Well, its almost the end of the week, and once again, I cant believe all the new things I've learned about in my classes. They have become minor addictions, growing every second. This is why it falls under the jurisdiction or filtered judgment. I choose to become addicted to these things (explained later) based off of all the ways it should save me time or better my online experience. However, I also ignore all the many ways that these new things are sucking my soul into the next realm. Hence filtered judgment.
Take my PSU017 Seminar class. During class on monday, we toured the IST building at Penn State. I was casually introduced to del.icio.us. This useful site allows you to save your favorites on their website, allowing you to have the same favorites list as long as you have an internet connection, on any computer. It is a free service I have employed and now use religiously; I highly recommend it.
RSS Feeds!! I love them. I always knew what they were, but I never used them until This week in class. What a time saver! Checking all of your news or updates to your favorite web sites in the same place is great. Google Groups? I now have two. I cant believe I ever emailed a paper to somebody. I have groups where my high school friends are posting funny pictures, music, essays, essentially anything they want for our downloading pleasure. It is a remarkable way to keep in touch that goes beyond the capabilities of facebook or myspace.
Didn't I say that all of these things were supposed to be time savers? Well, I cant keep up with all the news on the rss feeds, so Im really wasting time there reading things that I cant process as fast as they come in. That is really hard. All in all, I think Im spending 3x as much time on the internet as I did before. So much for saving time...haha

Many things they tell you about college before you get here are relevant and wise. For instance, changing your sheets more than four times a semester is wise. Also, on a serious note, making sure you make time for studying. The truest thing anyone can tell you, though, is that you have to prepare for diversity. They weren't kidding!
After class today, a classmate and I went to lunch at the hub. We went to Chic-Fil-A, a fast food joint that is one of my favorites. I would get it back home all the time. As expensive as it is (stupid meal point-$ conversion rate), He had never been, and that is like sacrilege!! Hence, the title..
We got talking about where we came from and our backgrounds. For privacy, solely because I haven't asked him, I wont use the name. I talked about all the opportunities that I had been given in high school to perform in various places. I talked of my trips to Europe and musicals I've been in, both of which blew him away. I don't always remember how lucky I've been to do that so early in my life. On the opposite side of the spectrum, I found it really interesting and cool that his school had a large section dedicated to the automotive industry. He conversed nonchalantly about how in class he would diagnose engine problems and work on body detail. My high school wouldn't have had the ability, facility, or the "cool factor" necessary to do that. If I had had that opportunity, though, I would have taken advantage of it.
This isn't the only example of differences in youth I have encountered. Simple things, like how my roommate enjoys sleeping with the television on. Or how one man on my floor requires that if you are to sit on his bed, (we are in East; it's that or the floor), you sit on the comforter. Now, I know my pants are clean. I promise. I know your concerned, but he asks that of everyone. I checked. I have been told that I have a quirky habit of hitting the "snooze" button on my alarm clock more then I should...say seven or eight times. In my defense, I don't think that I'm awake when I'm doing it, but obviously, somebody noticed.
The beauty of college is that it forces you out of your comfort zone. It is a blend of things you know and are comfortable with, and those that are so outlandish to you, you are forced to wonder how it's possible they are done!!

P.S. Anyone else who has never been to Chic-Fil-A: I forgive you. Check it out in the bottom of the hub. Next to Nathan's, you wont regret it....

My Mom is very interested in what I do. I'm sure most of my classmates share a family member or friend that have listened to you talk about the course work of IST 110. Has anyone else caused that person to pick up blogging?

My Mother is a teacher at my old elementary school. She is considered to be the technology "go-to-gal" among the faculty there, teaching older teachers the values of e-mail and Powerpoint. She has had all that she can stand watching me have all the fun; she has joined the Blogoshere as a Teacher that is trying to incorporate technology as a resource to strengthen the learning relationship a teacher has with her students and colleagues. I am very proud of her. I love my Mommy. She now has this in writing - I am not ashamed to call her Mommy. Why should we have all the fun?

She is using Blogger.com. Seeing as how almost all of us have google accounts, you can use them to set up a blog for free at Blogger.com. Maybe if you're not already swamped with your current blog, and want to write about something that interests you, that is a way to get free webspace.

