Unlike last week, this week was pretty exciting! This Friday, I got to hang with my fantastic friends from high school. Spencer drove up from Idaho for a work convention, so Jennie and I met him to go to Lagoon for the evening! (Macey was busy trying to meet Chris Evans, and had to meet us later)
Since we graduated high school three and a half years ago, ours lives have gone all different directions, but its fun to see how little has changed. I still sang at every moment, Jennie got crazier as the night went on, and Spencer ordered two meals at IHOP.
What did I learn this weekend?
Cannibal is my new favorite ride at Lagoon. It is seriously spectacular.
There is something so great about being with people you know care about you. No matter where their lives take them, I'll support them in their righteous choices, and be there when they need help. And I know every single one of them would do the same for me.
I need to be better at keeping up! I may have had a two year excuse to be out of contact, but considering I've got their phone number and address, and I'm friends with them on Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, and maybe even Twitter, I need to keep up with how they are doing.
All in all, I had a great time. I really don't have any reason to complain, when I'm surrounded by great people!
Also, for those that might be curious, I did buy a car! My cousin decided to sell me his Scion, xB. That's right, I drive a toaster. Its a stick, its five doors with acres of space, and its got a sweet sub-woofer in the back! Yes, that's right, I drive a toaster.
This Sunday, I didn't go to church. Instead, I left over an hour early, to sit in the Marriott. Not for a basketball game, but for a chance to hear an Apostle of the Lord speak. Elder Ballard came to address us as part of the Utah South Area. Here is what I learned:
He compared this valley to the "heart" of the Church.
In order to keep the "heart, and the entire church healthy, we had several essential habits we need to refocus on.
Daily prayer
Fasting
Studying the scriptures
Keeping the Sabbath day holy
Partaking of the Sacrament
Worshiping in the Temple often
Reaching out the poor and lonely
With these habits he made us a promise. As we follow this guidance, we won't be susceptible to false teachers and worldly philosophies. I really appreciated how he said there is nothing wrong with asking questions. He pleaded with leaders to not brush off people with difficult question, but to seek the Lord in helping them find answers to them.
Based on this counsel, what am I going to change? I am all of these things, but do I realize what they really mean? To I fully understand the sacrament? Are my prayers a form of communication with God? Or just a habit that I go through every night before I can go to sleep.
I hope that I can live these principles, and be a strong member, here in the "Heart" of the church!
Welcome back! I see that you can decided to come back for week two of my Blog. Unfortunately, this week has been an uneventful one. Since I figure nobody really wants to hear about my adventures working in IT, I guess that I can share my thoughts on some of the issues surrounding us today! Fourteen years ago, Terrorists attacked the World Trade Center, killing almost 3,000 people. As we remember and mourn those we lost, it is interesting to examine the aftermath of the attack. To help prevent another such event, Congress passed the USA PATRIOT Act. This act gave unprecedented access to Americans' private data in the name of security. The act's proponents say it was necessary while its critics say that it goes to far. However, today, I don't want to get into that debate.
Instead, I want to talk about another privacy issue that many of aren't aware of. In recent years, smartphones have become almost ubiquitous. Each one of us carries a digital personal assistant with us. Apple came first with Siri, which enthralled us all when we realized we could ask it where to hide a dead body, and she would suggest locals swamps nearby. Then Google followed with Google Now, a personalized assistant who's goal it to have information ready for you before you ask for it. Finally, not wanting to be left out of the game, Microsoft came out with their own voice assistant, named Cortana after a character in the Halo video game series.
What people don't realize is that they are giving massive amounts of personal information to these services. I'm an Android user, and since I've already digital sold my soul to Google, I will use them as an example. However, Both Apple and Microsoft collect the same information. Lets start with what information I give them:
Each stop on my route is recorded
and used to improve my suggestions!
Google looks through my emails. If I book a flight, it is automatically added to my calendar. If my flight gets delayed or the gate changes, my phone lets me know!
Google knows what I look up on the internet! because of this. Because they know my interests, I get customized advertising for things I might buy, such as computers, cars, or college textbooks.
