This is a forum post I made today. It's pretty random, but I figured I'd share it anyways.
NOTE - Ignore the comment about kids, was substituting for monkeys!
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Living with fear is a painful thing to suffer through. Doing so over the majority of my life makes me ask the question 'Where would I be if I had/hadn't....?' Luckily, I've ended up at a good spot in my life. However, I still live every day fearful of what others might think if I do this or that. I do my best to affirm that I don't care what others think, and that other people really don't care. Doing this helps, but internally I still act as though others are watching, waiting to judge me.
I'm still young, in my 20's, but I feel like, and I've been told, I'm in a quarter-life crisis. Dropping out of college when I was young, not following my passions when I had the opportunity, and now, being in a situation where following my passion is seemingly impossible (job, kids, wife, mortgage, etc).
I'm not giving up easily. I've discovered how to use opportunities in my current job/career to direct me towards my passion and dreams. (Currently working in mid-entry-level technology, wanting to move into engineering & physics)
We only have one go-around at life. We only have one chance to pursue our passions and dreams. I'm not letting life pass me by. It's funny how we realize things like these, even after hearing them dozens and dozens of times throughout our life.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
A Healthy Connection
This is something I wrote a few months ago. It's about the connection physical health has on mental health and overall success. In the past, I haven't been very interested in subjects like this. However, I've turned into a personal development junkie within the last couple of years.
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Recently I made a connection that is proving to be very helpful in my life. It’s actually something we all have probably heard, at one time or another in our lives. The more I ponder this connection, the more profound and apparent it becomes. That connection is simply this:
Our physical-health effects several key factors that affects our mental-health and our overall happiness. And, once we start improving ourselves keeping this in mind, we gain momentum and we open ourselves up to new possibilities in improving our lives. It’s a snowball effect.
These are the primary areas I believe are improved when we improve our physical well-being:
I wish you the best of luck in improving your life. I feel that if you keep these few concepts in mind, and act accordingly, you will see that it’s not so difficult to make wonderful, long lasting changes in your life.
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A Healthy Connection
Recently I made a connection that is proving to be very helpful in my life. It’s actually something we all have probably heard, at one time or another in our lives. The more I ponder this connection, the more profound and apparent it becomes. That connection is simply this:
Physical-health effects mental-heath. (and vice versa) |
Our physical-health effects several key factors that affects our mental-health and our overall happiness. And, once we start improving ourselves keeping this in mind, we gain momentum and we open ourselves up to new possibilities in improving our lives. It’s a snowball effect.
These are the primary areas I believe are improved when we improve our physical well-being:
- Energy - Increased energy gives us that extra boost we need to keep the ball rolling. Energy aids us in rolling out of bed in the morning, doing our work, and it also has the reciprocal benefit of giving us energy to exercise and improve our physical state even more. It also increases our ability to think, learn, solve problems, to go the extra mile, and to not procrastinate.
- Self-Esteem - Improving our physical-health also improves how we feel about our body. Feeling more attractive, strong, and active boosts the way we see the world, and the way the world sees us. Having improved self-esteem may encourage us to put ourselves “out there”, to step outside of our comfort zone and expend our boundaries.
- Motivation - This is where things come together. Without motivation to improve our life this is all meaningless. However, sometimes we just have to force ourselves to start, especially when we’re not feeling motivated. Motivation effects every aspect of our lives. The good thing is, once we start, once the ball starts rolling, our motivation will increase, and that will motivate you to keep improving. Keep on keeping on.
- What We Eat - Duh! It’s very hard to pass up a candy bar or soda, especially when you’re having a difficult day. The key here is that when you see that candy bar or soda, your mind immediately focuses on the short-term pleasure you will enjoy while you consume it, not on the feeling you will have after you have ate the sugar-filled treat. The best way to combat this, in my opinion, is when you are faced with these cravings, instead think about the benefits you will reap from not consuming whatever it may be, and to think about how you would feel after you consume it. Another thing I’ve found is to drink lots of water. I’ve come to really love a cold glass of water. Drinking water isn’t only healthy because of the water itself, but it helps to drink water whenever you may feel hunger out of boredom. It will fill your stomach and the boredom hunger will shortly go away. It’s also important not to eat before going to sleep. If your body is still digesting food when you go to sleep, it will continue to do so. This takes away from the time your body should be rebooting and resting.
- Sleep - This one is pretty simple and straight forward. Make sure you get enough sleep. This directly effects energy as mentioned above. If you feel tired, your body is telling you to go to bed. Don’t flip on the television or surf the net, just go to bed. You’ll feel better if you do. Also, as I mentioned directly above, do eat before going to sleep. If your body is still digesting food when you go to sleep, it will continue to do so. This takes away from the time your body should be rebooting and resting.
