Tag: personal

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.

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.

The World Anew

by Matt the Pioneer, posted in Technology
The challenges that await us everyday become less and less demanding with each invention of something new. Something fresh is always on the edge of technology and with it a task that before was hard becomes easier. This has been common for a long time, possibly since fire, possibly since humans spoke in rhyme. To really observe a single aspect of our technological life, brings within focus the journey it took in being made a thing, both the ideas generated in the past and the advancement upon advancement that needed to be made. Life has a tree of evolution, technology has the path of invention, with each new node building on the previous and leading into what seemed impossible, only a short time ago.
Without technology, our world would be dark
The standard smartphone seems simple when operated, it is easy to learn its operations, and still has all the features of a standard phone. It relies on so many underpinning technologies that broken down would take a book, possibly an app to describe. The glass, in its most current form, uses not just simple sand melted down but has consistent electrical properties for touch sensitivity and at the same time a special scratch resistant coating that is at the forefront of Materials Engineering. Something like an Android phone may use digital communication, yet it can still call a home phone line, it still has similar features, and although everything on it is done in a slightly different way it is at its basics a phone, with internet, and apps. Some of the components on it are custom designed such as the case, and the others are other inventions all formed together to make something new. Each component has a long history and chain connected to it dating back as far back as invention itself.
Every invention has its parts
It is amazing to think that not only is everything in the digital world as complex as inanimate objects get, it is also guaranteed given a year or two it will be improved upon. That is what humans do, and seem to do very well, take something whether alone or in a team and improve upon it, combine new pieces into one, and add a bit of their own ingenuity. There are many documentaries about nature and there are some about technology and the two have a slightly overlapping characteristic. They both tell the tale of how a new thing is born from an old thing. On one hand we have evolution, which adapts and splits organisms to better suit their environment, and on the other we have inventions, which adapt and splits the environment to better suit the organism.
Underpinning it all is the human mind
The beauty of the modern world is everywhere, our daily lives are touched by works of art, our minds are allowed the inter-connectivity they seek, we have many things to occupy our time, and if you really think about it the future will be the same. There will be more invention, more ideas, more art, more beauty, less danger, and more nature. Whether we are watching movies on a TV, or using the latest augmented reality app, it stands to reason those inventions will come from the past. They will span time, space, and physics, will occupy our minds and our hands, they will influence what we think and do, and if anything, they will make the world more beautiful too.

Ideas can sculpt the future