Second life

Second life is fun and a great place to spend time if you give yourself time to practice. When you first make an account, you choose what avatar you want and its gender. For both female and male, there are different verson of the avatar. These versons include different skin colors, outfits, and shapes I think. After, you are sent to one of multiple introduction islands. All of these introduction islands are the same, and they all introduce you to the basics of Second life. These islands teach you how to move, how to move the camera, how to chat, how to fly, how to teleport, how to sit down. Most places are really detailed and are beautiful. But if your computer can kinda handle sl without constant crashed, you might not be able to see sl in its best. But that doesnt really matter, since the beauty can be seen even without super high detail. It can be difficult to find people to socialize with, but with secondlife website's world map it isnt too hard to search up "social" places. Such social places include but certainly arent limited to; Clubs, sandboxes (the place where you can test build and rez the products you bought off the market place), some stores, greeting areas, and events.
Overall SL is alot of fun, you can be whatever you want to be, make whatever you want to make, and be whoever you want to be! More importantly, its free.

Coding will define us

If not already today, computer coding will soon separate those with power and those without. In an age of technological abundance, code will be the new secondary language. Code can be compared with math in that it is the same in every country, however different programs use different kinds of coding. The ability to write software will, if not already, be an essential skill for the 21st century and beyond. Hopefully it will be the language of computer coding that helps unite a world that is fragmented by language.

Deus Ex Machina

Last year I played an RPG called Deus Ex Machina: Human Revolution. It focused on the socio-political aspects of human augmentation. One of the possible endings featured a growing baby in the womb with metal plug holes down its spine along with other machine like features. If technology develops enough to the point that we can splice human DNA with machinery, will this lead to an unexpected leap in human evolution and development. Will woman soon give birth to men that are existentially and physically half machine? What will become of the human psyche? What I am describing is very similar to "The Matrix" where the humans who are still plugged into the matrix have all those holes.

Cultures are Commodities

I feel a loss of hope when I see commercials and ads selling not only their product, but also the culture and lifestyle these kinds of products are made to present. It seems that for any sub-culture or lifestyle, there is a market to make money. When this happens the culture loses its appeal, becomes commercialized, and eventually withers away. Does capitalism destroy the uniquely humanistic portions of cultures by giving people the ability to simply buy into it? Does it really create a lack of authenticity? I think it does.

No Nostalgic feeling

It was the 4th of July yesterday. Being one of the most celebrated American holidays, I expected my self to feel at least a little bit of pride or joy in being part of this country. The truth is my identity to this country is either lost or fragmented. I don't get any nostalgic feeling of our forefather's fighting for their freedom. It was a monumental event, however I lack any emotional connection. If I were to say this less than 20,30,40,50, 60 years ago, I would have been ridiculed or perhaps tried for treason. How do we define an American besides legally on paper. In a country so diverse and spread out, a definition will be hard to find. My American identity and pride was washed away in the melting pot.

One day the world will be mocha

In 1920, a man named Goddard wrote a book titled "Rise of the Coloured Empires". In summary, the book argued that if the supreme white race did not protect and maintain their status in the world, black, brown, and yellow races would rise up and take control of what was once under the control of the white race. What happens when interracial marriage continues and continues until the point where the whole world has blended into one giant race? I think we might all turn out to be light brown, or "mocha" colored. So if and when this does happens, how will we then classify ourselves. Will it be economic status? Will we still hold on to our notions of national division despite everyone retaining the same skin tone? I wish I could glance at the distant future to see what it would be like. Perhaps equal skin tone will help us achieve true equal opportunity.

I want a personal matrix.

1999's "Enter the Matrix" gave us a cool idea on how a dystopian future may turn out. I agree with what one of the antagonists said in the movie: "Ignorance is Bliss". What if we had the technology to create such a massive program that could sustain the entire population's mind's? Would people actually want an artificial fantasy life, knowing its not real, even if only at the subconscious level? The real world is harsh and brutal for those less fortunate. Could technology such as the Matrix itself be a way for escape not only as a luxury for the rich, but for anyone no matter what their status is? If this technology is available in the next 50 years, I hope I am alive to experience it. Virtual reality for prolonged periods of time is a huge technological step into the misty future. I am looking forward to it with my expectations high. I do however fear that it may become more of a drug of abuse rather than a means for escape and salvation.

Speech

There is an on-going philosophical debate on whether we define our world through language, or that our language is made according to the world around us. Whatever the case, language is a vital and essential tool when studying and understanding human behavior for any culture. The question is how will language be understood on a global level. Will we need a universal language to help sustain a global culture. Will the native languages, including English, become secondary speech patterns for the sake of one universal speech pattern? Language connects us to each other as well as to our surroundings, so it seems as if a new, or perhaps old language (ex. Latin) will be necessary to create a worldwide human tribe. Latin is possibility. Even sign language or Morse Code can be used. But speech patterns like English, Spanish, Italian, French, etc. may have to step back to be replaced by something new.

War Is Good. Damn.

