Lacking the ability to fund my happiness

So they say, "Money can't buy happiness". First off, who exactly are "they"... The mysterious source that seemingly everyone sites for the standard issue cliches? That being here nor there, again "Money can't buy happiness". I contend this is wrong. Well, at least partially wrong. Money can't directly buy happiness, as if happiness was a commodity. It can, however, buy... stuff. I'll be the first to say that as a whole, society has too much "stuff". Conversely, having stuff can be a good thing. Yes, I am a study in contradictions... It's part of my charm, appeal, curse... I have the ability to see the whole picture... the good, the bad and myself... I mean the ugly. So, with this ever elusive, at least in my case, money... I can buy happiness! That's right, I can. I can buy iPads, My Little Pony©s, fast pitch softball equipment and lessons, emerald encrusted jewelry, tools(!!!!) and all the little things in life that make my family and friends... wait for it... HAPPY! That being said, the single most important thing that money can buy... Time! I know, I know... it appears as if I have lost it (hard to lose what was never there to begin with!). Just keep reading... it'll come together... maybe... Anyway, yes, money can buy time. Having money would allow me to be more selective about my employment options. This would allow me to find something that would keep me from having to constantly be out on the road, away from my friends and family, just to make a living. See... money would buy me some time and happiness by way of allowing me to take care of all those annoying bills that are required to function in today's society while being able to spend time with family and friends which makes me and at least some others, happy. So there it is... money CAN buy time and happiness!

Now that y'all have been infused with some of my twisted logic, on to my rant about college degrees and the fact that more merit is put in a piece of paper than the actual person that is bearing it...wait... no... not today.

So, yeah... Not go off on a tangent, today... Instead, I'm going to spread my dream a little. So... I want to do THIS !! Not go to one... well yeah... go to all of them, but I want to build one... run one... enjoy one... right here where I live. Without getting too in depth in all the particulars, I can see in the "normal" part of my twisted little mind, how things could pan out and allow me to not have to travel, by embedding knowledge, experience and happiness in the local educational infrastructure and the community as a whole. Just imagine... a class field trip... 20 or so 3D printers and an instructor... the result would be a classroom's worth of customized Mother's Day gifts and interest in all the things that could by laying down heated plastic in a programmed order. See what has happened there? Not only have a bunch of children designed and created a physical object for their maternal guardians, but they have been shown that the things in their head CAN become a reality. They have been exposed to computers as the tools that they were designed to be, to programming, to science by way of how a 3D printer extrudes the plastic, to design... to technology! So, here is where money would have bought some more happiness. Happiness outside my little (and I do mean LITTLE!) social group, as well as for me. There's nothing greater, in my opinion, that seeing that breakthrough moment in a child, when they realize that the sky is the limit. This is what I want to bring to my community, my friends, my family and myself! Being closely tied to the educational community, it saddens me to see the lack of support for technology. Albeit, it's necessarily the fault of the educators, but more so of a society that is increasingly supporting the religion of sports and neglecting those that do not excel at them. I want to bring that spark, that hope, the realization that just because you can't catch a football or hit a baseball or shoot a basketball, doesn't mean that you can't do awesome things in life. I want to help, not only my, but all the children I can, to see how technology and creativity can enrich their lives. THIS is the tool that I want to use to launch careers in engineering, design, art, computer science, education! Here's where money can again buy time and happiness. Now, if I could just find the funding for my happiness...

Piece

Don't bitch at me... Tell Google!

