-day life. 

I know any laptop can do this, but I've just found it so simple with the Macbook that it's beginning to change how I do things. It comes back to life so quickly (literally 1 1/2 seconds) that I can pull it out to check things instead of having to find a computer or wait until later. I take it downtown and can check my email anywhere with wifi (which it connects to automatically), and I can keep in touch people and professional contacts now nearly instantly. 

One of the programs I'm involved with at my university focuses on the impact of technology and its effect on the way we do things on a daily basis, in both our professional and personal lives. It's really amazing to watch cell phones shift from strictly voice devices to mobile internet device (MIDs) which allow the streamlined functionality of a computer in a device the size of a pack of cigarettes or smaller. 

I plan on upgrading my current phone to an iphone when they come down in price so my ability to keep in contact will become even faster. Right now I just can't justify spending that kind of money plus a contract to do the same thing I can with my Macbook. Google's Android looks promising as well, so I may hold off simply to see what will happen. 

So, back to Apple. Are the company's products the end all of all computers? Do they "simply work" as Steve Jobs claims? I would say the answer is a definitive no. I'm still reliant on my vista desktop and XP based computers on campus for certain tasks, especially when I run into compatibility issues on my Mac. I yell at my class iMac on a daily basis for being slow and stupid, although that may be because of the way the lab computers are networked to the professor's computer. I still threaten to abuse my laptop when safari won't display certain pages correctly, or load media when it's supposed to. There're still a number of things which bug me and make me scratch my head in frustration. I still have issues. I still become mad. 

With that said, I realized today that I had only turned my desktop on roughly three times this entire month. The Macbook? I never turn it off; I simply close it and charge, open it and use. 

Apple Macbook and .mac

After purchasing a Macbook for Christmas I found Apple includes a two month free subscription to their .mac, online hosting service.  I've read the reviews on the iLife '08 suite and after seeing all the options for its .mac integration, I decided to give the entire process a whirl and see how great of a website I could create.  

I started a blog there to document my progress, which can be found here.  Check it out and see what kind of things can really be created with a Mac.  

Podcasting and the new "Social Media"

It has been a long while since I last posted on my blog, so I thought tonight was as good as any to finally update.

Since last September many things have happened in the wonderful world of Tommy as I've progressed through one more semester of college. I have become much more active in our on-campus radio station, and am now a member of its executive board of 12. Since it is a fully student run organization (apart from our grad and faculty advisors) we, well, run the place. It's been an extremely worthwhile experience and is definitely something not many students or adults ever get the chance of doing. It's also something that requires a high level of responsibility, which is what also makes it challenging. Each exec has a certain role and title at the station, as well as a staff of volunteers to help. Although I'm named Digital Archives Director, my main duty is media syndication for the station. At the moment, that's entailed podcasting on a exponentially growing degree.

When I took on this authoritative role back in December I knew basically nothing about podcasting. I knew Audacity and how to edit music, but I had no idea what a podcast was beyond exporting the finished, edited copy of a show to a mp3. The Director before me would always take it from there. Now that I know what I do I'm amazed at the incredible following podcasting and the new "social media" have created. Josh Hallett of hyku.com spoke to my PR class last semester and explained how the world of blogging and personal digital media have really reshaped our cultural landscape. From simply sharing one's thoughts to determining political elections, "social media" and its effects have really changed the way even the professional news look at the world. Every person or organization of importance has a blog now, especially political figures. Even personal profiling sites like facebook and myspace are being used as well with politicians having their own pages and mock elections. It's an incredible new grass roots informational tool that puts a medium for expression of opinion in the hands of the average Joe. Even though the experts have predicted that the blog boom will begin to level off, I feel that it will continue to gain importance in the political landscape as the current tech savy generation begins to age. Any medium that promotes freedom of speech from those who normally would not be heard should be supported.

My main goal this semester with the radio station has been to increase the amount of our programming that is available online, either via podcasting or mp3 streams through out website. Its been amazing to watch the stats on podcasted shows rise each week. Talk shows that have aired for two semesters but have just recently been podcasted now get regular phone calls during their airing. Hits have increased three-fold, and will only increase as we continue to register our shows with itunes and continue our syndication. Any increase in our listernership is definitely fine by me.

- Tom

Vacation

It has been awhile since I last posted, and for this I apologize. What have I been doing? Well, lets find out.

