Tag: Life

Love

A Letter to the One

by Matt the Pioneer, posted in Uncategorized

Sometimes in life, you can go a long while, alone, adrift, detached, and without anyone to share your life with. Sometimes that can change though, and, in this case, change again. Back to the void. Back to emptiness, back to nothing at all, nothing at all forever, without love, there couldn’t be life. I had that happen to me with a woman I met from Switzerland. We encountered each other in a strange way, as all ways are, and we fell in love immediately. I remember our first meeting, where she was into poetry, and so was I. We both went to the same university, and she had on a toque, I love women with hats. We dated once a week for about six months before the cold steel of reality sent us on different paths, her into the unknown, and me one rung closer to hell.

Love tells us what we should and shouldn’t do.

               I liked that she was original, creative, intelligent, and both carefree and careful. She melted my heart at her attempts to make my life better, which she did from that day until this. On our third date, it was obvious that we would get married, we were going to make each others ever after that much better. We talked about our home countries, the nazi’s and everything in between. My life was constantly high, even though I was not, because I knew that given a few days I would see her again. Love is funny, it comes into our lives and never leaves, and it sure wouldn’t have if either of us had been the ones directing our own destiny. She was cute, and constantly happy. Fun to be with, including when we played tennis. I like to think I could spend the next hundred years looking forward to the morning each night when I go to sleep, if I could only wake up next to her.

Women are the best part about being a man.

               The Swiss don’t eat Greek Salad I learned, they mostly seem to eat squash. They also don’t like the nazi’s, but who does? I think history is determined by those who take action, not those who just ponder. So with that, I embark on a journey, how to win her back. I would love to hold her hand or gaze into her deep ocean blue eyes. I would love to go to Thailand with her by my side. I want a life filled with love, and hers sure was. Now that she has been gone a while, the journey might take a bit. I don’t actually know her last name, and to be honest, she wasn’t with her first. I have been so alone for so long and stuck in my ways, that I think it is time to change things up. I know I found my meaning in life, both work and love, but I only ever work and am lonely at the present. So join me if you want, in winning her back, I don’t know what will work, but I’ll start with a poem. As with any adventure, I could greatly fail, but failure is only failure if it stops the journey, the adventure is always there for those who wish to undertake it.

The adventure in life, is felt by loving every day.

               My first step on the journey is to get a job as a Front End Web Developer, I think that while give me some income which I can use to push aside my own failures, my own inadequacies. Why I postponed the journey though, is due to circumstances beyond my control, tomorrow though I shall embark, and hopefully I can find the woman I am in love with, even if it means leaving my comfort zone, even if it means risking it all, even if I fail, because those who never start, always fail to succeed. I never wish for love to fail in anyone, so why should I accept it in myself. Love is life’s point, love is the miracle you can experience everyday, so with that, I change, and I hope the rest, falls into place.

The Internet as a Means of Self Expression

by Matt the Pioneer, posted in Life, Technology

It is the year 2024, almost halfway through the decade. Within a month presents while be bought, gifts while be wrapped, alcohol while be drunk and the new year will arrive. With it comes the facts of this day and age, five billion people are online and have internet. Somewhere around four or more billion people have a smartphone with internet access, and more time is spent on the internet than watching cable television. The internet is a strange invention, you don’t just consume content like a television, newspaper, or book, but contribute back as easily as typing a YouTube comment or liking a Tweet. It allows humans from any culture, any society, and any background to not only browse the internet, but shape and form it as well.

The Internet can change interaction

What does it take to make an internet site? All, it takes is an internet connection and a computer; either Windows, Linux, or macOS, and time. You first need to figure out the basics of HTML, then, some CSS, and if you are feeling lucky you can dabble with JavaScript. HTML is the backbone of the web. It stands for Hypertext Markup Language and is an electronic document that can be sent from the server to the client (you). It uses tags which look like “<h1>This is a Heading</h1>” to enable the transfer of information to your web browser. CSS is the look and feel of the web, it is how you can style your website to look like a graphic artist’s dream or nightmare. It allows the structure of the internet (HTML) to look different by affecting the styling of HTML elements. JavaScript is the interactivity like Facebook’s infinite scroll newsfeed. That at its basics is all that is sent from the server to your internet browser. That is how the web works. That is the complexity and simplicity of the internet.

Can anyone create a website?

