Category: Technology

Topic of discussion

Today’s question is what topics do I like to discuss?

Over the years, my choice of discussion topics have changed considerably. I used to like technology quite a bit, but I’ve been in the tech career for more years that I can remember, so it’s gotten a little boring to me. In some ways, I also feel like technology has headed down paths that make me a little nervous about our future. At this point, I feel like I could write a pretty good dystopian novel, just based on what I know right now. I can talk the talk today, but it’s gradually fading, and one day I might decide to just go off the grid.

Another topic that I used to discuss a lot was politics. A few years ago, I had a couple of friends who were pretty extreme in their political beliefs. I had to follow lots of news just to keep up with the conversation. Honestly, I wasn’t that political before I met them. It was a stretch for me. I have since moved away from them and we have lost touch. I miss them sometimes, but I don’t miss the political discussions at all. In my opinion, politics have grown too extreme over the years, and have taken on the persona of a fanatical religion. It’s a toxic subject matter at this point, as far as I’m concerned, and I try to shy away from it.

Over the past few years, I have kind of evolved into a different kind of person, and my favorite topic has changed considerably. I have come to realize that every human being is experiencing life in a very different way from me, based on their own unique memories and life experience. I don’t even think I experience life in the same way I did in years past. When I look back on the person I used to be, I barely even recognize him honestly. I respect and love him, but he’s just not me anymore. It’s like sharing memories with a lifetime I never lived, but for the first time, I can understand why he did what he did.

In line with this new perception, my favorite discussion topic has been the many ways we differ. For instance, I love striking up a conversation with a complete stranger, because you don’t really know what to expect. I’ve also had a couple of really close friends in the past few years who were incredibly open with me about how they really felt. It was sometimes shocking, taboo, and even a little disturbing. I began to understand them though, and even empathize with them. In the end, I think it was an important source of change for me.

What is your favorite topic of discussion? Are there any topics you try to avoid? Do like hearing unique life experiences? Do you see a dystopian future ahead, or a utopian future? Do you ever look back on your life and not recognize yourself? Do you think politics have become too extreme? What was the biggest catalyst for change in your life? Let me know in the comments, and don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe!

My favorite subject in school.

When I was very young, I spent a lot of my time using my hands. As a result, I grew very dexterous, which allowed me to develop a proficiency with arts and crafts. I’m not sure if being good at something makes you like it, or if liking something causes you to practice it until you become good. Either way, I grew to like arts and crafts very much, and ended up being one of the better artists at my grade school. For this reason, I would say art was my favorite subject back then.

It might be a little odd, but I also liked science about as much as art. Some people don’t think they go together, but I felt like they worked together pretty well. Science satisfied my curiosity and helped me understand the materials around me, and that knowledge could then be applied to create things artistically. I believe these two subjects are extremely synergistic.

Honestly though, what I liked most about science was chemistry, because as a kid I thought chemical reactions were fascinating. Unfortunately, those experiments sometimes got me in trouble. I would say I might have been a little on the dangerous side growing up. I knew how to make all sorts of things that kids shouldn’t know how to create, since I spent half my time reading encyclopedias. I’ll leave my experiments to your imagination for the time being.

Another science related subject that I liked was electricity and electronics. As a result, I was always wiring things together to make them light up or transmit signals. I created working telegraphs, telephones, and radios out of spare parts. I also loved taking toys and electronics apart to see how they worked. This interest gradually led me to computer hardware and software programming, which eventually turned into a career.

What was your favorite subject in school? Are you an artist? Do you like science? Did you ever have a chemistry set or electronics set? Can you program computers? Let me know in the comments, and please remember to like, share, and subscribe!

How I manage screentime.

A few months back, I posted about how I unplug. I feel like it explains what I do to manage screen time. I haven’t really changed much since that time. I’m going to reblog it here for reference. I think it has some pretty good pointers if you find yourself too absorbed in your phone.

How do I unplug?

Do you have any additional pointers? Is phone distraction a big problem these days? Let me know in the comments, and don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe!

What I would pay to go to the moon.

I like reading Sci-fi from time to time, but I honestly don’t want to live it. I would not pay anything to go to the moon, or at least not presently. It’s a barren rock and the trip wouldn’t be without danger. If there was a thriving community established on the moon, and the rocket ride was comfortable and safe, then maybe I would take a vacation up there, but right now there’s just no incentive for me. I would also be risking my life and endangering my health. I wouldn’t even go if it were free. You would honestly have to pay me quite a bit of money to get in that rocket. I would say I would need maybe $250k guaranteed just to feel like the trip was worth it for me.

