Digital Pirates

With the trial with The Pirate Bay making a mockery of the justice system, the support for the those who run the website has only grown as the trial goes on. The entertainment industry doesn't understand the culture they are attempting to attack, it's one rooted in people's rebellious nature. People will always strive to get more for less, and nothing's better than getting stuff for free. I can understand that the artists and programmers should be paid for the work they put into their pieces of software or music. However I'm not a digital artist or a sound mixer, so I'll never pay hundreds of dollars for a program that I might use only once. The way I see it, they will never profit from me anyway since I am unwilling to pay for the expensive software, so what's the harm in downloading the torrent when I have to use the software only once or twice?
Even IF The Pirate Bay is taken down, even IF ISPs are logged and carefully monitored, piracy in the digital age will always exist. People will find ways to share information and software, hackers will always be around finding ways to distribute that kind of information. I think that sites like The Pirate Bay are not a threat in any way to anybody, the effort is better aimed at hackers who create dangerous viruses. Pirates have always existed in one form or another, whether they be trading drugs, buried treasure, or computer files, pirates are here to stay.

Valentine's Day 2.0

Valentine's Day has come and gone, down come the over-priced flowers, chocolates, and jewelery. Maybe next year I'll talk my girlfriend into accepting those kinds of gifts the day AFTER Valentine's Day. It's a day that some people love and others hate, it is also one of the most lop-sided days of the whole year. I mean, where's MY gift? Sure there's a big payoff at the end of the day, but I don't get anything tangible to actually eat or use. I'm sure there are couples who go out and buy each other gifts to profess their undying affection for each other, but I have no need for flowers, and chocolates don't interest me either. I could use a new wireless mouse, or SD card for my camera however.
It would be great if Valentine's day could be turned into a "generic gift day" although you may have to work on the name a bit. I think that the most romantic gift would have to be anything I will use often, that way the money isn't wasted, and I get something that is actually useful, aren't I romantic? I have an ipod, but the zune intrigues me, I would also liked to have gotten an eBook reader or a new comfy office chair. In a technology oriented world, I'm pretty sure that gifts like the ones I mentioned will become more common. Personally, I think nothing says undying love quite like a Spy Camera Video Watch http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/watches/b550/
Ahh love...

Conquering Stress

As I am writing this, I have my midterms to study for and labs to prepare for, I imagine that a lot of students are feeling stress and are not sleeping well (if at all). However I don't seem to feel that same level of stress as many other students do. I could probably be doing better in one or two of my classes, but I don't feel like my world is crumbling around me just because I don't have a book open at the moment. I do feel a certain amount of stress, but nothing that would force me to stay up all night to study for a test.
Stress is nothing more than chemical and electrical signals interpreted by your brain. Therefore it is reasonable to say that stress can be controlled if you change the way you think, and how you respond to that stimulus. I believe fear can be conquered in the same way. I have a spoke to someone earlier who does relatively dangerous work on a day-to-day basis. He told me that he doesn't push fear out of his mind, instead he embraces it and lets the adrenalin help him do his job. Anybody will tell you that stress is a very good motivator, however it's side effects on one's health means that it's not a very good performance enhancer. Regardless of what it's side effects are, everybody feels stress, and I do mean everybody, from the five year-old to the 80 year-old.
Instead of trying to lie in order to convince yourself in believing that stress doesn't effect you, embrace the stress and allow it to motivate you into doing your job or to finish that last project.

Individual Segregation.

Throughout my travels I have come to realize that people tend to follow another person's advice more often than to rely on their own judgment. Being part of a group increases your chances for survival so it's no wonder we seek out a place to "belong". However, a group mentality can easily skew your judgment and a normally rational person's way of thinking is altered. I For instance belong to a family group, and I thought about growing my hair out, I've always wondered what it would feel like to have long hair. I mentioned this to my mother, who then said that long hair just "didn't suit me". I then found myself agreeing with her and telling myself that "she's probably right", not out loud of course because that's just crazy. Probably not the most insidious piece of advice, but I was surprised how quickly I was willing to follow that advice.
I have moved around from place to place more often than a lot of other people I know. In the last four years I lived in five different places, not really enough time to settle and make friends. I only see the people I truly consider friends during long holidays because they live far away. Although I know a lot of people from my classes, but I really don't see them as friends. So I really don't adhere to the group mentality simply because I don't have a group. I don't think this is a bad thing, because I believe that human intelligence goes down as the number of individuals in any group goes up.
People in a group tend to believe the same things, act the same way, own the same items, have the same hobbies. It's a paradox to consider yourself an individual when you also consider yourself a member of any group. You cease to become an individual once you are a part of that group, you start to identify yourself according to that group. I think it is more healthy to consider yourself an individual who happens to spend time around groups. That way you can receive advice while keeping your judgment your own, and you won't find yourself pressured to adhere to any type of group mentality.

On Being Unique

Comic books, collectibles, and technosexuals, used to be shunned and seen as odd, different, and other synonyms. Just within my short lifetime geek culture has exploded and those things that used to be shunned for being "uncool" is suddenly the cool thing to be into. Alright, maybe technosexuals have yet to become officially accepted, but I don't care what anybody says, Cylon 6 is smoking hot and I'd definitely download my programs into her software, and install a rootkit to access the backdoor. Yeah.
I mentioned earlier that my family was not too tech savvy when I was younger. However I'm pretty sure that my parents went a little out of their way in order to buy me the toys I wanted, thanks mom. Some toys I had and liked the most, were some original Batman figures, Star Wars figures, and Legos. If I had known that some of those toys would be worth more than my car, than maybe I wouldn't have pitted Boba Fett against Batman in a death match with the loser meeting his destiny in the microwave.
What I'm trying to get at, is that "geek" culture is now mainstream and the market is flooded with every kind of merchandise that is only aimed at getting my money. Maybe it's not entirely a bad thing, however nothing feels UNIQUE anymore and somehow that makes me feel less unique.

Don't Have Confidence? Than Fake It.

The other day I was walking through the halls of the University and I decided to ask random girls some more random questions. The question I asked them this time was "What is the most attractive trait a man can have?" Almost every girl I talked to said that confidence is probably the most attractive trait a man can have, with humor being a close second. Although some of them obviously mentioned more shallow desires associated with a man's body. Interestingly I found that that the younger the girl is the more common those shallow answers were, the age range was 17-23. About 5% didn't know what the word "trait" meant, yeah.
I am not the most confident person in the world, I happen to be quiet and shy. However, I make it a point to always make eye contact and when I talk I try to make the words come out smoothly with no "uhhs" or "umms". Strangely I'm not afraid of public speaking, I can talk to 100+ people fine, but get me in a room with ten or twelve people and I shut up. I think I'm low on the shyness scale, I don't have anxiety about meeting new people, I actually enjoy it. It just takes me some time to open up.
Humor is another story, I like to make people laugh, and using my awkwardness and wit seems to work and I am able to make people laugh enough. I use dry/sarcastic humor, and self-depricating humor as well. Although recently when I was meeting a friend's girlfriend, I actually made the poor girl cry by being dry and sarcastic. My other friend said that she was too sensitive, which made the girl cry even more. So it was a vicious cycle. They're still together, although I'm pretty sure that meeting will go down as one of the worst all-time first impressions. I don't think it could get much worse than making a girl cry when you first meet them.