Anyways, back to the point of this blog post, if anyone can make a website and anyone can be online, what does it mean to express yourself as a individual human being in the modern age? Are we content to simply consume the web, or do we also want to contribute back? And, if we want to contribute back, with the rise of large tech companies, how do we know that we can without being inhibited by censorship from companies or states? What are the rules underpinning the internet?

Does self expression cost money?

Sure, it is great to imagine that anyone can be on Facebook, but, in actuality, is it possible to be banned? Is it possible to be blacklisted from Google? And does Twitter really need to change its name. Is it possible to release a CD on Spotify and it never be heard? Is it every one’s dream who spends time on YouTube to have their own YouTube channel, in theory that is great, but imagine this scenario: you develop a channel as large as Mr. Beasts only to be thrown aside by the YouTube algorithm over something controversial. And, if that is possible, who is to say it is done for a good reason, whether on YouTube or elsewhere, and if that can be done, is it being done as we speak? Right now, are there people who are banned from Facebook? Websites that are banned by Bing? Or even YouTube channels blacklisted for no good reason. Even if there is a good reason to ban someone, where does self-expression start, and censorship stop? What are the rules of the actuality of the internet?

If the rules aren’t known, how do we know they are being followed?

At the end of the day, the world of the web is managed by a few dozen large internet companies for the western English language web. The rules are often stipulated in their terms of service but those are long are complicated to read, even if they are read, are they what is actually followed or is there some element of the unknown involved. When you have poured your heart and soul into your chosen hobby and want to share it with the world, why should a corporation theoretically have the right to destroy your life and your means of individual self expression. With little to no court cases based around internet organizations blacklisting individuals or even small companies, we are left with two options: either they don’t ban people, or they do. If they don’t, how come? What are the actual rules of the world wide web. And, if they do, how is that building an open an inclusive society of the future. How is that respecting the rights of the individual and the whole of society.

The web is a fundamental human right

I believe, that if what we are aiming for with the internet is to build a better future than is possible without digital technology, then there needs to be some actual laws underpinning of human self-expression on the internet. If it were possible to establish such laws that all web sites must follow, then we would need to make sure that the laws are actually followed by every major web site. At the end of the day, there are laws that involve website cookies and internet privacy that are commonly followed on the web, but as our civilization goes online, I hope we can ensure no one gets left behind. With the dawn of the digital comes a change in how we live our lives and how we interact with each other. Individual self-expression is just as important as money, and our humanity needs to be respected as we express ourselves online and embark on the frontier of tomorrow.

Loving Life and Staying Happy

by Matt the Pioneer, posted in Life

The key to living a happy life, is to live a good life, and the key to living a good life is to chase your dreams or they while chase you. Dreams are a funny thing, everyone has them. Some strive to let them define them, mold them, and shape them in character. Others’ choose to let them slip past, but, it is never to late to start a new life goal. Over my life I have started many different things, some I failed at, some I did okay, and some, I am even proud of. The key in life is perseverance I have found as I age. If you simply keep putting the sneakers on, running as far as you can, get exhausted, wait to recover, and then try again you will be eventually able to run a marathon. If you keep that going for many years, I know you could even make it to the Olympics.

Life is love of reality itself

Practice makes perfect, but to become a rock star takes years. That is what makes the difference between the latest EDM artist and someone who has yet to put in the hours. To become anything, anyone can is something I believe. And if you love life and want to be happy, all it takes is to chase your dreams. If you let them slip away, it is never too late, they may have changed, but you can always succeed, with just the right mental mind state.

Hobbies are what makes us human

I have many dreams myself personally, I love learning as much as I can, maybe not everyday, but I work towards it to the best of my ability. Every night, I reflect on the day and think how I can change to being more productive tomorrow. The best person to compete with for motivation is yourself. You from yesterday is someone to strive to be better than today. With the coming of life, comes what to do with your time. I don’t think it matters what you do with your time, as long as you don’t waste it. If you practice guitar, you are happy, if you become better with time management, that can lead to fulfillment, and even if the dream of releasing your own CD never works out, you can always be happy playing in a cover band knowing that you gave it your all.

When you age, you change

Age is what brings wisdom, I like to believe, if you have a life goal, that is where tomorrow’s destiny lies. When i was at university, I didn’t think at my current age, I would still find joy from an online course. I do though, and I hope so do you. Love life. Live long. Be happy. And be around people who make your life better. If you love what you do with your time, that is the key to the universe’s rhymes. So, in parting words, love yourself and strive your best, you will become content and never regret it.