- Exercise - Again, this one is really simple. Spending 30 minutes a day can really make an impact on your energy and improve how you feel on a daily basis. Exercising does not have to be as painful as you may think. Start out by taking a walk before or after walk of an evening. Not only will it help you get in shape, but the fresh air and time to clear your mind will also leave you feeling refreshed and ready to go.
I wish you the best of luck in improving your life. I feel that if you keep these few concepts in mind, and act accordingly, you will see that it’s not so difficult to make wonderful, long lasting changes in your life.
Scary.net
The following is a short paper I wrote on Internet Neutrality for an English composition class in 2006. It's not well written. However, it gets the point across. Nowadays, I have a slightly different viewpoint.
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Every day a majority of Americans access the Internet. Most of us use e-mail, instant messengers, and search engines multiple times a day. What if one day you logged on to the Internet and you could not connect to your instant messenger, check your e-mail, or do research using Google? Today we have no problem doing any of these things. We have complete access to any website and any service available on the World Wide Web. But the Internet is on the verge of being dominated by large telecommunication companies such as AT&T, Verizon, Comcast, and Time Warner.
Why would telecommunication companies want to do this? Money. Imagine, if you will, going to Google to look up something, but the page takes a long time to load, or in some cases wont even load at all. So you finally give up and decide to use Yahoo's search engine instead. Your Internet Service Provider has the power to degrade or entirely cut off your access to certain websites. Therefor influencing you to use what Internet services they want you to use. Internet companies such as Yahoo and Verizon will be signing contracts to degrade or cut off the services of their competitors to us unless the lawmakers in Washington, D.C. decide that net neutrality is important enough to put into law.
The Internet has always been a free and open place. A platform for innovation. Anyone who wishes to can publish their voice and opinions on the web, they can even start a business easily. All you need is access to a computer and a phone line. Once you're connected to the Internet you have full access to anything on the Internet. Soon this may not be the case.
You most likely access the Internet over lines owned by either a telephone or a cable company. These companies, through specialized computer software and hardware, have total access over what you can and cannot do over the Internet. They can also log what sites you visit, what mp3's or movies you pirate, and who you talk to on your instant messenger.
Comcast, Verizon, AT&T, and others want to control every aspect of the Internet to its customers. They want to degrade your access to certain sites-most likely of their competitors-but yet “offer” you a premium account of a higher price so that you have equal access to every site on the Internet. And for those who cannot afford the extra charges will have to put up with an even more commercialized, corporate-controlled Internet.
Up until now Internet Service Providers have had to forward Internet traffic from the Internet to you untouched. They could not do anything to hinder the availability of web sites or services such as instant messaging or Internet telephone. In the fall of 2005, the FCC decided that cable and telephone companies did not fall under this law. The COPE act, also known as the Communications Opportunity, Promotion and Enhancement Act, which was recently proposed, could hinder net neutrality and even free speech on the Internet.
As of now the Internet is operated under these three principals of net neutrality: non-discrimination, interconnection, and access. Non-discrimination means that your Internet Service Provider cannot hinder the individual pieces of information being sent to and fro your computer. Interconnection means that your Internet Service Provider must transfer information at the same speed, even if its to competitor services or companies. Access means that you have full access to anything on the Internet, that they cannot keep you from having access to any web site or other service on the Internet.
The issue of net neutrality has recently come to lawmakers attention in Washington, and is rapidly becoming a very hot topic. Lawmakers are taking sides and preparing for the next big battle to hit Washington. On one side we have the democrats, who support a free and open Internet. On the other side is the republicans who back the COPE act and believe telecommunication companies should be able to control the access you have to the Internet.
Democrats believe that net neutrality is a crucial part of the way the Internet operates. That, if these large telecommunication companies had their way, innovation on the Internet would be crushed. Innovation is what created the Internet, and what keeps it growing, and what has helped our economy grow over the last decade.
On the other hand republicans believe that these companies should be allowed to control what and how their customers view on the web. They feel they should be able to offer premium services at a higher price and a basic service for the rest of us. But if that happens, there's not much to stop them from degrading or blocking which services we use on the Internet.
The truth about the COPE act is that it's not just about viewing some websites faster than others, it's about upcoming technologies that use the Internet to distribute content to its customers. Such technologies include Internet phone services, video conferencing, and even some cable TV services are starting to take advantage of the Internet. Telecommunication companies could easily form the Internet into a place where in order to use one of any of these services you may have to pay extra to your Internet Service Provider in order to gain “premium” access for these services.
This future of the Internet is scary. If net neutrality is not put into law and the FCC does not put regulations for Internet Service Providers the Internet could turn into a slow, commercialized place where the big companies and their sponsors control how you use it, and innovation on the net will be practically ceased. Net neutrality is definitely a hot topic, some predict that this issue will not be resolved until sometime next year.