I went down to the Florida Keys on vacation, timing it perfectly I might add for we got in between hurricanes. We camped in Key Largo and Bahia Honda and even drove down to Key West for an afternoon. The water is beautiful; a little too blue to be emerald green, but none the less pretty. I think the hurricanes played a part in that, blowing in seaweed and clouding the water close to shore. I know last year in the Bahamas the water was gorgeous; being only sixty miles from the Keys the water is most likely similar. Blame it on bad timing. One problem I noticed was the immense commercialization occurring on the islands. The Keys are small enough as it is without cramming row after row of rundown buildings and shops. This only was present on certain Keys though, while others remained largely uncommercialized. Perhaps larger portions of these were privately owned. Do you know you can buy a Key and build a house on it? Now how cool would that be. Some islands are just large enough for you to put a comfortable sized house on them and a dock out front. All the ones I saw were conveniently located near a large island. You could take a five minute boat ride to pick up your groceries then be back before afternoon. Also with the amount of sun they get down there you could install some large solar panels and have free electricity for your house as well. Sounds like a great place to retire to if you're looking for solitude and don't mind the extra living requirements. Sounds like fun really.

Anyway, we spent nearly two weeks snorkeling and island hopping. In Bahia Honda we swam off Cannon Beach, a cove where six recovered authentic Spanish galleon cannons and two Spanish anchors are arranged on the ocean floor in the shape they would have appeared while on a Spanish ship. Extremely shallow, you could easily dive down or even stand on them while taking pictures (underwater disposable camera). Since a coral reef runs through the Keys, many of its numerous inhabitants can be found near the shore, especially where we were swimming. Many Parrot fish, Grouper, and Angel fish skimmed the bottom, feeding off of and finding shelter under the algae covered Spanish weaponry. Dozens of fish would squeeze themselves under one cannon and then explode in a furious cloud when you stuck your head down with them. Hopefully the pictures turn out, we haven't gotten them developed yet. If so I'll see what I can do with posting them online.

We got home in one piece after a great vacation and I was off to my college freshman orientation. I am going to love college. It is such a drastic difference from any kind of schooling I have done so far, so I am very excited. So much freedom, countered by new responsibilties. I chose the 15 / 16 orientation sessions, and now wish I hadn't. Freshmen get last dibs on choosing their schedule, and I was part of the second to last group of Freshmen to get to choose from what remained. I started this a week ago, and I still have not found a perfect combination. They recommend waiting until the week of drop / add, and I suppose that's what I plan on doing. We log onto a program online and are given ninety minutes a day to browse courses offered and make our selections. Two days ago four stat classes filled up in five minutes...I snagged a political science class which had one opening for only a few minutes. I was very glad I kept what I had...I'm trying to keep my classes as close to each other as possible - I don't wish to wander over a campus this large every day. But while it's a work in progress, I think I finally have an upper hand. I have a schedule which could work if I can find nothing else, but I'm trying to find the same classes at different times and different buildings. Hopefully luck will come my way.

BTW, before I left on my trip I watched the Daily Show and listened to Jon Stewart's spill on how useless hurricane reporters are. He went through a list of network feeds, and ended it with the same clip of Geraldo being pelted by wind and rain that I had watched on the news. Coincidentally, Stewart feels that flying debris should have hit Geraldo and saved us all from having to experience the torture of watching him. I was screaming at the t.v. with approving shouts of glee upon watching that. I must not be the only one who realizes his apparent ineptness. I'm going to bed.

Until later,
Tommy

Geraldo Rivera is a Dumbass

I think the title says it all. While watching the Hurricane Dennis post impact coverage today I happened to catch Geraldo reporting live from Florida, and yet again he proved his unwavering stupidity. It became apparent quickly, nearly at the beginning of his broadcast (what's new?). Located at a local hotel parking lot Geraldo began his commentary on the curb away from the camera - his intention being to walk towards it and allow it to pan the flooding and damage - in this he succeeded. While stepping across the street he passed an enormous branch draped nearly entirely across the road. He touched it of course, but instead of moving it off the street, possibly proving himself a service to humanity instead of sustaining his usual worthless role, he dragged it further into the road. Now he continues to walk towards the camera, and low and behold a car zoom past behind him. Whether the branch proved a hindrance I couldn't tell, but I doubt it helped the situation.

