Category: Tech

Anything and everything I write that has something to do with tech. Maybe it’s a post about the time I blew up that server in 2003 because I didn’t know what bridged networking really meant. Sorry Roger!

The future belongs to Scientists!

I attended two days of the USA Science and Engineering festival last weekend.  I wish I knew it was actually a three day festival as I would have increased my opportunity to experience new ideas by 33%.

The festival itself was more incredible than I feel I can espouse.  There were hundreds of exhibits and an estimated 325,000 people for the weekend.  We saw Bill Nye, learned about atom smashing, sustainability, robotics, stem cell research, and so much more.  Booths from NASA, Lockheed Martin, multiple government agencies, universities and NGOs captured the attention of myself and thousands of children, the very people most invested in the future.

Interestingly enough there always has to be someone that doesn’t get invited to the party.  I found a small flyer hanging above the water fountain in the corner.  It said something like “Find out the truth about STEM careers.”  This flyer was like the type you find at the laundromat with little paper tabs you can rip off. I took a copy of the URL and dropped it in my bag of goodies I had started accumulating.

This morning which is a week after the festival, I pulled the URL out and finally went to see what this person had to say.  I had built up some pretty hefty expectations that it would be a 50 second visit.  Was the content going to be a some radical religious-based argument that we should just give up now and await our saving?  Was it a hack against the people organizing the festival?  Some disgust over the number of military contractors at the show, along with the NSA and their High-school spy recruiting program?

It was none of these, and it was far less dismissible than any of those.  It was a blog put up by a self-identified experienced engineer.  It was written in an entirely anecdotal and subjective manner.  It was however a reasonable insightful accounting of this persons perception on the emphasis placed on STEM careers.

I had to stop and think how could I help this person understand they are looking at their dilemma in completely the wrong fashion.

I agree a little with what he says, but I have two major issues with this site and argument.

  • The author has chosen to stay anonymous. If you have something to say about a serious subject, you should be prepared to stand behind what you say.  Have any published work?  Who are you to be talking about this subject?
  • The entire argument is subjective!  The URL and title for the site include the word FACT!  The author even indicates in the second comment he hasn’t bothered to research anything.  Hmm… that means this is just his opinion.  But this person is a an engineer and they should know the difference between FACT and OPINION.

I have a major concern when people like this blogger open their mouth.  Not only are you promoting your own personal jaded view of technology, you are using some pretty amazing technology to spread that message!  Write a newspaper article next time.

Really though the article was a good exercise for me as I’ve been reminded again about how optimistic my perspective for the future is.  The world is an incredible place and it’s only becoming more and more incredible every day.  We need to double-down on the inclusion of STEM in every aspect of life, not grumbling about it! There is more potential now than ever before for humanity to overcome the challenges that face the world.

It’s too bad that not everyone yet shares my optimism or enthusiasm for the incredible changes that are coming to our existence.  Replying to blogs like this may just be one more small way I can contribute to helping other people reach the same perspectives as I have.

Technology continues to be mind blowing, the pace of radical change in the world is speeding up and the Future is going to be amazing!

You can read the original article here: http://stemcareerfacts.com/

Be sure to check out my comment, I tried to offer a positive rebuttal so the author rediscovers their passion and interest in science.

Updated the Swaziland Computer Society Website

After several months of trying to encourage the usage of Drupal for the Swaziland Computer Society, I have completely redsigned to using WordPress for the site.

The redesign of the website is going to allow a greater use of the site by more members. Drupal is just too daunting for some users that are relatively shy with complicated technology. By request WordPress wins. This is really exciting because many of our members know how to use WordPress already.

Check out the new look at

http://www.swazitech.org

I’m looking forward to more contributions from more of our members. Check out the “Syndication Out” plugin for your own website. I would love to work with you can get your technical blogging syndicated with SCS!

Syndicate Out

The Free power of IFTTT.com

I had signed up for an IFTTT.com account months ago, and I have to admit that I didn’t use it much.  I knew the tool was helpful and I knew it was just a matter of finding the right reason to need it.

Since I recently moved to a new city, I have been scouring Craigslist “Curb Alerts” to see what amazing things I could get for free.  Instead of constantly checking Craigslist, I setup IFTTT to look at the RSS feed from my Craigslist zip code, and send me an email everytime something came up that I would be interested in.  I am now the proud owner of a food-mixer and a coffee table.

IFTTT stands for “If This Then That.”  It is a common structure found in computer programming.  This website allows you to link multiple online accounts, Facebook, Twitter, Google Drive, etc. so that they inter-operate in a way never intended before.  So in the above list of Facebook, Twitter, and Google Drive, I could write set of instructions, called a “recipe,” so every time I post a picture to Facebook, it saves a copy to Google Drive, and then tweets that I added a new picture.

The IFTTT software automates simple processes that we need to do every day if we are to continue using multiple different services from separate vendors.  Some of the recipes can be very complex as well, but you can copy from many of the free examples and do a web search for more ideas.

It’s very powerful software, and allows an incredible range of actions limited mostly by what effort you want to put into it.

The largest con of the software is the existence of all user accounts being linked to one central account.  In theory if IFTTT were to be compromised, there is a higher chance of damage than if a single one of my FB, Twitter or G+ accounts were a target.  They do use SSL between sites and channels, but there is no mention of my account information being encrypted even when not in active use.

Their privacy policy can be found here:

https://ifttt.com/privacy

And here their description:

https://ifttt.com/wtf

 

If you have a few tasks that you routinely do to operate between services, I highly recommend spending an hour or two and becoming familiar with how IFTTT works, you may save yourself countless hours as we engage in more and more online services.