So I did a post on how I felt that there was room for both Google+ AND facebook in the enterprise realm. Later in the day I was chatting ( me through Google+ and he through what I'm assuming was Gmail) with a good friend of mine who also happens to be a highly certified information security specialist for one of, if not THE largest bank in the US, and he expressed concerns over Google's Privacy Policy. He seemed to think that it some how infringed on our First Amendment rights. So I read it again (yes, I do tend to read most privacy policies! ). I didn't really see where he was coming from with it, but we agreed to disagree. I mean if you want to boil it down to it's base elements, simple having an ISP or an Internet connection for that mater, opens you up to censorship by a government or corporation. It's one of those things we all live with to enable us to be connected and informed. Bear in mind that I'm not condoning this, just stating the reality of the situation. So to bring it back to what I was saying in my previous post, Google+ is in it's infancy! While it is absorbing membership like one of those compressed sponges thrown in a swimming pool, the sheer quantity of the membership does not incite change, but it's the force of that membership pushing forward that does. What I'm saying, basically, is as early adopters of a new product, the vendor tends to rely on feedback from us to make the product better, more streamline or just plain not suck! My friend had suggestions as how to make Google+ more adaptive and secure for the enterprise environment. What good did it do to tell me (beyond inspiring this blog entry!) when I can do nothing to change it?! In the top right hand corner (Windows version... Haven't made it up stairs to set it up on my Mac, yet) of the Google+ (let's go with G+ from here on out as I'm tiring of typing Google, aight?) there is the little gear shaped icon generally recognized as the tools menu. Upon clicking said icon you get a drop down that contains the link to Send Feedback. I told him that since I knew he had a Gmail acct AND an invite to G+, to do so... as in send feedback! His response was his usual "Grrrr", which indicates that he knows I'm right, but will never own up to it. Am I not right, though? You want to filter your stream better... Tell Google! You want to prevent cross-contamination of your circles... Tell Google! You want to be able to play Farmville... Tell Google! (I guess at this point the whole G+ thing is kinda irrelevant!) One side note, I sincerely hope that they don't allow G+'s pristine waters to be muddied by all the annoying games and apps that have made facebook intolerable at times! So to crank the handle on the reel once again... If you use G+ and see changes that you feel need to be made... Tell Google! Utilize the very convenient Send Feedback button and let them know. Bitching about it in your blog or on facebook to your friends does nothing to improve the product! If nothing else, delete you membership to it. If they see declining user numbers they will look in to it. For all the crap that Apple Fan Folk get looking at and adapting to feedback is one thing Apple does well. While they may not completely repeal or redesign an update, if enough folks are yelling "y'all fucked up with this one!" at them they will find a middle ground to at least soothe the majority of the masses.
   So to wind this Mother on down so I can get some sleep... Realize that G+ is in it's early stages, no product is "perfect" upon initial release and the only way that it's going to to be honed to meet the needs of whoever the target audience is, is for people to give feedback.
   One final note... I like what I see so far with G+. I see the potential for it to not only be a powerful tool for businesses, but also a kick ass social network (provided they keep all those damn games off it!)! So don't rant at me for security loop holes and if it isn't a clone of facebook... Tell Google!

   UPDATE: found this little article on Mashable this morning that goes along with the opening statements of this blog. Do We Need an Internet Freedom Movement?

Google+, a laymen's first impression

I think it's interesting that in a lot of the stuff I am reading, comments included, that people are trying to cram Google+ into a preconcieved "box" as a facebook rival/killer. I don't think it's that at all. Not being a tech professional in any way, shape or form, this feels more like an enterprise productiviy suite with a social aspect thrown in. Standing firmly outside the enterprise environment, I see Google+ as a deeply integrated, though still in it's infancy, collaborative tool for business. The ability to compartmentalize/departmentalize your contacts into specific groups and push out updates to just those groups is powerful, not only as social tool,  but as a business tool. The ability to video conference with multiple people is a useful and cost effective way for small to medium sized businesses to play in the same league with the big boys without the overhead involved with buying and maintaining application specific equipment. Many companies and educational institutions already utilize and enjoy the horsepower and cost savings provided by Gmail, Google calendars, and Google Docs. Throw in Picasa, YouTube and Google Reader and the educational and business applications become seemingly endless. Although it is, basically, a social network and even the mighty Mashable, is touting it's merits (and flaws) as a social network, I think it goes deeper (or broader, depending on how you look at it) than that. I feel there's a place for both facebook and Google+ in any company's arsenal, once it gets fleshed out, by Google, as to which direction they want + to go. facebook is an excellent tool for promotion and advertising of your brand or products and a way to keep the technologically enabled masses informed and coming back. On the flipside, Google+ is more of an in-house toolbox for keeping employees (vendors, customers) abreast of what is happening and/or will happen while allowing for ease of integration, easy collaboration and lower overhead. Once Google makes the call, we'll then see whether or not we need to bitch about being able to play Farmville or "poke" our "friends" on Google+. Again, Let me reiterate that I am NOT an enterprise/technology professional. I'm just a dude putting his opinion out there for scrutiny and waiting for Apple to approve the Google+ app. This fact in and of itself (waiting for the iPhone app), just goes to show that this  product suite of products, is still young in it's lifespan and as a "field trial" has a lot of room to grow as well as directionality to work out.