Then he began talking. He had tried to end his report after crossing the street and stomping around in the flooded mess, but the Fox News host had no intention of him quiting. She persisted by asking him to continue talking about the storm and his past hurricane reporting experience. Here things really got comical. You see, his report was finished and he was out of information. He had nothing pertinent left to say, yet he kept at it. He had to. So what happened? His mind turned off and his mouth kept going. His ego roared into action and a stream of irrevelant statements flowed from his mouth. The host said he was an expert at hurricane reporting, and instead of humbly playing it down he elaborated upon it. He brought his brother into the picture, his life along the Florida coast and how well he did his job. After rambling on and on he finally ran into a problem. He couldnt think of enough adjectives to put in front of the word Hurricane. He tried, yet stumbled. He faltered...it was apparent his mouth was moving faster than his brain, and it ran smack into a brick wall. Yet it wasn't long before they again attempted contact (a few seconds pause was all). During this time he thought he had a response. Animals! He would use an animal as his metaphor for the storm. What a novelty! What genius! What creativity! What a waste...In the end some bullshit was produced; the storm was like a ferocious tiger, roaring onto land and devastating the beachfront. What power...what elegance! What bullshit. He couldn't even say it with a straight face -- he stopped briefly mid sentence realizing how dumb it sounded, yet he continued... he had to, he was committed.

Finally amid this segment (they may have cut to the news then come back by this time) he showed previous footage of himself surviving the storm while it pummelled the coast. This part made me laugh extremely hard. He screamed into the microphone while rain pelted his hunched body, and the roaring wind nearly cost him his balance. If he had fallen I would have been rolling on the floor in laughter...it would have been priceless. I wish he could host his show on Fox like that - every weekend would be At Large with Geraldo Rivera on location within the heart of another hurricane...think of the possibilities. I bet his show rating might actually rise if that were to happen. It would provide a nice comical half-hour to Fox's lineup.

Finally we'll end with his near expulsion from Iraq back in 2003. While that should have sealed his career...it only got him his own show on Fox. Go figure. I enjoyed how he blamed the entire ordeal on MSNBC, his former employer for his ineptness. It's common logic you don't expose the location of the armed forces division your embedded with, and it should be common sense not to expose their next plan of attack. Yet Geraldo did, and in the dumbest of ways as well. I never knew he would lower himself to actually touching the sand and dirt he walks on...but to my surprise he did, and drew a map of his location and the proposed military actions of the 101st Airborne division. Thankfully the Pentagon had the balls to remove him, and this they moved to do. Geraldo actually had enough sense to remove himself before such force needed to be taken. Good job buddy, way to be sharp out there. Alas he still is an idiot, and nothing seems to be changing as the years progress. His ego continues to inflate along with his career. Maybe one day Fox will realize the mistake they made in putting him on cable news.

Kuddos Rivera. Here's to many more exciting hurricane reports and excursions across the world. Good luck and please Geraldo, keep reporting in Iraq - maybe you might get an exclusive interview with a terrorist. What a story that would be. I have no doubt you'd show it.

Terrorism in London

I wrote this last night but was too tired to post it.

Well, terrorism has struck again, and yet again it was unarmed civilians who became casualties. Casualties of a "holy war". London was woken abruptly this morning as blasts resounded throughout the city as three trains erupted into flames, and a double decker bus exploded -- ironically it was in the process of being rerouted away from the closest train wreckage. Nobody saw it coming. How it happened is unknown...the only thing for certain is the death toll will continue to rise. Throughout the day it has stayed at 37 dead, 700 wounded, but that will soon change. With so many wounded, it's only inevitable that many more will perish. And why? Why should so many lose their lives for such a senseless act? I suppose it's only senseless in the eyes of the beholder. To terrorists in their radical Islamic mindset, their actions merit great reward. The more they slay in the eyes of Allah, the grander their eternity shall be.

I took a Comparative Religions class last year as a senior in my last semester of high school. The class was taught by a man who had spent the early part of his life attempting to disprove the existence of Christ and claim Christianity as a false religion. Through his vast research he discovered more of himself and his religion than he ever thought possible, and the results changed him profoundly. Through this his life altered directions, beginning with his change of study in college from Marine Biology to a Comparative study of Religion. He has studied the Bible, along with the Koran and Torah - there are many more but I cannot think tonight -- will add in the morning. Through these studies he is able to present his class curriculum through a historical perspective, allowing a richer understanding of not only religion, but of humanity itself. As you can see, I enjoyed this class immensely for it was definitely an eye opener.

