So today at work, I'm listening to the Diane Rehm show. And there is this guy talking about his new book, The Filter Bubble. If you have some free time, I highly recommend listening to the podcast.
Anyways, he discusses how much data mining goes on and how little there is we can do about it. He points out that information displayed to us in censored. It only shows you what you want to see/agree with. Although I think always hearing what you agree with isn't healthy, that's not what concerns me. What bothers me is that these websites only show you what you agree with by tracking tons and tons of data you provide unknowingly.
What also concerns me is that the genie is out of the bottle. Google knows everything. Facebook and Google both use facial recognition. The F.B.I. tracks everything. Privacy is gone I think.
By the way...I'm pretty sure that by writing this, I'm now on some list
A blog by an average guy trying to improve his life through skill development, being prepared, and helping people out.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Not the best day.
I'm having a rough day. Money is so tight this week, it seems to be all I think about. To add to this, I overdrew my bank account, and will likely be broke till my next payday over a week away. I am not expressing this for sympathy. This is the bed I made. I am sharing this because it is a major concern in my world.
This morning was stressful because all I thought about was my money problems. My mind just kept going down this rabbit hole. I began to feel sorry for myself. I convinced myself that I wouldn't be in this position if I had finished college, worked for a different company, had a different job, or didn't have a family. This made me feel worse, and continued my slow downward spiral.
During lunch, I was listening to NPR. A father's story about his disabled son flowed from the radio and really began to eat at me. It was a disheartening analysis of the relationship the father had with the son. The longer I listened, the more the story pained me.
Then I began to think about my life again. Things started to get a lot better. I began to realize that my worst problem in life is money. That's it. I don't have a terrible health problem. I don't starve each day. I don't sit at home looking for a job. I don't worry about the daily safety of my family.
I'm not alone. I'm not thirsty. I'm not cold. I'm not wet. I'm not oppressed. I'm not scared. I'm not ignored. I'm not trapped in my life.
I guess my day isn't so bad after all.
This morning was stressful because all I thought about was my money problems. My mind just kept going down this rabbit hole. I began to feel sorry for myself. I convinced myself that I wouldn't be in this position if I had finished college, worked for a different company, had a different job, or didn't have a family. This made me feel worse, and continued my slow downward spiral.
During lunch, I was listening to NPR. A father's story about his disabled son flowed from the radio and really began to eat at me. It was a disheartening analysis of the relationship the father had with the son. The longer I listened, the more the story pained me.
Then I began to think about my life again. Things started to get a lot better. I began to realize that my worst problem in life is money. That's it. I don't have a terrible health problem. I don't starve each day. I don't sit at home looking for a job. I don't worry about the daily safety of my family.
I'm not alone. I'm not thirsty. I'm not cold. I'm not wet. I'm not oppressed. I'm not scared. I'm not ignored. I'm not trapped in my life.
I guess my day isn't so bad after all.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Day 4 of 2011 Garden
So far things seem to be going well with my plants. There's not a lot to write about. I'll let the pictures do the talking...
Here are pictures of my strawberry plants. I was a bit nervous that they weren't going to make it, but they seem to be taking off.
Hopefully the weather will get back to "normal" and I can start planting things outside.
Here are pictures of my strawberry plants. I was a bit nervous that they weren't going to make it, but they seem to be taking off.
Hopefully the weather will get back to "normal" and I can start planting things outside.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Day 2 of 2011 Garden
I live in Cincinnati, Ohio. We just had record rainfall for the month of April. It's very wet here at the moment. In this region, we tend to start planting on Mother's Day because our last frost day is in May. I can't wait that long, so I'm starting my seeds indoors. I'll get to those in a minute.
I have big plans for my garden. But I also have a busy life, so I'm not sure which goals will come to fruition. I'm starting this thread for a couple of reasons. Mainly it's to keep me on track. Hopefully it will develop to inspire others.
