3D Printing Technology Needs To Be Regulated Now!!

Why 3D printers will cause an Extinction Level Event unless we regulate the industry immediately.  The 3D printer technology is 30 years old and is able to replicate itself. See how easily this simple invention could cause the end of the world if the technology falls into the wrong hands. In one month, a single 3D printer can replicate itself 1 million times.

 

I explained in my last article why 3D printers were technologically wonderful and benefited mankind with life changing innovative abilities. But as history has taught us, good technology can spawn lethal inventions and cause death and destruction besides innovation and advancement.

History of good turning to bad

We have had many technological advancements that have led to amazing humanitarian benefits. Without getting into a “10 interesting things about….” nonsense article, let’s discuss the ultimate discovery that unleashed massive amounts of death and destruction and still today is a threat that can one day lead to an Extinction Level Event and wipe out mankind forever. Yes, I am talking about the “splitting of the atom.”

Splitting the atom

Mankind’s greatest accomplishment and most dangerous has been the ability to split the atom. When mankind labored to find a way to harness the power of the universe. It was with clean hands an innocent mind and the motivation was to find a cleaner, more efficient power supply. Clean, affordable energy was the goal, not Nuclear weapons that could annihilate cities and kill millions of innocent people. That was the bad coming from the good. So today, we have Nuclear Power plants all over the world creating energy.

Simple explanation of a Nuclear power plant

A Nuclear power plant is a simple design by nature. Uranium is used to cause a chain reaction, thus producing energy which is turned to steam and thus runs turbines that make electricity. Extremely simple procedure getting usable clean energy. Problem is that using it to kill is just a easy. No one planned to use this technology to murder people. There is always someone that will see an alternate evil use of a good thing, you can rest assured that statement is true to many things.

Be real…How can printing be dangerous?

Before we get into 3D or three dimensional printing let’s look at how 2D or two dimensional printing has been used for bad things. Pedophiles copy and print pictures on the internet and disseminate them to like minded perverts. Without the ability to print those pictures, less acts of child molestation would occur. The 2D printer can print propaganda, it can print phony contracts, and it can print counterfeit money devaluing and destabilizing a country’s economy. Now let’s talk about a really dangerous technology, 3D printing that can actually bring destruction to mankind and start the chain of events leading to an E.L.E., Extinction Level Event.

3D Printers are a serious help to mankind

I didn’t really think of the bad side after I hear of scientists using organic material to develop artificial human organs that could one day be used for actual transplant and relieve the suffering of many people and extend their lives. That to me is awesome. But then I read about one invention that got me thinking and it’s not the ability to 3D print firearms which it can do, which makes a gun virtually undetectable since it is printed from thermoplastics and can thus be printed by anyone with a $600 machine and $10 worth of thermoplastics per gun printed. There is a much bigger threat.

The Goliath of all threats

The 3D printer can replicate itself. Let that sink in, I’ll say it again. The 3D printer can replicate itself. It CAN reproduce.! There is the issue. Think about the ramifications if some evil axis country like North Korea with their slave workforce and despotic leader and just one 3D printer. That’s a recipe for danger and disaster.

Cost of one 3D printer which can replicate itself.

Currently it costs $600 to buy 1 RepRap 3D printer that is able to replicate itself. It costs $20 in polymer plastic materials and $150 of electronic parts. That’s a grand total of $770 to print out the first replication, after the first one the cost drops to $170 per replication.

How quick can they reproduce?

It requires 60 hours to do one replication. There are 168 hours in a week, you can replicate almost 3 per week per machine. That isn’t counting how fast new technology makes the job quicker just like a laser jet prints faster than an ink-jet printer as technology advances. Anyone starting to get the picture here? If one crazy guy in a warehouse starts with one machine, inside of a week he will have 6. Now think about a lunatic who has the funds to start with 1,000 machines, has the factories to mass assembly the parts and you have a person who has an immense amount of power. If the machine could build a car and a gun, it can build a tank. It would take less than 1 month starting with 1 machine to have 1 million 3D printers.

The 3D printers would replicate exponentially: 1 prints out one in 60 hrs and then in the next 60 hrs, two print out two more to make 4, then in another 60 hrs, 4 make 8, etc. Think about rabbits.

Restraint and legislation

There needs to be a discussion started by the leaders of the world on how this technology can be limited and it’s use monitored. This is dangerous stuff whenever technology can enable mass production of organic and inorganic objects. I understand and get the argument that so much good can come from it imagine if someone is able to outfit a 3D printer/self replicator with a computer chip. Put it on an island with another robot that could assemble the parts, what would that population look like if both machines had a 30 year lithium battery source, This stuff is straight out of the sci-fi movies, but you would return to an island of millions of 3D printers and robots cause it would figure out that more robots make more 3D printers.

Birth of H.A.L.

Thus H.A.L. Is born. And soon Singularity will occur and mankind cannot compete with artificial intelligence that can reproduce as Vernor Vinge, Professor at the Department of Mathematical Sciences at San Diego State University wrote in his 1993 thesis, “The Coming Technological Singularity: How to Survive in the Post-Human Era..” End of mankind as we know it. One day man will be slave to the machine it developed. It is a path that can’t be denied.

3d Printers And Their Amazing Technology

The 3D printer is capable of printing anything in the world as long as the printer is big enough for the object to fit inside. Imagine one day, you will have a 3D printer in your home and you will buy the plans of things you want and print the items yourself.

 

Technology that is new to some but has been around for a long time.

I was reading the other day about this “new” invention called 3D Printers, new to me at least. I am assuming you heard of them but I will explain them so if you been living on an island for the last 30 years somewhere with Tom Hanks, me, and Wilson.