The relevant aspect of my story to terrorism is a comment he made which I found very intriguing. Though simplistic, I had never fully thought of the depth of its consequences. He brought to our attention the many wars fought between sides who believed their god deemed their actions valid. Think of the intensity of such conflicts when the assailants believed their actions were graced by god; and even further, think of the intensity of those inspired by glorious death, for in death they would be awarded tenfold what they received in life. With an army possessed by such knowledge, how could such be defeated? The confidence of knowing your sacrifice is honorable is something which eradicates the fear of death. With a lack of fear, one is highly dangerous.

Applied to today's zealous terrorists, the impact of a "holy war" is incredible. One who will blindly fight for their beliefs is unfortunately unstoppable. The fear of death has been replaced by the fear of unfulfilling their commitment to their god. Unless fulfilled, their entry into and award within "heaven" will not be granted. It is truly shocking to think that individuals who share this thought are ones which support the killing of innocent civilians. To them this is their entry into the next world, whether we like it or not. Unfortunately, these civilians are us.

God help us all, and especially those tonight in London. Unfortunately many will not be returning from work tonight to their loved ones. God bless those souls and their mourning families.

War of the Worlds

I saw War of the Worlds yesterday and it's not worth all the hype they're giving it. They basically massacred the novel and have rewritten it to entertain today's violent, action crazed society -- obviously the novel wasn't exciting enough.

The novel and movie contrast too much in my opinion. The book has one main character who travels in an attempt to escape the invasion, ultimately surviving to tell his tale. The movie involves a disfunctional family (mainly just Tom Cruise being an asshole to his children) and their attempt to reach his ex-wife and her husband in Boston where they are staying with her parents for the weekend. This would be fine and dandy if it weren't for the poorly written dialogue they're forced to recite. Between the lulls of the alien invasion Tom and his son exchange bouts of profanity in what is supposed to be considered arguments. It doesn't achieve much except deeming the kid a smart ass teenager who needs to get his butt kicked. He smarts off, purposefully misses a ball so it will break his father's window, then runs off to watch the military be destroyed by the aliens - leaving his sister behind. While we're at it, kick Tom's butt too since his character (or him in general) isn't much better than the kid.

There are two things that don't gel in this movie, and one's the kid's wish to run off to watch the military. "I have to see this dad...I have to" is what he tells Cruise when they run into a military confrontation with the aliens. It doesn't make sense. What the hell does he have to see over that next ridge? The aliens coming and the soldier's inability to stop them? Wow, that's deep, and makes oh so much sense. (Don't forget this is the second time he has tried to run off with the military -- the first is when a army convoy rolled past them on a country road). I sensed this was supposed to be some heart wrenching scene where the boy must leave (why?) but I found it pretty comical really. After letting his moronic son go (good job Cruise, way to be a father) he has to run back and retrieve his daughter from a couple who is trying to take her. I thought that would be funny if he lost both of them simultaneously then gotten eaten by the aliens afterwards (he was a horrible father in the first place). Anyway, soon after everything blows up in a ball of flames, and the aliens advance over the ridge. Cruise and the girl meet the crazy man from the book, and end up killing him to keep him quiet. This is another scene they mutilate -- why kill the man when in the book the main character merely walks away? Oh I forgot, we like excessive violence in our movies, that's why. *slaps forehead*. Duh.

The second thing which I found really dumb was their explanation of the invasion. "Well they have these machines that come out of the ground -- they were buried there!...they must have been planning this for a million years..." Ok...first of all, why would you bury them in the ground? Why would you bring them in the first place really. If this is millions of years ago, then humanity doesn't exist *slaps forehead again*. Let's say it again...no humans on earth. If you have the technology to get to earth and bury something that large -- or build something that large in the first place -- I don't believe dinosaurs pose much of a problem. You could pick them off like flies. What's sad though, I bet nobody will notice the flaws in that explanation. They'll be so stunned by the sheer volume of the movie they won't remember much else. This thing is loud, let me tell you. Perhaps their marketing scheme was if they make a movie loud enough people will overlook a lack of quality. I for one hope it backfires.