Starting Fresh, Staying Motivated

by Matt the Pioneer, posted in Life, Technology

The destination is often not the goal, even though if the road is travelled upon for long enough, one eventually gets there. They say the journey of 1000 miles starts with a single step, and this is my first step in such a journey. I have decided to do something new, bold, unique, and I am done inflating my own ego, now, I promise. Instead I’ll simply describe to you my undertaking, it involves the word Meta Verse and may even include some programming of a Raspberry Pi. I have decided to start fresh, take a chance, gamble, and maybe even profit or at least have fun, not, again. In short, I have decided to start a company, although not a normal or boring company, not that many actually are when you are involved with them.

The challenge with strategic situations is you don’t always have the best strategy.

What this company does is attempt to create a sort of different version of a Meta Verse that I believe might become a different way of interacting with technology. The Meta Verse is often talked about in the news, but what is it actually, what defines it, and how will we know when we arrive at The Meta Verse? I’ll start with my opinion that there while be many Meta Verses each doing slightly different. There will for certain be one coming out of both Apple and Meta, they are both aiming for mixed reality and virtual reality. They most likely will succeed and I hope it changes the way we interact with technology, not only that, I hope it transforms our social interactions because despite all the technology in the world, when we actually hang out with other people, it tends to be the exact same as it has been for generations.

The Meta Verse is a collection of all possible Meta Verses.

It is always either meet at the bar, coffee shop, or over dinner. On the occasions where you do go to someone’s home the time spent is great but then it is mostly talking, and sometimes you run out of things to say. That is where the Meta Verse comes in, it solves the problem of how to socially interact with other people in meaningful ways. For instance, you could interact with each other while all at your own homes, be physically present, and be socially interactive. Sometimes it could be a simple game like Settlers of Catan only in Mixed Reality so that you have something in common to bond over. Other times it could be a gamified virtual reality game of truth or dare that bonds you together. By being able to encourage social interaction to be different than it ever has been is the real allure of a Meta Verse.

Being social, is being human

That is the type of company I am starting, a new way to interact socially, a common hobby that draws acquaintances to become friends and friends to become better friends. It is also a Meta Verse in the sense that it is digital but not in the sense that it needs a virtual reality headset. Instead it relies on another piece of technology to give that same level of immersion. Right now, I am about to launch its main page, so I won’t expand on that in this blog post.

Sometimes waiting, is caring.

Instead, I’ll say what I would like the version of the Meta Verse I am working towards to achieve, long term, when it is ready to launch. I hope it is able to make bridging the gap between being total strangers and being acquaintances as easy as possible, from there comes the start of friendship and with a common hobby that is not so hard to do. In short, I hope it is friendly enough (both the people and the technology) to allow better forms of communication than could exist without it.

Motivation is the bread and butter of starting a new company.

I also hope, that it is so much fun to pioneer in our version of the Meta Verse that it becomes one of those who have tried favorite ways of passing the time. I believe it could be, and now all that is required is to start, launch, and run it into that unforeseen future, knowing I could fail, again, but trying my best to succeed all the same. Wish me luck, or hate me, I don’t really care.

Sometimes when you start off liking someone, you end up loving them.

The Spirit Of Exploration

by Matt the Pioneer, posted in Life, Technology
Some people are content just to sit at home all night and work in the morning. Sometimes I’m like that but other times I like to explore, go on adventures, wonder what more is there to see, but, most of my adventures in my neighborhood have gotten lame. Video games sometimes help but really, where did adventure go? It seemed, to people living previous to the twenty-first century always had a new technology that was going to change the world, lands unexplored, or a change in understanding of philosophy that led to an entirely different worldview. I want that sense of adventure back. Maybe not the danger, but the sense of danger. Not just on my TV, and not just on some lame-ass VR.

Real life FTW

I want a real adventure, and I have an idea, perhaps it will be something you might find interesting. I call it adventure apps. Instead of just scrolling through cats, what if your smartphone could take you some place else. It could bind together strangers, and send them on a quest, nothing illegal, just out of the ordinary, for that is what adventure is, change in your daily routine, and what could be more fun than meeting some people and searching at best, for the nicest place in town to hear an old man’s tale, of where he hid the treasure, which could just be, an old note, if you find it, he would emote. What about if there were places to go, so amazing yet you’d never know they were there, old relics, statues, places with history.