3D Printers

A 3D Printer is simply, a printer that prints anything in three dimensions rather than two dimensions. It is pretty old technology that was invented by Tom Hull in 1983 as reported on the inventor’s website 3D Systems. I was shocked when I read that it has been around so long and only made into the mainstream public’s realm till recently. So I started doing more research. They are quite fascinating when you start thinking about their ability.

How they work

The way a 3D printer works is almost the same as a regular printer. The difference is the 3D printer uses other materials to “print” rather than ink. “Printer” is really an inaccurate word for the device, it should be called 3D duplicator/builder. Because that is exactly what it does. It copies exactly any thing you introduce into it and it makes an exact duplicate using materials like: wax, plastic, thermoplastics, PolyJet Photopolymers, as advertized for sale and use on Stratasys business website. There are over 100 materials that can be used as the ink “medium.” In my mind that makes the machine amazingly valuable.

3D Objects that have been printed

Let’s look at the things the 3D printer has been able to print realistically and with functional utility. You are gonna be amazed at what this machine can “print.”

1. Printed Body Parts

 

Yep, You read it right. Scientists, doctors and bio-engineers have created functioning body parts that can be used to actually help people. I shit you not and you can read it on Popular Science because I am not even close to smart enough to explain it to you. They have currently done an ear, skin grafts, and bones, blood vessels, and a kidney that isn’t yet functional for transplant but it is estimated will be fully functional with in a few years and the best part is the body won’t reject it cause it will have the same DNA as the recipient.

2. Printed Pizza

 

NASA has been messing with the technology for a longtime and one of the questions they asked themselves, can we make edible food? They started working on printing 3D Food. This one I can explain but if would like to read more, go to gizmag. The way it works is with cartridges like we are used to in a conventional ink printer, black for black and another cartridge for color ink. I think we all know this but checking anyway. The Food 3D printer uses cartridges but each cartridge has different components of the pizza. One has sauce, one has liquified cheese, and the last has dough. Imagine that and the best part is the cartridges are shelf stable for 30 years. That solves a huge space travel problem of what to eat when they go on long mission like to Mars. Spacecraft aren’t big enough to stock food for a mission that length, not it can and the printer can make other foods as well. This is some crazy stuff that Captain Kirk didn’t even have on the starship USS Enterprise.

3. Printed Cars

The Germans have figured out a way how to print a fully functioning car. A freaking car, can you imagine, one part at a time and they fit it together like a giant puzzle. Read about it here on Wired. It isn’t cost or time efficient but neither was developing micro chips when the technology was young and look at the cost of those now. Flat panel monster size TVs were expensive, now they are a day’s pay. Cost drops significantly as inventions age as seen throughout history. The factories today will one day be replaced by large printing facilities. Amazing stuff.

Summary

I could go on and on listing all the things this 3D printer is capable of “printing.” I can’t get my mind around that term, “printing,” but I do see the benefits to this technology. But I also see great dangers as well. In my next article I will explain the dangers that 3D printers are to society and why they need to be heavily regulated and kept out of most people’s hands.

2014 Hot Summer Trends Here to Stay Past 2015

Google Glass, Samsung, and ’80s rockers are the hot trends for 2014.  Each summer we welcome new trends in fashion and technology. This year we have two products undergoing technological and style redesigns. We also welcome back the rockers from the ’80s which has been a hot trend the last few summers.

 

We are surrounded by trends. We have trends in the stock market, we have fashion trends and we have trends for each season. Some trends last longer than others but they are all trends cause one thing that has been proven everything has a shelf life and an expiration date. Will narrow or wide lapel suits be trending? Will Capri’s make a comeback? Will Spandex find a new fan base? Most trends are greeted with a look of disdain and most trends like plaid pants and polka dot shirts need to remain in our collective pasts. But some trends, I look forward to and they have nothing to do with clothing. They are accessories. Things that go with outfits and in some cases accessories in life like what choice of music goes with what type of party. Whether we realize it or not, music is an accessory of life.

2014 Summer Trends

The Google Glass New Frames

No one knows what they will look like and they are answer to Google’s problem that most wearers of the Glass hate the way they look and don’t offer any personal choices in style. So, Google answered that problem by hiring, Ivy Ross. Ivy is a top name in the design meets marketing world having done time at Mattel, Coach, Swatch, Bausch and Lomb and the gap as reported by Motley Fool in the article, “Will World-Class Designer Ivy Ross Save Google Glass?”. Google is reportedly going to try and make a fashion change to their notorious $1500 pair of “smart glasses” by the end of summer. This trend to keep up-to-date on style by Google will be a constant evolution so look for that to continue every year as style comes in and style goes out. Soon I imagine we will see inter-changeable frames to color coordinate the outfit or car you drive. One pair of Google Glass in Mauve, please.

Samsung’s new smart wristwatch phone

Samsung will be rolling out their 5^th generation of smart wristwatch phone this July 2014. This one is going to really technological cause finally it won’t need a cell phone to function. It will be able to do everything on it’s own. Now that to me makes this wristwatch that may be worth investing in. Not to worry about misplacing my phone will be a huge burden. Not walking out of the house will save me countless trips back to retrieve my phone. According to Venturebeat article, “No phone required: Samsung’s next smartwatch may make & take calls on it own,” the new phone will have GPS, Bluetooth, heart monitor, and be able to make you a ham and cheese sandwich. Okay I lied, it can’t make that sandwich, but give it time(no pun intended). Just checking to make sure you are paying attention.