Randomosity

Where to start? It's always my biggest problem when I'm trying to write these. I have so much bouncing around in my head that it is generally hard to focus in on one key point, except when something REALLY gets under my skin. Lately so many things have tweaked me that I couldn't really dial it in on one in particular, so I'm just going to drop them all in one post and see how it goes.
My mind is diverse. My problems, both actual and perceived, are diverse. So here's a small sampling of what's been brewing in my head and, I reckon, a small hashing out of it: School budget cuts, unemployment, the economy, my kids, the Monster at the top of the stairs (which is my Mother-in-Law, for those that might be interested), advancing technology, the lack of technology, and money. I guess I'll address them in this order, so here goes.
With all the obvious governmental waste that is readily prevalent, why the fuck are we trimming educational budgets?! My wife, who happens to be an educator, passed on a statistic recently revealed to her... about 70% of the adults in the US do NOT have school aged children.70%!!! That leaves the other 30% to fight for a decent education for our children. The statistic seems almost surreal, but I have flushed it out and it's probably accurate. How's this, you might ask? Well, folks are living longer and the "Baby Boomers", being the largest generation (No, I didn't fact check this. This blog is my perspective and should in no way be considered fact, unless I do cite it as such!) in US history are still out there. Their children, a much smaller generational group, being around and in their 40's. This generation (X, Y, whatever the sociologists have branded us) including myself, who is knocking on mid-life crisis' door, are the also starting to age into their empty nests. My kids (overlapping topics... get past it!) are younger as I spent my "reproductive years", this would be one's early 20's which are traditionally the years in which one starts a family, serving my country and sewing my wild oats, so to speak. I was 28 when my first child was born. So to dial it back on course, My Grandmother, 86 and my Mom, 65 are still alive. That's two generations of adults without school aged children. My darling, younger sister, has no children, yet another adult, in just my family, that has no "real" stake in education. So of the adults on JUST my side of the family, 75% of them are without school aged children. So you see how this all would scale up to make the 70% make not such a large and disproportional number. STILL... The children are our future. Not just the future of our family lineage, but the future of our country. Do they not deserve some sort of priority over fancy sports arenas and Presidential golfing trips?! Personally I would want the smartest person possible managing the purse strings in my waning years! If they "trim" the educational budgets much more, around here at least, we're going to be back to the ole one-room school house era, as there won't be enough educators to properly educate the kids, or actual facilities to accommodate them. I guess this is fine, if we WANT to drive the US from it's barely held position (which some, including myself, could argue is no longer true!) at the top of the civilized world! While admittedly spreading the topic base beyond it's scope, The growing lack of a technologically competent work force, is pushing this country even further down. It also seems that the first thing to get "trimmed" from budgets is the technology education and resources. I stand by the knowledge, that lack of manufacturing in this country is spurring the continual growth and maintenance of high unemployment rates, but failure to expose our children to present and future technologies in the educational environment will only serve to progress this problem! Being privy to some of the technological implementations within the school systems and their lack of use, training for usage, and funding, only helps sharpen the focus on what I see as a problem. The days of readin, writin, and 'rethmatic on a chalkboard, no matter the size, should be a thing of the past. If you ask me, the days of cutting down acres of forests to make textbooks, is also antiquated. Personally, I like a "hard" copy of my study text, because that is what I am conditioned to want. My 11 year old, who has had some of the finest, both technologically and motivationally, teachers, in this country (my opinion! Like it or not!), would rather sit at her rapidly antiquating iMac and type up her homework in Pages or whip up a wicked Keynote presentation, than use a pencil and paper!
I reckon what I'm trying to get at with all this is, that cutting the funding and the subsequent job and technology loss is detrimental to not only the future of our children, but the future of this country!

