Why Do You Need A Computer?

Why do you need a computer? This is a serious question. I've asked a number of people over time and they give me all sorts of reasons. Some of them are obvious and others are dubious at best. Clearly, it's getting difficult to navigate modern America without access to some kind of computer. It's still possible, but that is changing.

Note that I'm not talking about needing a smartphone. The line between smartphone and computer has blurred considerably in the past few years. I personally use a phone more advanced and more powerful than thousands upon thousands of Americans' computers. I'm talking about an actual non-phone computer, be it a laptop or desktop.

So what are the reasons usually for needing a computer? This is a partial list of the most common ones. I tried to rank it in order of most mentioned to least mentioned but I make no promises.

• e-mail
  
• games
• social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
• work
• YouTube/online video
• Google
• online shopping
• paying bills
• banking
• Internet TV
• e-book reader
• writing/journaling

Those are the responses I get most of the time. There are others including the more forward types who answer with honesty and list "porn" as one of their main criteria. We can just leave that in the "online video" category and avoid it for now. However, those are the main ones.

Now, given that list, how many of those activities do not require an Internet connection? Basically just one: games. There are a lot of online games and MMOs that require Internet connections, but you can still buy a large number of games that you can play and enjoy without any Internet connection at all.

What does that mean then? Well, it could mean a lot of things, but one that stands out is that people generally need a computer for just one of three purposes:

• work
• Internet access
• games

Clearly, the work requirement is a big one and results in a lot of requirements for the type and power of computer you would need. For the sake of argument, let's set aside the work computer requirement for the moment and look at the other two.

Computer games have become increasingly complex and require hefty CPUs, graphics chips, and memory just to maintain decent frame rates. Note that we are not talking about games like Solitaire, Candy Crush, and Temple Run in this category of games. We're talking about major video game releases that tax even the most robust computers when running. So once again for the sake of argument, let's set aside the video game requirement.

What does that leave us with? Internet access. 

So what are we talking about when it comes to using a computer for Internet access? Well, most of that original list. That's what we're talking about.

So do you need a computer? I would think that nearly everyone needs some kind of computer in this day and age. That could be a laptop, desktop, tablet, or smartphone. Whatever it is, you need one.

Now, I ask you again. Do you actually need a personal computer?

That depends on our tech skills and abilities. Are you comfortable using virtual keyboards on tablets and phones? Do you need simple portability? Do you need larger displays either because you need to see lots of stuff at once or your eyes are a little less than they used to be and you need to make things larger?

Consider all those things and if you decide you need a laptop or desktop computer or can you get by with a tablet or phone. If you need that personal computer, may I offer a suggestion? Keep it simple.

You see, most laptops and desktops these days run Windows of some kind. That means you are in a perpetual cycle of software updates, anti-virus updates, security updates, the inevitable virus infection, and your computer simply locking up. Mac users get that smug look off your face because you face the same things as well. Anti-virus software is needed on your Macs and yes, from several years of experience, I know that Macs can and will lock up or become corrupted.

Let's add to this the problem of how you back up your data. You see it's not a matter of if your computer's main storage (think hard disk) will become corrupted, it's a matter of when. It will eventually happen and you don't want to lose all those digital images you take simply because no one owns film cameras anymore. You also don't want to lose that family recipe for rum cake, that old email from a significant other, or your school thesis project.

Why have I set the stage as I have? What is my point?

It's simple really. If you need a personal computer and you are not a gamer and you need Internet access, you need a Chromebook.

What is a Chromebook you ask? It's simple. A Chromebook is a laptop of a different breed. Instead of Windows 10 or MacOS, Chromebooks run Google's Chrome OS which is based on the Linux operating system. These machines are designed to be used primarily while connected to the Internet, with most applications and documents living in the cloud. That being said, they continue to operate when not connected to the Internet and have local storage. However, the local aspect is secondary to the connected aspect.

What can you do with a Chromebook?

• e-mail
  
• social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
  
• YouTube/online video
  
• Google
• online shopping
• paying bills
• banking
• Internet TV
• e-book reader
• writing/journaling

Basically everything you would typically say you need a computer for except for work and games.

Also with a Chromebook, you never have to worry about updates, about anti-virus, about virus infections, or about disk crashes. If that wasn't cause enough to celebrate, here are most of the benefits given in the following list:

• very fast boot times, usually anywhere from 6 to 10 seconds
• automatic system updates without the impact of Windows updates taking tens of minutes
• immune to viruses because you can't modify the operating system on the machine
• access to the Internet via Chrome browser that always stays up to date
• can view and play all standard Internet document and file formats
• full suite of typical office tools including document publishing, spreadsheets, presentation generation, drawing, image manipulation, etc.
• everything is backed up to the cloud, it never loses data
• simple to use, simple to administer, simple to maintain

And finally, I saved what may be the best for last: price. 

Chromebooks generally use fewer resources than traditional laptops and that means they can be made at a lower cost. That means you can buy them at a lower cost. That does not mean they skimp on the materials, parts, or workmanship. I have a Chromebook that cost about $500 that has an aluminum body, touchscreen, and the best keyboard I've ever used on any laptop with any operating system.

For comparison, a $500 traditional laptop is kind of on the lower end of the middle of the pack for traditional laptops. But for Chromebooks, $500 is on the expensive end of the spectrum and represents a high quality and high power laptop.

So, why did I write this?