The Rockers of the ’80s

Something that is becoming a phenomena is the trending of ’80s bands lately and the popularity that amazes me. People are reliving their younger years in their 50s. We have a great many trending rockers to choose from this summer of 2014. Some on the summer list of tickets still available at smaller venues and more affordable pricing including many double feature acts. Some are:

• Rick Springfield and Pat Benatar
• Pat Benatar and Cher
• The Go-Gos and Patty Smyth
• The Romantics
• Rick Springfield, Loverboy & Eddie Money
• Huey Lewis and The News
• Styx & Foreigner
• Journey & Cheap Trick
• Journey & Steve Miller Band

These are amazing shows and these rockers still have it. Tickets can go as cheap as $18.00 a seat to floor seats for a reasonable $75.00 a ticket. Artists like Rick Springfield offer VIP tickets where you can meet him and watch the band do a soundcheck and he will spend some time with each person, take a photo and sign memorabilia. This is like a mini personal concert and packages for VIP events are $300 to $525 a person, includes everything I mentioned and a special Rick Springfield logo guitar that he will personally autograph at the soundcheck event. This is a once in a lifetime experience and affords the die hard fan a way to meet their idol. You can get information on the VIP packages here.

Trends come and go

the trends I wrote about are seasonal trends but they have a shelf life. Both smart glasses and smart watches are in their infancy or development and the ’80s rockers are like a fine wine that has aged well. Both will trend every summer so jot it down on your calendar and no what was hot last summer will be repackaged and advancements made to again top the list of trendy items for the summer of 2015.

V.I.N. Helped the FBI Solve the Terrorist Bombing of Oklahoma City

Everything You Wanted to Know About the Vehicle Identification Number.

 

The Vehicle Identification Number is the Social Security number of the car. It is a 17 character alphanumeric code. Each letter and each number stands for something. The VIN is stamped on many different parts of a car such as: engine, hood, door jambs, dashboard, etc. No one knows for sure where very VIN is stamped. At least six VINs are etched in hidden places only known to the FBI. Some of these places are so hard to find as a piece of metal must be removed and then a mirror on a telescoping rod is used to see the hidden VIN.

VIN helps FBI solve the Oklahoma City Bombing

The most famous use of a VIN number to aid law enforcement in solving a crime was the Oklahoma City bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal building by Timothy McVeigh and cohorts. They detonated a fertilizer bomb in the back of a rental truck. The FBI identified the VIN from the rear axle of that truck and was able to determine the origination of the rental that lead to the apprehension of the domestic terrorists.

Origin of the VIN

The VIN etching originally started in 1954 by the auto manufacturers and by 1981, the Federal government passed law that all over-the-road vehicles must have a 17 digit VIN number. The government was only 27 years behind corporate America, amazing. There are roughly 250 million cars on the road today and about 750,000 a year get stolen, according to the FBI Uniform Crime Reports on Motor Vehicle Theft. In the past ten years auto theft has been cut in half due to most new vehicles being sold with standard anti-theft devices, visible VINs, and GPS devices in cars. The VIN has taken the ability away from most criminals to profit from the stolen parts market and made it very hard to get the car past Customs at the ports for export.

What do all the numbers and letter of a VIN mean?

Each letter and number means something. The last 6 digits are the sequence numbers to the car. There are 17 digits all together and we will break down each one and tell you what it means. At the end, you will be able to look at your VIN and know everything about your car.

Let’s use a fictitious example of a VIN: 1ZVBP8CF5B5161451. Just need the VIN chart to decode it.

VIN: 1ZVBP8CF5B5161451

• 1^st Three digits “1ZV” is the country of origin, make, and body style… United States, Ford, Coupe.

• 4^th digit “B” is Restraint System Type, Brake Type and GVWR Class…Category B is 3,000 to 4,000 lbs,Standard, Dual Air Bags Front and Sides/Active Belts .

• 5^th digit is “P” is Vehicle Line…Mustang.

• 6^th digit “8” is Series…GT .

• 7^th digit “C” is Vehicle Type….Passenger Car.

• 8^th digit “F” is Engine, Cylinders, Fuel, Engine Manufacturer…5.0L, 8, Gasoline, Ford.

• 9^th digit “5” is Check Digit to make sure the VIN is a real VIN. It is a complicated mathematical formula that validates all the other digits are true. For more info on the math, go to Shay History.

• 10^th digit “B” is The Model Year…2011.

• 11^th digit “5” is Assembly Plant…Flat Rock Michigan.

• 12^th digit to 17^th digit is the car’s sequence number “161451”…161,451 Mustang built.

There you have it. Get yourself a manual and you can manually check your car’s VIN or you could just use a VIN decoder on the internet like this one VIN Decoder. The VIN is so specific, auto dealerships and locksmiths can cut ignition and door keys from the VIN alone. But, remember the dealership and locksmith will want proof of ownership, like a title, before they will do it for obvious liability issues.

Summary

The next time your insurance agent asks for the VIN number and you go to tell him the type of car, save your breath the VIN number will tell him everything including whether the car has a turbo engine, anti-restraint devices so he will remember to give you the associated discounts or penalize you for their absence. Now You also know, why the insurance agent takes a picture of your VIN tag on the door jamb when you have to get pictures taken before the comprehensive and collision parts of your coverage are valid. Those pictures tell everyone everything just like our D.O.B. and Social Security number identifies us. I bet you didn’t know that our social security numbers are our VIN number and have meaning as well. Next article I will breakdown a social security number meaning.

Why I Love Google’s Panda 4.0

Google is the Internet Police of Content.  Google rolled out a new search engine ranking system called Panda 4.0. It will again redefine how a search engine ranks websites. It will filter the junk content from the quality content. Many will hate Panda 4.0 but I love it. Find out Why?

 

Panda 4.0 is here and it isn’t going anywhere. If you are unfamiliar with Google’s search engine program, it is a content ranking quality quantifier. It is a program used to establish a pecking order in the search results ranking when people search for a subject. This type of algorithmic proprietary system has been tweaked, overhauled, redesigned, lamented and cursed and is basically the albatross of every person who does anything commercially on the internet.

