College can feel like a rat race. You are consistently being sized up by your peers. What did you get on the test? Which company are you interning for? Which medical school will you be attending? While achievements ought to be sought after, it is important to remember the lesson we learn in Matthew 23; being put in a position of power is being put in a position to serve. I want to make good money during the course of my career. That goes without saying. But I want to get to a point where my main motivation to be successful is to be in a position where I can help others. Telling people the name of the company you work for will only make working there worth it for so long. As a computer scientist, I am given a skill set that enables me to reach such a large portion of the God’s children. I want to help people with the knowledge I have. I hope to always remember to be a servant, pushing towards higher ground so I can pull people up when I get there.
Vlog
Pornography needs to become less taboo within the LDS community. It starts with parents. Parents are responsible to teach their children what porn is and why it should be avoided. From the time children are young, if something pornographic is every encountered, parents should vocally acknowledge that that is porn. There is a lot of pornography that does not carry the name pornography. Also, it is so important for parents to create a relationship of trust between them and their children so that when a child encounters pornography, they can feel comfortable approaching their parents about it. Someone who is suffering from pornography addiction should feel comfortable talking to loved ones about it, not just the bishop. Elders quorum members should reach out to each other, and extend a hand to those who are battling addiction. Getting rid of the taboo surrounding porn will create more opportunities for that are struggling to find support.
Book Post #2 Outliers
Outliers, though I thoroughly enjoyed it, was a bittersweet read for me. It is empowering in some ways, and demoralizing in others. For starters, the sweet. I am now a big believer in the 10,000 hour rule. I’m not sure that the “rule” is as strict as Gladwell claims it to be. I believe it is possible for someone to become an expert in a particular field in 8,000 hours and others may take 12,000 hours. What I have latched on to is what I believe is at the core of the 10,000 hour rule; given enough time and effort, I can learn anything and develop any skill. It seems trivial, but as a young boy this never clicked with me, particularly when it came to school. I figured some people were smart, some people were kind of smart and some people weren’t smart. It never occurred to me that smart people were smart because they spent time and effort learning things. Sounds obvious, I know, but I never thought about it. This enlightenment has motivated me to learn how to play the guitar. Its something I have wanted to do for some time, but never thought of myself as a guitar player. I now understand that a guitar player is simply someone who spends a lot of time playing the guitar. I told my family to give me ten years and I will be playing the guitar pretty good. I won’t be Jimmy Hendrix, but I’ll be enjoyable to listen to. The bitter part of the book for me was learning that a large part of becoming an outlier is out of my hands. I’m still wrapping my head around this, but I’ve decided to not pay much attention to it because what can I do? I have what I have and I’m going to do the best with it.
Smallish Post 11/11
Revolution of OS was my first exposure to the philosophy behind open source software. It’s fascinating. Why software? Why isn’t there a group of people that make couches that feel the same way about couches? I understand the benefits of allowing anyone who is qualified to contribute to the software, but it feels like there is much more to it than that. It’s as if the masses have, almost, a God-given right to to software. Please don’t misunderstand me. Each day, I am a benefactor of open source software several times over. I am immensely grateful that the philosophy exists. But I still don’t get it. As I sit here and type this I am using WordPress to host my blog. Free! The WordPress slogan read, “Code is poetry.” Maybe this is essence of the open source philosophy. That software is more art than product. And now that I think about it, the only other laborers I have heard describe their work as something to be freely enjoyed by the masses is artists. Certainly not all artists, but some. And it’s almost as if the artists, whether painting or programming, take more pride in the project when it is “open source.” As I said before, fascinating.
Smallish Post 11/5
I just finished reading President Samuelson’s talk “Women in Math, Science and Engineering.” He says so many important things in this talk! Some that I have thought about, others that I have never thought about. Despite the narrow title, he covers many topics in his address. Perhaps the most significant thought he shared, for me, was “Because you are all so typically talented, able, and committed, I worry that you may have expectations that are occasionally unrealistic.” This was important for me to read today because I am at a point in the semester where I feel like my professors are trying to build a summer cottage on my shoulders. Several times today I have had the thought, “Do I have a learning disability?” Sometimes I feel stupid! But feeling dumb is okay sometimes. I know I’m not dumb, I’m just studying things that can be really hard to learn. And struggling is okay.
