Be Kind

Someone stealing a car is not something you want done to yourself. Therefore, don't steal cars. In my mind all things are this simple. If you wouldn't like what you are about to do to someone else don't do it. If everyone only did the things they would want done to them we would have such a great world. The need for power, money, and glory get in the way.

Balance

The name of the game is Balance. With anything we do to keep a healthy lifestyle we need balance. Balance in our work, school, church, and recreational activities. When any of these things fall out of balance and consumes most of our time the other essentials in our lives are hurt. Whether the obsession is video games, working out, or indexing all day all the time, the effects can be the same. Relationships with the people we love suffer and diminish. We need to be honest with ourselves and when we see something out of balance we must be the ones to make the first step to restore the balance.

Video Games Do Rock

I used part of Blizzard's Heroes of the Storm cinematic trailer.

Gaming Addiction: Real or Fake?

An undead mage polymorphs his opponent into a harmless sheep. Suddenly a holy paladin come charging on his mount swinging his hefty hammer. This is a sliver of the world in which massive multiplayer online games can put you in. I read the book Unplugged, My Journey Into the Dark World of Video Game Addiction by Ryan G. Van Cleave. In my eyes it does not matter whether you think video game addiction is real or not. What does matter is looking at the consequences of playing long hours and sacrificing those things that are of utmost importance. Family, Career, and Spirituality all come first. When put on to my priority queue video games drops slightly. I enjoy playing video game probably more than the average person and I get excited when Blizzard announces a  new game. I understand that if I don't show restraint than the ones I love could be hurt. To achieve greatness in a video game takes time and the games are programmed in such a way to keep you playing. Time is a valuable resource. How you use your time shows to those around you what you love. You may say you love the people in your lives more than a silly game, but in reality actions really do speak louder than words. Like anything in our lives when one thing becomes an obsession our lives get out of balance and it is sometimes hard to restore that healthy balance. Whatever is in our lives that sucks away our time we need to evaluate and see if it is something that matters most to us and is good to continue. Video games can definitely be a distraction from those we love and most be played with caution and restraint.

Women and Computers

I am an undergraduate in the BYU Computer Science program and there are two or three girls in any high level cs course (junior or senior). There has been no outward discrimination. Everybody is different and has their own interests. Universities shouldn't worry about getting woman into a certain program, even if the numbers are low, they should brainstorm ways of getting more people into their program. Whether they be men or women it should not matter. Each person is different and has a different view to bring to the table.

Harmony

Two brains are better then one. We can expand this further to be n+1 brains are better then n. Continuing on into infinite. Although, for this to hold there has to be unity. Without unity it becomes chaos. With a unified body anything is possible. With so many eyes looking from different perspectives all problems are easy to someone. The most important fact is to be in harmony. This is also the most difficult. Bring a people to have one heart and one mind and they will be unstoppable.

Balance

The world we live in has provided a vast variety of options. To many for any of us to all do in a given lifetime. Balance in every aspect of life is a necessity. Even when doing something good when taken to the extreme can envelop our lives and turn out to be detrimental. For example, having good health. This is important and exercising is useful for leading a healthy life. Although, when taken to extremes where all we do is exercise and neglect family life this becomes bad. Life has become unbalanced. It needs to be looked at and reevaluated to once again bring the harmony that a good balanced life provides.

Assumptions

People make assumptions off the smallest things they hear. This lead to conclusions that are much bigger. For example, I heard that you can't show a movie in a public place. Due to copyright laws this is not ethical. When I was telling this to someone else they had never heard of such a thing. They think it is perfectly fine to do an activity like that. Their movie they can do what they want with it. I never looked into my assumption which may or may not be true. I could have been organizing neighborhood movie parties for all I know. I wonder what other assumptions I have made that have led to bigger conclusions. Who knows!!

Cuckoo's and Hacking

I hate reading books for classes. The Cuckoo's Egg was an exception. I read it like a novel that I hand picked. It kept my attention even being somewhat repetitive in nature. Along with being interesting I learned some things that I can apply in my life. The subject of tracking a hacker is not to exciting a topic. Nothing really physical is happening to do so. The most was him biking to work if he got beeped at home. Its astounding how hard Cliff had to work to get any kind of support and help from the different agencies that were being directly affected. He kept on chugging along despite no help. A lot can be learned from Cliff's experience. Cliff was persistent at what he believed to be the right course of action even when those he directly worked with were not supportive. Also, he kept a log book. The book became essential to him being helped and then to publish what happened. There had been quite a few cases such as Cliff's but none had the same type of log. I know the importance of logging any aspect of life. Doesn't matter if it is personal, spiritual, work related, or a hobby. Logging what happens will be useful in whatever case it is applied. Another thing I learned was not to be obsessed. Cliff flirted with this line on occasion, but overall I think he did quite well in keeping balanced. He took time to spend with his partner and didn't obsess to the point of losing his job. While working to catch the hacker and putting that as a high priority he did not put it as his only priority. Life needs to be balanced no matter what is involved. I loved this book and would recommend it to any one else.

Conference

Following the tweets about the General Conference session was intriguing. The main points were heavily emphasized because many people would tweet them and you would see them over and over again. The memorable quotes were also tweeted over and over. It was interesting how you would get the occasional odd ball tweet about something totally unrelated. I never did see any where a member took advantage of it for themselves like someone said in class. Overall a great experience.

E-reader??

E-reader is still a separate category then from tablets? Tablets are more than equipped to do all that the best of e-readers accomplish plus a ton more. Apparently the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite has eliminated the competition and is the best. While this e-reader has a smaller price tag it is not worth the money to invest into when compared to the top tablets on the market. The market for such a device is so much smaller than the tablets market. On the other hand book enthusiasts not looking for anything but easy access to hundreds of books this is a good way to go, I guess.

Tech for Good

Technology is a tool. Like any other tool, it can be used for good or evil. Technology has many uses and it is up to the user of the tool to choose. God has provided a way for this technology to come to pass and uses it to further His kingdom here upon the earth. Following the law of opposition to all things, Satan uses technology to make men miserable like unto himself. People have both of these pulling forces in their life and it is their decision in how they use the tool that has been provided. People use technology for good in many ways. Specifically in building God's kingdom, family history has greatly benefited and grown because of the easy access to share information. Technology can be a blessing or a curse. Let us choose to use it as a blessing not only for ourselves but for others also.

Google is Everywhere

Google can be anywhere it pleases. They pick a new market and go for it. Google has a new tool, Google Web Designer. This tool allows ad makers to make interactive digital ads in html 5. Their product is free while other software is not. Google does not care if a market has been controlled by one company. They decide to go for something and do so with full force. They see a great opportunity and they jump on it.

The New Microsoft Tablet

Microsoft seems to do alright with its products. There is one recurring theme people should know about. Usually the first time Microsoft releases a product it needs one full revision to fix most problems. I have always been quite happy with the products I have bought. I try to bypass the newer releases until time has passed to see whether or not I should buy. To be fair, I have not had a Mac nor have I dabbled in Linux very often. Microsoft is ok. They need to reinvent themselves and make sure they have things right the first time.

Priority

Advances in technology change the way we look at priorities in our own lives. We no longer have to spend a whole day working the fields to have food for ourselves and our families. Technology has allowed many opportunities. These can be good or bad. As I look to what my priorities should be I know there are many good things I can be doing, and many more things that are not harmful to anyone. Technology is a great blessing and should be used as such to allow us to prioritize the most important aspects of life.