Gizmos and gadgets galore

Hello, my name is Joel and I’m a gizmo-a-holic. Naturally growing up around technology you have a certain affinity to all those ultra-fast gaming computers, gizmo's that do things that you thought were only possible in the movies, and gadgets that play days worth of songs yet fit in the palm of your hand.

I don’t know what it is about them but I always seem to gravitate to these tech sites to find out what’s new and cutting edge, ok you could go one further and say bleeding edge. As a society we’ve come a ridiculous ways in the better part of 10 years, remember talking to your buddies like you were “The Man” or “The Woman” for those gals out there, when you said you had a Pentium MMX 233Mhz (yes that was 10 years ago). That would make for a rather nice Linux box router but it has pretty much lost its usefulness seeing as my cell phone has more processing power than that.

Yeah, that’s pretty scary to think that you can carry in your pocket what 10 years ago would barely fit on the better half of a nice oak desk. Who’d a thunk it.

Speaking of cell phones doing some crazy things, that iPhone looks pretty neat. I’m definitively not going to be waiting in line to plunk down the better part of a car payment ($599 ?!) for one but it does look pretty neat. I worry that while all the technophiles will pick them up, the price is just not where it should be especially considering the 2 year commitment that AT&T (formerly Cingular) is requiring. Pick up a nice little iPod Nano for $199 and a free Moto Razr and you’re looking at 1/3 the cost of an iPhone. To each their own I suppose.

Cameras are also being sprinkled with technology and have quickly made 35mm cameras pretty close to irrelevant for everyday people. There are still those photographers who will use the old trusty film for keepsake photos, but all too often I see people whip out a slim little digital camera and snap a couple of shots for quick memories. Phones have em’ (digital cameras), but in reality trying to fit 35mm film on a phone – not going to happen. With some cameras you can get nice sepia and black and white photos as well so it’s about time to toss out that film too and trade it in for a ultra small gigabyte laden memory card.

Funny thing is, technology even seems to be invading the great outdoors. Camping used to be considered “roughing it” and I sure as heck am a purist when it comes to camping. Ok, I’ll go for the campgrounds that have a shower and running water, but I’m content with leaving some of the fancy gadgets at home, PSP, DS, consoles, et al. Think I’m joking when I say technology is invading the great outdoors? One quick browse through your local mega stores and you’ll see tents with 9v plugs in them….What’s up with that -- next thing you’ll know there will be winches that you hook to yourself to “climb” Half Dome…

My mini-rant aside, I’m looking forward to what’ll come in the next 10 years with nano-technology and other sorts of processor fabrications it’ll be interesting to see, that’s for sure.

Where does all the time go?

You know in all honesty I wonder where the time goes sometimes. I mean not to make anyone sound old or anything but I’ve seen many of my friends and classmates from High School move on to the next stage of their lives, the one where everyone is supposed to be responsible and hold down a job. Thinking of these things makes me reflect a bit on those days long passed – I look back at it more with fondness than sadness, thankfully.

I suppose what brought this about was the fact that one of my good friends was going through with the big “M”, you know, marriage. Now, I must say that we go back, way back, back before Super Nintendo, almost pre-dating the US launch of the Nintendo, so we have a good amount of history and growing up together. With that said, I’ll be in his wedding, like a coach once again in his corner, cheering him on (even with smelling salt…), and I’ll be thankful and happy that he’s found someone to settle down with.

So where does all the time go? To be honest I have no clue although I think that’s best left to ponder that more individually. As for me, I’ll focus on making every moment count, enjoying the simple day to day things, and looking forward to the next chapters of my life, just like a good book.

Turning a Negative into a Positive

I do believe there are some psychological theories which are important to remember when dealing with these situations. I suppose this would relate the closest to personality based psychology, with the study of the differences and likenesses of everyone's personalities. You can also tie in some social psychology as well.

Are people talking in a negative way to garner attention?
Are the people simply venting and need an outlet?
Is the reaction proactive or reactive?

There are variables to the persuasion as well. Think, who said what to who and how.

You have Communicators who uses credibility, expertise and trustworthiness to persuade. You have the Message using reason, emotion (e.g. anger or fear), arguments, and other types of informational content. The Audience, what is the message targeting? And the Channel or how it's being presented, via print, speech, etc.

