Nerdism at its best

July 21, 2014

All this Hate

The theme of internet trolls has been on my mind for a while now. Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, comment boards … is it just me or is the internet being suffocated by negativity and hate? Not necessarily directed at any single thing, but just in general. Maybe I’m visiting the wrong sites but everybody thinks they’re an expert and can’t wait to tell you you’re wrong, or something sucks and why the hell did that person even bother trying?

The troll? The armchair critic slinging snarky quips behind the safety of a keyboard. Firing sarcastic bullets at those in the trenches. Are you a creator? Someone who makes something. Someone who lets themselves be vulnerable in front of an audience, who contributes something new and hopeful to an increasingly dark and depressing world.

From the moment your alarm goes off in the morning to the second you begin to fall into deep slumber, there will be a daily barrage of negativity and angst thrown your way. We all know that one person who instantly changes the energy for the worse when he enters a room. Most individuals of this sort behave negatively not just to you, but to everyone they interact with. Even when a situation seems personal – even if someone insults you directly – it oftentimes has nothing to do with you. I want nothing but to help others I always have. It is who I am, however any one that knows me knows I have had a very pessimistic outlook and a very unhealthy acceptance to that outlook. And this outlook sometimes causes me to get very annoyed at those people who seem to be overly optimistic. And I get quite depressed from it. I quickly have to remind myself that line of thinking is wrong. I have a long way to go to undo all the negativity that was poured into me over the years.

You can’t always save the world, but you can make the world a better place by practicing what you preach – by becoming self-aware, tapping into your compassion, and protecting your positive space. Doing simple things like talking about what you have accomplished today, mutual friends, hobbies, and positive news. You are in complete control of the manner in which you choose to respond to what others say and do. The problem isn’t that the events are negative; the problem is the way you react to those events. Some people complain as a way of crying for help. They may not be conscious of it though.

Complaining, blaming and criticizing aren’t going to change the situation. It is not always easy to find happiness in ourselves, but it is always impossible to find it elsewhere. Remember, you can’t have a positive life with a negative attitude. When negativity controls your thoughts, it limits your behavior, actions, and opportunities.
I never realized how powerful my thoughts really were. Had I known this earlier in life I would have never thought a negative thought again. Lost in pessimism, oftentimes I used negativity as a barrier to protect myself from the world, which in turn blocked me from solutions that could improve my life. What I have slowly been trying to make myself to do while trying to figure out where I belong in the world is to spend my energy on moving forward toward a positive resolution. Remember, when you focus on solutions, by thinking and acting positively, sound becomes music, movement becomes dance, a smile becomes laughter, and life becomes a celebration.

Don’t let anyone’s ignorance, hate, drama or negativity stop you from being the best person you can be. Let your guard down. Talk to someone you don’t know straight from your heart. Compliment them. Don’t anticipate an awkward encounter, just be yourself in that beautiful way only you know, and give someone the chance to smile and connect with you. Sometimes, a kind word and some attention from a friend is all that’s needed to turn a negative attitude around. Resist the urge to judge or assume. It’s hard to offer compassion when you assume you have a person figured out. Let them know they are not alone.

When you’re enjoying your greatest success and happiest days you must always understand that there will be tumultuous times ahead. Nobody has the perfect life. It simply does not exist. Acknowledge the negativity, accept it, and let it pass through your consciousness, thereby teaching you a lesson but not ruining your day.

Life is full of highs and lows, but you don’t have to go up and down with them. We develop from the negatives when we accept them and learn from them. This cycle is all part of the human experience. Relax, let go a little, and enjoy the ride.
I had to live though these things in the past, and although unfortunate, they can’t be changed. But if the only place they live today is in my mind, then I have to let go, move on, and be happy. One can decide right now that negative experiences from your past will not predict your future.

Don’t be afraid to burn bridges Burn it down and walk way. If all else fails, remove yourself from the wrong situations and relationships. Letting go of negative people doesn’t mean you hate them, it just means that you care about your own well-being. Choose friends who you are proud to know–people you admire, who love and respect you, and always make your day a little brighter simply by being in it.

Remember-to-be-happy

 

July 17, 2014

Jar Lantern upgrade

If you remember my previous post here you will note I have been working on this project for quite some time. I had this idea and it’s not a new idea nor is it the first time someone has done something like this. I had originally started out on this venture to have a side project to do to try and make a bit of pocket change on the side. Well time becomes a factor for me and I really do not have the time to sit down and just dedicate the time to building these in bulk.