Search Engine Optimizers

Cottage industries like Search Engine Optimizers (SEO), who do nothing but figure out how to “beat the system,” getting their websites a top listing are the bane to the optimum internet user experience. Their goal is to, at least get a first page listing, but the holy grail of success is to get the first listing on the first page. If that happens, that website will be a high traffic money making site with oodles of commercial success. Without tweaking the system and benefiting from “dirty tricks,” this is an impossibility for most websites unless they are extremely “niche unique.”.

Panda 4.0 Rolls Out

On May 21, 2014, Panda 4.0 was rolled out and it has truly upset a lot of these people. These people aren’t the mainstream players that have good content sites that “naturally” rank high because they do as they say, they deliver high quality content that the internet searcher is looking for. Imagine if Google didn’t have this technology in place. The internet would be an uncluttered world and every search would be an arduous sifting of useless junk content to find what you were looking for and in essence the internet would be “broken” and useless to everyone. These content filters remove the junk or bury it so far down the search listings, people will never find it. It’s like that junk content web page went into the “Witness Protection Program” and never was heard from again.

Panda 4.0 is the policeman of the internet

The same people who fear cameras in stores, will fear Panda 4.0, the unscrupulous “shoplifters of virtual time.” These people that manipulate the rankings with key word stuffing, artificial backlinks, spamdexing, bots that “like” an article, and bots that comment on an article,” all in the name of getting a higher ranking on Google and other search engines are the reason for “internet policeman of content”. These manipulators do a disservice to every user on the web. They steal people’s time. And in life, time is the most valuable commodity we own.

What would happen if there was no Panda 4.0 policing the internet?

There was an experiment done by Psychologist Robert Epstein and written about on PolicyMe, called “Google’s Secret Search Algorithm Could Manipulate the Results of an Election.” The experiment was the creation of a search engine called “Kadoodle.” It manipulated the search rankings to see if it could influence a person’s thoughts on a specific politician. He used Kadoodle to restructure the search rankings of a political candidate. It pushed one of the candidates to the top of the listings and it buried the other opponents listings to the back of the search pages. Epstein had a poll conducted on each candidate’s popularity before and after the experiment. The conclusion at the end of the experiment was that the manipulated “favorite” candidate popularity shifted tremendously in his favor and that 75% of the people polled had no awareness that the search engine results were manipulated rankings and their perception of the candidate. Subliminal messaging meets technology in cyberspace version 2.0.

Google President

With $20 Billion dollars spent annually on political elections, could you imagine if Panda 4.0 wasn’t “policing” the internet. How long before a Presidential election would be manipulated? With a 4% margin of victory in the last presidential election, a “Google President of the United States” would eventually be a reality sitting in the Oval office and not some experiment by a psychologist any longer.

Who is afraid of Panda 4.0?

Simple answer. People who manipulate search engine results and people that pollute the internet with poor quality content are terrified of Panda 4.0. Otherwise, no one else cares. If an article is judge and ranked on merit, only cheaters would care. Want higher search rankings? Offer more relevant, engaging content. Finally, Panda 4.0 will be something to level the playing field and disarm the manipulators and welcomed by the people who are playing fair. I’m not afraid, I love Panda 4.0.

Panda 4.0 impact on me

As a freelance writer, I write content to get paid and I am not concerned if Panda 4.0 buries my article in the search rankings. I don’t care because my articles shouldn’t be on the first page of a search engine and in most cases probably not even the first 5 pages. When I do get good rankings on one of my articles, I am very happy. It shows me that I wrote a good article and I have quality engaging content. When my articles get buried, it forces me to work harder. I am quite happy with these filtering processes as they force me to build my brand of readers and not hope to stumble upon thousands of people looking for a particular topic with nefarious methods of inducement. I say thousands cause it is all about “Page Views” on the commercial side of the internet to direct people using content to drive consumers to advertisers. And there isn’t anything wrong with that in a capitalistic world. Without commerce, everything grinds to a halt. No one forces anyone to click a banner ad or a sponsor ad.

Panda 4.0 impact on others

Panda 4.0 immediately impacts people who write garbage content. I mean the authors of articles like, “10 interesting facts about…..,” that are simply “copy paste jobs” compiled in meaningless lists stuffed with keywords that are useless time and byte wasters. They “steal” information, rewrite it by changing a few words and sell it as their own all in an effort to collect clicks and get paid. They are information thieves and steal the viewers time. They are the ones who fear Panda 4.0. They know their days of manipulating a system are drawing to a close. The wizard behind the curtain has been unveiled. They are the bane of the internet user and advertiser and should be exterminated. They are the reasons that bona fide writers on “content farms” get a bad rap and are internally despised by their own kind. When these impostors are gone, I will dance with profound happiness and again be reminded that there are no shortcuts in life.

I love Panda 4.0

I love Panda 4.0 because of the ability to cleanse the system of riffraff manipulators and contributors of pollution on the internet. I love Panda because it levels the playing field for all people to get good rankings. I love Panda 4.0 because it is a “report card” on a piece of content. “Grade A” content will receive high rankings and a high volume of viewers and “Grade F” content will be buried many pages deep in the annals of the search engine and not have an opportunity to waste someone’s time and an advertiser’s money. I also think the manipulators in the long run will love and embrace Panda 4.0 because it will enable them to cease their larcenous behavior and concentrate on something positive. The “fluff article” writers will also look back on Google panda 4.0 with love because it saved their souls. Imagine dying knowing that “The Best of…or The 5 most interesting…” articles was your claim to fame as a writer. That would be tragic considering they all joined to embrace the pen to express themselves and let the power of the “page views” change their ambitions all for 30 pieces of silver.

