btopro's blog

Mostly driven by Google's data privacy policy change, ownership of your 1s and 0s on the internet has started to become a lot more predominant in people's minds.  What are they doing with all that data? Why does Google / provider X care about the video I posted and how it relates to the flight I'm looking at booking?

So why is this post called Sex and Data? Because you should treat them much in the same vein yet our society treats both as if they are a play thing.  Yes, putting "it out there" can be fun and you can do lots of stuff, experiment and maybe learn a lot in the process; but at what cost?

Now, was I talking about sex or usage of "free" services on the internet? Yes, all of those can be true of sex (and data) but in the same way sex "costs nothing" (outside of Las Vegas) data also "costs nothing".  The important thing that the media (typically) skips is that while fun, free, and abundant you are giving up a piece of yourself.  With sex this is largely physiological (and sadly shows in those with very low self-esteem) and because that is a deeply complicated topic, most overlook it.

No, JoePa did not recruit me for football.  I didn't come to Penn State because of the football (before coming here I didn't even like football).  I didn't know who he was or much about him or even know him personally.  What I do know is that through interviews, books, friends, and yes, football, that JoePa was a man of great integrity.

Was he perfect? Certainly not.  Recent events should show that no one is perfect.  Imperfect people in an imperfect world make imperfect decisions.  If you can claim to have known exactly what to do in a situation that is foreign to you then good on you, not everyone does.

I know that his heart was in the right place, and still is.  The thousands of people that have flocked to his image outside the stadium should show that he was much more then just football.  He was his ideals, a symbol to be someone better; he was what so many people have tried to be, a good, decent man.

Everyone that's been in a car before has either experienced or been the target of road rage.  I think road rage happens in part because of the social norms established by the vehicle itself.  These norms that cause this to be so common include:

• While in a car you are typically isolated from the other drivers on the road visually
• Cars are machines capable of tremendously accurate speed and direction that most of us really don't understand the mechanics of
• Humans are error prone as they are not tremendously accurate

Everyone does it, you immediately get (very) ticked off because another car cut you off. Why didn't that person see me? Don't they know I have to get somewhere as soon as possible too?! Hey asshole, *honk*, MOVE OVER. Can you believe this? Wow, simply amazing.  Oh yeah, real nice, slow down so I can't pass this truck.  Oh yeah, I can play this game. Boom, blind spot, how you like that. High Beams now if onl....

Whoa, sorry.  Flashback there for a sec..

"The problems that exist in the world today cannot be solved by the level of thinking that created them." - Einstein

I can't stop working.

Not because I'm told I have some insane deadline to meet, not because I am required to work more then 40 hours a week. I literally can't stop working anymore.  I'm not sure if this is a bad thing or not (it probably is).  Even when I'm not working in the traditional sense (sitting behind a computer typing) my mind doesn't leave my work lately.  I've become obsessed, addicted to the concepts and frameworks that I've kept silent about for so long.

I've been building and understanding structure for the better part of a year.  At times it seemed like obsession, other times divine providence that I must continue on in the face of hating what I was doing (at times). Since the beginning of the year I had been rambling on about building the road.  How no one wants to build the road but look all the wonderful things (commerce, vacation, enjoyment) can be had once the road is built.  About a month or two ago I finally felt like I stopped building the road and am now driving.

How do I know this is the case?

Yesterday you have become aware of the impending Tech Bubble.  I foresee a bubble similar to that of the DOT-COM bubble of a decade ago.  Here's why:

• Platforms are stabilizing
• Consumer needs have been satisfied in many ways
• Technology can only be "so fast" before we stop realizing the issue
• Open Source is part of "the problem"

First let's look at the TV market.  TV ownership is something like 99% of households in the US.  The need from an innovation was to receive signals from around the country / globe and see what people are doing.  Then came LCD screens.  Now the need became energy efficiency, cost, screen size, and overall product dimensions.  These needs have been (relatively) met by the market.

Most people have no need for TVs above 42" - 52" screens.  While we can make them larger then that, there's no need for 60+ in the majority of households.  Because of this, the market turned and said "HOW CAN WE REMAKE OURSELVES!?".  Introducing 3DTV.  The glasses based hell that no one asked for and no one cares about.

Maybe it's a trend brought about by the internet (it is) but I'm noticing an increasingly great push towards openness, participation and transparency in all things.  Granted, i'm in the open source world so yes, of course I would see that everywhere :).  I'm increasingly driven by the idea of breaking down barriers to knowledge transfer both because of work in education and just my own moral compass.

I had 3 conversations this week, all of which went like this:

Asker: "Hey, I'd be really interested in talking to you about what I'm doing / ask you a question if it's ok"

Me: "Sounds great, wanna talk this week?"

Asker: "Oh...wow.. actually I didn't even think you'd respond, this is awesome ok!"

There seems to be this wall being built up around me as if I know what I'm talking about.  I am becoming a knowledge authority.  And this isn't said to toot my own horn, people that I'm talking to recently seem to have this mentality that I talk about what I do so I must know what I'm doing.  This has been my philosophy for replacing old authorities and becoming my own the last 3 years:

When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world. 

I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation. 

When I found I couldn't change the nation, I began to focus on my town. I couldn't change the town and as an older man, I tried to change my family. 

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