For the Internet of the Future

For too long the Internet has been held back by old inferior technologies. We need to use better building blocks to create a better internet in the future. These new technologies already exist but developers aren't using them because they're afraid of failure. My call for change is that we stop being so risk adverse. It's holding the web back. It's time for more brave individuals to take a chance and start using new technologies that will power the internet of the future.

The Past is the Past

My call for change deals with the development of the internet. My position is that people who make the web and those who use it need to move with the times!

Industrialism pushed the world forward. Many were overrun by it and that was bad but today we overwhelmingly view it as a good thing because we've moved so far forward. Its the same thing with pushing the internet forward. Some will get left behind but we'll all be so grateful for it in the future. Case in point of not following this philosophy is a recent decision by Microsoft to stop support the now ancient operating system, Windows XP. But, some client companies of Microsoft complained and offered Microsoft a lot of money so they didn't stop support. That's too bad and I've not doubt they'll regret it later.

Nationalism isolated groups of people as they moved forward. It allowed them to take pride in their country and make some advances that wouldn't have been able to happen otherwise. Its the same with the internet - if too many people get involved in the development of this great technology we all get bogged down. Let there be different "nations" pursuing different paths to success and may the greatest win. Which leads me to my next connection...

Darwinism - May the greatest technologies survive and all the other ones die ignominious deaths. For those of you who are curious as what exactly ignominious means I found the definition: deserving or causing public disgrace or shame.

Those should tie in well.

The chief thing is to keep the chief thing the chief thing

Recently I attended stake conference. A general authority visited for the conference and admonished all those in attendance that "the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing." Its a memorable phrase and one that evokes straightforward thinking. Its begs us to realize that simplicity is key.

In the midst of his enemies

On December 11th, 1964 in New York City Che Guevara spoke before the 19th General Assembly of the United Nations representing his home country Cuba. In that speech he spoke strongly against the very country hosting the assembly - the United States of America. In the midst of his enemies he made it very clear he was not afraid. Che spoke his mind and put forth his grievances with little thought for political correctness. It was a show of power for a little nation to stand up against a much larger and stronger nation. It was a show of determination. And it was a show he knew the world would be watching. He audience was not the United States - his audience was the people of Cuba and the world.

For the Web of the Future

The internet is a great tool that has made massive changes in our society. And because its such massive tool its hard to change things about it. This video aims to encourage web developers to use some of the new not fully supported technologies that are out there. There is a stigma about using these technologies because they're not as open and transparent as some other older technologies. The dogmatic allegiance to open internet standards should be reconsidered.

Democracy isn't for Everything

On Tuesday I took a firm stand against an internet of open standards and consensual development of technologies. Corresponding with others has led me to refine my stance. I will explain why.

To Heck With the Open Web!

You're probably not a web developer so you may not fully understand my rage regarding this issue. When I say "open" I mean open source with open processes for developing technologies. To heck with that! It may sound good to most but I promise you its holding us back! The internet is great and I personally love to make great things on it. But because its so great and everyone uses it we can sometimes get stuck using old stuff that doesn't really work as good as the new stuff.

Stop Smokey! Start a Fire!

Smokey the bear, our favorite forest fighting friend, has crafted guilt-inducing messages for years. His goal: to convict our consciousnesses and cause the cessation of careless human fire management. Indeed the horrific images of decimated forests coupled with cute depictions of cuddly forest creatures serve his purpose well. By the time a boy turns twelve and enters the ranks of the boy scouts he is firmly indoctrinated by Smokey the bear. I myself subscribe to his views. But I haven't always.

Wild-Goose Chase

“Nay, if thy wits run the wild-goose chase, I have done, for thou hast more of the wild-goose in one of thy wits than, I am sure, I have in my whole five.”

Mercutio, Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, Scene 4

William Shakespeare

Order in the Sermon!

The command "Order in the court!" is a well known phrase popularized in movies and books and conversation. In nearly any TV show depicting a courtroom the comment is surely to be made. The command prompts those present to cease from their unorderly conduct and to resume more disciplined behavior. John Colet in both the content and rhetoric of his message exemplifies this idea.

Compl(i/e)menting Adversaries

"Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend." -Proverbs 27:17

Of Dating

http://ldsliving.com/story/76642-are-single-lds-men-really-a-menace-to-society

“Every man not married and over twenty-five is a menace to society.”

-Attributed to Brigham Young

The above quote attributed to Brigham Young is well known and it helps shape a culture of dating unique among Mormons. It turns out, however, that the quote may not be true at all. Whether or not it is true, dating and especially dating at BYU has its own curious culture. For many single students they look to dating with hope and pessimism. They envision fun and awkwardness. They expect to learn more about another but also know the conversation will be couched by strange cultural regulations forbidding too honest sharing. They are driven by counsel of prophets and apostles to use dating as a tool for finding a spouse. They, however, would rarely admit this truth (which everyone is well aware of) to their suitors/suitoresses (if that's even a word). The cross-currents of religious expectation and duty, popular culture, and hormones produces what has become known as the "game."

A+ to D- and Back

Wouldn't we all like to get As all the time? Perhaps we envision in our mind's eye a picture very much like the one above: an apple and an exuberant A+ in red marker wishing us well done. Personally I very much like As. I like to work hard to get them. In high school it was A or bust. Nothing short of perfection satisfied. My first two semesters of college were very much the same. My third semester, however, marked the beginning of a radical change in my perception. For the first time ever I left the land of As (and an occasional B) and traveled deep into the depths of grades that were neigh on failing. That encounter was terribly frustrating and disheartening. It was, however, necessary - in it I discovered a new outlook on school and life I may have never otherwise realized.

Where are the Renaissance Men of Today?

Think of the great leaders of the Renaissance. Galileo, Copernicus, and Leonardo Da Vinci. Michelangelo and Raphael. Don't forget Donatello, Machiavelli, and the rest. They all possessed great gifts. Galileo was a physicist, astronomer, and philosopher. Michelangelo, known so well for his paintings and sculptures, was also a poet and engineer. Machiavelli was a politician, writer, and philosopher. These men of the Renaissance had a diversity of gifts. In fact, they had more than merely a diversity; they had mastery of each of the gifts in that diversity.

The Family Castle

The Norwich city castle keep stands upon a hill at the center of Norwich in Norfolk County, England. It has stood there for nearly a millennium. Its walls once attracted soldiers. Now they attract tourists. And for at least several centuries (and probably more) these walls have surely attracted the attention of my ancestors. It's the family castle.