Smallish Post 10/30
Due to Brother Dugal spending several years at Microsoft as well as Microsoft being one of the subjects of “Revenge Of The Nerds,” I feel like this class has given me a real good look into Microsoft the company. I have become fascinated by Microsoft’s cutthroat methods that seem to go unnoticed by the modern day consumer. I have began to notice more and more how Microsoft seems to try to work their tentacles into every realm of tech!. And just like Steve Jobs said, they really do steal a lot of ideas. Don’t get me wrong, I am not put off by these realizations. Rather, I applaud Microsoft because I believe this aggression has to be one of if not the main reason Microsoft has never had a period of irrelevance since they became relevant. They certainly have ebbed and wowed, but since their rise to the top some thirty years ago, they have maintained to be at least near the top of the tech industry. I think it is all very reflective of Bill Gates. What an interesting man! As you listen to this man talk, the idea that he could be a shrewd, savvy business man seems inconceivable. He’s like a poodle that lures you in with it’s fluffy, white hair, then bites you when you try to pet it.
The Cuckoos Egg
As I was reading “The Cuckoos Egg” I was trying to consider how the reaction and protocol would be today under the same circumstances as well as how security practices have improved over the years. A technical security breach was clearly not at the forefront of peoples minds in 1989. Today, stipulations are set on passwords, users must prove they are human, and if I go to Florida and use my debit card without informing my bank, they will shut it off. 1989 was a different time. I was amazed at the lack of interest people showed in Clifford Stoll’s investigation. However, I have to refrain from being judgmental of the people involved. This kind of thing hadn’t happened before. I’m certain if I was someone close to the situation, I would have acted in the same manner.
I was impressed with Clifford’s stamina. He kept a daily log, patiently tracking the hackers moves, making the appropriate moves at the appropriate times. He was like a tiger, lurking in the tall grass, ever watchful of his prey. Being in Clifford Stoll’s position would be a dream come true for me. Tho I would lack his patience, I would have a righteous zeal that would drive me to do whatever necessary to bring the perpetrator to justice. The book made me interested in the field of cyber-security. Daily there is a war waged across the network wires of the world wide web. I suspect the front-lines of Good could use a guy like me.
Current Event #3: China Leading Source of Cyber Attacks.
I recently read an article written by a professional in internet security. He said there are two types of companies in the world, those who have been hacked, and those who don’t know they’ve been hacked. Security has been and will continue to be an issue of great concern, with companies pouring millions of dollars worth of resources into making sure there data is secure. This article lists the countries where the most attackers are located. China has a commanding lead of the top spot, having almost three times the amount of hackers as the second place country, Indonesia. The United States comes in third with about thirteen percent of the worlds hackers. The issue of security will only grow as more data moves to the cloud and more household items start connecting to the internet.
Smallish Post: Family Search
I really enjoyed the introduction to Family Search we had in class. His presentation connected with the computer scientist in me as well as the Latter-Day Saint in me. I was impressed by the amount of technology that has not only been utilized, but created by the Church to make doing family history as easy as possible. For me, perhaps the most moving thing he said was his testimony that God is behind these developments in tech that have played a critical role in furthering the work. I have always believed this, however it is more powerful coming from a man who has been on the front lines of the battle. Hearing him describe how right when the Church would have a need for a technology, it would be created, was humbling because it was a realization that that is where my focus should be; creating technology that will assist in building the Kingdom of God.
Current Event #2 iOS8
With the recent deployment of iOS 8, the media has been having a field day with reports of the new software causing problems on users iPhones. I have seen reports of everything from shortage of battery life to lack of cell service. It brings back memories of the bad press iOS 7 got when it first came out. In time Apple will iron out all the kinks of iOS8 and i believe it will prove to be a fine product. What is interesting to me is the obvious affect one man’s absence can have on a company as big as Apple. I don’t believe that we would have seen near as many glitches in iOS 8 if Steve Jobs were still at the helm of Apple. From what I have learned about Jobs, he demanded perfection. He simply would not have let a product be shipped without it being perfect. Since his passing, it is clear there is no longer someone at Apple who is cracking the whip quite like he could.
http://www.theverge.com/2014/9/24/6839235/apple-ios-8-0-1-released
Oh hey 