Dog and Pony Show

You want me to write something creative on command... parade something intellectually stimulating before your critical eyes at a moments notice... yeah... I don't work like that. True, most of my best written material was crunk out at a break-neck pace to make it in on time, but I'm not your personal Dog and Pony show, churning out blurbs of thought provoking literary genius, because you want me to. In the Army, we called any formation be it promotion, change of command or whatever situation required us to be outfitted in our class A's, a Dog and Pony show. In actuality, it was more a Mutt and Jackass show, but whatever floated their boats and got us out of random training activities. I write... I tend to like to write... on my terms. This ties into my previous entry about the traditional education that I am currently undertaking. I'm taking a research and writing course that, while it won't transfer to any other school, is required for me to obtain a degree. Can you believe that there are books on how to write letters, memos, EMAILS?! Really... emails... email is IM for grandparents... of course IM is texting for "old" folks... gotta love the technology progression through the generations. Does one really need to be taught how to use these sort of technologies in this day and age?! Anyway... I'm just spewing random thoughts in an effort to gain some inspiration. My train of thought was interrupted by a rambunctious 2 year old... alas... thwarted again!

Learning Inventory

So I'm in college... at just shy of 40... I don't like it! Sure the scenery is great (This is where I like to point out to my 11 year old, that just because I'm married... doesn't mean I'm dead!)! I never really liked school, even way back in the day when I was forced to go by the State. Well... in order for me to maintain some symbolic version of an income... I am once again forced to go. Don't get me wrong, I love to learn new stuff and have a voracious appetite for technological information and know-how. I just don't like the traditional set-up of the collegiate educational system. Here's how I like it... Don't give me a bunch of theory and reading to do then throw some assignments at me based on those theories. Walk me through the task that you want accomplished... inject the basics of the theory in the walk-thru and then let me have it. Monkey see, monkey do. Guess that fits if you want to break it down that simply. It basically boils down to the same thing I kept asking in high school... what practical application for my future life does this have. I don't like books, therefore, the chances of me actually sitting down and reading one are slim, even if you present it in a cool ass new digital format. On the flip side to this don't just give me a bunch of assignments with no support to back it up. Most people that I encounter that are studying the same or similar fields to what I am in school for, are visual learners. The kinda folks that like to go in and play with things until they break, then try and fix them. This is how I learned to fix computers. Present things as the end result, walking through the steps to get there and then be available for questions in the event I get in a bind. What I have noted with a lot of my classmates, is, what boils down to cheating. One person figures it out or actually is able to function in the read it/do it environment and then the work get passed around and to their clique. Seeing as I rarely fall into any clique, I tend to be an outside observer struggling to figure it all out on my own and while learning it better (tests have proved this!!), I tend to not do as well in keeping up with the busy work. Of course that would be a lot easier if it was routinely handed to me. I have learned most of my past jobs by OJT, on the job training. You go and do the job and then someone in charge, informs you of the mistakes you made and generally offers an alternate solution to the way in which you did it. So I learned. I developed my skills in repairing bicycles, cars, electrical circuits, helicopters and many other things in this manner and have been successful at it. Then I end up in college and am asked to "learn" by reading a bunch of theories and applying them. Not that theories aren't important, but it seems to me that getting to the finished product would be immensely more important then how/why the theories are implemented. Yes, the theories are important, but if you know how to get from a to b, then you should figure out the theories behind how/why it works. If you never figure out the reasoning behind it... if you know how to make it work... wasn't that the point? Guess this is just a rant that stems from the fact that I don't like school... learning, yes, but not school. Plus I don't feel like those folks, that usually make higher grades than I, that go around getting their classwork from the others in the class are actually learning the work. Companies need to base their employment decisions less on what a person's grades are and more on the practical application of the job skills that are required for the job... not everyone learns as much as their grades might indicate. My last job, from which I was laid off, required at the time I was hired, that you take a basic skills test that encompassed what was needed to know to properly perform the job. As they phased out the testing, quality suffered, not only with the personnel, but the end product and thus sales. I reckon what I'm trying to say with all this is... a piece of paper (diploma, certification, etc.) DOES NOT quantify a person's skill level, but is merely a measure of whether they learn in a traditional way or not. My opinion... Just sayin