To close, I had sent an email about mindjet's Mind Manager Pro to the class. This is the demo that mindjet has on their website... See you all at class tomorrow!

I love to read. It is an escape for me from daily life, and from the impossible. I mainly read Fantasy and Science Fiction, but last night I just reread one of my favorite books, one that I believe is accessable to nearly all people with an open mind. I want to write about it because I feel like I need to verbalize what this work has done for me. I also want to somehow link it to technology. Lets see how I do...

Let me start by saying that Richard Bach is an amazing writer. Besides this book, he is known as the author of Jonathon Livingston Seagull. Illusions is a short, easy read of 200 pages. You could read it in an hour. If you like books that make you think: about life, God, or yourself-or even if you just like looking at things from a different perspective every now and then-this book is for you.

I can't (or choose not to) write about the plot of this book. I think it would take away from reading it. But I will say a few things about it. This book does not attack religion. Messiah is in the title, but don't let that scare you away from reading it. Secondly, keep an open mind. New perspectives don't have to be right: they just have to be different.

This book is full of wisdom. Real wisdom, the type you can use, can be found on 50% of the pages. Every time I read Illusions, I feel like I've been re-centered. I have been stressing out about an Exam I have coming up, and I couldn't sleep. After I reread it, I felt reminded of what was really important to me. It kind of put things back into the proper scope. What is it that this book says that brings this effect? Well, now that I've constrained myself to not using the plot, it's a little harder to say.

What is real? Well, thats a big question. The book used going to see a movie as a prime metaphor to reality in this life. Is a movie real?

• A movie isn't real; it's not even moving! It's just pictures that have been shown in a procession at the right speed to simulate the process. When you watch a movie, you're immersed within it. For two and a half hours or so, it's as real as life. You live vicariously through the characters.

• You chose to see the movie for one of two reasons; essentially for fun or to learn something. Fun would include escape, entertainment and the like. Learning could be as simple as a movie with educational value. It could also be more implied, like a moral lesson. What does this say about us as human beings? We are Fun-loving by nature, and we have a yearnin' for some learnin!

• At any time in the movie, we can walk out. We don't have to subject ourselves to bad movies! We can if we want. More often than not, people will sit through a movie even if they know 20 minutes into it that they won't enjoy it. That, however, is still their conscious choice to do so.

What if you thought of your life as a movie? One of the wisest things my father ever said to me was, "Son, you are the star of your own movie. Your friends and your family are just your supporting characters. But ultimately, the plot follows you." Your choices effect your movie. You can make your life what you want. You follow this thought pattern and these are the statements you make:

1. You are here in this life to learn something, and to be happy.
2. If you don't like your movie, change it. Would you want to see your movie?

It's a metaphor. You have freedom in your life.

This is the part where someone says, "Well, thats beautifully idealistic, but not reality. Some people have jobs that they have to do that they hate and some people have no control of the condition of their lives." I'm not in a position to argue one way or the other. But this book provided an escape to a place where it was possible. It made me feel like I had control.

Certain technologies, like Second Life and the Sims, are new age methods for finding the same escape (now, for the beautiful transition). I think human beings either have a tendency to want control, or ability to give that control to a supreme being. When real life isn't going the way you'd like, or you want to try something different, these "games" come in handy. The lack of responsibilities in a game like the Sims is attractive to someone bogged down in life. John Smith may have zero control over whether his meeting is on Saturday or Friday, but in the Sims he carries complete control over what his avatar does in the realistic, but not real world. In which world would you argue he is living? Which would John Smith?

In conclusion, wherever possible, choose to pursue Happiness. With any luck, these technologies or this book will make you one step closer to that ever-present life goal.

I present to you a marvel of modern science. The Alarm Clock:

Many have tried to wake me. Few have succeeded. It is because for me, I must be jarred awake so I really get up. I can move, speak, think, and see (briefly) while still technically asleep. Those functions associated with consciousness aren't as clear cut as you would think. An average alarm may go off in my vicinity, but normally I have just enough functionality in my unconscious state to get up, turn it off, mumble how rude it was, and lie back down in bed - even if it was across the room - and not remember it ever going off when I truly awake. I've tried everything. I drink a bottle of water right before bed. I think really hard while I'm trying to sleep about exactly when I need to get up (sometimes that gets me up at that exact time I was thinking - It's so creepy, you should try it). Nothing works. I still get up an average of 45 seconds before I have to be in class. It's just not a healthy habit.