I've been working on restoring some laptops lately and trying to help people get a computer to use when they don't have much money to spare. Because of that, I felt this is the kind of public service announcement people with modest incomes need. Everyone needs to understand that if you aren't a graphics artist, video editor, or music composer, you don't need a full priced traditional laptop.

Instead, you need a computer on the Internet. You need a Chromebook.

Wild dogs of Wake Forest

The Dinner Fight

Picking a place for dinner is never an easy task with two young sons who constantly disagree over where to go. This was especially true for Tom and his boys, Roger and Dennis.Tom liked to take his boys out to a restaurant each Sunday after church. And nearly every time there was an argument.

Most of the time, Dennis ended up crying. They almost always settled on something Dennis liked because he usually threw the biggest fit. Roger could be a pain too, no doubt. But, it was Dennis that usually ended up crying and screaming despite being old enough to know better.

On a recent Sunday, Tom asked Connie to join them for lunch. Connie and Tom were friends and she agreed. After church, Connie arrived at Tom's house and they all talked about which restaurant to go to.

"What about Olive Garden?" Tom asked. "I know we all like it and we haven't been there in a while."

"Sure," Roger agreed. "That's okay with me. I'm getting spaghetti!"

"Cool," Tom said. "Is the OG okay with you, Connie?"

Connie nodded. "Sure. I have no prefernce."

"I hate Olive Garden!" Dennis cried. "They don't have hamburgers!"

"Dennis," Tom started. "Having hamburgers and fries all the time isn't really good for you. Come on. You like spaghetti and you know it."

"I hate spaghetti!" Dennis lied. "I want to go to McDonald's!"

"I honestly don't mind if we do that," Connie said. "I don't have a preference."

"Dad! I don't want to go to McDonald's. I don't like it," Roger moaned.

"Okay, how about Julio's?" Tom offered.

"Sure," Roger answered.

"No! I hate Julio's!" Dennis wailed.

Tom pursed his lips and looked at each of his boys. "Okay, then. I see where this is going and I don't want to have another argument. Roger, Dennis, suggest alternatives."

"How about Chili's?" Roger asked. "They have hamburgers and I can get fajitas."

"That sounds fine. What about it Dennis?" Tom asked.

Dennis folded his arms over his chest and dug his heels in. "I want McDonald's! I won't go anywhere else but McDonald's!"

"Tom, it's okay to go to McDonald's," Connie offered. "I really don't mind. Like I said, I don't have a preference."

"Dennis, I don't want to go to McDonald's and Roger doesn't want to go to McDonald's. Your brother offered an alternative. So, I want you to suggest someplace else you'd like to eat."

"I don't want any place else! If we don't go to McDonald's I'm not eating! I'm sitting right here! You can't make me go."

Tom was getting upset and Roger was frustrated. Connie sat quietly and said nothing. The simple task of deciding on a restaurant was rapidly expanding into a full meltdown for Dennis.

"Dennis, why do you want to go to McDonald's?" Tom asked.

"I told you! I want a hamburger!"

"But there are other places to get hamburgers," Tom chided. "Since you don't want OG or Chili's, how about the Ale House? They have really good burgers."

"He just wants a Happy Meal with a free toy!" Roger sneered. "That's the only reason he likes it. You know he never eats all of his hamburger anyway!"

"That's not true!" Dennis wailed. "You just never do anything I want to do!"

"We always do what you want, you big baby!" Roger yelled.

"Alright, boys. That's enough," Tom said with mounting frustration. "Dennis, Roger's right. You always cry and scream to get your way. It's time to compromise. Suggest someplace else. We're not going to McDonalds's!"

"Fine!" Roger shouted. "If you want a hamburger so much, let's go to Burger King!"

"No!" Dennis screamed while stomping his feet. "I only want McDonald's!"

"Dennis, there's no reason to get this worked up. Let's just agree on something we can all enjoy and try to get along," Tom said attempting to reason with Dennis who was already in full tantrum mode.

Tom and Roger were frustrated as usual. When Dennis did this, he made life miserable for everyone. Connie was uncomfortable being there.

"Tom," Connie interjected. "It's okay wherever we go. So why not compromise and go to McDonald's?"

Tom was even more frustrated. Connie wasn't helping. She was only encouraging Dennis to be more of a tyrant.

"Let me guess," Tom said knowingly. "You have no preference. Right?"

Connie's eyes drew down. "You know, what? I think I should just be going."

"Fine. Sorry, today didn't work out. You know how Dennis can be," Tom said.

"I suppose. Then again, you didn't exactly try to work with him," Connie said before leaving to the sounds of Roger yelling at Dennis and Dennis crying and throwing himself on the floor in a tantrum.

The next day, Connie was having lunch with some coworkers.

After talking about work and other things, Mary pushed salad greens around on her plate as she thought out her question. "So, how did lunch go with Tom yesterday?"

"It didn't," Connie lamented. "They couldn't agree on a place to go. As far as I know, they didn't go anywhere."

"Wow. Those boys are a handful. Especially Roger. He's always trying to get his way," Alyssa added.

Mary nodded. "Tell me about it! And Tom is such a tyrant. He never bends on anything. It's his way or the highway."

"What happened?" Fran asked.

"Oh, the same," Connie sighed. "They tried to decide on a place to eat and none of them would compromise. Tom suggested Olive Garden, but Dennis wanted McDonald's. It degraded from there."

"That's usually how it is with Tom," Mary said smirking.

"Yeah, and Roger suggested a couple other places that Tom was fine with but none of them would agree to McDonald's for Dennis' sake. They completely wouldn't compromise."

