Friday, November 13, 2009
Friday, November 6, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
Google Earth
Google Earth scares me...kind of a lot. I realize that the images that are provided are fuzzy and they are still pictures taken sometimes several years ago. But if that is the technology that is available to me for free online...what does the government have? What do people with a lot of money have access to?
I just downloaded Google Earth and was immediately blown away. I am very old fashioned and things like this I just never imagined would be possible. I opened it up and saw a street-level view of the house I grew up in that I haven't been to in 12 years. I found all the other places that I lived in, went to school, went on dates to and eventually found the current places that I live, work, go to school and frequent recreationally. This is pretty cool stuff.
Then my old suspicious and cynical self started to come out and I got freaked out by this power. The house that I grew up in, with the tree fort that my dad and I built in the back yard, that I just spent 20 minutes staring at online, now belongs to someone else. Someone I don't know. A stranger. And I sat here staring at his house...maybe with his children inside. Am I being dramatic? Maybe, but its how I feel.
I spent a few minutes looking at the houses where my old girlfriends have lived, feeling very nostalgic. But what if I wasn't nostalgic? What if I was an angry, bitter and jealous man? Looking at these old houses could make me hurt someone maybe? Am I being dramatic? Maybe, but its how I feel.
I once had a job doing loss-prevention security at a Stop & Shop. The cameras that we used in the store were positioned way up in the ceiling but could read the tag on a customer's shirt. They could read the receipt in their hand. Some of the more immature and crude people I worked with would look down girls' blouses with these cameras. Yikes!
So if I had that power, and my crude co-workers had those powers, at a supermarket...what kind of power does the government have? Kind of makes you want to close your blinds all the time! But is my phone tapped? Can their cameras in space see THROUGH my blinds? I'm sure they will someday. Will the human being that has access to these images look down my wife's blouse or peek in my windows when we are intimate? I'm definetely being dramatic now, but its how I feel.
For now, the images on Google Earth are sometimes primitive and hard to distinguish, but some are very clear, and more and more will be clear in the near future. That alone is not scary, what's scary is...what else can they do that WE don't have access to?
I just downloaded Google Earth and was immediately blown away. I am very old fashioned and things like this I just never imagined would be possible. I opened it up and saw a street-level view of the house I grew up in that I haven't been to in 12 years. I found all the other places that I lived in, went to school, went on dates to and eventually found the current places that I live, work, go to school and frequent recreationally. This is pretty cool stuff.
Then my old suspicious and cynical self started to come out and I got freaked out by this power. The house that I grew up in, with the tree fort that my dad and I built in the back yard, that I just spent 20 minutes staring at online, now belongs to someone else. Someone I don't know. A stranger. And I sat here staring at his house...maybe with his children inside. Am I being dramatic? Maybe, but its how I feel.
I spent a few minutes looking at the houses where my old girlfriends have lived, feeling very nostalgic. But what if I wasn't nostalgic? What if I was an angry, bitter and jealous man? Looking at these old houses could make me hurt someone maybe? Am I being dramatic? Maybe, but its how I feel.
I once had a job doing loss-prevention security at a Stop & Shop. The cameras that we used in the store were positioned way up in the ceiling but could read the tag on a customer's shirt. They could read the receipt in their hand. Some of the more immature and crude people I worked with would look down girls' blouses with these cameras. Yikes!
So if I had that power, and my crude co-workers had those powers, at a supermarket...what kind of power does the government have? Kind of makes you want to close your blinds all the time! But is my phone tapped? Can their cameras in space see THROUGH my blinds? I'm sure they will someday. Will the human being that has access to these images look down my wife's blouse or peek in my windows when we are intimate? I'm definetely being dramatic now, but its how I feel.
For now, the images on Google Earth are sometimes primitive and hard to distinguish, but some are very clear, and more and more will be clear in the near future. That alone is not scary, what's scary is...what else can they do that WE don't have access to?
Sunday, October 18, 2009
My Dog Chase
This is my dog Chase. Chase is a Chocolate Labrador Retriever....and man does he retrieve. He will bring you ANYTHING. He is 2 1/2 years old and he is the best dog that ever lived. He is extremely goofy, clumsy, loving and smart. He enjoys eating....everything, swimming, running, rolling in the snow, pulling the sox off of my feet, licking my face, cuddling and eating....everything.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Week 3 Post
For a long time now, I have been very cynical whenever someone asks me for any of my information. You go into a store and at the checkout counter they ask you for your phone number or something....what is THAT?! Any time you sign up for something you run the risk of having your information sold.
This problem of the commercialization of information is only going to get much worse as the internet develops in front of our eyes. Powerhouses like Google and Yahoo will someday control the world. Obviously I'm kidding, but if you were to be a little open-minded about it...why COULDN'T they control the world?
You always hear on the news that Google is being asked to turn over search records for some legal proceeding. As far as I know, they don't turn the records over.....but the fact that they are even keeping records of what I search for in the first place is very unsettling.