If you can use some of those theories to help dissect the problem and in turn come up with a solution, it may turn a negative persona into a positive one.

How do you approach someone who is hostile, well simply put you can't meet them with hostility. You'd need to approach them with some sort of understanding, almost like a hostage negotiator would.

Respect what people have to say. Even if they can only voice concerns with negativity. If they really don't care they probably would look to discuss their concerns somewhere else. If you approach the person with respect, the chances are this will be reciprocated. Sometimes you have to give a little respect to get some respect.

Listen to what has to be said. Don't look to talk over or point out the bad things, try to listen and understand how something is affecting that person. How is it making them feel? Sometimes regurgitating what's being said shows signs that you are listening. Try using what they have said in a response back to them.

Be helpful. If someone is negative because they are frustrated that they can't find the answers they are looking for we should try to help them find the answers. Making sure that their voice is heard and providing the help that we can, helps soothe dejected feelings.

People have names. Try to use their name when applicable. Online especially when you can easily fade into a crowd, having a face and a name can make a difference in diffusing a bad situation. You won't be on a first name basis with everyone but if you say "Hey X, I was wondering why you were doing X" it comes across as being much more personable than "I was wondering why you were doing X". Typically you'll have a greater chance of having a positive reaction after making such an effort. You shouldn't use someone's name to call them out in a situation however; this will only drive a wedge between you and that person. It can also lead to some very jaded feelings.

Follow through on what you say. This is simple but time and time again we fail to deliver what we promise. Following through on what we say can only build trust in a community. It's especially true when the negativity comes from distrust. No, we're not politicians, but a promise is a promise, and we should respect players enough to follow through on our promises.

Exude calm and positive solutions. If we stoop to a level where we don't show that we're calm and positive it will only feed the fire. In a virtual world where you can easily misread something, having clear and concise answers that are worded appropriately is imperative. Positivity counts too, try talking about a positive instead of a negative. Think of it as what you can do as opposed to what you can't do.

Responsibility

Ok, first everyone say it with me re-spon-si-bil-i-ty. Need help trying to pronounce it? ri-"spän(t)-s&-'bi-l&-tE. Responsibility, so what does that really mean? The quality or state of being responsible: as moral, legal, or mental accountability. My friends over at Miriam-Webster were kind enough to provide that bit of help with this early segment.

Now it’s really simple be accountable for your actions, more and more we’re just not seeing people in society live up to the expectation to be responsible. Be it kids not picking up their toys, to grown adults not taking care of their paternal responsibilities, this sort of social dysfunction isn’t healthy.

This strikes me as an interesting topic as someone I know is going through a difficult time. She is with child yet the person who is supposed to be there with her elected to not marry her due to pressure from his family. This is not a young gentleman either, he’s past his 20’s and frankly the guy doesn’t have his life together.

So let’s rewind just a tad. The gentleman lives at home with his parents, doesn’t have a full time job, and from what I understand does not have a degree yet. He’s cordial and seems like a nice guy but it just seems as thought he can’t make a decision for himself. His parents run his life and when he was pressured by them to not get married, he buckled (from what I understand they were going to withdraw financial support, food, and lodging).

Now when in the course of human events (we’ve heard that one before…) there comes a time in which you have to bite the proverbial bullet and just get it done. That takes some courage but it’s also you being responsible. Only you can make the right choices for yourself, but considers others first. It’s almost like the “Golden Rule” but sometimes that impact reaches much longer and wider than just worrying about what happens to you.

Be responsible, be considerate and maybe just maybe the world will be a little brighter for everyone.

Super Size Me - Super Review

Since it was required in class to write a review on Super Size Me I thought I would post it just for fun...Keep in mind I did have to answer a few questions as asked by the professor.

To start things off Super Size Me was a compelling story told by Morgan Spurlock who takes a McDonald’s eating binge for a month to show off its negative side effects.

The film provided a very real and educational look at what can happen if someone partakes in the indulgence of 3 square meals a day at a friendly neighborhood McDonald’s. The movie hit home for me due to the nature of the content and it’s something we see every day. It does make you realize that not only is the food unhealthy for you but it also is something that can shorten your life by many strides.