Fran's face pulled into confusion. "Wait. Tom and Roger offered alternatives and Dennis didn't. It sounds like Dennis was the one not compromising."

Connie, Mary, and Alyssa stared at Fran.

"Clearly you don't know the meaning of the word compromise," Mary said. "This is all Tom's fault.

Exasperated, Fran blurted out, "But, Dennis was the one not willing to compromise. Surely you see that?"

"You don't understand kids and parenting, do you?" Connie said. "Tom and Roger were just being difficult. If they didn't go out for lunch yesterday, it's their fault."

"That's right," Mary and Alyssia agreed.

"Clearly, you three are morons," Fran said and picked up her check to leave.

Did you know I like to write: The Trillborne Wife, Policy, Some Reason, and Fractured Unity.

Ian's Christmas Wish - A Flash Fiction

The fire crackled softly in the fireplace as a light snow fell outside the cabin. Each unique snowflake added to the thick white layer that had been falling all day. Through the windows, shades of gray and blue dominated the evening sky that was backlit by a full moon.

Inside the warmth of logs and timber, the flicker of candles fought against the coming darkness while casting shadows that slowly danced on the walls. I followed the candles to the kitchen and stopped briefly to watch the snowfall fade to just a few flakes. I offered up a quick pray of thanks for a beautiful evening.

Looking back to the main room, Sarina waited for me on the sofa. She caught me staring at her, admiring her brown curls and nerdy glasses. She smiled a soft smile and my heart melted. Over the last few months, we'd grown closer than I ever dared to dream. And there she was, waiting for me, smiling and happy to be with me. Just me.

In the kitchen, I struggled with the wine key and a bottle of Chardonnay. For whatever reasons, I always had trouble opening this particular brand. I had a moment of mild anxiety when I thought I was about to break the cork. I took my time and managed to get the whole thing out intact. I wanted this night to be special. I wanted it to be perfect.

It was Christmas eve and we were twenty miles from anywhere that was somewhere. I brought Sarina here because this place was special to me. She was the most special person in my life and I wanted to share the magic of the cabin on a Christmas Eve with her. My hope was the magic would rub off and she would answer yes to the question I had for her.

Back in the living room, Sarina smiled as I entered with the wine tray. Her hair hung naturally in loose curls down to her shoulders. She took off her glasses and set them on the end table as I offered her a glass of the Chardonnay.

"Oh, thank you," she said almost in a whisper. She took a sip and smiled again. "Chardonnay. My favorite. Are you up to something?"

"Me? Up to something? Maybe," I joked.

She laughed and scrunched her nose. To me she was adorable and I could be happy just drinking up the vision of her sitting smiling at me.

"Come here," she beckoned and held out the patchwork quilt she'd been wrapped in. "Keep me warm."

I tossed another log on the fire and sat down beside her. Sarina snuggled up close and we sipped our wine in the quiet of the cabin in the mountains.

"Snow's letting up. It's a beautiful night," she sighed.

"The night, as beautiful as it is, pales in comparison to you."

She smiled again and kissed me. "Thank you. You always say the sweetest things. Maybe that's why I'm so attracted to you."

Holding her close, I took another sip of wine. "It's easy to say them because they're true."

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you," I whispered back. "More than I can describe."

"I know what you mean. I just feel … happy with you. I didn't think that was going to ever happen again. Not with anyone."

"Sarina," I started then hesitated.

"Yes?"

"I'm happy with you too. And with all I'd been through, I thought that was completely out of reach for me. Then you came along …"

"Here I am," she said after I didn't continue on.

"Here we are."

"Yes, here we are. Is everything alright? You seem like something is bothering you."

"Well, to be honest, I'm afraid," I confessed.

She raised up slightly to see my face. "What are you afraid of?"

"You, sort of."

"Me?" she said in surprise.

"Sort of."

"Why?" she asked.

"I'm afraid I'll lose you. And that's why I have this …"

I started fishing something out of my pocket.

Tears appeared in her eyes when she saw the ring I produced from my pocket. It wasn't large or flashy. It was elegant with clean lines and a single diamond. It was like Sarina herself. Naturally beautiful without a lot of effort.

"Is that what I think it is?" she choked out.

I held the ring in my fingers and hesitated. Now that I was actually doing it, I wondered if I could. Twice before I'd asked women to marry me. Twice before they said yes. And twice before they betrayed me and left me alone. It took all my resolve to trust again.

"Sarina Miller, will you marry me?" I finally managed to say.

Her lip quivered and the tears flowed. "Are you sure about this? I know what you've been through. I know what I've been through. Do you think we can make it work when it never did before for either of us?"

"I am sure. As long as we keep our focus right, God will see us through. But if you're not sure, then don't say yes. I don't know if I can go through all the pain again."

"I love you. I don't want to say no. I don't want to lose you," she stammered.

"Then what do you say?"

"Then I say 'yes'!" she exclaimed and kissed me.

I slipped the ring on her finger and she cried even more. We kissed in spite of her tears of joy. The magic of the night, the magic of the cabin, and the magic of love was going to win this time.

A loud pop from the fire burst the magic and the quilt and the wine were gone. The ring was gone. Sarina was gone. I sat alone on the sofa in a quiet cabin in the mountains miles from anywhere that was somewhere. It was Christmas Eve and I was alone again, just as I'd been the past few years. There was no Sarina, there was no one. I had no one to hold, no one to kiss.