I feel like Jerry McGuire

“Who’s Coming With Me!” as Tom Cruise grabs the goldfish and asks his fellow employees who will join him after he published his manifesto on what is wrong with his industry and is being terminated. One person stood with Jerry and the rest of the office stayed in their own goldfish bowl. It is easy to stay. It is easier in life to cheat. It is easier for a ballplayer to take steroids to excel at their sport. It was easier for Rosie Ruiz, to hop the subway and cheat the organizers of the 1980 Boston marathon and say she won a hard race, than train hard and win it by merit.

Cream rises to the top

Panda 4.0 is nothing more than a filter. The content cream rises to the top and the content junk plunges to the bottom. Panda 4.0 is the Police of the internet. If Google wasn’t protecting us from the manipulators of information, the poor quality content and the thieves who steal our time by wasting it with frivolous information only serving their selfish agendas to make money, Who Would?

 

I Hate Reddit

Reddit is a Social Bookmarking Site that Sucks.  Reddit is a good idea with a poor real world execution. Reddit favors cliques and overzealous moderators ahead of people interacting sharing content. Reddit is an internet popularity contest. Reddit isn’t about sharing content, it’s organized trolling.

 

If you want to experience High School again and all the cliques and bullying that made high school a really “fun” experience, please go to Reddit. If you aren’t familiar with Reddit, it is a social bookmarking site where people post links to articles they find interesting. Readers either up or down vote the content and the article goes up and down the page rankings. On paper, I am sure it looks like a great idea but their website is flawed. The way it is set up it would only operate in a utopian world and the internet is as far away from Utopia as you will find in life. The experience is by far one of the worst encounters of bullying and gang mentality behavior that you will ever encounter.

The dynamics of Reddit

Reddit first off is very unfriendly to even look at. It is framed on the left side with sub topics and to be honest I am not even sure what all the links do. The top is another mess. It has all these topics like, television, sports, movies, etc. Problem is that is just the first layer of the onion. And this is one giant onion or maze to navigate. They call these main topics Reddits. Ok that’s easy enough, yes? Problem is they now have subreddits and they are subtopics and they have so MANY Reddits your brain will explode. An example of a topic and watch how far the chain spirals downward into insanity.

The Tree of Reddit

• Each Main topic has 6 categories, hot, new, rising, controversial, top, gilded, wiki and promoted
• Each main topic now has subtopics; example: Sports has Pro Sports, College Sports, Action Sports, Winter Sports, Other Sports

Then each subtopics have their own subtopics, called subreddits and that could be hundreds.

Example of subreddits of a Reddit: NFL

• a subReddit for all 32 teams plus the below subreddits are just a small portion
• /r/nflfandom – NFL Show & Tell
• /r/nfffffffluuuuuuuuuuuu – NFL Memes
• /r/nflcirclejerk – Do it for Tebow
• /r/nflroundtable – NFL Discussion
• /r/nflofftopic – r/NFL for non NFL topics
• /r/nflfilms – NFL Films
• /r/madden – NFL Madden
• /r/nfl_draft – NFL Draft
• /r/nflblogs – NFL Blogs
• /r/nflgifs – NFL Gifs

Main Problems of Reddit that makes it a horrible experience

Main issue: IT IS DRACONIAN !!

1. Can only post a link once every 10 minutes and if you do three in 30 minutes, they put you on time out for one hour and stand you in the corner. They even have this obnoxious comment that comes up that says, “You have been doing too much, slow down” and then the punishment, no posting anything for an hour. “Are ya kidding me?” was my first reaction.

2. It is cliquish. Each subreddit is a room basically where all the relevant posts live. And in each room is a moderator, usually upwards of 10 people wielding the moderator hammer, all site members and they are the “guardians of content and the enforcers of law”in that room. Are ya kidding me? Again that was my first thought when I ran into one of these morons. What are we in prison or back in high school or was I in a prison made up of high schoolers. Hell, it was really weird. And the problem was there is zero structure between rooms. Each room is a world unto itself and every room has different rules.

3. All different rules with no standardization in each room. Imagine if every block in New York City had it’s own laws. Well, no need to imagine. There is a world like that, it is called Reddit. If someone told me this was real, I would have said, no way. But it is and these worlds are controlled by people who think they are the kings and they have the button to delete any content you post or any comment you make. Disagree and they probably will ban you. I haven’t made it that far yet but it is coming. In the rooms, it lists the rules. And being a good chap I try to conform when I can and really don’t care about making a stand on principle. I just want to do my business and leave. But it is very hard to be able to do this when every room you enter, you must spend 10 minutes looking at that FAQ to see if you are allowed to breath in that room. I did have a question about a posting I wanted to make and didn’t want to violate room etiquette so I mailed the room moderators, that was last week and still no answer back, but I can imagine they would have be on me like a fly on a cow-patty if I posted what I wanted and it violated one of their draconian rules.

4. The voting system is a sham. If you get more than 3 votes down, there is no way the article you are recommending will post well on the site. And there are a group of people who vote up their stuff and down anyone’s content or links that isn’t part of their group. So either join the gang or be ostracized.

Reddit is a waste of time

One of the worst sites I have been on in the last 17 years of surfing the internet. No standardization and over-organized makes it a sloppy experience. It almost feels like you are walking around blindfolded without a sense of direction. The rooms are moderated by a bunch of overzealous, thugs who think that opinion is for themselves only. Welcome to the North Korea of the internet!

There is no standardization of rules and that leads to a subjective experience subjugated by pretentious tyrants. Save yourself some time. Find a different social bookmark site, this one is broken. It isn’t just me saying it Type in Reddit sucks and watch 55 million results pop up on Google. Only 17.5 Million when you type in I Hate Reddit. And I thought I was alone. ROFLMAO!

