Pier with a Skyline View - Stock Photo
Posted in
Arts | April 21, 2013 @ 11:04 PM
While I was at Fort Howard I took some pictures and this one turned out really nice. This overlooks the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland, USA. I cried while I took it too, but not because it was so amazing, but the wind was so strong, cold and even seemed salty my eyes watered uncontrollably. Luckily I pulled off one level shot!
This picture is free for use under creative commons license Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chexed/8670566492/in/photostream
I would appreciate a link to this page for credit if possible!
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City Alley Power Lines Photo - Stock Photo
Posted in
Arts | April 10, 2013 @ 12:00 AM
Picture I took while in Baltimore city, Maryland USA. Lots of power lines over an empty alley, other than a downed trashcan. This is part of an ongoing series regarding technology and it's effect on mankind. Personally, I don't think these power lines are pretty at all.
This picture is free for use under creative commons license Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).
I would appreciate a link to this page for credit if possible!
Other sizes available here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chexed/8636863366/sizes/l/in/photostream/
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Minds before Blinds
Posted in
Thoughts | March 25, 2013 @ 1:40 AM
I went through high school just like most American's did for the most part. I took all the classes I had to, got to select just a few to fill in some holes, but luckily I got to choose a few college courses at a local college that counted in high school.
My college experience is where my current life really began. It's where the choices I made affected the rest of my life. Prior to that, it was the choices "the system" made, my family, the government, or the community as it were. I ended up working as an IT professional with a photography niche. These trades are very closely related to the courses I chose in college and I think there's something to that.
If our lives take route in regards to our educational choices, maybe this trend is not just with you and me. At some point, it seems that the choices we have to make for ourselves have much more of a positive affect on our lives than the choices that we "have to follow" from others. While basic education is necessary to explore any choice, we should really take the line we throw at kindergarteners a little more seriously, the whole "what do you want to be when you grow up?" It's an important question, but we don't really get to make many choices about that until college. Between kindergarten and college, there's a lot of time to lose that goal. Our parents and the education system shouldn't just be asking us what we want to be when we grow up, but they should be helping us see the path we need to take to get there. And if they can they should help us along with at least the first few steps.
Rather than waiting until college to start directing our lives, we should start in high school, middle school or even earlier. This way we can be a part pf the things and we can take ownership in our own knowledge. Learning itself is a skill that can be learned. Rather than putting every effort into making sure every student in grade school leaves with the same knowledge, we should make sure every student leaves empowered, even if it's through different knowledge.
I imagine some people are worried about the flexibility of the young mind. From personal experience and the witnessed experience of others, I know the mind never stops being flexible until its dead. You can always learn new things. You can learn to be a nuclear physicists at 49, a biologist at 69 and an engineer at 89 if you're willing and your body is able. The big problem is that by the time your this age the job and income you've grown to rely on may diminish becoming an entry level employee in another field, so by all means, make the choices you can regarding your education while you're young, have no bills and you're parents support you in educational feats.
In school we should let parents and students choose which classes they want to focus on beyond a foreign language. I.e. I want to be an astronaut, so let me take math twice instead of language once - or I want to be a linguist, so let me take language twice instead of science once. It is good to know a little bit about everything, but it's rare to know a lot about anything. Lets fill our minds with what we may rather than put on blinders when we must.
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Does Straight Talk Work with Credit Card Readers?
Posted in
Internet Technology | March 04, 2013 @ 1:05 AM
I've been searching for months for a credit card reader that works with my pre-paid Straight Talk cell phone plans from Wal-Mart. I want to be able to accept credit cards securely through my phone. These results are shared with you. Companies who have confirmed their credit card readers will go on these continuously updated lists:
DO work work with specific pre-paid cell phone plans
1. Square Register
"Square Register will run on most Android devices with the following features:
- Requires an internet connection at all times
- Running Android 2.2 or higher, however we currently do not support Android 3.0 (Honeycomb)
- Screen size specified as Normal or Large
- 3.5 mm headset jack (which includes a microphone input)
- GPS
- Touchscreen display
I’d recommend confirming with Straight Talk or your pre-paid cell service provider that a strong internet connection is provided." ~ Square Tech Support
Do NOT work with ANY pre-paid cell phone plans
1. PayPal Here
This is a real shame, because Straight Talk is becoming more and more popular as it is "the best plan on the market" as long as your within and traveling within Straight Talk coverage.