The bright moon shone down on the snow-covered ground and the world outside sparkled. I stared out the window and allowed myself a moment to shed quiet tears. Year after year I came here alone with my Christmas wish. Year after year I remained alone. At least this year it was a beautiful night.

~~~

Did you know I like to write: The Trillborne Wife, Policy, Some Reason, and Fractured Unity.

Time To Clean Those Drives!

Now that my most recent book project is completed and published, it's time to tackle something that's been building up for a while now.

Digital clutter.

I look around in my folders and there are files everywhere. I have bits of this and bits of that, various cover designs at various revision levels, snippets of chapters that were excised for brevity and clarity but worthy of keeping, you name it I have it. It's everywhere and it's a disorganized mess.

Part of this problem occurs because of the way I go about things. I do most of my work online and store everything in the cloud. As a result, my cloud drive is just as disorganized as my local drives. I say local drives because I work from multiple computers, my phone, and my tablet. This is why I do things in the cloud: I can work from anywhere on nearly anything.

So. I'm not complaining about the mess that I made by myself. I'm just pointing out that every so often we all need to do some housekeeping on our computers. It's just my turn.

Since buying bigger hard drives for archiving doesn't really address the problem (I now have two 1 TB drives and one 2 TB drive) but rather moves it around, I have to do the hard thing and look at the files. I'll probably make a grand backup of stuff first, then I'll start culling, both local and cloud.

The most important thing to me to keep are files containing the following:

- photos from my camera/phone
- completed books
- in-process books
- supporting material for books
- source code for software I've written for myself
- music files
- video files
- video project files
- image project files
- legal, tax, and financial files

This is no small task and I'll be taking bites out of this elephant over the Christmas holidays. If I ever post a screaming fit at myself, you know I accidentally deleted something important and it was permanent.

Pray for me :-)

-Kevin

Did you know I like to write: The Trillborne Wife, Policy, Some Reason, and Fractured Unity.

Fractured Unity has now been released!

Deep space is dangerous and humans are fragile beings. Few know this as well as Chief Safety Officer Kenik Duncan. He and a close-knit prospecting crew arrive at Drium, an unexplored world some twenty light years from their home on Unity Station. He has just one job: keep the crew alive. When the unthinkable happens, he finds himself reliving the same crisis that nearly killed him as a younger man. As the reality of isolation gnaws at the crew, Kenik has to make a choice. He can't save them all. But, he can save one ... if he can escape the snare of a fractured unity.

Available now on Kindle and paperback.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078G83F3N

Did you know I like to write: The Trillborne Wife, Policy, Some Reason, and Fractured Unity.

Storm rolling in.

This is the kind of thing I picture in my latest book when I refer to a storm rolling in.

Author Update!

Two days ago, on May 15, 2017, I finished the draft of my latest book. The draft has come in at a little over 135,000 words. Now, I start the editing process. I'm hopeful to pull that number down a little bit and I certainly don't want to make it worse.

Anyway, on Friday, May 19, 2017, I'll be revealing the book title and synopsis on my Facebook author page. At that time, I'll be releasing Chapter 1 beta version on that page so anyone who follows my author page can read it.

I like the path the story took as I developed it. This has been fun.

Did you know I like to write: The Trillborne Wife, Policy, and Some Reason.

An Author's Update

It felt good to get into the "zone" while writing. A couple of weeks ago, I decided to get my butt in gear and do some significant writing on my newest book. I feel pretty good about my results so far. I've drafted 7.5 chapters in the last two weeks for a total of just under 27,000 words.

I don't know how other authors do things, but I really get into the character's emotions. I've been sitting here tonight angry, sad, happy, concerned, afraid, and everything in between.

It may sound like such a chore, but seriously, I love it when I get in the zone like this. It's an awesome feeling when you are creating a story and it actually surprises you the way it evolves in ways you never expected.

I'm following an outline and sticking fairly close to it, but some things sprang onto the page I never imagined. They just happened. That may sound odd if you've never experienced it, but it is awesome.

Sometimes, it's frustrating. I knew how I wanted the relationship between two characters to be, but the story wrote a different relationship. I fought with the story a few days, but the story won. What I originally wanted was just... bad. Just incredibly bad. What it became was good. Or at least potentially good.

I hope to write an update at least once a week. That should hold me accountable in keeping up the writing schedule so I can finish this book for self-publication in June or July.

Note: editing can take a really long time.

The Nearly Lost Art of Assembly Language

Looking around at all the modern programming languages and methods, one would think we know more about writing good code now than ever before. One would think that we have risen to the point of writing code in ways that preclude the necessity of even understanding how the CPU operates and the operating system functions.

Sadly, we are at that point to a large extent. Ask new grad programmers - I dare not list the degrees specifically given the plethora of degrees that generate programmers - how their lines of code actually work under the covers and you will get stammers or blank stares. Ask them how function calls - and even if you are an object-oriented enthusiast methods are still functions - are handled in context switches. You may get an explanation shows a rudimentary explanation, but ask them for specific CPU register names and you've exceeded their wealth of knowledge.

Once upon a time, universities taught programmers how to write assembly language code. That is no longer the case. You will find it in masters programs as electives, maybe even a short segment of a required class, but you don't find undergrads being taught assembly language code.

In the past, the argument could be made that was because there were far too many processor architectures that had vastly different instruction sets. That meant there was no predominant assembly language with the exception of IBM mainframe assembly language courtesy of the System 370 which a lot of guys my age had to learn.

Some of us also picked up VAX assembly language and maybe even Sparc. Some of us were fortunate enough to have learned assembly language programming for the x86 architecture back in the day.