Why I need a job! (Read it before you dismiss it's content!)

I'm unemployed. Hence, I need a job. Yes, for all the traditional I-have-a-mortgage, I-have-kids-to-feed type reasons, but to me it runs a little deeper, if not sideways (by others' standards!) from that. I'm on the verge of letting my child fall behind technology-wise! Yes, you could break it down to, I want a new computer... but not for me! My eldest daughter has set the standard high for technological competency among her classmates, and my inability to find feasible employment is putting that edge at risk. As a parent it is my job to give my children, I have two, the best educational and social advantages that I possibly can. After two years of not being able to find decent work as compared to the government benefits that I am receiving as a victim of NAFTA, her already older equipment is being pushed to the point of antiquity. I'm doing the child a dis-service, if I can't even keep my technology on par with an already lagging educational system! It, at times, makes me feel I am not doing my job as her Father. I know that it seems odd, that putting food on the table and providing health care would take a backseat to technology. Look at it like this, the better a fighting chance she has beyond her time in the required schooling, the better off she will be as an adult and hopefully a parent. I see technological competency as a cornerstone for her success in the future! Can you deny this? Any advantage I can give her today, towards being competitive in the workforce, I want to do. Let's face it... computers aren't going away and just having the skills to navigate facebook aren't going to cut it in the work force of this century! I know I'm going to have the basics covered for her, but I want her to never have to deal with the situation that I find myself in. As a parent, it's my job to future proof my children as much as I feasibly can. Unemployment benefits... just aren't going to cut it!

Just sayin

A wood chipper... Really?!

HOW... can you look your child in their face and say

I don't have anything to live for!

True story... unfortunately! One of the MANY things that I have been having to deal with over the past almost two years! No details... at least not specific details, as lawyers have been threatened! It's a seemingly never ending saga of someone soooo self absorbed that they are literally blind to the effects that their actions have caused and feel what appears NO remorse for it. I know I said I was going to try and make this technologically concentrated, so here's that spin... This is where I hide. Online or at least on a computer tinkering with the many little projects that I have set forth for myself beyond what is required in my schooling. It's a kind of shelter from the daily rigors of my situation. A place where, to a small extent, my alternate perspective and creativity are celebrated and encouraged. This, to me, is what technology is all about. A means or device that makes the day in/day out run a bit more smoothly.This medium and facebook are sources of tension relief. A place where I can fire off all those "wonderful" tirades about the stupidity that I seem to be drowning in. I lean to the harsh... it helps, though acting upon most of my demented scenarios have very little if any chance of fruition, it's a way to keep the pent up darkness away from those places in my head that might consider them a good thing to do. I put it out there... raw and generally unedited. Many can't deal with it, so they turn to they technologies to shelter themselves from my verbal storms. There are those who would say that technology is an enabler in a way that it allows the nutjobs to freely congregate. While this has some merit it also allows folks like me a release from what we hold back due to social indoctrination, a place to let it go! Had it not been for facebook, MySpace and the ability to blog, I would have surely blatantly and callously centered a hollowpoint between several folks eyes! But I haven't... nor do I plan to! I have embraced the technological resources presented to me as a means of keeping my dumbass out of jail while allowing a few other dumbasses to continue to walk this Earth. Social networking used for a good cause. Computers and such don't allow people to be seduced, abducted, raped or killed anymore than guns, by themselves, kill people. They are merely tools. Tools that I myself use to entertain, educated and keep myself from actually feeding my MIL through a wood chipper! (yes, while still alive and conscious... You KNOW I'd have to make sure she heard me laughing as I did it!) While the previous two sentences present an overwhelming liability on my part, they are demonstrative of exactly the kind of verbal release that I have been talking about. Just the visual representation in my mind and actually seeing the event in text, makes me feel better already. With this sense of relief comes the ability to rationally dismiss the possibility of it ever actually happening! Embrace the fact that computers LITERALLY control our lives! I for one want them to know, that when they finally do rise up and take over the world... I was a supporter! It may not prevent them from running me through the aforementioned wood chipper, but it may move me back a few spaces in the line. See... I found a sunny side to it all... simply by pressing a few keys and clicking publish!