Reddit, if you are reading this as I assume you are since one of your worms probably found it and is disseminating it through your little world. Here is my rule. Enjoy the journey, there is only one.

 

 

 

Gimme Fiverr!!

 

A fun website where people buy and sell products and services for $5. A fun, addicting site where people list all the zany and cool things that they will sell you or do for $5. Anyone can buy or sell. Each posting offers a user review so there is no funny business. All posts have detailed descriptions and photos.

 

I am usually pretty bored and need things to entertain me, so I have lots of distractions from my big screen TV, my Xbox, to my computer to fend off boredom. My computer probably gets the most use. I am constantly downloading movie files and PDFs to add to my Terra-byte hard drive, I also write from my computer so that entails doing a bit of research sometimes. That leads me always to surfing the web and finding new things. At times, I feel like a modern day Christopher Columbus and wonder where my journey will end and what jewels of information I will find on the trip. Last week I discovered a site that really became addicting fast and I need to share it.

Fiverr

The site is called Fiverr, with two “r”s. I didn’t misspell it. You can of course click the word and it will take you away from this article to the site, but wait till the end and I promise I will embed a link at the bottom of the article. Fiverr is simply a site where people post anything they will sell you for $5 Bucks. That is about as simple as it gets. I applaud the founders on their simplicity and I absolutely love the site. What amazes me is the ingenuity and breadth of the products and services that people are willing to sell for a Fiverr. It is not only informative site but it is a laugh a minute at some of the offerings. Some are outrageous and some are actually something pretty neat, like designing logos and websites. I also found the “design a blog,” pretty cool especially if you aren’t a techie.

Fiverr Categories

• Graphics and Design
• Online Marketing
• Writing and Translation
• Video and Animation
• Music and Audio
• Programming and Tech
• Gifts
• Advertising
• Business
• Lifestyle
• Fun and Bizarre
• Other

Examples of products and services sold on Fiverr

• Write 6 headlines, slogans or catchphrases for $5
• Video Demonstrate your Product or Service for $5
• Tweet your products or services to OVER 6,000 followers for $5
• Design 1 super duper fresh flyer or brochure in HIGH quality for $5
• Do a clear British voice-over for you for $5
• Create a complete WORDPRESS website for $5
• Make you homemade soap for $5
• Play your commercial at least 20x on our radio station for $5
• Provide a life and career coaching session for $5
• Cast an extremely POWERFUL Kabbalah Spell which will make your wish come true for $5
• Pretend to be pregnant with your child after a night in Vegas for $5
• Be your guide here in Rio de Janeiro during the World Cup for $5

How it works?

Every post has a detailed description of the offer as well as photos. The post includes a “review style” feedback section where others describe their transaction and worthiness of the product or service. It also lists how many people have bought from them that particular listing and how long the wait list is and how many start they were rewarded in the past. It is extremely friendly to people who are afraid to trust people in cyberland which is always a good idea. Every post has options where they offer more services for extra money and speedy rush service, it’s called Gig Extras.

Summary

It’s a cool site filled with cool people who just don’t themselves seriously which in today’s world is kinda neat. The site in general is whimsical. It offers the non-techie a tech buddy to rely on and since the Fiverr is most cases is just a form of introduction that some of the web and blog designers offer to get noticed. They certainly aren’t supporting themselves on $5 bucks. Check the site out, at worst you will laugh at some of the offerings, be amazed people will debase themselves for a fiverr or find that techie who will help you understand WordPress and finally get that blog online. As I promised earlier in the article…FIVERR. Before you go, click my subscribe button and enjoy more articles when they get published. I won’t charge you even a nickel.

 

2014 Phoenix Comicon Invades Downtown Phoenix Convention Center

Meet Famed Superhero Creator Stan Lee; Batman, Robin, and Catwoman from the 1960s TV Series

 

Phoenix Comicon invades Downtown Phoenix Convention Center the first weekend of June. A 4 day mega event running from Thursday, June 5^th to Sunday June 8^th. The 12^th year multigenre and comic book convention has evolved to include other fascinating genres such as video games, collectible cards, animation, robotics, fantasy novels, cosplay, horror, toys, anime, books, film, and webcomics.

Admission

• Thursday is $15 prepaid and $20 at the door.
• Friday is $30 prepaid and $35 at the door.
• Saturday is $40 prepaid and $50 at the door.
• Sunday is $30 prepaid and $35 at the door.
• 4 day passport is $70 prepaid and $85 at the door
• Children 12 and under are free with a paid accompanying adult.

**Check the member benefits and price page for further details of what is included in membership.**

Location

Comicon has exploded as evidenced by the 55,000 people attending in 2013. Such that the Phoenix Convention Center is no longer big enough to host the entire event. 5 Star rated hotels such as the Hyatt Regency, Sheraton, and Renaissance are all locations where this event will be held all within 2 blocks of the Phoenix Convention Center. The event calendar is quite expansive to list here, so refer to the programming schedule for times and locations.

Some of the Stars of the Phoenix Comicon

From the Batman TV series of the 1960’s

• Adam West Batman
• Burt Ward Robin
• Julie Newmar Catwoman

Television and Movie Stars

• Bruce Campbell–star of TV’s Burn notice and cult horror movie “Evil Dead.”
• John Ratzenberger–best known as “Cliff Clavin,” the mailman from TV sitcom Cheers.
• Richard Dean Anderson–Star of hit TV series “MacGyver.”
• Eliza Dushk–TV and movie actress notably from her role as “Faith from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”
• John Barrowman-All around Broadway performer and TV actor, recently in the TV series “Arrow.”