But the diversity excuse for not teaching assembly language doesn't float anymore. And in for all practical and commercial concerns, there are two assembly languages that could dominate for the role: x86 and ARM.

One could add Arduino to that list now as it's popularity among hobbyists is huge.

With the small device world embracing ARM, its assembly language would be a strong contender. With the thriving popularity of Arduino, that is also a strong contender.

However, the reality is every programmer out there has access to some kind of x86 based PC or laptop. They also have a number of excellent hypervisors that can provide x86 virtual machines to safely hammer away in assembly language in kernel space without the worry of damaging their actual machine.

So that begs the question. With the ubiquitous availability of computers and the gcc suite which compiles x86 assembly language, there really is no barrier to learning assembly language or teaching it in colleges and universities.

There is something satisfying, even elegant, in writing assembly language code. Seeing the machine code representation output from the assembler is like seeing the actual Rosetta Stone (not the software, the actual artifact). You see this indecipherable sequence of numbers (in hex) and its simplest explanation in a readable format.

I like that.

So the next time you are crafting your amazing class structure or using some new programming pattern for handling linked lists or some new multi-way linked trees, take a moment to pause and remember there is machine code under it. And think about that machine code as if it were on a Rosetta Stone that you can read.

Also rememver that every line of high-level code, from the "p = p->next" to the "object.next" iterator, can all be written in assembly language. Yes, it would take longer. And it not only can be done, it has been done.

Happy Independence Day!

Just a quick note to say, happy Independence Day, everyone!

Have a wonderful and enjoyable day and remember all those lives sacrificed for our freedom.

Let us also never forget that freedom from an oppressive government was not a one time thing back in 1776. It is an ongoing fight to retain our freedoms. 

Remember, peace without freedom is no peace it all. Sometimes it takes a violent good to overcome a violent evil.

--

Did you know I like to write: The Trillborne Wife, Policy, and Some Reason.

A Nice Conundrum

I have a rather nice conundrum. I have five really good book ideas at once. I am currently working on a sequel book to my first book, The Trillborne Wife, and I would definitely like to finish that first. 

But these pesky book ideas keep coming to the front of my mind and interfering. 

It's not all bad. In some ways, I've used some of the new ideas, and my recent re-obsession with playing World of Warcraft, to experiment with some character ideas that are making their way into the current book project and will ultimately be in future books as well.

It's tough having too many ideas, but much preferable to the lack of ideas.

--

Did you know I like to write: The Trillborne Wife, Policy, and Some Reason.

I've Created A Monster

My little girl watched her mother and me play World of Warcraft when she was very little. She watched her brother play it. For the last two years she has begged us to play. We had already stopped playing and had no intention of restarting.

Then the Warcraft movie came out. Then Blizzard sent me a free Warlords of Draenor expansion if I renewed my account. 

I did. And my wife did. 

So now my little 7 yo drop of sunshine is playing WoW. 

What have I done?

Well, at least she's playing Horde :-)

--

Did you know I like to write: The Trillborne Wife, Policy, and Some Reason.

I Voted

     The following is mostly for my conservative/Republican friends. If you think you would get agitated by conservative politics, please just skip this. I really don't want to read comments that slam or shame me for being conservative or a Republican. And I certainly don't want to read your comments that try to explain to me why you think I'm stupid. Just practice some tolerance and turn a blind eye to this post. Otherwise, read on.

     Well, I voted in the primary yesterday. I voted for Ted Cruz. I know some disagree with that, and that's fine. Of those remaining in the race, he was my top pick that stood a chance of actually doing some good as president, and that goes for both parties.

     However, it looks like Trump came away with more delegates than Cruz here in NC and the Don may be the presidential candidate for the Republicans this year. I know many don't like that prospect, and that's fine.

     If you would please, read my summary of the top four candidates with an open mind before you decide to judge me.

     Of the four top candidates - Trump, Cruz, Sanders, Clinton - there are four distinct types of personalities, behaviors, and results we can expect. The only thing they share in common is broken promises.

     So what's the worst that can happen as president for each of these candidates?

     Ted Cruz has the most potential to achieve some cooperation in government, has fairly sound financial policies. In the end, the worst that can happen is not a whole lot gets done but what does get done improves economic conditions here in the country and keeps us from starting too much crap in other countries.

     Donald Trump has proven to be a highly divisive individual. He says a lot of inflammatory things simply for effect. He has shown the ability to manage large capitalist countries with greater success than the current administration has managed our national economy. In the end, Congress won't really cooperate with him except for immigration stuff, which though you may not like it and are afraid to admit it, he is right. We need to stop the invasion from Mexico and Islamic extremists. So not a lot will get done and we're no worse off economically.

     Hillary Clinton has proven to be a person you simply can't trust. She tells verifiable lies every single time she is on camera. Why people believe her and why she has not been arrested for mishandling classified data is completely insane. If someone like myself had sent just one email with the kinds of information she has, we would have been arrested, immediately, and charged with a felony. But Hillary has friends in the right places. Anyway, she is an egomaniac and one of those power hungry people that will seek all possible means to expand presidential power and consolidate control over congress that was started with the present administration. She would undeniably stack the Supreme Court with liberals that support her and the American citizens will be held hostage under the law for generations while she lives above the law.

     Bernie Sanders is an admitted socialist who is running for president of a capitalist nation. There is only one way to transform a capitalist nation to socialism: force. He has promised way more than any nation can deliver. His promises and his economic ideas will absolutely lead to economic ruin and taxes that break the common man. If Sanders were to get his way and get the things he wants to do passed in congress, this nation will be reduced to poverty. Period. He points to European socialist nations with tax rates hovering around 50% for everyone, with lower standards of living than we have now, and he calls that successful.