Day 2 of garden efforts
Here are a few shots of what I am dealing with. I stood in one spot (facing south) and panned left to right.
^The hedges down the left side is one edge of my yard.^
^The fence along the back side ends up getting covered pretty well by foliage.^
^My yard slopes down to the west.^
In the future, I'll break down the different areas of my yard by projects. The pics above are just a starting point.
For starting some of my seeds, I had to do a bit of hillbilly engineering. I'm 30 and married. The wife has daughters in high school, and we had a son that's almost 15 months old. I have about as much spending money as I have free time. In other words, I'm busy and broke ;) Hence the hillbilly engineering. I know it's not a pretty setup, but I just needed something functional. So here's what I got:
The seeds are arranged in columns 2 squares wide. I sowed some kind of bean, then peas, then a different bean, then I did only 3 seeds of zucchini in the white tray. The trays nest in a larger tray, and wick water from the bottom. The soil is a mixture of potting soil I found in the shed, and the clay soil that is abundant in this area.
I found a piece of clear plastic to drape over the tray to increase humidity and hold temperature. I know the picture makes it appear more opaque then it really is. This will come off as the plants start to establish themselves.
This is my "grow light". It's a construction light that I have clamped to the shelf above the seed tray. I has two settings (hi/low) and it provides plenty of light and heat for the plants.
My light is plugged into a digital timer. "Sunrise" is promptly at 6 AM, and sets at 10 PM for a total of 17 hours of light.
This is what the whole deal looks like. I know she isn't pretty, but it gets the job done.
I actually like several things about what I did. Having things somewhat take care of themselves is nice. I can just check in now and then to see how they are coming along. I don't have to remember to water all the time, or adjusting the light. Everything just sort of takes care of itself.
Total money spent on this=$0. Everything was already on hand.
I also started some June bearing strawberries in containers on the back patio. I just don't have pics of those yet.
I have big plans for my garden. But I also have a busy life, so I'm not sure which goals will come to fruition. I'm starting this thread for a couple of reasons. Mainly it's to keep me on track. Hopefully it will develop to inspire others.
Day 2 of garden efforts
Here are a few shots of what I am dealing with. I stood in one spot (facing south) and panned left to right.
^The hedges down the left side is one edge of my yard.^
^The fence along the back side ends up getting covered pretty well by foliage.^
^My yard slopes down to the west.^
In the future, I'll break down the different areas of my yard by projects. The pics above are just a starting point.
For starting some of my seeds, I had to do a bit of hillbilly engineering. I'm 30 and married. The wife has daughters in high school, and we had a son that's almost 15 months old. I have about as much spending money as I have free time. In other words, I'm busy and broke ;) Hence the hillbilly engineering. I know it's not a pretty setup, but I just needed something functional. So here's what I got:
The seeds are arranged in columns 2 squares wide. I sowed some kind of bean, then peas, then a different bean, then I did only 3 seeds of zucchini in the white tray. The trays nest in a larger tray, and wick water from the bottom. The soil is a mixture of potting soil I found in the shed, and the clay soil that is abundant in this area.
I found a piece of clear plastic to drape over the tray to increase humidity and hold temperature. I know the picture makes it appear more opaque then it really is. This will come off as the plants start to establish themselves.
This is my "grow light". It's a construction light that I have clamped to the shelf above the seed tray. I has two settings (hi/low) and it provides plenty of light and heat for the plants.
My light is plugged into a digital timer. "Sunrise" is promptly at 6 AM, and sets at 10 PM for a total of 17 hours of light.
This is what the whole deal looks like. I know she isn't pretty, but it gets the job done.
I actually like several things about what I did. Having things somewhat take care of themselves is nice. I can just check in now and then to see how they are coming along. I don't have to remember to water all the time, or adjusting the light. Everything just sort of takes care of itself.
Total money spent on this=$0. Everything was already on hand.
I also started some June bearing strawberries in containers on the back patio. I just don't have pics of those yet.
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