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Every day a majority of Americans access the Internet. Most of us use e-mail, instant messengers, and search engines multiple times a day. What if one day you logged on to the Internet and you could not connect to your instant messenger, check your e-mail, or do research using Google? Today we have no problem doing any of these things. We have complete access to any website and any service available on the World Wide Web. But the Internet is on the verge of being dominated by large telecommunication companies such as AT&T, Verizon, Comcast, and Time Warner.
Why would telecommunication companies want to do this? Money. Imagine, if you will, going to Google to look up something, but the page takes a long time to load, or in some cases wont even load at all. So you finally give up and decide to use Yahoo's search engine instead. Your Internet Service Provider has the power to degrade or entirely cut off your access to certain websites. Therefor influencing you to use what Internet services they want you to use. Internet companies such as Yahoo and Verizon will be signing contracts to degrade or cut off the services of their competitors to us unless the lawmakers in Washington, D.C. decide that net neutrality is important enough to put into law.
The Internet has always been a free and open place. A platform for innovation. Anyone who wishes to can publish their voice and opinions on the web, they can even start a business easily. All you need is access to a computer and a phone line. Once you're connected to the Internet you have full access to anything on the Internet. Soon this may not be the case.
You most likely access the Internet over lines owned by either a telephone or a cable company. These companies, through specialized computer software and hardware, have total access over what you can and cannot do over the Internet. They can also log what sites you visit, what mp3's or movies you pirate, and who you talk to on your instant messenger.
Comcast, Verizon, AT&T, and others want to control every aspect of the Internet to its customers. They want to degrade your access to certain sites-most likely of their competitors-but yet “offer” you a premium account of a higher price so that you have equal access to every site on the Internet. And for those who cannot afford the extra charges will have to put up with an even more commercialized, corporate-controlled Internet.
Up until now Internet Service Providers have had to forward Internet traffic from the Internet to you untouched. They could not do anything to hinder the availability of web sites or services such as instant messaging or Internet telephone. In the fall of 2005, the FCC decided that cable and telephone companies did not fall under this law. The COPE act, also known as the Communications Opportunity, Promotion and Enhancement Act, which was recently proposed, could hinder net neutrality and even free speech on the Internet.
As of now the Internet is operated under these three principals of net neutrality: non-discrimination, interconnection, and access. Non-discrimination means that your Internet Service Provider cannot hinder the individual pieces of information being sent to and fro your computer. Interconnection means that your Internet Service Provider must transfer information at the same speed, even if its to competitor services or companies. Access means that you have full access to anything on the Internet, that they cannot keep you from having access to any web site or other service on the Internet.
The issue of net neutrality has recently come to lawmakers attention in Washington, and is rapidly becoming a very hot topic. Lawmakers are taking sides and preparing for the next big battle to hit Washington. On one side we have the democrats, who support a free and open Internet. On the other side is the republicans who back the COPE act and believe telecommunication companies should be able to control the access you have to the Internet.
Democrats believe that net neutrality is a crucial part of the way the Internet operates. That, if these large telecommunication companies had their way, innovation on the Internet would be crushed. Innovation is what created the Internet, and what keeps it growing, and what has helped our economy grow over the last decade.
On the other hand republicans believe that these companies should be allowed to control what and how their customers view on the web. They feel they should be able to offer premium services at a higher price and a basic service for the rest of us. But if that happens, there's not much to stop them from degrading or blocking which services we use on the Internet.
The truth about the COPE act is that it's not just about viewing some websites faster than others, it's about upcoming technologies that use the Internet to distribute content to its customers. Such technologies include Internet phone services, video conferencing, and even some cable TV services are starting to take advantage of the Internet. Telecommunication companies could easily form the Internet into a place where in order to use one of any of these services you may have to pay extra to your Internet Service Provider in order to gain “premium” access for these services.
This future of the Internet is scary. If net neutrality is not put into law and the FCC does not put regulations for Internet Service Providers the Internet could turn into a slow, commercialized place where the big companies and their sponsors control how you use it, and innovation on the net will be practically ceased. Net neutrality is definitely a hot topic, some predict that this issue will not be resolved until sometime next year.
Hello World
There have been several times when I wished I had a blog. The truth is, I rarely think of interesting topics to write about. And I am not confident in my ability to write even a few paragraphs about any topic. I am looking to change this and expand my ability to write and communicate.
My initial few posts will be things I have previously written. I hopefully will be able to write at least a couple of posts a week. I'll mostly be writing about technology, monkeys, and whatever else crosses my mind. There are times when my mind goes on a rampage and I feel as if I could write a whole article in a few minutes. However, harnessing this is going to be my largest challenge.
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