Thought and Freedom

So you got an invite to Google Plus, added friends to your circles and now you religiously check for updates every 45 minutes. Maybe next time you’ll see a new post.

In the interim, try adding some tech guys and gals on Google Plus that may interest you…

Amon RA

Android programmer from Belgium. He was the creator of the Amon RA recovery (Similar to Clockwork) that helped so many of us with our early android devices.

Terry Pearson

Advanced Venture Solutions: PHP and Java developer. He happens to be someone I know well ;-) Putting out information about technology, programming, Android, and political opinions.

Larry Page

Google: The most famous Googler. Of course we were going to include him.

Steve Kondik

Cyanogenmod: Founder of one of the most famous custom Android Operating Systems, this is Mr. Cyanogen himself. They currently have half a million users and growing!

Trevor Pearson

Advanced Venture Solutions: Architect of some amazing PHP and also my younger brother!

Andrew Mason

Groupon:Andrew is the CEO of the now world famous “Groupon.com.”

Patrick Norton

Tekzilla: Cohost of the show called “Tekzilla” on Revision3.com. While not technically a programmer, still an incredibly interesting technology infulencer.

Brian Cohen

BitTorrent: Inventor of the BitTorrent file sharing protocol. Despite what people say about the “bad” side of bittorrent, this has to be one of the greatest concepts in distributed computing since the invention of HTML. It has some incredible uses, especially downloading Linux distributions.

Do you have other programmers and/or technology experts to add? If so, leave a comment below. If you are a programmer and would just like to connect with other programmers, post a link to your profile in the comments as well.

I just watched a very useful tutorial on the version control system called “Git.” The sound quality could be better, but the content is superb. Check it out below…

I just saw what is perhaps the best produced political commercial I have ever seen. Ron Paul’s campaign just came out with a “movie preview” style commercial that is really cool looking.

Ron Paul hits on what people really want. They want conviction, not compromise.

A friend of mine sent me this video and I have to admit, it’s pretty funny. If anything, it will make your mid-week a little brighter!

The guy in the video asks some unsuspecting park patron to watch his car while he steps away for a second. While they turn their heads, the car disappears, producing some funny reactions!

Envy – Sorrow for another person’s good – Thomas Aquinas.

Most people think that “envy” is synonymous with greed. However, envy is quite a different animal entirely. When a person is greedy, their actions might hurt others to produce a gain for himself. However, when a person is envious, they seek to bring destruction on another, even if it costs them more in the process.  Envy occurs when hate of another’s success trumps logical reason and healthy self interest.

In Dante’s Inferno, the punishment for the envious was to have their eyes sewn shut with wire because they had gained pleasure from simply seeing others brought to suffering. It is a powerful symbol of how detestable envy is.

Envy is a major problem with our society today. In fact, it has been a major plague on governments for centuries. It is a cancer of ideas that eats away at the civil discourse of a nation, plunging it into vengeful and foolish actions. Class warfare, unfair taxes, regulations that punish success, can all be seen as manifestations of envy in modern America.

A democracy, where the majority are driven by envy, cannot remain a free society. Such nations are driven to radical ideologies like communism, socialism, and fascism. Even in our own country, the idea that “someone has to be in control” of every action, has its roots in envy.

States that engage in legislation by envy do so at their own expense. They often destroy businesses, reduce societal wealth, and ruin the future of their nation.

Now, there is often a symbiotic relationship between greed and envy. The greedy usually cannot secure power without motivating a large part of the population to rise up in envious retribution against the “other” side. Once the greedy can manipulate the populace, their “minions” are so blinded by hate (for whatever the popular group to hate is at the time), that they work for free.  In the end, the greedy gain at the expense of those who let envy get the best of them.

So the moral of the story: Check your heart and mind the next time you feel your blood boil at someone’s success. Do you have a legitimate reason for anger, or are you making yourself a slave to envy?

If you can, turn that energy toward a productive outcome and make your own success story! Choose to build up, rather than tear down. You and your neighbors will all be better for it!

I stopped by McDonalds today and they offered me a free coffee. I don’t drink coffee, so I got it and brought it to a friend. I asked the manager what was the scoop on the coffee deal and they said McDona;ds will be giving away free small coffees from now until February 14, 2011. After that time, they will be at the new higher price level.

So go get caffeinated!

I heard a song by Kutless today called “What Faith Can Do.” I think it is a message people need to hear. I have known people from drug adicts, to murderers (yes, you read that right, I knew a guy who was in prison for a while and turned his life around when he got out), to depressed and down people.

In any case, the constant has been that they believed that it was all over and there was no hope. In all these cases, God restored their lives.

Be encouraged…

Everybody falls sometimes
Gotta find the strength to rise
From the ashes
And make a new beginning

Anyone can feel the ache
You think it’s more than you can take
But you’re stronger
Stronger than you know

Don’t you give up now
The sun will soon be shining
You gotta face the clouds
To find the silver lining

I’ve seen dreams that move the mountains
Hope that doesn’t ever end
Even when the sky is falling
I’ve seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new
That’s what faith can do

It doesn’t matter what you’ve heard
Impossible is not a word
It’s just a reason
For someone not to try

Everybody’s scared to death
When they decide to take that step
Out on the water
It’ll be alright

Life is so much more
Than what your eyes are seeing
You will find your way
If you keep believing

I’ve seen dreams that move the mountains
Hope that doesn’t ever end
Even when the sky is falling
I’ve seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new
That’s what faith can do

Overcome the odds
You don’t have a chance
(That’s what faith can do)
When the world says you can’t
It’ll tell you that you can

I’ve seen dreams that move the mountains
Hope that doesn’t ever end
Even when the sky is falling
And I’ve seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new
That’s what faith can do
That’s what faith can do

Even if you fall sometimes
You will have the strength to rise

I watched this video a while back and since then, I have been dreaming of going to Glacier to take the Highline Trail…

I love this story. I just heard it today and it really impressed me…

An American tourist was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked.

Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The tourist complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

The Mexican replied, “Only a little while.”

The tourist then asked, “Why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more fish?”

The Mexican said, “With this I have more than enough to support my family’s needs.”

The tourist then asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”

The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos, I have a full and busy life.”

The tourist scoffed, ” I can help you. You should spend more time fishing; and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat: With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats. Eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor; eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You could leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles and eventually New York where you could run your ever-expanding enterprise.”

The Mexican fisherman asked, “But, how long will this all take?”

The tourist replied, “15 to 20 years.”

“But what then?” asked the Mexican.

The tourist laughed and said, “That’s the best part. When the time is right you would sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions.”

“Millions?…Then what?”

The American said, “Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.”

Today, Jessica, Abigail, Elsie, and I were over near Dodd Rd and MN Highway 110 today and decided to swing by “The Village at Mendota Heights” for some night photography. The stone buildings and interesting lighting give it an out of place, yet inviting feel at night.

I took pictures of the fountain, random stores, and the park-like areas, but this one stood out the most. Using high dynamic range post processing, I was able to put this picture together. It is based on three separate RAW images taken with the Canon T1i.

This just makes Tommy Chicago’s look great! I may have to go eat there sometime!