Position Vlog: Internet Privacy

12/10 SP Spiritual Wellness

I am often struck by how damaging unethical behavior is to ones soul. That there exist immediate soul altering effects from committing sin. Proverbs 6:32: “But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.” Studying the new testament I often wondered what had lead the Jews to be so spiritually deadened that they were the only people that would crucify Jesus, and I think that this hints at this. There’s something about sin, especially sins that you explicitly know to be bad, that literally destroys your capacity to have faith. Not only faith in god, but in others. In yourself. In a way the Jews of Jesus’ time simply could not believe in him because of the damage they had done to themselves, damage they were unwilling to heal.

12/03 SP Distinguishing Reality

As someone who is a self described “gaming enthusiast” I often find myself confronted by the stories of people who have gone too far with their interaction with video games. I am very aware of the destructive nature these things can have, and when asked about how do I avoid letting myself from being pulled in I tell people that I try to make sure I make sure I stay grounded in reality. I’m not talking about blurring a games reality with my own a la Tom Hanks, but about keeping perspective that they are just games. Remember that there’s a pause button, using the pause button, and if I’m going to play something without a pause feature that real life takes precedence if something wants my attention. To keep myself grounded to the people I know in “meat space” that they are quite literally my reality.

11/19 SP STEM and Gender

One of the things that bugs me the most about being a computer science major is the lack of women in the field. When I sit down in a class and can count the number of girls in the room on one hand, part of me sighs and wonders why. What makes computers more alluring to men than women? What about STEM fields tends to attract more men than women anyway? I’ve talked about this with my wife quite a bit and we both think that it’s mostly stems from societies views of the STEM fields. We don’t see many toys that focus on building or learning science targeted a girls. Crackerjack programmers in movies and TV are almost always men, socially awkward men at that, and when they do try to have women in those roles they misportray what programming is like to a hilarious degree. As a society we have work to do, but I do think we’re getting better at this.

11/12 SP Don't forget to build Cathedrals

As I have spent time musing about the Free/Open Source Software (F/OSS) movement it came as a surprise to me that a F/OSS model of development isn’t, in fact, the smartest way to build any and all products. Using the F/OSS model tends to cause a project to lose focus. This explains one of my main problems with Android, that while Android is a very well made product that does it’s various jobs well, it isn’t a cohesive experience like iOS or even Windows Phone. While I doubt that Android is without a unifying vision, the very nature of how F/OSS development is done makes it hard to keep everything tied to that vision. It is important to remember why some people build cathedrals, to do a very specific thing the best they can.

11/07 SP The Church and Technology

It is doctrine that humanity’s breakneck pace of innovation is due to the opening of the heavens as part of the Restoration. This is why whenever God’s church uses these technological advancements I perk up and try to pay attention because it is in this use of these technologies the purpose of their revelation is fulfilled. Isn’t it mind boggling to think that the entire creation of facebook and the advent of smartphones and social media was so that we “might bring one more soul unto Him”? It goes to show how serious the Lord is about tending to his flock. It makes me wonder how much more He is going to reveal unto us as time goes on. I, for one, would have never guessed social media would be as big of a success as it is. What’s next for us to feel like we can’t live without it? I just hope I remember to use it to spread his word.

10/31 SP Dealing with Easy Duplication and Distribution

It has occurred to me that our society’s inability to figure out how to properly control and govern software and deal with related issues partially stems from how incredibly easy it is to now distribute and duplicate information. Before the introduction of the computer and a text file the fastest way to obtain a copy of a book was to have one literally pressed onto paper from a printing press. These days acquiring a copy of a book is trivial, and even with a primitive network connection the amount of time and energy it takes to distribute it is trivial. The basis of our current law system never needed to take this triviality into account. If someone wanted information, it usually took some real effort to get it. How do you protect something from copy and distribution when doing so is essentially free? How do you properly protect ideas?

10/08 CE Why I Play Video Games

I have long wondered about what, exactly, drives me to be as obsessive about video games as I am. What is it about playing Final Fantasy X that makes me so saddened by the fact that I can’t ever realistically expect my wife to play through it of her own volition? I think it’s because games provide me with a real sense of participation in whatever ordeal is presented to me. This varies wildly from having the real ability to successfully make 2x2 same colored squares in Lumines to helping Yuna figure out how to defeat Sin once and for all. In a very real sense, when Tidus says “This is my story” at the beginning of Final Fantasy X I feel like he’s speaking with a distant echo of my voice even though I make no impact on the game’s outcome. I care about the fact that these complicated program will only progress due to my direct input, and I hope one day I can get my wife and others to understand this.

This post was inspired by this article.

10/03 SP A Slightly More Selfish Reason for Family History

Imagine you’re God and you’ve recently reached the decision to answer the prayers of the faithful and send an angel down to get Alma and his friends to stop actively trying to destroy the church. Without cheating, what message are you going to have this angel leave with these boys to make sure they stay on the straight and narrow? Personally I would not have chosen family history as a beacon for these wayward souls, yet family history it was. Honestly, I have never felt that family history helps me be anchored to my gospel progression. What does it tell me about my redemption? It wasn’t until I studied this part of Alma’s conversion that this aspect of the gospel came into focus. Read the conclusion of Alma’s final testimony to Helaman. Clearly, keeping family history has its spiritual benefits.

10/01 CE Quit Playing Candy Crush!

Every time I see someone playing Candy Crush Saga one a portable device I have an impulse to take said device and throw it for the person’s own good. Candy crush is the latest game to come out of the new free to play game genre, and one of the most despicable example of these games. These games harken back to the arcade days where every design decision was based around getting more quarters out of you. For example, the moment you purchase anything in Candy Crush the game gets harder. They know that since you've invested once to get an extra couple of turns for that 3rd star you are now more willing to do it again. There are reason known casino companies are investigating these games, and why Japan has laws regulating them. Yet, why can’t you see that match that’ll clear your last bit of jelly…

This current events post is brought to you by this article.

09/24 CE Content Creation Renaissance

Content creation is going through a Renaissance due to the pervasive use of ad blockers. One example of this is the website thewitecutter.com, their content focuses on finding what the best piece of technology is for a given category. Which tablet should I get? They suggest the iPad mini, if you have to get one right now, but make it clear that you should wait while they evaluate newer options. Typically tech site obfuscate a recommendation by forcing you through multiple reviews so you look at more ads, but the wirecutter doesn't since ad blockers make that strategy moot, their entire review is on one easy to read page. They monetize their site primarily through providing special hyperlinks that gives the site a referral bounty if it is converted into a sale. Take this in addition to the many people who make a living posting to YouTube just posting themselves playing games, it is a truly interesting time for content creation I just wish it hadn't taken ad blockers for it to come about.

This current events post is brought to you by thewirecutter.com and this article.

09/12 SP Fred and George Dropped Out!

When I was thirteen years old and reading the fifth Harry Potter book I found myself shocked that Fred and George had dropped out. It was the beginning of the third act and I was on a mental high. Fred and George had just caused one of the coolest distractions of all time, but I wasn't sure how I felt about its repercussions. Why in the world would they do that? Don't they know that they can't exactly recover from that? They can still graduate once she’s gone, no need to drop out. Thing is, they didn't need to. The success of their joke shop didn't depend on their graduating from Hogwarts. I think that this is one of the major issues facing students today. Frankly, school just isn't what we need for every one of us to be successful. School has its place and teaches us very important things, but there are some students would probably be more successful if they just had more options to grow outside of a traditional school or college setting.