This problem of the commercialization of information is only going to get much worse as the internet develops in front of our eyes. Powerhouses like Google and Yahoo will someday control the world. Obviously I'm kidding, but if you were to be a little open-minded about it...why COULDN'T they control the world?
You always hear on the news that Google is being asked to turn over search records for some legal proceeding. As far as I know, they don't turn the records over.....but the fact that they are even keeping records of what I search for in the first place is very unsettling.
That being said....if you had told me 10 years ago or 15 years ago that I would soon be able to type anything that I am interested in into a box and press search...and then the WORLD would be INSTANTLY searched for content related to my interest....I would have definetely thought you were crazy. Google and the like are far more than search engines now...they are portals to everything you can think of. Google Earth is several years old now and it is SILL very amazing.
I actually like the whole Google Books idea. It will become something like Napster with publishing rights, but with the right amount of regulation, I think it's a great idea.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Week 2 Blog
Facebook & Myspace are extremely popular. They have become giants. Just a few short years ago, they were completely obscure and now a huge percentage of people are on one or both of them. I can almost be certain that when I meet a new person in school or work, they are on Facebook or Myspace.
They are a great way for young people to network and socialize, share music, pictures, make plans and just check up on eachother. They are also very effective for older people to stay connected with people they haven't seen for years or with their families. I live far away from my family and most of them, including my mother are on Facebook and it helps me to stay connected with them in a way that wouldn't have been possible 5 years ago....especially since I hate talking on the phone.
That being said, there are many dangers to social networking sites, some are dangers found all over the internet and some are exclusive to these sites. For example, when I eventually have children, they won't be going on FB or MS until they are older. These sites are a target for people who want to harm other people, especially children....especially sexually.
About 3 months ago, police arrested a man in a motel 5 miles from my house in Concord, Ma. He was there with a 13-year-old girl that he had met on MySpace. He flew up here from Florida to meet her. There are a lot of really sick people out there who pray on children, and there are a lot of children to pray upon on these sites. You only have to see one episode of "To Catch A Predator" to never want to allow your kids online at all. This stuff happens all the time.
I would say that overall, these sites provide a forum and a community to people all over the world, but like everything else it should be used in moderation and used carefully.
They are a great way for young people to network and socialize, share music, pictures, make plans and just check up on eachother. They are also very effective for older people to stay connected with people they haven't seen for years or with their families. I live far away from my family and most of them, including my mother are on Facebook and it helps me to stay connected with them in a way that wouldn't have been possible 5 years ago....especially since I hate talking on the phone.
That being said, there are many dangers to social networking sites, some are dangers found all over the internet and some are exclusive to these sites. For example, when I eventually have children, they won't be going on FB or MS until they are older. These sites are a target for people who want to harm other people, especially children....especially sexually.
About 3 months ago, police arrested a man in a motel 5 miles from my house in Concord, Ma. He was there with a 13-year-old girl that he had met on MySpace. He flew up here from Florida to meet her. There are a lot of really sick people out there who pray on children, and there are a lot of children to pray upon on these sites. You only have to see one episode of "To Catch A Predator" to never want to allow your kids online at all. This stuff happens all the time.
I would say that overall, these sites provide a forum and a community to people all over the world, but like everything else it should be used in moderation and used carefully.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
The Internet & Politics
So Barack Obama called Kanye West a jackass for the stunt he pulled at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday. How do I know that? Because I live in the 21st Century. I live in an age where almost no slip of the tongue by a politician or celebrity goes unnoticed. The internet makes people think twice about the things they say when there is potential for a microphone or tape-recorder somewhere near by. I suppose that this was always true, but never so much as the age we are in now.
Every time something newsworthy or controversial happens today, it is a matter of mere seconds before the entire world knows about it. I wonder how frustrating it must have been to have to huddle around an AM radio or a TV with no reception to get the facts about major news like the Kennedy assasination or things along those lines. These days information is accessible in an instant.
It only stands to reason that the internet plays a major role in politics and elections. I find it interesting that perhaps the first hip, cool and youthful President in U.S. history had a huge internet following. The internet is a priceless tool when you have a message and you want to reach people, especially young people.
Of course, the internet also has a down side. It not only broadcasts all of the things you want to get out there, but all of the things that you don't as well. But that's the age we live in.
Every time something newsworthy or controversial happens today, it is a matter of mere seconds before the entire world knows about it. I wonder how frustrating it must have been to have to huddle around an AM radio or a TV with no reception to get the facts about major news like the Kennedy assasination or things along those lines. These days information is accessible in an instant.
It only stands to reason that the internet plays a major role in politics and elections. I find it interesting that perhaps the first hip, cool and youthful President in U.S. history had a huge internet following. The internet is a priceless tool when you have a message and you want to reach people, especially young people.
Of course, the internet also has a down side. It not only broadcasts all of the things you want to get out there, but all of the things that you don't as well. But that's the age we live in.
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