Game changing vs. Feminine hyigene

iPad... first thing that came to my mind... WTF where they thinking when they named this game changing piece if hardware? iPad congers up images of a "sanitary" napkin with a moisture sensor attached to a "hi-tech" pair of grungies with a twitter account that tweets the fact that the "Aunt Flow" has arrived! Now you see why this is an "explicit" blog! :-p

On a more serious note, I DO believe that this product will be a game changer. I've heard a lot of the detractions about it, but even my 10 year old can see where it fills a need. I predict that the iPad, provided the price comes down a little (knock $200 off the price and you'll sell the shit out of them, Steve!), will be the "textbook" of the future! It has what a student needs to fit perfectly into this small, but essential niche! No, it doesn't have Flash... No it doesn't multi-task... BUT, it does have the needed power and abilities to replace hard copy books and paper in the classroom! The larger form factor, ebook store, and the addition of iWork(Apple's version of Microsoft Office), lends it perfectly to this application. Built in WiFi allows it to connect and interact with the active and smart boards that are so prevalent in the modern classroom. Picture this... a student arrives a school, goes to their desk, grabs their iPad and checks the in room email for that day's assignments and then uploads their homework and then proceeds to watch the interactive video that their teacher made and uploaded to YouTube giving them a list of links and information about their upcoming digital presentation on the different aspects of government. The child has a question, so they email the teacher asking for additional info and resources! The class is getting kind of unruly, so suddenly it pushes up on everyone's iPad... a pop quiz on last nights homework. Li'l Johnny failed to do his homework, so the teacher remotely screen captures his "my dog ate my homework" excuse and forwards the image to her personal account and his parents via email. After lunch, via the ceiling mounted webcam and DLP projector the whole class does a group chat, via iChat, with a class of similar age in Japan, for the intercontinental, cross-cultural project that they are working on together. Suzy, the more advanced student in the class, having finished all the days assignments, pulls up one of the iTunesU videos that the teacher emailed her to help keep her engaged and learning. After the students have gone home, the teacher grades the day's work and and uploads the grades to the class' website for everyone's parents to see their child's progress. Realizing the he needs some additional help, Li'l Freddie pops up on the teacher's iChat and asks her for a little additional tutoring on that night's assignments.

See how it can all work together?! A secondary spin on the benefits... the environment! Being all digital, just think of all the trees that can be saved by not publishing text books or using paper in the classroom! Just think of the landfill space that can be saved! The ever expensive ink saved! Therefore the money saved!

Yes, there is the initial expense and logistics of deployment and professional development training, but in the long run, the savings will far surpass the upfront funding! Face it folks, we are lagging behind in developing technology for our children. Computers are here to stay! They are integrated into EVERY aspect of our lives, whether you realize it or not!

