Ok, so the title has precisely nothing, zero, nada to do with the content of this post. Sue me. I just thought it to be necessary to post some thoughts, some musings if you will. I’ve talked in the past about choosing a major to complete my degree. I currently hold a general A.S. from Central Alabama Community College in Alexander City, AL and I am very interested in several different disciplines. I enjoy so many different things and it makes choosing a major very difficult.

I have always thought that choosing a profession or major should be pretty simple. What do you do with your spare time? If you’re lazy and never do anything but play video games and never think about how cool it would be to do something specific, then college probably isn’t for you and you might want to just find a decent job with a decent company and work your way up the corporate ladder until you’ve found a spot that you’re comfortable with… But you’re probably not going to be fulfilled there unless you’re one of a very small percentage of people that enjoy that kind of living. On the other hand, if you have something that really excites you, and I mean really revs you up and occupies a big place in your heart as something you really find fascinating then that is where you need to focus. I wish it were that simple for me. I have interests all over the board. I am constantly reading blogs and news sites for every form of science you can think of (some specifically more than others). I love Philosophy and pondering the most complicated questions about everything (mostly metaphysics and epistemology). I love Physics, specifically theoretical and astrophysics. I love math in general. I love psychology. I love music (been playing guitar since I was 10 years old and still compose a little here and there). I could go on and on but I think you get the idea. Choosing a major for me is pretty complex! Under my own rules I get disjointed in making a decision. I’ve “decided” on a philosophy PHD and end up teaching at a university, physics, computer science, psychology, law enforcement (haha!), music production. I’ve even “decided” to not go back to college and just get my computer certifications (Microsoft, Cisco, CompTIA Net+ with different focuses). I’ve even decided to just work for a company for a long time and do the corporate ladder thing. But for some reason I just can’t seem to nail one down.

I’m getting closer though. I think I’ve finally narrowed it down. I’m a good worker. I’m professional and every employer I’ve had has always had great things to say about me when I was gone. I have good people skills and I love to help and teach people. So where does that take me? The one thing that has never changed about any of the things I’ve wanted to do is the desire to teach. I will end up teaching at some point down the road, the question is what the cirriculum will be. I can see myself getting certifications in computer stuff and actually getting a degree in Philosophy. Or try to find a school that has a Philosophy minor with Comp Sci. In the end, I have no idea but at the same time I have every idea. Right now, my focus is a technology degree with the focus in information/system/network/data security for a future in consulting.

But, then again… this might just be another phase. I guess we’ll see what we’ll see.

If you have any ideas, post them! I’d like to hear what anyone else thinks about my situation.

- john

whatdoidooooo

If you’ve been reading just about any technology news site for the last week or so you’ve probably seen things here and there about Bill Gates leaving Microsoft entirely. He announced quite some time ago that he would be decreasing his workload so he could focus his time and efforts on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and it seems that, here at the end of June, we’re seeing him off on that path today. There are  several articles and blogs about it all over the internet so I’m not going to go too deep in to it as there are far better journalists than myself on the case.

Despite the animosity I have towards Microsoft and many (most) of their products, I’d be lying if I said I was happy he’s leaving. Gates has a great mind and Microsoft and the industry are losing an amazing software architect with mythic vision and foresight. Gates isn’t (solely) to blame for the failures of Vista or the make-me-want-to-stab-myself-in-the-eye-with-a-USB-connector moments that Windows has had since the beginning (can we go back to NT 4.0 please?). He has been a voice of reason and wisdom for the company on every level from marketing to debugging.

Here are a few of the articles I’ve found on the subject of him leaving the company. Most say essentially the same thing so you’re not missing much if you just read the post on Ars Technica (my personal favorite).

edit -> I am, to be honest, a little concerned with what liberties will be taken by the current Microsoft administration now that Gates will no longer be there. Even though he hasn’t technically been in the “I’m everyone’s boss” position for a while, he would have still held an enormous amount of power with the company. It will be interesting to see how things pan out in the next year.

- john

waving good-bye

If you have lurked in the past few days, you may have noticed some problems with browsing past the front page, or polls appearing and disappearing. I have been taking the liberty to tweak a few things on the site. Here are the results:

1) We have now opened up commenting to anyone who wants to share their thoughts. You will need to provide a name and email, but the email is not for display, spamming or any other nefarious purpose. If you want emails or the chance to be elevated beyond a commenter, you’ll want to register.

2) Polls. We have found a polling tool that seems to work with our site. This means that you might see an occasional poll. Or maybe not. Who knows? It all depends on if anyone actually wants to participate.

I hope these new features will allow more people to share their feelings and thoughts. Let your mind feed.

I thought I would share this that has rocketed to being close to my favorite shirt. Enjoy!

–edit–

**Warning: If you do not like to read, skip to long story short below!**

It struck me today how odd individual human perception is, in broad terms, of course. What struck me was that someone mentioned to me about a bicentennial. He got mixed up and said that the country’s bicentennial will be next year, which he immediately realized he misspoke. Not a big deal, but it got me to analyzing my own perception of our government. I was born after the bicentennial had passed for our nation. As such, I have never been witness to a major event marking the age of our country. This may our may not contribute to the following perception as realized today.

I realized that I had a general perception of our country as having always been here due to that its state was established for as long as I have been self aware. As such, without specific reference, to my general consciousness, our country is equal to all other established governments that were established prior to my awareness. This is odd because I have academic awareness that our country is young in comparrison to others. I just have to put an effort (albeit a small effort) into this realization in my thought process. This is not limited to national awareness, however. This also is reflected in my awareness of other people and things around me such as parents, houses, et cetera. Without thinking specifically of their age, my parents and grandparents are equal to me. They were here before me. It is as if rudementary thought processes group items into “here before me” and “younger than me.” This also gives a certain perception of agelessness to the concepts in question.

What is the point here, you may ask? What is the application of this idea?

Well, if you consider that this may be a phenomenon shared amongst many if not all peoples, it would explain many a national superiority complex. It also helps explains why many are upset and confused by the loss of older loved ones.

Of course it could just a personal phenomenon due to my own thought processes which are very often different than most others. If you read this, please look into your own perceptions and share your thoughts. For those readers out there, the long story short is a lie. Nobody “did it.”

Long Story Short:

The son’s friend’s second cousin did it.