They couldn't use the original concept of aliens arriving in shell like ships shot out of cannons on the surface of Mars -- because that would be too cheesy for today's sophisticated audiences. Now the aliens appear in lightning storms (I'm assuming they design themselves) and ride the lightning through the ground into their ships. If they can manipulate weather...why not just freeze all humanity? One or two good ice ages ought to do it. If they've been at this for a million years, they can wait a couple more to actually execute a successful plan. Their's failed miserably. A million years, and they didn't figure out bacteria can kill you. That's another failure which is exemplified in the movie. The lack of immunities made sense in the book since the strike was sudden, and the average reader wasn't extremely educated... so it worked out. But in this situation it's just plain dumb.

I think one of the final scenes, where the military accompanied by the crowd inspects the fallen spaceship, could have been better. Nobody seems to make much noise when the alien crawls out then dies. I'm supposing that the majority of those getting slaughtered never saw more than the mechanical beast which destroyed them with its ray guns -- shouldn't the alien intrigue them? Or at least elicit rage? Finally they have a chance to come face to face with what has been killing them, and they're silent. Anyway, the aliens were supposed to have tentacles. It seems they got that confused -- they gave the ships tentacles instead of the aliens -- they ought to have read the book.

But out of all this, the movie will sell millions. It has Tom Cruise, and it's extremely violent. Why shouldn't it sell? Nobody will point out its problems, or be able to see any discrepancies between the classic novel and the blockbuster hit. Why? Because our society -- or the culture aimed towards today's youth -- doesn't deem reading (or writing in this case -- could have provided for a better script?) as valuable as watching music videos or forking over money to the latest pop whore's new album. Of course in the big scheme of things, who needs a basic education? I'm sure somebody's music album, or the phrase whateva will prove a thousand times more useful in the real world than possessing basic reading, writing, and arthimetic skills.

Oh well.



Yes, I did make the comparison pic.

Tuesday, July 5th

2:24 a.m.

I'm going to try this blog thing out and see if I enjoy it. Hopefully it'll allow me to convey my thoughts more coherently (not sure what they amount to) and in some respects hone my writing skills. Let's find out.

You know, even by rereading that last sentence or so, I realize how poorly I spell late at night. I usually make typos, but I read while I write so I generally fix them immediately. Unfortunately in the wee hours of the morning I seem to be oblivious to what I type. I can click through entire paragraphs and not realize how grammatically incorrect it all is. It could be my eyesight, or just being plain tired. I'm leaning more towards the former than the latter though. I know I shouldn't stay up this late, but it's fun talking to people online and responding to forums. All the west coast people post rather late in the day (for me), so I generally am up for hours talking to them -- about total nonsense too. But in the end I know I shouldn't do it. My eye lids always feel like weights and I nearly fall asleep sitting up. It can't be healthy. I bet this is what it will be like in college though. Then I'll be forced to stay awake finishing papers and studying - I had enough of that in high school (the staying up part at least).

I never studied much in high school, yet I did fairly well I believe. I took rigorous courses, applied myself when need be, but never fully went all out. I know I could have done better and achieved on a higher level, but in the end I'm satisfied with the results. I got into the college I wanted to, I graduated with honors, and am perceived by my friends as relatively intelligent. Hence the word relatively...if I did not use it they may beg to differ. I'm sure everything will change this fall - everybody tells me I'm going to have to apply myself. I will spend every waking moment studying, laboring over textbooks, and not have a minute of spare time. I have to do well or I'll fail...flunk out and then where will I be? I beg to differ. I know it will be challenging to say the least, but I know it's nothing that I can't accomplish. Nothing is too difficult, or they wouldn't put you through it. In actuality, I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be something I've never experienced before -- a new sense of freedom. I'm on the footstep of a new, wonderous life which in my head I'm wary of taking, though I know inside I'll be fine. I just have to get there first, then everything else will take care of itself. It always does.

It's quarter till three now and I'm getting tired, so I think I'll end this for now. I've never really kept a journal -- once when I was little I did, but it was essentially nothing. The process of putting your thoughts down is a nice feeling. It kind of allows you to think more clearly -- forcing you to actually process your thoughts in order to put them into coherent sentences makes you ponder. It seems once I get typing it's hard to stop -- I didn't know I had that much on my mind tonight.

Until I post again,
Tommy