The realistic nature of Morgan being an average guy who was in good health before eating all the McDonald’s meals shows in shocking detail what can happen and that’s what makes the movie so profound.

All this was not met without some negatives, the lack of detail on some of the situations and scenarios left me a little disenchanted. It would have been nice to see what exactly Morgan did to get back on track with his healthy lifestyle that he once led. By showing others what exactly he did could provide a glimpse on what can be done to reverse the negative effects of the binge eating that occurred.

Now what 5 things stood out in this movie? Well for starters, yes fast food is bad for you! The marketing campaigns that these fast food companies run do target the youth of America which is heartbreaking in a way because they are the future of this country and you don’t want the future to be unhealthy. The education is not out there in America on how to eat healthy, all the while big companies who promote fast foods can spend many times more money on their ads. Contrary to popular belief not always is a salad good for you, as shown in the premium salad at McDonald’s. And finally, portion control is well, out of control. The fact remains that portions were a great deal smaller in times long past. Add to that fact that in other countries the portions are quite a bit smaller for soda, fries, and other items on the McDonald’s menu and that just emphasizes the American term “Super Size Me”.

The film did leave short the long road ahead of Morgan, where we could have seen what he had to go through just to get back to his ideal weight. Knowing how easy it is to pack on the pounds is one thing, but something more compelling might have shown how hard it was for Morgan to loose that weight.

The film is something that could bring to light the cold reality of the eating habits we have here in America to our most important asset, the nation’s youth. By showing the youth of America early on the problems associated with eating unhealthy food as shown in this movie, we can help educate them into making better, healthier, food choices when presented with unhealthy options. I mean, when was the last time when you heard a child refuse a Chicken McNugget?

So in all I would recommend this film as required watching for anyone who is overweight or even those who eat out many times during the week. Helping educate the nation on healthier eating is something that will only benefit our society. It’ll allow folks to lead healthier happier lives, and may cut down on the road rage just a bit since less people will be on the road attempting to cram into an overcrowded drive through.

So where the hell have you been?

Ive been asked this a couple times from numerous people and contrary to popular belief I havent vanished from the face of the earth. Well simply put Ive been busy with quite a few things and simply havent had the appropriate time to dedicate to making a blog worth reading.
Im thinking of updating less frequently than I did before (once a day on the weekdays) but more frequently than I have in the past month (none). So finding a happy median shouldnt be too hard to find.
What have I been up to for the past month you ask? Well aside from work, Ive been working on some video editing projects, which I will say are fun but codec problems with media players are the bane of my existence at the moment. Oh and Im taking some online college courses to further my studies.

Now what else was there, oh yeah 4th of July. What a bright idea it is to only have a few firework places where the mass public can gather around and cause massive traffic jams, drink publicly, and generally act unruly. If you cant tell the sarcasm in reading that then my apologies and I was being sarcastic. I was traveling through downtown when the fireworks started to go off (yeah I know not the brightest thing in the world). I ended up in a parking lot which I thought I could get out of. Needless to say there ended up being a wall of cars blocking off the exit of the parking lot with all the occupants of the cars either inside or even outside of their cars oogling over the fireworks.

No, this wasnt as fun as I thought but what comes next wasI took my car a sedan mind you off road backing out, since the geniuses behind me decided to park and jump out of their cars to observe the fireworks. Backing out was touchy at times with 2 wheels off road over a curb and 2 on the paved road. I was able to back out and get going home just as the final barrage of fireworks dissipated in the nights sky.

Driving home there was some traffic but not too bad. Unfortunately the person in front of me upon attempting to merge onto the freeway got cold feet and stopped right there. I paused for a moment and thought What would possess someone to just stop in the middle of the onramp? Well as soon as I saw a break in the traffic I stomped on the gas and took off like a bat out of hell, sorry lack of creative verbal expression there.

I made it home safe and sound seeing as I am typing to you all now. And the moral of the storywell I cant think of one but Ill let you know when I do...

Just Because...

I decided to make this post just to check in and say that I haven't forgotten about blogging, it's just been busy!