     So in short, Cruz will do little and the economy will suffer the least, and most likely will improve with conservative fiscal leadership. Trump will get almost nothing done, will not negatively impact the economy, and will generate lots of great memes and quotes while president. Clinton cannot be trusted and will use her executive privilege to solidify presidential powers as she becomes a tyrant. Sanders will completely break the economy and will seek more laws passed than you can imagine in an attempt to force socialism on a capitalist nation while we all are slowly subjugated into oblivion.

     Because of these things, if Trump wins the nomination, I will vote for Trump in the general election. Of the candidates, regardless of what you think of him, he has the least potential to ruin the economy and does not have a fawning support base that has already proven themselves to be intolerant, disruptive, and violent like the Sanders supporters (think recent events in Chicago as an example).

     Now, I know a lot of conservatives and Republicans don't like Trump and would be tempted to vote Libertarian in the general election as a rejection of Trump. It is pure fantasy to believe that makes a positive difference.

     I tell you right now, refusing to vote for Trump and voting for a Libertarian is casting your vote for Sanders or Clinton.

     Historically, statistically, and practically, only conservatives vote libertarian. Casting a vote for a Libertarian candidate in the next election will do nothing to get the US closer to a 3-party system. It simply does nothing except help elect a Democrat.

     I ask each conservative, each Republican, each Libertarian, and even the Democrats who have had enough of the totalitarian control shown by Obama and the destruction of American industries by his failed economic policies to unite together this election year. Vote for the Republican candidate, even if that is Donald Trump.

     Seriously. I don't necessarily like some of his statements, or lack of statements, but I personally cannot afford another round of socialism forced down our throats by the Democrats.

     I pay my fair share of taxes now. More than I ever wanted to pay. If a Democrat is elected, our taxes - mine and yours - will go up. They may not be direct payroll taxes, but there will be a lot of tax increases to pay for all the programs and policies the socialists promise.

     In all seriousness, if taxes go up, my standard of living will absolutely go down. That's what a Democrat/socialist in the White House means to all of us: our American standard of living will by necessity go down to pay for all that "free" stuff.

     Thank you for reading. Please give serious consideration to these thoughts. If you disagree, that's fine. I will not entertain comments that seek to debate the points I raise. I've thought about this a long time and argued the points with other conservatives and even liberals until I'm absolutely sick of hearing about it. So no, don't post comments for debate. Just walk on by if that's what you want to do.

     It's not that I'm afraid to debate someone, it's just that I have been debating these things for months with highly intelligent people that have really picked apart the nuances and forced me to consider things in entirely different viewpoints already. I'm tired. That's why I won't debate it anymore. And in all likelihood, if you want to pick an argument with me over this, you are most likely entirely close-minded with no intention of ever considering you are wrong. So before you call this kettle black, take a look in the mirror.

     And to all my humorous compatriots, I will delete your lame attempts to poke fun at me and this post. Seriously. I'll just delete your comments. You might even land on my "naughty list" that keeps a number of people from seeing my political posts to begin with. Obviously, if you are reading this, you are not on my naughty list. 

     Have a blessed day everyone. May God watch over you and all you say, type, and do today.

.

Preserving A Lost Literary Form

I saw this on the Writer's Circle and was amazed at the abilities of these artists who call themselves Master Penmen. I would love to have something done by one of them. It is truly using words as art.

Preserving A Lost Literary Form

The Enigma of IT-Controlled Development Hosts

Long ago a friend of mine once said, "Software doesn't wear out." He said that to defend his position that a non-profit organization we were both involved in should continue to use some MS-DOS based software that required a lot of effort to use and maintain, but it was paid for and staff knew how to use it.

There is value in having a stable host platform for software development. Often, a company's processes become embedded in shell scripts that live and run on software development hosts. This kind of investment requires stability of the host software environment. Stability means you run old software. It departments worldwide actively encourage running old software.

What my friend and modern IT departments have in common is a misconception that software doesn't wear out. In reality, it does wear out, if you think about it a certain way.

The fallacy is relating the software world to the physical world when it comes to expectations of usability. In the physical world, a car's tires wear out from use. The tires were bought with a set of requirements - size, tread type, stickiness, cost - and once bought, those requirements are static with respect to the tires. We don't change our expectations of the tires simply because our environmental requirements change. We just replace the tires using new requirements.

The tires wear out. They change relative to a static set of expectations of the car's environment. The car doesn't change the size of tires needed. The car doesn't change the tread required or the stickiness of the rubber the driver wants. If the car's owner wants to operate the car in an environment that requires different tires, they replace the tires.

In the world of software however, the software doesn't change relative to its environment. It doesn't wear out, but in a different way. Unlike the example of the tires, the software environment changes relative to other software components. While it doesn't wear out, like the tires, it suffers relative degradation with respect to its environment. The effect is the same as the tires wearing out. You eventually have to upgrade or replace the software.

IT departments don't like change. They like static things and I completely understand why. Often it is the IT department that is on the main battle line to keep companies operations going. The more change that is introduced into the system, the harder it is to keep things going smoothly. And if things don't go smoothly, they get yelled at.

So I understand where they are coming from.

