SOPA-y

Today, on January 18th, 2012, Wikipedia, Google, and Reddit have voluntarily blacked out their websites (In Google's case, the logo is blocked though the site remains functional). Additionally, sites such as 4chan have inserted a 'censor bar' into their logo.

www.google.com on 1/18/12

It should come as no surprise that I, along with many tech companies such as Google, Wikipedia, and Reddit, am opposed to this bill. While those companies carry far more weight than I do, even one voice adds to the collective against a measure.

So why the big deal, you wonder? I mean, it's not the first time the government's tried to pull something stupid. It gets signed, it gets challenged in court, and it gets overturned. What makes this so different?

www.wikipedia.org on 1/18/12

SOPA, the Stop Online Piracy Act, and PIPA, the Protect Intellectual Property Act, are essentially two forms of the same idea. In response to overseas hosting of pirated content (where US copyright is not recognized), US Copyright and IP holders have decided that something needs to be done. The result is these two bills which essentially allow an intellectual copyright holder to demand that a site hosting copyrighted content be removed from search engines and DNS listings in the US. This effectively 'removes' a site from the internet as seen by US subscribers. (Note: There's a lot to be said that this form of blocking isn't actually effective, but that's for another time)

Hollywood, the RIAA, and the MPAA will assert that these bills are needed to combat the growing threat of online piracy of their products. The thing is, that isn't what it's about. Yes, software/movies/music gets pirated, and yes, some of those copies result in lost revenue. Any programmer will tell you that piracy cannot be stopped. The most advanced anti-piracy and DRM measures can and will be defeated with time. If someone wants it bad enough, they will take it. Even software giant Valve has said that Piracy is a service issue, and that DRM drives gamers away from paying.

No, this is about money, and not wanting to respond to a changing global economy.

Look at modern movies and music. How long has it been since something truly revolutionary has come out? The problem is that Hollywood has realized, perhaps a bit too late, that they cannot keep pushing the same rehashed movie plots, nor can they sell another CD that sounds like all the rest. Furthermore, they cannot charge top dollar for these movies and music that come with region lock and content restrictions, or can only be listened to on X computers. The problem is that Hollywood doesn't want to change that.

Welcome to the free market. Either you adapt, you change, and you innovate, or you perish. This is exactly what Hollywood does not want to do. They want to keep in on their terms.

It's hard to have sympathy for the mess that contents holder are in. After all, the Big 3 automakers found themselves in the same situation when they refused to adapt to a changing marketplace. If Hollywood can't keep up, let them fail. Don't allow a poorly phrased and politically backed bill that would ultimately solve nothing be passed. Don't take the chance with free information that someone, somewhere will not want you to have that information.

The Beginnings

So, I promised that I would spend a bit more time on here focusing on technology and/or things that aren't quite so... 'inflammatory'. I have no problem being that way, but I figured it's time for at least a short break.

This post is in regards to a project I'm undertaking this semester for my own benefit. It (almost certainly) will not be done this semester, but my goal is to at least make significant progress.

I've always wanted to be involved in major gaming production - y'know, the kind with credits and the like. While I can't ever hope (in the near future) to be on a design team that releases the game that people are out at midnight to buy, I can definitely try to create a game that people will at least talk about. And if that gets me noticed by a major design team, then that's awesome. If it doesn't, then I can at least say I've put a major checkmark on my list - lead and complete a major programming project.

Don't get me wrong, by the way. I love what I'm studying, and I still have major plans for my future that don't revolve around game design. The reason I never pursued this as a program of study is largely because it's very hard to get into the game development field, and if you do you're almost certainly relegated to small time (boring) projects for a majority of your career with the hope that any big-name project that comes about will be of interest to you.

The idea of being unable to work on something that interests me just takes the excitement out of it. Even if it was the biggest game to come out in 10 years with iPhone-esque lines waiting to pick it up, if the concept is boring, then there's no fun to be had. In short, it's not about the recognition, it's about the excitement of the design and being a part of something so big. The idea that you can look around and see people enjoying what you helped create, and being able to tell yourself "Hey, I was a part of that", and that not only is the game fun, the development was as well.

I've begun tossing over a few ideas for game concepts in my head. The first was an FPS not unlike the Marathon games released by Bungie, with a few moderate RPG elements tied in. The problem with this concept is that, while fun, there were some inherent problems in creating an atmosphere for the game. This, of course, is an aspect that makes or breaks almost all RPG/freeroam games. So I decided to table that idea for now given my lack of experience in programming 3D games (or more specifically, creating the resources for them). As my skills grow, however, I will certainly look into revisiting the idea as it has some concepts that were really exciting.