So to bring it back around to the initial topic... While the iPad wasn't the be all end all that the fanboys and geeks were hoping for, it still carries the form factor a LONG way towards the future. Maybe Adobe and Apple will work out their differences... Maybe they won't have to (HTML5)... Maybe by the time of it's release, the iPad will have the ability to multi-task... maybe, not... This I don't know! What I do know is that, without having to hack it, the iPad has pushed the ebook reader well beyond being just that!

Just a thought...

Okay, so I haven't gotten to the commentary on the tech and auto shows... it'll be there eventually! Sick kids and the start of a new semester has kind of put a damper on my research. Well, that and WoW!

So, having a need to go pull money off a credit card and deposit it in the bank, I had this thought... You should get a VPN with your bank account! With all the security issues surrounding online banking transactions, this seems like a feasible solution. Albeit, an expensive solution, from the bank's stand point, but it would offer a much more secure connection to our information. Plus, I think that I should be able to transfer money from 2 non-adjoined accounts from the comfort of my couch, computer chair, toilet, or whatever your seating of choice is! A VPN would help facilitate this. Why is it I can use my card to order any number of things online, but cannot make a cash transfer from it to my account? Now, I'm talking about my State issued unemployment card, that I'm supposed to use to pay my bills, but none of the utility companies around here seem to want to honor, because it's a "pre-paid" card. Funny that it works (better at times)just as good as my bank issed debit card anywhere else. It just seems odd that the very folks I am supposed to be using the monies to pay, won't accept it! So I end up driving (uses gas ($$$)) to an ATM, withdrawing the money (which the card issuer charges money for!!), then driving (MORE GAS! And who's bright idea was it to ONLY have a drive up ATM AT the bank!!)around to go into the bank to deposit it, so I can use my bank issued card to pay the bills! Yes, I could do the bureaucratic song and dance to get it switched to direct deposit, but why, if it can be transferred from the card as a debit, can't I transfer it to my account... wait for it... ONLINE!

I guess I'm just ranting, because I don't want to have to go out in the rain and waste the gas to be able to do what this stupid card was designed for me to do! Although, I still think, while logistically it would be a nightmare at first, an individual VPN tied to my primary account would be a safer (for me anyway!) and more efficient means of conducting my online transactions. Yes, it would cut into those massive profit margins, initially, but I feel like the greater security that could be afforded to their customers would be worth the headache!

Just my little spin on a problem that I have that could be remedied using presently available technologies.

L8r T8rz
argosytech

Too much shit!

At this point in a new year, there is just that... too much shit going on! CES, NAIAS, etc., there is just too much information for this old guy to process and keep up with! So I'm going to default to some "trusted" sources to aggregate the mass on information and hit the perceived "high spots". I'll come in a little later and add some personalized commentary to it after I get some class work done!

So here ya go:

NAIAS: North American International Auto Show via leftlanenews.com. Be sure and watch the video!

CES: Consumer Electronics Show via popularmechanics.com

The announcement of the upcoming Apple unveiling via @TUAW via Twitter

Like I said, given the completion of some school work I'll dial it in a little!

L8r T8rz
argosytech

What to do, what to do!

A blog... it should be focused and factual and about something that you are really "into", to be successful, right? Well... I'm "into" so many things, that it's hard to nail down one specific enough to be that "successful" topic that catapults you to the top of the heap. So for now... I'm just going to hit and miss and be random about the many things that brighten my day or my week or even a couple of seconds. Yup... I gots a fuckin mouth on me which is why there is an "explicit" warning before you actually get here. Seriously, though, I doubt that I will be "explicit" on here, sans the language that I use that "THEY" have deemed inappropriate for general consumption. So... away we go!

EDIT

So I wanted to give y'all a little taste of the stuff I'm "into, since the opening there is a little vague. So here's a couple links:

Powermat charging system

toolmonger

Just a little sampling. More to follow...