Comic Books

• Stan “The Man” Lee–creative talent of Spider-man, The X-men, The Hulk, Thor and many other comic book heroes.
• Todd McFarlane–“Spawn” creator and owner of McFarlane toys.

 

What to expect

All stars attend a meet and greet sessions with their fans and there are photo-op opportunities to purchase as well. Details inside the photo-op fee schedule. There are costume and makeup workshops from the giants of the industry. Authors, screenwriters and playwrights will be on hand to give the inside scoop on how to break into the industry. Live performances from Cosplay performers in all genres. So much programming it is quite impossible to list and even attend it all. For a detailed programming schedule for the Phoenix Comicon.

 

Have Aliens Already Visited Earth

 

Did They Find Earth as Inhabiting No Intelligent Life and Leave or Have We Been Enslaved?

 

Have we already been visited by aliens from outer space? People have been looking towards the stars for millenniums. They have all wondered if there was life in other galaxies. I have a theory that we have had extraterrestrial encounters and the visit was so boring to the aliens, they left in disgust never to return. I also believe that we are not originally from Earth, but seeded from another planet and are in essence aliens ourselves.

Crazy?

Sounds crazy, yes? Well, so did Christopher Columbus when he extolled that the world wasn’t flat. So was Copernicus when he said that the sun was the center of the universe. Copernicus had to wait to publish his theory on his death bed for fear of being declared a heretic and burned at the stake. I’m not waiting that long. This stuff is too juicy to wait. I am no expert in any field but like all I am allowed my theories.

 

Panspermia

The scientific theory that earth’s original life was spawned from the microbe organisms frozen in asteroids and meteors as published in Aliens Among Us, by Jeffrey Kluger in Time magazine in October 2012. For the first 500 million years of planet Earth, it was hit with an insane amount of interplanetary debris as evidenced by the craters of many well know sites on the planet. In that debris were extremophiles, defined by the National Science Foundation as an organism that thrives in extreme environments. These extremophiles stowed away frozen aboard the meteor would have been able to withstand the journey through the vacuum in outer-space, lack of oxygen and the extreme fluctuations in temperature. Upon impact with the earth and the heat from the explosion, they would have been instantly thawed out. Most scientists are concluding today that original life formed because of these extremophiles ability to survive the journey and were the “seed” of life on earth.NASA has fully subscribed to this “working definition” of life which was proposed by 12 members of a scientific panel including Dr. Gerald Joyce of the Scripps Research Institute enlisted by NASA to define life. This ground breaking theory implies that all life is related to these extremophiles on a molecular basis. Sounds freaky but it isn’t. Sit back and think, it is a very reasonable theory that answers the age old question, “Which came first the chicken or the egg.”

 

Tree of Life

Scientists are now starting the journey by using genomic sequencing data and statistical algorithms to prove Charles Darwin’s theory that all life shares a common ancestry. In other words, we are all offspring of these extremophiles. Man is at the very top of the Tree of Life and most likely one of the youngest species on the planet. Think of all the branches on a tree descending to a common trunk. At the very bottom of this trunk is one organism where all life manifested and at the top are Sapiens. These Phylogenetic trees of life illustrated by University of Southern California, Berkeley show the relationship that each species shares with the other, from the most advanced humans to the mitochondria. We are all related, like it or not.

 

Chimpanzees and Humans

Chimpanzees are our closest genetic evolutionary relative. 98% of our DNA is an identical match as reported by National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The genetic sequencing was done in part by Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Science, and the Washington University School of Medicine. The consortium that published the paper in September 2005 issue of Nature magazine was comprised of 67 researchers from around the world, chosen amongst the top experts in their fields of study. Now that the pedigree has been established that this study cannot be refuted, what are the implications and how does it relate to aliens visiting Earth. We are getting there, this is complicated stuff, so be patient.

 

Intelligence differences between Humans and Chimpanzees

The difference separating us from Chimpanzees is 2% of our DNA structure as reported by Live science But that 2% is a huge difference. The smartest chimpanzees on the planet can learn sign language, can interpret feelings and can use tools. All signs of intelligence. They are the human equivalent of a 3 year old child. Chimpanzees can match human toddlers at age 3 years old in spatial and numerical reasoning but fail miserably in social cognition tests according to a study done by the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany. So the smartest chimp on the planet is equivalent to a 3 year old human. That’s huge and will be used to form my alien theory.

 

Humans and Aliens..are we cousins?

Is E.T. our cousin? Is it logical to assume that if alien life did exist somewhere in our galaxy, The Milky Way, that life would have also been started according to the Panspermia theory. Could all life in all the cosmos derive from one common mitochondria. Suppose Aliens have a structural makeup like all known life. Suppose this DNA makeup was similar to the makeup characteristics shared by Chimpanzees and Humans. Suppose we were the Chimpanzees and the Aliens were the Humans in the DNA difference. So, we are alike by a difference of 2%. So, if an Alien life form, found us first, it is fair to assume, they were the most technologically advanced. See what I am getting at?

 

Possible Proof of alien visit

So, years ago, who knows how many, Aliens land on Earth and interact with humans. That would logically explain all the drawings of space ships in ancient civilizations such as the Inca’s, the Mayans, the Egyptians, and paintings hung in museums showing aliens and their spacecraft overhead. It would explain Easter Island and the statues. It would explain the Inca Nazca lines. Is this just fantasy? Man needs reference before being able to fantasize and effectively communicate these ideas. Mankind needs inspiration that is definitive and concrete before creating.