Google knows what music I like on Spotify, and gives me suggestions on what else I should listen to!
This Monday, I drove back from Idaho. Google knows where I went shopping for cars, and even tags the pictures I took with the location! It knows that my Dad and I went to Wendy's! It knows that I stopped in Jerome ID to fill up the gas and buy a Dr. Pepper.
Because Google knows where I go, it tries to be helpful. Two weeks ago, I donated plasma. Last Thursday, it asked me if I wanted directions to the plasma center again!
All of my photos are stored on Google's free Google drive space! Each photo is automatically tagged. If I search for photos of food, it will bring up every photo I've taken of food. It works for cars, trees, houses, even people!
After my family's vacation, I backed up my vacation photos to Google Drive. A couple weeks ago, I got a notification telling me that Google had prepared a video of my trip! The compilation was better than anything I could have ever made!
Google's computers made this entire video for me.
All I had to do was click save!
I hope you realize how much data we give up. I voluntarily give away my address, where I work, what I search on the internet, what I like to eat, who I hang out with, where I go on vacation, what music I listen to, who my parents are, where I like to Ski, what classes I'm taking, and the fact that I'm shopping for a car!
They don't collect this information secretly! It's all laid out in their privacy policy. (You know, that thing you always say that you've read, but never have? You can see it right here!
Just like the PATRIOT Act, I'm not decide for you whether its good or bad! I just hope that you can come away with a better understanding. For me, the benefits of outweigh the risks, and I'll keep using it. They are incredibly useful! However, if Google suddenly decided to do something Malicious with my data, I doubt I could ever get it all back. It is a risk that I decide to take. Maybe now, I'll at least skim the privacy policy before I click "sign me up!"
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
The First Post!
Hello world! This is my first venture into the world of blogging! This is new territory for me, but I hope that I can be reasonably entertaining. What's the first event for the week? Car shopping! The time has finally come for me to sell my beloved '99 Dodge Dakota. For 5 years, it served me through high school and waited in my grandpa's shop during my mission. As much as I love it, the time has come for me to trade a vehicle with two doors and 17 mpg, for something more practical. The problem? I have very specific criteria!
Must be a manual transmission. No compromises here. No "Select-a-shift," Switchable automatic, or CVT's. If I am going to drive a vehicle every day, I may as well have fun doing it.
Good MPG. This is the reason I'm selling the truck.
5 door hatchback or wagon. This isn't a requirement, but I LOVE WAGONS! Not the old station wagons that our parents rode in, but the new, modern, styled cars available today. Wagons give you the storage space of a crossover or SUV with the MPG and driving characteristics of a car!
If I can't have 5 doors, I at least need 4! I reckon that there is an eternal punishment awaiting me for the number of people I have crammed into the back of my tiny extended cab pickup.
This weekend brought me back to Idaho, to clean out and prepare my truck for sale, and also to search for a new vehicle of choice. I'll cut to the chase, and let you know that I didn't settle on a car. However, I learned some lessons.
If you call about a "like new" Mini Cooper that is listed at $6,000, and he tells you that everybody has been offering him $3000, RED FLAG! Don't expect much.
If you tell a salesman that their Subaru Outback needs new struts, and they ask you what struts are, RED FLAG!
If you test drive a car from a shady dealer, and it breaks down on you two miles from the dealership, RED FLAG! You may find yourself riding in a silver Audi, driven by a Russian man who doesn't speak English, wondering if you are going to be "disposed of" for breaking the man's car.
Finally, if you can't afford something, it doesn't matter how much you want it.
What is my takeaway from this experience? First, I'm glad I take pride in the Vehicles I own. People can tell when a vehicle has been taken care of. Next, patience is a virtue. I patiently waited for the right vehicle when I bought my truck. It lasted five years, and still has many more left! I need to apply this same patience in all parts of my life! Choosing my next car, choosing my career path, even choosing a wife! Patience and wise thinking pays off!
I figure that it is fitting to end with a picture me and my Dad sitting on a dead Subaru Outback Baja, waiting to be killed by the Russian Mafia.