People are living longer. Less people are dying. Overpopulation is making it harder to to live and make a living. What can we do? One solution may be to form a solidified global society and economy where distribution of currency and goods are relatively equivalent. However because this goal looks far away, we need a quicker route. War is an unwanted but arguably efficient substitute. War helps maintain population control, increases employment (at least for the time being), weeds out the weak, and stimulates the economy. America in particular was at its economic peak during and after World War One and World War Two. The American dollar was at its strongest as well as our national identity. This may seem harsh or pessimistic, but until we can create and maintain a foundation for a truly global society, this looks like a decent idea unfortunately.

Online information databases

One thing I love about the internet is its vast capacity for information databases on almost any topic whether it be academic, social, or political. It is so convenient to just find anything you want to know plus more nearly instantaneously. However I fear that there might be unanticipated blow back. Is this ease of information access making us stupid or lazy? Or both? Are we becoming a society that simply finds, retrieves, and repeats information rather than actually learning and understanding information? Are sites like Wikipedia assisting in turning our brains into mush? We actually might be becoming both smart and stupid simultaneously.

The New Adult

Close to a 100 years ago, the average life span for a man was between 45-50. The legal age for an adult was 18, and if there was such a thing as a mid-life crisis back then, it might have happened at age 25-30. That is pretty young by today's average life span. Now, when the average life span has stretched to 75-80, with a mid-life crisis usually occurring around 40-45, what should change about the legal adult age. Because we are living longer, should the legal age of 18 be increased? Is 30 the new 20? Perhaps we are developing mentally and physically just the same as 100 years ago, and that we are simply getting better equipped at prolonging life. I argue that the adult mentality has stretched a bit, and that it may soon seem normal to still live at home when your 25, maybe even 30 (God forbid).

My Personal Myth

Karma is my personal myth. I look at life as if it is being scored by a system called Karma. You gain points for doing morally praiseworthy actions, and you lose points for doing the exact opposite. What ends up happening is the higher the amount of points you have, the better % of good luck you will have, as well as the opposite. Upon death, enough points will allow for either reincarnation at a reasonable rate of return, or simply vast nothingness. There is no heaven or hell, just existence or non-existence.

Another small myth I have is that stepping on the cracks of the sidewalk is bad luck. I usually do whatever I can do avoid it. It might be from the childhood express "Don't step on the crack or else you'll fall and break your back."

Why I live at home

I live at home because it is nearly economically impossible for me to find and afford to live on my own while I am still in school. I originally did not plan on going to college, but my parents insisted and I knew they were right despite my rebelliousness. I plan on having full time employment as soon as I graduate, and within a month find an apartment to share with two roommates. Moving out and taking care of myself has always been a priority, but it is not feasible until I finish school. I view an adult as someone who can live on his own by his own support. I am still supported by my family, so I have yet to become an adult in all aspects.

What ever happened to just "Google: The Search Engine"

Remember when Google was just a popular search engine that existed only on the web and in software? Over the years we have seen this once harmless search engine site turn into a borderline megalomaniac, world-wide company. Google Glasses, Google Maps, Google Earth, Google Video, Google Books, Google Now. In total, it seems like Google is really attempting to label and spy on everything and anything in the world. They even bought YouTube. They also have their hands dipped into hardware such as phones and tablets. What comes next seems cloudy and uncertain. Hopefully we don't regret the creating of such tools that make it easier to find anyone and anything instantaneously.

Remy Krakauer Blog #2

Reality T.V.: Man's desperate attempt to sensationalize real life.

Some people, if not many, often wish for life to be like the movies. We long for near impossible coincidences that allows us to experience love, glory, strength, bravery, etc in the same way such emotions are portrayed in film. Editing, music, camera angles and locations all help to create such things. Reality T.V. is a form of entertainment that helps treat the real world, which is not full of those impossible coincidences, as a movie in which the people can be portrayed as characters in a story rather than just humans in the world. With the same techniques used for film, reality t.v. producers try to sensationalize what can be argued as a dull human life. The people who are being filmed, know they are being filmed, know they are not actors, and know that the audience knows all this. In a way it seems like we are unsatisfied with life, we want to believe that life can be like it is in the movies, and reality T.V. gets close but ultimately fails. The main problem is that since the people know they are being filmed, there is a sense of fake-ness in the real person's actions. Although it may remain entertaining, the goal to sensationalize the mundane human life is failed.

Remy Krakauer Blog #1

Democracy in a technology driven society. Revenge of the Nerds.

During my sophomore year in college I took a political philosophy class for which I wrote a paper on how a country that is so technologically driven can use such technology to enhance democratic procedures. Will computers allow for more personalized input from a wider variety of people? Can technology actually improve the procedures in which we operate a democratic society. I proposed that it is remotely possible, most likely in the far future, when owning a computer is a global norm. One side may argue that such a large population could not efficiently proceed in a democracy. There would be too many voices going and not enough time and/or man power to analyze. I argued that it is perhaps up to computer junkies, web designers, programmers, and even hackers to create a smooth and efficient system of online democratic spheres. Perhaps these are the people who, in the near/far future, will be holding all the keys to all the doors. Maybe the nerds we know today will be the rulers of tomorrow.