Development hosts are usually a very different beast when compared to software systems used for production. The primary difference is that often a development host is used by a single developer. That developer will by necessity, alter the software environment of their development host many times per year.

Such alterations include things like adding or creating new tools, updating development toolchains, adding and changing applications based on changes in personal workflows, and simply because the developer wants to make changes. This doesn't mean there are no boundaries. Each developer has build environment requirements that must be maintained for building the source code, but the principle remains that developers have very dynamic environments for very good reasons (even the reason of "I want to" is a good reason).

Enter the problem of IT-controlled development hosts. Remember, IT wants static environments and for good reason. The developer wants a dynamic environment and for good reason. 

Just as it is not practical for the developer to tell the IT guy that he should arbitrarily update software on a production system, it is not practical for the IT guy to tell the developer he cannot update software on his or her development host.

Let's look at real world example. Consider a company that uses RHEL 6.x as their primary development host operating system. RHEL 6 was first released in 2010 with some components dating from 2009. It is now 2015 and some of those original components still date back to 2009. They use this older version because IT has invested a lot of effort into setting up a development production environment. They want to preserve that investment and so they keep it as static as possible.

But why are some of RHEL 6 components so old? It's not some conspiracy or ignorance on the part of Red Hat. Since the software doesn't wear out, there was no need to replace it. Components that saw security patches or other major updates were updated or replaced. However, many were not. Often these components are the ones that software developers touch.

This enigma of maintaining stability by preserving the past in software is not unique to Red Hat or any one company. Most are guilty of doing something similar.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

The problem with that phrase is the definition of "broke". To the IT staff, if some software has no security bugs, no significant feature bugs, and no known incompatibilities, they don't consider it broken.

However, to the software developer if some software no longer meets the requirements of the developer, it's broken.

If it's broken, fix it.

Both of those positions are valid. Both should be respected. So when it comes down to it, as a software developer, I won't insist that IT update their production software out of respect for them knowing how to do their job. I will insist that IT not interfere when I update my development host software out of their respect for me knowing how to do my job.

These two sides of the issue do not have to be at odds. We can actually get along, provided we play in our own backyards. 

Just Forgotten

I have been working on the draft of my latest book and I am currently about halfway through the primary writing. I would like to share a small excerpt from one of the chapters.

--------------------

"What are you thinking?" she finally asked.

He sighed. "What if… what if I wake up in the morning and I'm the old Rob? What if I wake up and have to start this all over?"

She tilted her head to the side and pursed her lips. "If you wake up and have forgotten all about today, I would give you another chance. We would do the day over again. If you wake up as the old Rob and you do one thing out of line, I'm calling the police and having them take you in for psychological evaluation."

He smiled and looked at her, catching a glimpse of those gray hazel eyes that draw him in. "That's what I thought you'd say."

"Why do you ask? You're not planning on undoing all this are you?"

He shook his head. "Heavens no. I don't ever want to go through this again. This day sucked." He quickly looked at Jil. "I mean other than you and the kids of course. I'm talking about what happened to me."

She looked at him and frowned.

Now he was backpedaling. "What I mean is the amnesia thing. Not that getting rid of the old Rob was bad, but--"

She smiled and saved him from his rambling. "I agree. It sucked. But now we have this amazing opportunity. Let's not waste it."

They sat in silence as the shadows lengthened and merged into dusk. He was still unsure where all this was going. More importantly to him, why it ever happened in the first place.

A Rational Point Of View On Climate Change

Atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels are at about 400 parts per million (ppm). Local concentrations may be above or below this number but that is a good average. NASA says that is the highest level on record.

In the last 150 years, global average temperatures have gone up an estimated 0.85 °C. 

Now, let's talk about these and other facts and what is not being told to you.

Let's start with those carbon dioxide levels. If you look at the NASA chart of global CO2 levels which goes back about 400,000 years, it shows that CO2 levels peaked at about 300 ppm. So it sounds like we are about 100 ppm higher than the past.

Not so fast. If you think about 400,000 years it sounds like a really long time. Let's look at another number. Scientists estimate that the age of the earth is about 4.5 billion years old. Written out it looks like 4,500,000,000. There are 11,250 periods of 400,000 years in the age of the earth and nearly all of that time the earth had some kind of atmosphere.

If you look at the NASA data over the last 400,000 years there is another thing that is instantly noticeable in their graph. There is a very distinct and undeniable 100,000 year cycle of CO2 levels. They go up relatively quickly at the beginning of the cycle by about 120 to 150 ppm and then go down very slowly back to a much lower level. This pattern is so obvious, my kindergartener can see it.

Scientists also say that in the earliest past of the earth, there was very little oxygen and that it slowly accumulated over time. Some speculate this could have taken about 2 billion years. So what does the geologic record say about CO2 levels in the earth's past where there was abundant life?

About 500 million years ago in the Cambrian period, CO2 levels were about 7,000 ppm. That is not a typo. That is the estimated number by the GEOCARB III estimates. Spring forward about 100 million years to the Devonian period (about 400 million years ago) and levels had dropped to between 3,000 and 4,000 ppm. Spring forward again to the Jurassic period about 150 million to 200 million years ago and the  CO2 levels dropped further to be between 1,500 and 2,500 ppm.

And what are the CO2 levels today? About 400 ppm.

Now let us turn our attention to that temperature increase and let's start with the temperatures from the deep past. The average global temperature during the Cambrian Period was estimated at about 21 °C (70 °F), during the Devonian Period the estimate is 20 °C (68 °F), and during the Jurassic Period the estimate is 16.5 °C (62 °F).

