All Your Blog Belong To Us

indexIn July, a popular blogger posted an article on a well-read site that announced Blogging was dead – long live the blog. Not the first and not the last article that has/will proclaim the death of blogging. With the cyber atmosphere full of negativity many blogs not in the business to make money, sell, promote, etc. reacted and stopped, yep stated blogging was dead and like many before them just stopped blogging. Personal blogging has been declared dead more than once.
There is the “ugh oh” when bloggers realize that everything they post is out there – and make no mistake about this it is out there FOREVER. Security and privacy issues arise. I have waffled back and forth on this one. It is getting harder and harder to keep the online me from the private physical one becoming connected by the data miners. A personal blog allows me to control what I share or do not. While I can choose what I share on the larger social sites, I cannot stop them from collecting my data and selling it. If I am going to make an arse out of myself, I prefer someone else not making money off my idiocy.
Fifteen years ago, Scott McNealy of Sun Microsystems made his notable quote
“You have zero privacy anyway. Get over it.”
Personal blogs use a journal/diary format BUT they also provide connections. If they were just diaries why have comment system? The end game (purpose?) is to make connections with like-minded people and when comments drop, it can quell ones enthusiasm. In addition, just like in other social groups (friends, family i.e.) feelings can be hurt and trusts broken.
Blogs do not guarantee an instant circle or group of friends. It takes time and effort to write a post. Personally, I am usually LAZY and the harder it gets to type, read the screen, and mentally express my ideas the less apt I am to post. It is tempting to just insta gram it, pinit, or forgo it altogether.
Blog posts do stay around longer. After awhile the importance (to them not you) of a particular conversation on the big social media sites diminishes. A blog post will be found easier for a longer period. You have control over what you can post without the “terms of service” many forget to read.
Going back to the roots of blogging and just posting interesting stuff I have found in cyber space is an option. I will continue in my belief that personal blogs really are not dead. Or I will have to see you from the far side of the moon.
I will end with a video. That inspired the title of this post. One of the earliest Internet memes “All Your Base Are Belong To Us” was about the flawed Japanese translation of the opening dialogue from the Sega game Zero Wing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vfwqvUPIRkg?rel=0

Compass Spinning

game controllers consoles

Silly me, I got bored. My blog list folks are not posting. Television news tends to no longer presents unbiased reporting. I started back to reading and researching via the net. Yikes!
The perspective: Micro V the Macro, the small V the big, or Local V Global depending on how you want to define it.
Personal: Numerous physical annoyances atop of MS. I was half way through finishing a game (Assassins Creed Blackflag) when a power surge and fail scrambled my save game and all was lost. I might have to save up and buy a power backup for my game consoles.
Local: Two vehicles speed through our complex shooting hard plastic pellets randomly.
City: Demolition starts on the downtown plaza to make room for the new arena.
State: fires are burning. The DayFire, two miles N of the community of Day (Modoc Co.) is 7,000 acres and 5% contained.
Country: The U.S. State Department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are bringing infected Ebola patients back to the USA.
Global: Middle East, Eurasia, Africa, and South America. …
I find myself really looking inward. Reevaluating – my beliefs and moral compass. This New World is annoying in many ways. Multiple sclerosis and age are the in my face you cannot do that anymore items. Frustration.
Our townhouse is in an association that if the thugs in the area do not stop stealing, vandalizing, and stop their anti civilized behavior campaigns we are toast. The religious interpretations going on globally are getting insane. I am still stuck on why the f would we bring a most dangerous virus onto our continent. Two people V 533,215,000 (est. pop of North American Continent). I have spent most of my time on earth as a middle of the road type. Neither total left or right politically taking each issue and deciding not based on political party affiliation but on its own merits.
My compass needle is spinning, spinning, and spinning.
Oh yeah it is 2p.m. and 104 F/40 C

degrees°

World Real Time

time period globe

time: 70's globeI watch the news, translate tweets, crazy, there is really only one common factor amongst the main players of war and strife right now – many generally dislike us if not hate. I do not wish to share my opinions on the political or religious conflicts going on right now. Maybe just convey the sadness or confusion. I do not know. I am conflicted.
The technological advances have created a new frontier. Social media plays out the details of war and conflict in real time. No immediate censorship – that is, if it gets out into the cyber space it remains. Sure, television stations, print news, and governments can delete them, fire those responsible, but if a tweet, a message board comment, or video hits the new frontier it will always be part of the record.
There are things I typed long ago using an old IBM 286 with a dial up internet connection posted on a PRODIGY board that I can still find. In the new cyber space frontier, what you type/share never disappears. Some of the opinions I held in the 80?s conflict with those I hold now.
Social networks and video sites have also created a great place for propaganda. It takes much investigation to weed through the bull. On the positive side, language translators exist in the new frontier. The happenings around the world in real time. Like any good debate it is easy to find the pro and con postilions of any situation. Then again there is a need to weed through the propaganda and untruths. As History plays out some choose to avoid, some censor, some just go for it and risk seeing or hearing the not so cleaned up, sanitized versions of what is going on around the world.
If I keep this crazy obsession with watching, listening, translating, in an attempt to understand the not so understandable I might end up learning a few new languages.
I bit of info if you choose to watch the following no guts nor blood shown video.

I also embedded it so I could turn off the related videos that can show up at the end as, well they might be disturbing to some. If you wish to watch it larger just use the full screen icon in the lower right. If you open the tube itself no such guarantee.
Slavyansk/Slavyansk, is a city in eastern Ukraine (located within the province of Donetsk) that was a stronghold of pro-Russian militants. Ukraine’s army won the battle for 100,000-strong Slavyansk a few weeks ago.
The song “The Town I Loved So Well” was written by songwriter Phil Coulter about his home town of Derry and the way it was devastated by the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
The Dubliners was an Irish folk band that disbanded in 2012.
Once again I wish to make clear I am not promoting a side here. Everyone has a hometown.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=tVg4jR51wLY?rel=0