Why I Haven't Done Family History Work for 8 years.

The first time I was introduced to indexing (in the context of genealogy) was in my freshman year of college. There was a challenge in our stake to be the ward that indexed the most names, and I of course wanted to win. I learned a little about it, talked with my roommates, and we decided to attack this whole indexing thing. The next night we tried downloading the software needed to do the indexing, and an issue occurred on my old laptop. A few blue screens of death and issues registering my account was enough to turn me off of genealogy for quite a while. I know that I really should spend some of my time doing something worthwhile like family history work, but I haven't been able to get over the mental block to do so. How will I get past this issue? I don't know. Right now I am just focusing on passing my classes this semester so I can graduate.

The Bash Bug

Recently a new bug was found in the bash shell, which is quite discouraging, seeing as how it can effect any device running bash connected to the internet. I personally am a great lover of technology, and I've been excited as technology continues to advance with the internet of things. This issue has made me rethink how great the internet of things really is. There is a really large risk involved with hooking "everything" up to a single system. It is almost like putting all of our eggs in one giant basket, and one serious bug, like the bash bug, could potentially wreak some major havoc. Is the convenience of automated lightbulbs or smart A/C units connecting to the internet really worth the risk that they inherently bring with them? I want to say yes, but that could just be the techno-geek inside me speaking out.

Bash Bug Article

Call of Duty Lawsuit

Manuel Noriega, a former Panamanian dictator, is trying to sue the creators of the popular video game series, "Call of Duty", for using his likeness in the game and "damaging his reputation". The game portrays Noriega as a criminal and enemy of the state, which, from what I have read, doesn't seem to be stretching the truth. The author of the article makes it sounds like the lawsuit will be dismissed, and that got me thinking about why this would be so easily dismissed. Does the fact that he isn't a US citizen mean that he doesn't have rights to protect his image? Does it matter that he is still alive, and should the game's creators have asked his permission to use his likeness in the game? The fact that he is portrayed doing things that he is actually convicted of doing seems to me like the lawsuit really should be dismissed. This raises a concern about ethics in video games. Where is the ethical boundary in video games portraying real people? Would Noriega have a legitimate case if he was being portrayed as the Devil and doing ridiculous things like eating babies? Under what circumstances would I have a case if I was being used in a video game?

-Click the Title of this blog post to see the original article from cnn.com

Being Used By Technology

I read an article entitled "Five Things We Need to Know About Technological Change", which gives an interesting opinion on how we need to be conscientious about how we use technologies, and what side-effects technology can have on society. While I didn't agree with all 5 points that were made, I did agree with his conclusion, that "we need to proceed with our eyes wide open so that we many use technology rather than be used by it." If I watch Youtube and surf the web aimlessly for mindless entertainment, am I really using technology, or am I being used? I feel guilty after wasting time consuming media in that fashion when I could have used remarkable technologies that I have for the benefit of someone else. I could have shared an inspiring message on facebook, tweeted a link to an inspirational talk, or reached out to a friend or family member.