If you had asked me to take a trip to the moon as a child, I would have probably jumped on the opportunity immediately. When I was young, I had an incredible thirst for adventure, which I think most children do, and danger would have meant nothing to me. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t have had much money to pay for the trip, but I would have gladly thrown caution to the wind and busted open my piggy bank.

This brings to mind an early childhood memory I have. When I was very young, probably barely able to read, I remember the school library had a very old and ragged copy of Destination Moon from The Adventures of Tintin series. I loved that book! The artwork was superb, as I recall, and the drawings of the rockets and other equipment really made my tiny childhood imagination spin like a top. I spent countless hours looking at the images in that book, and I think they greatly influenced how I perceive space and technology, even till this day.

I’m surprised to see that the book still appears to be in print and available on Amazon.com, a testament to how good this comic series actually was. I might just have to pick up a copy for my growing library. I’m sure it will cause countless old memories to resurface. Thank you, Herge.

Destination Moon (The Adventures of Tintin)

Herge’s classic comic book creation Tintin is one of the most iconic characters in children’s books. These highly collectible editions of the original 24 adventures will delight Tintin fans old and new. Perfect for lovers of graphic novels, mysteries and historical adventures.

The world’s most famous travelling reporter discovers that Professor Calculus is building a space rocket. Tintin and Captain Haddock are amazed to find that Professor Calculus is planning a top-secret project from the Sprodj Atomic Research Centre in Syldavia. And before our intrepid hero knows it, the next stop on this adventure is …Space.

What would you pay to go to the moon? Do you think this will be a common thing for people one day? Did you ever dream about space flight this as a kid? What about a Mars trip? Do you read science fiction? Did you ever read The Adventures of Tintin growing up? What early books really influenced you? Let’s hear about it in the comments, and don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe!

Alternative career paths I have considered.

There was one career path I really considered at one point. It was that of entrepreneur. Basically, I wanted to start my own software company. It is actually one of the reasons I currently have an MBA. I have seen countless software companies pop up over the years, and they just keep coming, many rising to incredible levels of income. It sometimes seems like software is the only thing companies actually do these days.

I did manage to actually create a private corporation for the purpose of launching the company, but it eventually became all too clear that I wasn’t going to be able to turn it into a lucrative business. The lesson I learned the hard way was that you have to focus on the product first and foremost. No product, no sales, no business. It was, however, an excellent learning opportunity for me, because I now know exactly how to set up and run a C corporation in my state without any help from a lawyer.

I basically spent so much time preparing for this career that I didn’t have any left to spend on developing amazing software products. In my defense, I did have a pretty full schedule with all the life things going on, plus a fulltime job and grad school, so it’s really no wonder that it didn’t take off as planned. I did manage to learn enough about business to realize that it’s really the leadership part that I like the most, and definitely not the accounting and taxes.

What’s an alternative career path that you considered? Did you ever dream of starting your own company? What’s your idea of a dream career? Do you have a business background? Do you like doing accounting and taxes? Let us know in the comments, and please remember to like, share, and subscribe!

The historical events I remember.

I admit I am terrible at current events, and current events often become historical events. The reason why is I tend to think most news is negative or geared toward creating an atmosphere of fear. This is especially true during an election year.

Honestly, if you look back at history, I think it is largely a timeline of tragic events, this war, that riot, this catastrophe, that natural disaster, this charter to reduce freedom, that civil war to increase it, etc. Taken as a whole, it doesn’t really appear to be a very positive read. At least fiction usually has a happy ending.

Below are a few major historical events that I have experienced. I believe most of them are fairly positive.

  1. The emergence of advanced AI.
  2. The emergence of advanced robotics.
  3. The emergence of virtual reality.
  4. The rise of online shopping.
  5. The rise of the smart phone.
  6. The rise of social media.
  7. The rise of Internet culture.
  8. The birth of Ken.

What historical events have you experienced? Do you think the news is mostly negative? Do politicians use fear too much to get into office? Do you dread election years as much as I do? Let me know in the comments, and don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe!

What I have been working on.

At the time I started this post, I was working on laundry. I recently bought a couple pair of chinos and was washing them for the first time. I’m not really a chinos person, but I figured I would change it up a little. I feel like it’s important to change your style just a tad from time to time. Keeps people guessing what you are going to wear tomorrow. I now have three pair of clean chinos hanging in my closet, a black pair, a khaki pair, and an olive pair. Technically, I bought the olive pair a little earlier, liked the fit, and decided to get a couple more.

I know it’s not much, but I didn’t really feel like doing more today. I sort of woke up with a headache around three am, which took me a while to get rid of, and after finally sleeping it off, I didn’t feel overly motivated to do much else. I did manage to make lots of great tasting lattes trying to get rid of the headache though, so the day wasn’t totally wasted. It happens. Maybe tomorrow will be a more productive day, but probably not, since it’s Monday. Que sera, sera.