What is the current average global surface temperature? About 14 °C (57 °F).

What is so important about the Cambrian Period? The Cambrian Period is when an event occurred that scientists call "the Cambrian explosion." Let's talk about that. I'll quote Wikipedia because they have the clearest description.

"The Cambrian explosion, or less commonly Cambrian radiation, was the relatively short evolutionary event, beginning around 542 million years ago in the Cambrian Period, during which most major animal phyla appeared, as indicated by the fossil record. Lasting for about the next 20–25 million years, it resulted in the divergence of most modern metazoan phyla. Additionally, the event was accompanied by major diversification of other organisms. Prior to the Cambrian explosion, most organisms were simple, composed of individual cells occasionally organized into colonies. Over the following 70 to 80 million years, the rate of diversification accelerated by an order of magnitude and the diversity of life began to resemble that of today. Many of the present phyla appeared during this period, with the exception of Bryozoa, which made its earliest known appearance in the Lower Ordovician."

Allow me to translate: During a time when the earth was 7 °C hotter than it is now (that's about 45 °F hotter), and CO2 levels were 17 times higher than they are now, the earth had the largest increase in life and life diversity it had ever seen before and since.

So why is it important that the global temperature estimates being tossed around in the media now only go back about 150 years? During the Medieval Warm period which started around the year 900 and lasted until about 1300, the northern hemisphere of the earth underwent a warming period that was most likely linked to a global warming period but records are not clear to what extent.

Following that warm period, there was a lull in the temperature that resulted in what scientists termed the "little ice age" which lasted from about the year 1550 to about 1850. During that time, global temperatures dropped about 1 to 2 °C (2 to 4 °F) below the 1,000 year averages of that time. This cooling effect has been seen to be repeatable.

In the North Atlantic, sediments accumulated since the end of the last ice age, nearly 12,000 years ago, show regular increases in the amount of coarse sediment grains deposited from icebergs melting in the now open ocean, indicating a series of 1 to 2 °C (2 to 4 °F) cooling events recurring every 1,500 years or so. The most recent of these cooling events was the Little Ice Age. These same cooling events are detected in sediments accumulating off Africa, but the cooling events appear to be larger, ranging between 3 to 8 °C (6 to 14 °F).

So by 1850, the global temperature was about anywhere from 1 to 8 °C cooler than the 1,000 year average for the planet at that time. Let's just use the more conservative of the estimates and call it 1.5 °C cooler by 1850 than it should have been.

Remember that global temperature increase I quoted as fact up above? If you accept that there has been a 0.85 °C temperature increase since 1850, then when compared to the 1,000 year average, we are still 1.5 - 0.85 = 0.65 °C cooler as a planet.

Got that? When you compare the current temperatures to the temperatures from about 150 years ago, the end of the "little ice age" it looks like an increase while in reality it is just the planet returning to its earlier average temperatures.

Now let's talk about the human induced elements of the equation.

It has been said that human industrialization has caused catastrophic climate effects. I disagree. In fact, I think human industrialization has had hardly any effect overall when compared to the planet climate as a whole.

What is their evidence? Rise in CO2 levels correspond to rise in industrialization. Rise in temperatures correspond to rise in industrialization.

Think carefully for a moment. In general, humans did not have significant advances in society, culture, or science during periods of great stresses when just surviving topped the priorities. Sure, necessity was the mother of invention, but sweeping changes in human development do not occur until there is either a stress so significant a change is forced or there is sufficient free time to create a change not borne of the need to survive.

Therefore, it is no coincidence that industry and populations grew rapidly during a period of relative warmth. With warmer temperatures and higher levels of CO2, food was abundant. Life was easier. People had time to consider options.

During the past there were two such warming periods that saw surges in human developments. The Roman empire erupted onto the world and rapidly expanded during the warming period known as the Roman Climate Optimum. Later, during the Medieval Warm period, there was an expansion in Europe that resulted in a huge number of castles and cathedrals that were constructed as a result of prosperous times. In South America, the Mayans rose to dominance during this time as well.

The Romans pushed the bounds of engineering during their reign. The Europeans developed impressive techniques to build their cathedrals and castles while the Mayans built similar impressive structures in some of the most hard to reach peaks in South America. 

Then the little ice age came and things kind of went downhill both in Europe and in South America. The Europeans suffered famines, disease, and a general collapse of civilization. The Mayans dwindled until they were mostly wiped out by the Spanish. And technological progress was brought to an abrupt halt. Even the Renaissance, which started while temperatures were still warmer, fizzled by the 1600s as life became more difficult.

When things started warming up again in the mid 1800s, humans began industrializing. The warming was not a result of the industrialization. The industrialization was a result of the warming. That is simply how things worked for the historical past of humans. Technological advances came after issues of surviving were well in hand.

Warmer temperatures resulted in increased human activity. That linear connection is part of the geologic record and an indisputable fact.

And now, for the last 2 million years or so, the earth has seen deep ice ages and its climate has been dominated by cyclical patterns of warming and cooling. These cycles are readily seen in the geologic record and now are known to coincide with cycles in solar activity as well. We do not stand at the brink of a catastrophic global warming period. We stand in a brief lull between ice ages. Ultimately, we will see another ice age come.

It is not a matter of "if" we enter a new ice age. It is simply a matter of when.

I reject your man-made global warming and substitute it with solid facts, backed by mountains of geologic data, accumulated over centuries and not polluted with "temperature adjustments" as has been the case with the raw temperature data from numerous sources in support of their myth.

There is no man-made global warming.