History is an inaccurate measurement of the past

What if you took the show on the road, in another city to find an ancient ruin, stand there and wonder what it was like, for those ponderers of existence, in that place in time. It could be a social opener, allowing you to make friends, obviously the app would have to verify them. As they say, give a group of strangers an activity to do, they will bond and the bonds will start to hold true. Now then, with enough activities encompassing many cities, a sense of adventure could carry on, although, we need more than just exploring, we need to find someplace new.

A sense of unity comes from doing things together

Sure there is open source, that is nothing new, but, what about a different open-source movement, like how Columbus open-sourced the ocean blue in 1492. What if we established something that was worthy of time, an idea that is something we could accomplish, given enough time. Something like the Space Race, for this generation and place. One in which all humans who want to could participate. Not in just a new operating system, but in something truly grand. What about robots, for labor, sponsored by something like Kickstarter, where countries and people can donate, and there is teaching to get you up to speed. Then we could all have a sense of adventure in creating something new, open-society for the twenty-first century.
Why not?
How to organize this, is another story completely and maybe people want to do other things than create. What if we came up with a plan that anyone could contribute to that was nothing more than fun in another way. We could use our smartphones, to map the Earth in extreme detail. Instead of just relying on Google Maps, both satellite and car, what if we mapped it all by taking pictures with an app. We could map the interior of buildings through to the most remote trails. We could discover all the secrets the world has to offer through its natural, and man-made beauty. With our current level of technology we could do it, with the right incentives it could become economically possible, and then we could have our finished map, the world in so much detail down to plants. So now that we have that established, I believe it is in need of a name. I call it #mapEarth.
Use the hashtag #mapEarth if you dare

Being Wrong

by Matt the Pioneer, posted in Life
Everyone goes through that stage of life where you think your ideas are best, you are always right. Sometimes it comes as if in passing, other times it sticks with you your whole life. Ironically, it often gets in the way of actually being right. For when you cannot admit you are at fault, how are you suppose to grow as an adult.

Growing up you realize, that life is fun at all times

No matter who you are, or what you want to be, to tame the ego is a noble task and part of being human. We all think, at times, that despite all the evidence pointing at you, the evidence is wrong and so is everyone else. This can be called conviction, or if it happens often enough, a sign that a person has an altered perspective of their own life.
It matters what others think of you and to a certain extend, if they agree with your worldview
For me, the stage in which this occurred in late high school and early university. It has flared up from time to time since then, and I don’t always realize it. In that part of my life, I didn’t realize why my social life was not at optimum. In fact, I didn’t even think to think about it. Sure, I had friends and looking back, we didn’t have the deepest connections. Then university came along, and I still wasn’t having good social interactions. I realized later in my life, that came not from not listening, but from not understanding. All I realized I needed to do, looking back, is to meet new people. People more like me, not everyone can be a friend and it occurred to me, that I was the problem not the other way around. I had always assumed, that because we hung out, we were best friends, but as we went down different paths, I admitted to myself, I need new friends to help get the most out of my life. As far as I saw it, at the time, the misunderstanding came about from very different goals in life. I didn’t understand them, even though I pretended to, and they didn’t understand me.
Friends equal quality of life times happiness
In everyone’s outlook on life, it takes a while to build character a while to develop personality and a lifetime to become human. As I grew up though, and became older, I realized that there were many people I know, some friends, some others, that would claim to believe they were making a mistake (often times small), although, in reality, they were just saying it. They wouldn’t internally believe they were wrong. They faked believing whatever they said, they weren’t genuine and when it came time to act or do something of the sort, it came to my attention they believed they were right about almost everything despite all the evidence surrounding them.
Evidence is often the truth
That is one of the strangest things about being human, that for whatever reason people can lose their minds and still put on a show, despite being wrong they don’t let anyone know. Everyone knows that type of person where their ego is to strong, it takes a while to realize though and hurts when the matter brings up what they truly believe. Sometimes it can happen sober, other times not, and no matter what, they are going it alone.

Drugs kill, your perception of reality

I believe in life, what matters most is not what everyone thinks of you, instead, it matters what you truly do. When you let your ego get in the way, it seems everyone disagrees with you, and they do, the point the ego misses out on though is that no one actually cares if you believe you are right, they care about your actions and your ability to do whatever you want with your own life. For friends come and go, as they say, but get caught up in the ego and you will waste your lie away.