My newest idea is an almost pure RTS style game. Many RTS's share several key concepts - resource gathering, supply management, etc - which I am not opposed to including in this game. Examples include Age of Empires, Stronghold, and Starcraft. However, another idea interested me. A game known as Myth (also by Bungie) introduced the idea of a set squad size with no reinforcements or supply gathering. Essentially, you complete the level with a set number of troops. While the implementation of the game isn't like what I have in mind, the mechanics provide an interesting idea.

I've always wondered what it'd be like to be able to control the battle from multiple viewpoints - That of a general, overseeing the large scale deployment of troops, or maybe a platoon or squad leader, overseeing progressively smaller groups of soldiers on the battlefield with increased refinement to their deployment and individual commands.

In this way, I would also like to have the battles be truly large. Instead of a few dozen troops, there would be hundreds. From the general's viewpoint, you can manage general deployment of battalions. Zooming in, you can selectively rearrange the squads to form a defensive line, and command individual squads or even individual units to attack, retreat, or move to position much like a traditional RTS. So you can command the battle from on high, or oversee a small part of the larger conflict.

There are definitely problems to be solved with this type of game, don't get me wrong. Pathfinding, for one, is a tricky concept. Map creation is another. Perhaps the one of greatest interest, and importance, is the development of a story. I have some ideas to allow for the creation of multiple campaigns easily, but telling the story will be a trick.

So, that is how it stands now. I hope to update soon with some actual images, but keep an eye here to follow development as it progresses! I will also be looking for help eventually, mostly with testing and perhaps some art, so keep an eye out if you'd like to be a part of this!

Stardust

I've got a resolution this year. It's the same one I had last year, and the year before that. And every year so far, I've managed to succeed. I don't mean a resolution in the 'go to the gym more' sense, but rather as an outlook on life. Any more, it is a standing goal rather than a resolution. Every year, I resolve to understand more about this world, and my place in it. Every year I leave knowing more than I did about myself, about others, and about the world I inhabit.

Recently, I've been struggling with some of the issues that beset many at this stage in life. Many big changes are coming, and I can only hope I'm ready. There's so much to be sure is done, and so little time to do so. Am I really ready? What if I'm not? Then there's my social situation, which has admittedly stagnated slightly, mostly by my own hand.

The other night I was mulling many of these issues over in my head, and couldn't sleep. In my restlessness, I decided to go for a drive up Mount Lemmon, a relatively large mountain in the Catalinas that peaks about 5,000 feet above Tucson metro. It is home to multiple world-class observatories, and is a pretty drive in its own right. It's also dark, and you can easily loose yourself in the wilderness, making it a great place to think.

This particular night, the moon was new, so it was almost pitch black as I drove up the mountain save for my headlights. About 3/4 of the way to the top of the mountain, I stopped at a pull out on the road that overlooked a valley to take in the view.

While there, I took a moment to look up at the stars above me. This is something I've done many times before (though this was probably one of the finer nights of doing so), but something was different this time. As I looked up at the vast expanse of stars and space above me, something clicked. Not in the a-ha! sense, but rather that I became intimately aware of just how big it all was.

In that moment, I became aware that I was viewing the light of stars millions of years old. I was looking into our universe as it existed millennia before I did. I was looking towards civilizations that have risen, fallen, and risen again hundreds of times over since the light that I was now viewing at the top of a mountain left its source.

We are one planet of nine eight in our solar system, and our solar system is one of countless others in the Milky Way galaxy, which is in turn one of many more other galaxies in our universe. Trillions upon trillions upon trillions of stars and planets, each proceeding in its own way in the universe. There is no doubt in my mind that there is other life out there, manifesting in ways we cannot comprehend on planets that exceed our wildest imaginations.

And, in that moment, my problems just didn't feel that big anymore. Out of all time that has passed, out of each galaxy, each star, and each planet, I somehow came to be there at that moment. Against impossible odds, I manifested out of the same chaos that created the nebulas, stars, planets, and even the other life that I now viewed. Impossibly long odds that the planet I now stood upon existed at all, never mind my own existence upon it. Suddenly, worrying about what I would do in May seemed trivial.

I didn't solve any problems that night, but they were definitely put into perspective. Employment and romance have been a subject of human suffering interest for a long time, and not for the wrong reasons.  But maybe that's not the point. Maybe having lots of money, a secure job, and a perfect relationship isn't the only way to be, or even the best way.