Maybe it's like the common cold in that no clock could possibly best my mind's intense will to sleep at all costs. These masterpieces, however, are certainly going to give me a run for my money.

The carpet alarm clock requires weight pressure to turn off. You would have to put your full weight on it. I doubt I would do that more than once or twice before I kicked it under the bed or pressed on it with my feet and then went back to bed. However, it is an interesting perspective that would probably work for many people.

The helicopter alarm clock is just demonic. The alarm goes off, and so does the helicopter. That will fly in many different directions based on what it hits. The alarm is un-endable until the helicopter wings are put back on the launch pad, making you get up and look for wherever the hell the bloody thing landed. I've never had this alarm, but I can imagine that it would drive me nuts and make my roommate wet his pants laughing.

These are all well and good, but I have encountered one clock that puts them all to shame. Nothing can wrest a gut-wrenching scream from me quite like: Spongebob.

I had this alarm a few years back. Let me just say that the beginning of the theme from Spongebob is enough to wake a man from any sleep state, including a tranquilized one. You awake in horror staring at its inherently evil face and you want to hurt something. My alarm never passed the "OOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHH" portion of the "melody" before I punched it or threw it or maliciously yelled at it. But I got up. Every time. That alarm's first 5 seconds was like a shot of caffeine into my blood stream. Unfortunately, the clock itself took such a beating that eventually I snapped dear old Spongebob clean off and broke the clock from the 7th level of Hell.

Moral of the story? Human Beings can't create something from this side of heaven that can wake me up on a consistent basis. I'm open to suggestions, but for now, I just have to get lucky. It's because the same driving will to create and invent, the spark of creation if you will, cannot match in strength the will to continue that dream, do nothing but rest for one more hour, or to avoid our responsibilities.

I'm very proud of my all-OEM custom built PC. I think that the only thing that would be more beautiful than my PC would be a girl that understood it (for those ladies out there reading, do your best... I'm technical)! This is my Rig:

• Intel Core 2 Duo 3 Ghz
• 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 SDRAM Dual Channel Memory Kit
• Samsung T Series 400GB 7200 RPM 3.0GB/s SATA Hard Drive
• nVidia GeForce 8600 GT
• MSI P6N SLI Platinum LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard
• 2 LG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner with 12X DVD-RAM
• Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
• Wireless Logitech Keyboard + Mouse
• 5 Surround Sound Speakers + 140 Watt Subwoofer
• Plasma Screen Monitor

Need I say more? This computer was God's gift to Mankind. The only thing it is lacking is a monitor with HD compatibility. That, and another 400 GB Hard Drive to double boot Linux would be wonderful...(insert maniacal laugh here)... Now that I have all the geeks in the audience wrapped and the "normal" people reading this, the real question...

What is the true test for such a mammoth display of technology? I need to find the perfect game to run on my system so I can marvel at its beauty. Can you tell I fell in love with this machine? Post your thoughts on such a game, as well as specs about your system - I respect ANY work of art. As for anyone who has a question about my system, feel free to ask in comments..

Building a computer from scratch is not a business for the light of heart. It's a lot of money to spend if you mess up and break something essential. This PC, if I bought it from Alienware, would have cost me upwards of 2.5gs at least. I bought this for $1300. Parts are cheaper than labor; that's the secret. Building a computer is a lot like grown-up lego. Parts and cords only have one place they fit, let alone go, so it's definitely not as hard as it looks. Everything is totally self explanatory.

If I can do it anyone can.. except probably him(too complicated)....

Youtube is the home of many types of video creations. Some contain laughs, others video blogs, and still others, like the one posted by xplanevisualthinking, contain powerful thought provoking ideas. It doesn't use action, diagrams, or people. Just statistics. What could happen in the next few years? The answers might startle you. This is totally pertinent to our generation, and our careers in IST. The perceptions held today about technology, people, and the problems of tomorrow are flawed because daily we are getting closer to new problems that will rock the foundations of our society, like the computer, AIDS, and the internet have fundamentally altered the lives of our forefathers. Let this video presentation soak into you. It is very artfully an simplistically done.