So it has turned into a project i use when I need to get my mind off of the daily happening from work and sometimes life itself so instead of just mass producing I just spend my time tinkering with it.

I have recently removed the blue LED. The blue was not bright enough. I happened upon a push button LED light. Looks a lot like an electronic Tea light only it was meant to be hung in a closet wall. Once I took it apart I knew this was what I was looking for. It had the AAA battery holder and a small enough circuit board. Now the problem was how to get it to work for me.

Pictured here is the finished upgrade. Now this is very sloppy. I need a smaller soldering iron to be more precise in my soldering my soldering gun is not ideal for this but I made it work.

insides

After it was all completed and put together it is much closer to what I had envisioned for this project. And it is a beauty. Not sure what I’m going to do once this is done.

finished

July 7, 2014

Why Does Rebooting a Computer Fix So Many Problems?

Ask a geek how to fix a problem you’ve having with your Windows computer and they’ll likely ask “Have you tried turning it off and on again?” This seems like a flippant response, but rebooting a computer can actually solve many problems.

So what’s going on here? Why does resetting a device or restarting a program fix so many problems? And why don’t geeks try to identify and fix problems rather than use the blunt hammer of “reset it”?

This Isn’t Just About Windows

Bear in mind that this soltion isn’t just limited to Windows computers, but applies to all types of computing devices. You’ll find the advice “try resetting it” applied to wireless routers, iPads, Android phones, and more. This same advice even applies to software — is Firefox acting slow and consuming a lot of memory? Try closing it and reopening it!

Some Problems Require a Restart

To illustrate why rebooting can fix so many problems, let’s take a look at the ultimate software problem a Windows computer can face: Windows halts, showing a blue screen of death. The blue screen was caused by a low-level error, likely a problem with a hardware driver or a hardware malfunction. Windows reaches a state where it doesn’t know how to recover, so it halts, shows a blue-screen of death, gathers information about the problem, and automatically restarts the computer for you . This restart fixes the blue screen of death.

Windows has gotten better at dealing with errors — for example, if your graphics driver crashes, Windows XP would have frozen. In Windows Vista and newer versions of Windows, the Windows desktop will lose its fancy graphical effects for a few moments before regaining them. Behind the scenes, Windows is restarting the malfunctioning graphics driver.

But why doesn’t Windows simply fix the problem rather than restarting the driver or the computer itself? Well, because it can’t — the code has encountered a problem and stopped working completely, so there’s no way for it to continue. By restarting, the code can start from square one and hopefully it won’t encounter the same problem again.

Examples of Restarting Fixing Problems

While certain problems require a complete restart because the operating system or a hardware driver has stopped working, not every problem does. Some problems may be fixable without a restart, though a restart may be the easiest option.

Windows is Slow: Let’s say Windows is running very slowly. It’s possible that a misbehaving program is using 99% CPU and draining the computer’s resources. One could head to the task manager and look around, hoping to locate the misbehaving process an end it. If an average user encountered this same problem, they could simply reboot their computer to fix it rather than dig through their running processes.

Firefox or Another Program is Using Too Much Memory: In the past, Firefox has been the poster child for memory leaks on average PCs. Over time, Firefox would often consume more and more memory, getting larger and larger and slowing down. Closing Firefox will cause it to relinquish all of its memory. When it starts again, it will start from a clean state without any leaked memory. This doesn’t just apply to Firefox, but applies to any software with memory leaks.

Internet or Wi-Fi Network Problems: If you have a problem with your Wi-Fi or Internet connection, the software on your router or modem may have encountered a problem. Resetting the router — just by unplugging it from its power socket and then plugging it back in — is a common solution for connection problems.

In all cases, a restart wipes away the current state of the software. Any code that’s stuck in a misbehaving state will be swept away, too. When you restart, the computer or device will bring the system up from scratch, restarting all the software from square one so it will work just as well as it was working before.

Ultimately, the answer is that “resetting a computer wipes away the current state of the software, including any problems that have developed, and allows it to start over from square one.” It’s easier and faster to start from a clean state than identify and fix any problems that may be occurring — in fact, in some cases, it may be impossible to fix problems without beginning from that clean state.