Being Human

by Matt the Pioneer, posted in Life

As I age, I have realized that my ability to understand the complex workings of relationships is limited by the amount of time I am capable of spending thinking. I use to think that I understood peoples’ motivations well, and that I was a good people person. It seemed to be easy to understand why people did what they did and said what they said, but, as I age I have realized, that is not the case. My initial assessments are often wrong and everyone is so complicated. As I aged, I began to lose friends, and, after my mid-twenties, started to realize that as you get older, sometimes, even the people you like the most, become not-so-good people.

The friends you make, reflect you in ways that aren’t often apparent

This mostly happens for reasons I don’t really understand, but, when you are young you never think you will lose a best friend to Nihilism. Nihilism is the belief that there is no point to life. Personal life philosophies, for me at least, were mostly an intellectual pursuit. I didn’t really understand the difference they would make in the outcome of each of our lives. They make a difference though, a huge one, and everyone I know who didn’t have a strong belief in the point of life, faded out of the good, away from the light.

Ego and envy also start to play into peoples’ lives around the same time as some graduate from university. I don’t understand both fully, but in short those who choose not to accomplish the most in undergraduate, choose to hate people who do. Growing up I always viewed not accomplishing the most as more of a personal choice, it’s your own life after all. Now though, I believe that it ties back in to personal philosophies. Just because they thought they could slip through time, not working hard, and not really trying, it turns out, you become depressed and make fun of people who try, for no real reason, just to pass the time.

Many times, it is yourself who is not right

One of the biggest problems encountered as I left university and moved into the realm of the real world, is ego, it oftentimes means, you don’t understand your limitations, are quick to say you are right, and never care to learn. Being a lifelong learner typically means you are content, but, when you just say you are the best, you don’t work hard, you show off, and sometimes climb the work ladder without really knowing your stuff. You take other people for granted and lose friends, tend to never think the thought that you, yourself, might be wrong. And often, it isn’t even about something big, just might be wrong on one simple thing.

A personal philosophy comes from reading, learning, wondering, and asking questions. It something you build up over time, something important, something worth having. Without one, you lack motivation, lack common sense, and as you age, you tend to hang out with people with similar philosophies. When I was at university, I began to wonder if people really were going to stay my friends, I thought for sure that me and my close friends, would stay best friends. I was wrong though, they seemed to fade, out of my life. Slowly sometimes, and quickly other times. It wasn’t because of our differences in study though, it was due to many things, one of them being some didn’t have a life philosophy. They got jobs they didn’t like, failed to become their dreams, even though they could have. When you fail at your dreams at a young age, you begin to get envious and depressed, abuse alcohol and not care about anyone else.

My biggest personal failures that occurred in my twenties, tended to happen from either inaction, laziness, or failing at communicating. It is often that there is a misunderstanding among you and your friends. Those things hide in the whispers of what is said and over time build until the breaking point. At points in my life, I failed to act, I knew something regarding my friends and didn’t know how to fix it. It led to a falling out among our group. Finally, laziness seems to be something that affects almost everybody. It affected me at times, and that drove away opportunities to seek contentment long term. If I could have one more chance at my twenties, I think I would seek friendship among people who have similar life philosophies to me, not among people that just seem to fall into place. I would take a while to decide who is my friend, and I would make a better attempt to understand them. Now in my thirties, I know some mistakes that await ahead, and with some friends and people close to me, I know not to repeat them again.

I am my only caretaker

If, as you age, you keep one thing in mind, it is we are all limited by our time. Our daily time is limited by our goals and our goals are set internally by our primal brain, that means you have to try hard when you are young (and old) because if you don’t fully believe in a personal philosophy, one which is good, then when you wake up in the morning you will find your performance is less than stellar. Not that you will care, as you first start out, just as you age, the effort you put in to your dreams, is not ever wasted, for it makes you happy.

To seek contentment, you need to understand that, time is your ally, if you wake up everyday, thinking today is the day, that I will learn and have fun, prosper and ponder, then today will be grand and build a tomorrow fit for a man. Then if you work on your personal philosophy, from time to time, make sure it isn’t Nihilism, then you will find, as you age, time is key, it helps you grow as a human being. It enables the great and glorious, and no matter the end, it is the moment that perspires, persists, and gives purpose, for it is in the moment we reside. To make the best of each day, realize that your entire life lead to today the thing that matters most, is the present, your best friend, with the past as your ghost.

The summary of a life, is its social circle