I read one reason certain phone don't work is due to an inablity to securely transfer data. I'm not sure why they don't accept certain cell phone service providers (especially nationally available ones).
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Drug Problem and Education
Posted in
Ideas and Inventions | February 24, 2013 @ 6:52 PM
Too many people think police should keep drugs off the streets. People haven't kept it off the streets and they never will. They just hide it which puts law enforcement in a bad situation enforcing something that can't be stopped. You can get high off of practically anything, but a few companies and fearful lawmakers decided to declare a "war" at everyone's expense on a few things.
The idea of outlawing drugs is preposterous in my humble opinion. Imagine if we outlawed everything someone could get high from. Paint, glue, markers, oxygen (yes), coffee? That barely scrapes the top of the list. First they try to outlaw alcohol, then a plant that grows like a "weed," then synthetic drugs, then it's "bath salts." What about paint? Paint huffing was pretty prevalent for a couple years there. Did we have to outlaw it? No. We educated people and gave it reasonable restrictions in some situations. The same goes for markers.
About 3 seconds of education with a simple Google search will keep most people from ever considering huffing paint. See below:
You = Educated.
Tax dollars spent = 0.
Imagine what education you could spread with a buck?
No one has ever needed to give people jail-time for drug possession. More than anything it hurts them in the long run and hurts society as a whole by punishing one member so severely. If you don't realize how severe a "minor" punishment for marijuana can be. Please read through this common series of events:
1. At Young Age Caught with some drugs
2. Arrested and maybe miss work
3. Back home
4. Explain to home and work why missing
5. Maybe get fired, maybe keep job, maybe kicked out of school
6. Court case
7. Found guilty 1st Offense
8. Maybe probation, community service
9. Re-enroll in school ~ One year behind the age group
10. Try to get a promising job, but can't due to being a "federal criminal"
11. Try to go to college, but can't get financial aide for being a "federal criminal"
OR
1. Older person gets caught with more drugs
2. Arrested
3. Misses work
4. Explains to home and work why missing
5. Maybe get fired
6. Court Case
7. Found Guilty 3rd Offense
8. Does time in jail
9. Loses job
10. Family loses income
11. Family on welfare
12. Family separates
13. Federal criminal lost 5 years of opportunity to grow
14. Federal criminal gets out of jail
15. Federal criminal can't get a decent job due to criminal record
16. Federal criminal can't get a decent job due to lack of experience
17. Federal criminal can't get educational aid due to criminal record
18. Federal criminal has to start building experience from the lowest positions of the least respected jobs often "managed" by younger bosses which is often further humiliating
All of this because someone was caught with some drugs? The law is not only to keep the public safe, it is to help direct the criminal be a constructive member of society. A sledgehammer to a drug users life does not a good member of society make. Again, in my most humble opinion, such severe penalties for such harmless crimes is torture. People don't realize being found guilty for drug possession is more than punishment itself due to Government and private restrictions put on drug offenders. Anything extra just rubs it in.
I understand For Profit Prison Systems and Pharmaceutical Companies stand to lose a lot of money by treating members of society as such, but I don't care about any business. It's the people within the businesses that matter. Everyone has something to offer- something to teach. In that regard, why create more prison guards when they could create more teachers? Why not make existing prison guards teachers? When a member of society breaks a rule, educate them, don't destroy them and don't use the funds of an uninformed public to destroy their neighbors. I hope you are now more informed.
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