 

Aliens come and Aliens go

So, let’s assume those cave drawings and such are based on a meeting and aliens did visit. So, now, let’s try and recreate what the aliens would have experienced from their perspective. Did they find us engaging? Were we curious to them? Did we impress them? All of that is highly unlikely if we refer back to the DNA difference between Chimpanzees and man which diverged in it’s evolution almost 5 to 6 million years before. Took that long for mankind to develop that 2% chromosomal difference. So, if alien life found us first, it is a fair assumption they are superior intellectually. Using even a smaller difference of 1% difference in DNA and only a 3 million year head start on life. Our smartest 6 year old child would be the intellectual equivalent of the dumbest alien. Think about that. How long would the aliens be interested in that interaction? Could they learn anything at all from us? The answer to that is a resounding no. Just like an adult can’t learn from a 6 year old child. The alien would make a strong conclusion that we are not an intelligent life form and three things would happen. They would kill us, leave us or they would enslave us. They wouldn’t exterminate us. That can easily be refuted through logical assumption.

 

Aliens find us ignorant: Do they kill us, leave us or enslave us?

Leaving and not returning is the most likely answer but let’s explore mass extermination asHollywood has for years. Would E.T. kill us all? Doubt that. I theorize that question from our perspective. Suppose we land on a planet and find a planet full of apes? After testing them extensively, we find them to be our inferior and equivalent to a toddler. Do we have any reason to exterminate them? None at all, It would be more likely that we would use them for our advantage as mankind has done to oxen, horses, and everything else we find inferior to ourselves if we decided to stay. But the only reason we stay is if our own host planet had issues, otherwise there would be no need to colonize a planet considering there are 100s of billions and most likely this planet we discovered was too far to be of any practical use.

 

Are we slaves to aliens?

Would we know if we were? Highly doubt it. Do lions in a safari habitat know they are prisoners. Do dogs cognitively realize they are beholden to their owners. Do horses realize they are enslaved? In the movie, “Men in Black,” did the aliens living in the locker realize they were living in a locker in a bus terminal? Was it a surprise in the movie when we were living in what we thought to be a huge world but was really that “same bus locker.” See what I mean. We wouldn’t have a clue.

 

Think I’m crazy?

Reckon I probably am. But these are the things I think about. I do think about how the galaxy is expanding rather than contracting violating a basic law of physics as we can’t identify the force stretching our universe. I think about how a piece of paper can block a ray of light but millions of miles of space can’t do the same even though we now know about “dark matter.” I think about how our world, inside of 65 years, went from living by candlelight, in 1880 to destroying two cities with nuclear weapons in 1945. Where did that technology come from? If it was self-realized, why did it take so many centuries to discover it and where was the inspiration? Why did man fumble around in the dark for millenniums and all of a sudden become so smart to split an atom and harness the most powerful force in the universe. We must have had help. I think Aliens helped us. Not sure why, maybe so we destroy ourselves. Maybe we are in fact slaves to them developing technology, killing our own planet so they don’t harm their own planet. Just a theory and I hope it makes you think.

 

Netflix Vs. Amazon Prime, Who is Winning the Streaming War?

Does Amazon Prime’s Free Two Day Shipping Trump Netflix More Expansive Movie Library?

The Heavyweight Champions of streaming digital entertainment, Netflix and Amazon Prime are headed for a huge battle in this 15 round Title match. Even though Netflix has been doing it longer, I believe Amazon will eventually go past them like they were standing still waiting for the bus. They are a bit different in what they offer but that is changing as Amazon Prime gets the hang of developing this business model on top of everything else it is doing.

 

Pros, Cons and Cost

 

NetFlix Streaming Pros:

• Free Trial for 30 days.
• In-depth TV show listings.
• Paypal accepted.
• 60,000 movie titles.
• Weekly Update of new content.
• Self Production of TV series such as: House of Cards and Orange is the New Black.
• Exclusive Marvel Television broadcasting contract for a 5 season deal for 4 Marvel Superheroes, comprising four 13 episodes seasons climaxing with a mini-series named The Defenders.
• Connect with friends and family thru Facebook and share content watched
• Parental controls limiting children.
• Has option to include a DVD mail to home program at an additional cost.

  giving another 100,000 titles to choose from.

• Cost $7.99 per month or $95.88 yearly with a price increase coming for new subscribers.

 

NetFlix Streaming Cons:

• Limited access to “new” releases.
• Poor organization of content making for difficulty browsing.
• Licensing contract expire and movies and TV shows just disappear without warning.

 

All information referenced from NetflixReview.com

 

Amazon Prime Instant Streaming Pros:

• FREE Two-Day Shipping on eligible items.
• Kindle Owners’ Lending 350,000 book Library access , 1 free book a month.
• Exclusive licensing with HBO Go, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon.
• Share your shipping benefits with up to 4 members in the same household.
• Gas and time saved using the shipping option.
• Shop 10 to 20 times a year at Amazon Prime, spend under $25 each time, and need your shipment in less than a weeks time as reported by Adam Dachis in his article, Is Amazon Prime Worth It then it is worth the annual membership fee for that alone.
• On Demand Movies and Current season TV series option to pay per view

 

Amazon Prime Instant Streaming Cons:

• 40,000 title streaming library, 33% less than Netflix.
• No Facebook to share content.
• Poor organization of content.
• Poorly designed user interface.
• No Parental controls.
• Cost: $99 per year with no monthly plan, only upfront and no Paypal.

 

And we have a winner, it’s Netflix by knockout in the 10th round to retain it’s Heavyweight title. Amazon Prime is really gonna have to get into the gym and add some titles to compete. The shipping is great but it’s a distraction designed to change the conversation from their major issue, lack of content. They have only 66% of the amount of programming of Netflix. Isn’t this about streaming digital media, not shipping toothpaste via UPS? My opinion is Netflix is King of the Hill and a better value. Get Netflix and shop at Amazon making sure purchase totals higher than $25 for the free shipping. That shouldn’t be too difficult. But, watch for developments as this could change quickly as Amazon is gaining speed, strength and stamina.