One thing I have been working on, though not as much as I should, is a story I sort of have in my head. I’m hoping to turn it into a novelette or something. I have an idea about the setting and situation, but it needs a lot more character development, and I have to put together all the scenes necessary to get the reader from point A to point Z. It will most likely fall in the Sci-fi genre, as it takes place in a futuristic world, and includes AI, time travel, and elements of dystopia. I am also trying to weave in some aspects of spirituality. I think this is the most I’ve ever told anyone about it, so you are the first to know. Maybe you will read it someday, provided I ever get it typed up. We’ll see. Miracles happen every day.

What have you been working on? Do you have a big project going? Do Mondays bring down your motivation? Do you change up your wardrobe from time to time? Do you like shopping for new clothes? Aren’t lattes absolutely wonderful? Any advice on writing a sci-fi novelette? Let me know below, and remember to like, share, and subscribe!

What I’m doing this evening.

Today is Wednesday, so I don’t plan on going out this evening, as I have to go to work tomorrow morning. This might change though, as I am somewhat spontaneous depending on my mood, or if I become really bored. If I stay home, I will probably browse the internet, or read something on Kindle, or buy something on Amazon, or brainstorm on something to write about.

There is one other thing I am going to do. I use an app called Microsoft To Do to remind me of things I need to do each day, mostly financial things. Like the name sounds, it’s just a fancy todo list in app form. It can also be accessed through a browser. Looking at this app, it tells me that I need to enter the statement from one of my credit cards into my personal finance application.

Screenshot of Microsoft To Do

I set these todo items up by going to the credit card company web sites, finding the date when they make the statements available, and then setting up a reminder to tell me to go enter and balance it. Today is the day when one of my credit cards should have the statement ready. I find this very handy, as I don’t have to think about it, or constantly go look at the site to see if the statement is ready.

The software I use to manage my personal finances is called Quicken. I just started using it this year. I enter the credit card statements manually out of habit, but I think there are ways to synchronize with the credit card companies. Actually entering it makes me very cognizant of where I’m spending my money, which is a good thing.

Are you doing anything exciting this evening? Do you use todo lists to manage your life? Do you have a favorite personal finance application? Are you a spontaneous person? Do you get bored often? Do you use credit cards to pay for things? Thanks for reading! Let me know your thoughts, and please like, share, and subscribe!

The most important thing to carry with you all the time.

I would say the most important thing to carry with you all the time is underwear. I have a pair on right now. They are good at absorbing sweat and occasional drips and catch things that unintentionally fall out. They also hold things in so that other clothing fit appropriately. I wear them practically all the time, with the exception being when I’m in the shower or having sex. I know some people in nudist colonies don’t wear them at all, but sometimes I wonder how that works. When you sit on your leather sofa, do you wipe it down afterwards? Don’t mean to offend any nudists here. I’m just a pro underwear kind of guy.

Sorry. A lot of my posts are pretty serious. I had to insert some form of humor in here. I’ll be normal in a few minutes…

Seriously, the material object you need most these days is your cell phone. It has so many critical uses. I don’t know how we would live without it anymore. I will list a few below, but there’s tons of features, and the list keeps growing. Unfortunately, there’s also plenty of downsides to cell phone usage.

  1. It’s a lifeline to emergency services.
  2. You never get lost anymore.
  3. You are never out of touch with your peeps.
  4. There are useful apps for everything.
  5. You can summon transportation.
  6. You can do all your online shopping.
  7. You can check all your accounts.
  8. You can read your email.
  9. You can search the internet.
  10. You always have a camera and video recorder.
  11. You can record criminal behavior.
  12. You can live stream to the whole world.
  13. You can plan your whole day on it.
  14. It can become your alarm clock.
  15. It tracks your every step.
  16. You can run a small business on it.

I can actually remember a time when absolutely no one had a cell phone. All the phones were connected to a wire somewhere in the house, building, or booth. It’s called a landline today, but back then it was just called a phone or telephone. Some people still use a landline, but their numbers are dwindling. Also, when was the last time you used or even noticed a phone booth? Honestly, I don’t even know what to put in the home phone field on an application anymore. My phone is homeless.

Possible Discussion Ideas

  1. Do you find the cell phone indispensable?
  2. What do you like or use most on your phone?
  3. Do you remember landlines and phone booths?
  4. Do you remember traveling with only a paper map?
  5. Has your cell phone ever been a lifesaver?
  6. Do you feel naked without your cell phone?
  7. Do you feel naked without your underwear?