I looked up that night and realized that my problems, seemingly big to me, were very small in the grand scheme of what surrounded me. The stars were not concerned with my relationships, and the planets were not troubled with grad school letters. And while this may sound somewhat dismal, to me it was liberating. To realize that, at the end of it all, a single event just isn't that big of a deal. What really matters is how I use the summation of time that I've got here.

I hope to see mankind reach into the stars during my lifetime, that we may some day see these countless and fascinating worlds with our own eyes. And in the meantime, I intend to continue to better myself with the knowledge that no matter how bad some things may seem, I am the product of impossible odds. I am all at once tiny in the grand scheme of things, and yet there is not another like me out there, anywhere.

And being that rare has to count for something.

Traffic Sources

I was reviewing my blog statistics tonight due to insomnia, and I noticed that I'm getting a sizable number of views from a russian domain that forwards to a conspiracy theory website, as well as a few views from Germany and Saudi Arabia.

Weirder still is that I don't know anyone in those countries, so I'm not entirely sure how my humble little blog got navigated to by people I don't know, but I suppose I can't complain?

More interesting still is that a majority (As in more than the G+ links that I post) of the domains that send users here is coming from the same Russian domain name. I'm guessing my blog was randomly linked by a bot since I can't seem to figure out how one would post a link to the site in question, but it's an interesting trend no less.

Happy *****

I'm going to open this one with a warning - If you are of a strongly religious stance, there's a good chance something (or everything) about this post will offend you. While you're more than welcome to disagree, and I welcome civil discourse in the comments, any baseless accusations or harassing comments will be deleted.

The present prominence of faith in our politics and our day to day lives is starting to get a bit excessive. For the sake of debate, I am going to leave my own beliefs out of this. From Rick Perry's bigoted poorly planned campaign ad opening with the implication that Christianity is an oppressed religion (hint: it's not) to the yearly bickering over saying Merry Christmas in public, I feel like I can't get a word in edgewise to ask why we're getting bent out of shape about this at all.

I think what's really been irking me is the preponderance of posts on various social media sites using phrases such as "So glad to see that (place) is not afraid to say Merry Christmas!". It's the use of afraid, once again acting as if Christianity is some repressed and secretive lifestyle in the U.S and Christmas is some frowned upon holiday that only the very brave celebrate, that really starts to get to me (In part due to the negative connotations anything but christianity has in social circles, but let's not go there).

The corporations and the media do not avoid saying 'Merry Christmas' because they're afraid of offending someone, or afraid of expressing their beliefs. The reason they say happy holidays is because, even though Christianity is a majority of people, it is not the only religion in the United States, and it's not the only one with a holiday that falls at the end of the year. Heck, in today's society, implying you're celebrating The Day of Ashura, an Islamic holiday which is a public holiday in other nations, could be enough to get you beaten up, probably by some form of extremist who thinks you're on your way to blow up the White House.

Nobody is trying to take away Christmas. If anything, this constant bickering over the phrase is taking away the right to celebrate anything other than Christmas. Have we really become so narrow minded as a nation that we've forgotten that there are other holidays out there that fall around this time? That we have to call it a 'christmas party', even though Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Atheists, and who knows what else may be there, lest we give up our countrys' freedom? What would happen if we called it a Hanukkah party?

This idea that we're trying to oppress Christmas by including others is becoming silly at best and insulting to this nation's background at worst. The mainstream media has noticed that we're not a nation of just one religion (although they seem to be quickly forgetting this fact), and it's time that the American people do as well.

Grad School Story (Part 3)

So this should hopefully wrap everything up as it stands now. In my previous post I wrapped up by talking about my re-found interest in atmospheric science, and that it turned out it was more viable as a career than I had originally thought.

I started off my (new) search by writing emails to a few schools of interest. This included Penn State (again), but also included the University of Illinois, the University of Washington, and the University of Arizona. The emails were pretty basic - stating my interest, and asking a few questions about the program, how my academic background would affect my admission (and success), and what sort of research topics were open at the present time.

I should preface this by stating that whenever I emailed a professor in Engineering, here or at another school, if I got a response, it usually took 2 - 3 days. Even then, the response was short and typically not very helpful. This is also why Penn State's program was of interest since it broke this mold. For this reason, I was not overly optimistic about any responses I was about to get since I figured it was the way of the busy professor.

Much to my surprise, my first response came within 30 minutes. It was actually extremely helpful, advising me to contact a few other professors whose work would be of interest, talking about the nature of the program, and the process of being accepted. This one email had already trumped the overall helpfulness of every other engineering program I had contacted.

