Why is there something instead of nothing? We'll never know.

Photo credit: NASA Goddard Photo and Video / Foter / CC BY

The origin of the universe remains a mystery, despite the efforts of some of the greatest thinkers humankind has ever produced to unlock it's secrets. It's true that there are branches of science, religion, and philosophy that have working theories on the true origin off all things, but there has yet to be any substantial evidence to verify the accuracy of any one of them. It is my contention that we as humans will never find these answers.


It all comes down to a lack of the biological hardware required to conceive the true nature of reality. Humans think in terms of duality. I

Modern Warfare: Is the Use of Drones Cowardly?

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As advances in technology allow us to perceive different ways to carry out military activities, the tactics must change, and along with them so do our ethics. No longer will there be daring dogfights in the skies above the battlefield, where a pilot's nerve and skill were as important as the plane they flew in, if not more so. Unmanned aircraft, or drones, are used frequently to target and attack enemies of the United States, but what does this say about the US as a society? Is a win-at-all-costs strategy beneath us on some level, or is the utilization the latest technological weaponry simply the most intellectual way to do battle?

Embrace your death!

Newsflash: you're going to die! Yep, it's going to happen. You might be able to prolong it, but you certainly won't stop it. Death is inevitable...this cannot be disputed. So, how are you going to go? Will you die from blood loss in a gruesome car accident, frantically trying to reach for your cell phone that lies only inches away from you on the broken glass littered asphalt? Will you wither away into a small, liquid-depleted husk of a human form as cancer cells steal what little energy your body has left? Do you think about how you're going to die? If you don't maybe it's time you should, and just maybe it will be the key to living a better life!

Photo credit: David Allan Barker / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA

Cyber-sleuths and cyber evidence

You're on the road, having just done-in your ex-whatever in brutal fashion. You're not concerned though, because you've got a solid alibi and you've had this little vacation planned for months in advance ("Just ask any of my co-workers...I've been telling them all about it"). You've watched every episode of Dexter, so you made sure to keep the crime scene neat and tidy. Oh, and those pesky little internet searches you did on your desktop PC about chloroform? You've got that covered because you deleted all the data off of your hard drive. Looks like you're in the clear, right? Guess again!
hoto credit: Julian Breme / Foter / CC BY-ND

A large number of criminal investigations include digital evidence, as well as physical evidence. There are Computer Forensic Technicians that are capable of pulling information off of all the computer devices that a suspect might have used, and this includes badly damaged hard drives. Even hard drives that have been shot with a handgun or submerged under water have the potential to yield useful information to these cyber-sleuths. Damaged hard drives will be re-conditioned in order to get them working properly and a copy of its contents

Hello, God, are you there? It's me...the Internet!

As more and more information becomes available to us via the Internet, it is becoming increasingly clear that the 'net plays a major part in shaping how we go about our daily lives. Want to know what the weather will be like so you can plan your day for tomorrow? There's an app on your phone for that. Need a recipe so you can cook a nice meal for you in-laws visit this evening? There are plenty of sites you can peruse to find just the right meal. There are those among us who probably couldn't imagine going even a single day without being connected to the internet. This is probably more attention than most folks pay to, dare I say it...God!

So what are the ramifications of such devotion to this digital artifact? With so much attention and devotion paid to it on a regular basis, is it possible that the Internet could become self-aware?

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What is a life for, anyway? How about changing the world?

I watched a documentary about Steve Jobs this evening, and like most people who learn of him I have a tremendous amount of respect for all that he accomplished in his life, Yes, he was incredibly financially successful, but somehow I don't think that money motivated him. Well, at least it wasn't his only motivation, let me put it that way. Perhaps it was something as simple as making certain that he left a legacy behind.

Google: Friend or Foe?

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The once little clean, uncluttered search engine is now a major presence in the lives of millions of people on this planet, and why not? After all, the objective of Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page was to organize all the world's information and to make it readily available. This is indeed a pretty lofty goal, but no one can deny that they are well on their way to achieving it. But at what cost?

You're Such a Hack!

I watched a National Geographic documentary about Hackers this evening. This thing I took away from it is that it is an addictive activity that even though hacking outcomes are typically malicious, the real pleasure seems to come from the satisfaction of sneaking into something they weren’t supposed to. It’s like solving a puzzle, or playing a video game, but with real life implications. The activity seems like an adrenaline fix, only for people more technologically inclined and less interested in doing something sporting in nature like skydiving or racing.

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Don't Hold Your Breath Waiting For That Robot Butler!

Remember when you were little and the concept of a mechanical man not only seemed like a possibility, it was a probability! Science fiction stories, feature film, television series, and especially Saturday morning cartoons had these remarkable depictions of humanoid robots performing tasks that varied in importance from life-saving heroic acts, to time-saving labor done efficiently and effectively. It’s 2015, so we must be really close to making that a reality, right? Not hardly.

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In The Beginning

                And so it begins, not with a bang but with a whimper.  I’m a forty-four year old man who is trying to decide how best to live out my remaining days in this life. There are many questions that I still need to answer, questions like “What will I do to earn a living?” and “Where will I live for the remainder of my life?” I’m typing this from the vocational college where I’m working towards earning my Associate In Applied Science Degree in Automotive Service Management after working all day at my vocation as a