The next morning, I had a total of about 7 or 8 responses from the other professors I had emailed. Each of them was just as helpful as the previous, talking about their work, the work of others in the department, how I could be involved, and what the application process was like. The department head at one school even asked me for my number so he could call me in person and discuss the program in depth with me. That call was just as helpful as everything else that I had gotten, and cemented my feelings that I was on the right track.

Overall, I got an overwhelmingly positive response from these professors and the program in general. Not only did they all seem more interested in the students themselves, but the program was in general far more laid back, and even had the opportunity to steer my thesis topic as opposed to being constrained to whatever a company would sponsor.

The more laid back nature of the program at once excited and concerned me. I was (and to a point, still am) somewhat concerned about being bored academically. My mom made an excellent point, though, in that sometimes it's better to be overqualified for a position because it means you're never stressed out.

So now we arrive to today, after 3 entries encompassing the last semester of ups and downs. I had submitted applications to the graduate school in Atmospheric Science at the University of Washington, and the University of Illinois, and to the Meteorology program at Penn State.

As it stands, the University of Illinois is most interesting to me due to the overwhelmingly positive response I got from their faculty (their dept. head was the one who called me), the possibilities of getting involved in convective storm modeling, the involvement of one professor with the VORTEX2 project ('Twister' was a dramatization of VORTEX, and Storm Chasers follows VORTEX2), and the general open-endedness of their graduate program in terms of topics of study. There also seems to be funding readily available. Following that, Penn State is probably second and Washington is third.

The applications are submitted, references sent, scores entered, and all that other fun stuff making my application complete. From here, it's just a matter of waiting, and suffice it to say I will keep those reading here updated as it comes.

From here on, though, I'm hoping to focus a bit more on topics of interest to people other than me. Scientific developments, technology (I have a review of Linux/Debian in the works), and political movements. Should be interesting!

Grad School Story (Part 2)

Okay, really, really! I promised I'd update that same day, but well... then I got wind of a few scores I didn't know before then, so needless to say that studying took priority. The good news is that finals, and my second-to-last semester as an undergrad are now DONE! And what better way to honor the occasion than to talk a little bit more about where I'm hoping to go after that.

I wrapped up my last post with a bit of a cliffhanger - essentially, the professor at Penn State had said he was very much interested in having me there, but that funding to attend was going to be an issue. Still, he had a few grant proposals out that could fund me, and he said he'd keep me in the loop as to any developments.

About... say, 2 weeks after this, I got another email from the professor. It turned out that the grant had not been funded and the money was (most likely) not there for me to go. He did say that the sponsor of the project was hoping to try again, but I could tell that he was not optimistic about that playing out in my favor.

It goes without saying from my point of view that this was quite a setback. Perhaps the biggest setback at this point was that Penn State, and this professor, were well above and beyond the responses that I got from any other school. To have what seemed to be a promising lead dry up on me was definitely a blow. However, if there's one thing that I've learned, it's that life has this really funny way of making things work out.

I took the time to consider my options - Should I keep searching and pushing at other schools and hope that I got somewhere? Should I just abandon the grad school track alltogether and start looking for a job? The possibilities were pretty broad.

A weird series of circumstances led me to the answer to this question. In the process of trying to do a homework assignment for another class, I was put in contact with someone whom I did an independent research assignment with a few years ago in the Atmospheric Sciences department. Now, Atmospheric Science has been a interest passion of mine from a young age. The thing is that I remembered looking into the program a while back when considering a change of major. There were few jobs, the ones that did exist were highly competitive, and even if you got the job, it didn't pay well (< 40k), even with a masters. Figuring I could start ~60k with a bachelors in engineering in an equally interesting field, I chose to stick to that path.

Well, I decided to look this statistic up again from census data. Much to my surprise, the job market for atmospheric scientists has exploded, mostly due to the increasing reliance on climate trends and the effects on business in this economy. What originally was a highly competitive, 40k on the high end field now didn't have nearly enough people and was paying on average 80-100k (mean, not starting). I admit that the statistics did not specify WHERE these people worked, but they did say that the demand for them was increasing very quickly, and expected to continue that trend for the next several years.

I took this as my cue to look into the atmospheric sciences programs at other schools (including here, despite my lack of desire to remain), to see what my options were there, and what that sort of change in focus could mean. And now that it's approaching far-too-early AM, I am going to wrap this one up here. Part 3 should be the conclusion of everything as it stands, and will hopefully come tomorrow!