*NIXEDBLOG 3.0

Thomas Holbrook II | *NIXEDBLOG 3.0

I have a lot on my plate at the moment.  I am currently the President of the UCM Anime Club.  I am also preparing to possibly graduate next semester (depending on how things go).  I also have papers and finals to worry about.  I'm seriously considering a different vehicle.  I also have two weddings and a convention.  Oh, and I happen to be running for the 4th Congressional District of Missouri under the Libertarian primary.  How am I going to deal with all that is on my plate?

For starters, I need to take care of things one piece at a time.  There is a book for one of my classes that I need to complete.  There will be questions based on the contents of that book.  I think I'll take care of it tonight while at work (if I can find the book of course).  Sunday, I'll do some laundry while working on a paper for another class.  Monday night and into Tuesday morning, I'll hopefully finish my other two papers so I only have to worry about finals. 

Thomas Holbrook II | *NIXEDBLOG 3.0

I snickered all throughout 2008.  I kept hearing and reading that hope and change was coming to America.  Hope for what?  What was going to be changed?  Those were the questions I kept asking myself.  2009 came and went.  Was there hope?  Was there real change?  Wait a minute here…

Why do we as citizens of this country keep relying on a nameless faceless entity that sees the individual as a mere number to solve our problems for us?  It makes no sense to me.  It also puzzles me how one blogger can equate a police department and fire department with socialism.  Mind you, they are advocating for more socialism in this country, but when one implies that such things are socialistic in nature, it does cause me some confusion.  The concept of public safety has existed way before the word socialism was a part of anybody's vocabulary.  There is a big difference between a county level and the national level.  Also, some fire departments are ran by volunteers, meaning they aren't paid for the work they do.  This brings up the next point of this post.

Elements of socialism, in which sharing of resources is deemed mandatory, may work in a small group setting, but it will fail on a national scale.  This is due to the fact that not everyone is for sharing of said resources.  When it comes to sharing, caring, and helping other people, it only works when others want to, not when they have to.  Case in point: Ken Starks was recently offered several computer systems that impoverished kids could use.  The problem is that he needs resources to cover fuel costs (and needed parts) so that he can service them.  Now, if the entire state of Texas were to mandate that every citizen help his group out, there would be plenty of people who would be very upset.  That is an example of forcing good deeds to be done.  That is why he has simply asked that people help out if they want to.  When I volunteered for something, I felt very good doing it after the fact.  When I'm told I have to, that good feeling just isn't there.

True hope and change doesn't involve politicians vying for votes.  It involves individuals deciding that they don't like what they see and actually choosing to do something positive about it.  This can include teaching somebody to read or introducing somebody to a computer for the very first time.  In other words, things work better when people do them because they want to, not because they have to.  That is the essence of true hope and true change.

Thomas Holbrook II  | *NIXEDBLOG 3.0

There is a huge difference between being selfish and being stupid.  My last piece of writing on this blog showed the latter; utter stupidity in other words.  There is no point in asking for any sort of assistance if nothing is offered in return.  A new ChipIn event has been created.  It's basically a tip jar.  If you, the dear reader, believe that I am doing a fantastic job, you may feel free to tip me using the ChipIn widget.  For those who are very broke or worse, you may use the functionality offered by ChipIn to copy the widget onto your website, blog, etc….

I would still like to go to conventions, but I'll see what I can do about that myself.  As for the amount for the month of May, I came up with $500 USD for the sole purpose of gauging how well the site is doing.  If I do this one month, and all of a sudden, I receive more than the target amount, then my audience has grown significantly.  When the event ends, I'll simply create a new event.  So what would the funding be used for?

1. First and foremost, it will keep this site and The Freedomware Project online.
2. Supplies, such as CD-Rs, DVD-Rs, ink cartridges (or toner once a laser printer is obtained), paper, and more.
3. Equipment such as laserjet printers and more.

If all three areas are covered, the money will be saved for events such as conventions and review material (stuff that has to be bought if a vendor doesn't want to give away a review copy).  I really would like to get to the point where I can pay people to write articles, essays, short stories, and more.  That would be really awesome, but I'm not at the point where I can offer that as an option.

Note: After careful consideration (and the realization that such a plea was beyond idiotic), I decided to remove the widget in question.

Thomas Holbrook II | *NIXEDBLOG 3.0

We all have dreams.  I discovered mine while I was at A-KON 19, one of the oldest anime conventions in the U.S.  I asked myself, "What if I were to go from convention to convention throughout the country?"  The idea of being on the road, going to new places, and meeting new people appealed to me.  However, I shelved the idea for a couple of years.  Earlier this year, I had one of those moments that would change my life.  It was a make it or break moment.  Needless to say, I'm still here and far from broken.

I wanted somebody to share my life with.  The problem was that I had very little experience in dating.  In 2009, I went on one date in the fall.  I gave up on the idea for the rest of year.  This year has been different.  I am part of a wonderful community called Geek 2 Geek.  Through that unique site, I made a new friend.  While driving about 40 minutes away from my place of residence to meet them, that dream I mentioned in the first paragraph floated back to the forefront of my thoughts.  I was listening to music and enjoying myself.  The journey was so enjoyable, that I realized that I had to find a way to attend as many conventions next year as I possibly could.  I want to attend:

• Anime conventions
• Comic book conventions
• Conspiracy theory conventions
• Pro Wrestling conventions
• Technology related conventions

I can't do the traveling by myself.  I would most definitely have to take three people along with me.  Imagine going from state to state and discovering the life of many of the major cities throughout the country.  Would that be cool or what?  Aren't dreams nice?  They can also be achieved.  I am coming very close to graduating college, and I figured this would be something that I could do for myself, but it wouldn't be just for myself.  I realized that in order for THE *NIXED REPORT to truly take off, networking must take place.  I have already begun that process with Silent Evil Productions.  I will continue my networking as time goes on.  I also am aware that at many conventions, networking is quite effective.  So why am I asking for help on this?

I will be open and admit that it is truly selfish of me to be asking for assistance.  Yes, I am setting my own money aside to be able to accomplish this task.  However, I would rather not worry about holding onto a job while possibly going on such a wonderful journey.  Rest assured that I will not cram this fund raising attempt down everyone's throats 24/7.  If one would like to help, but they don't have the finances to do so, then feel free to use the ChipIn widget's ability to be copied to spread the word onto your blog and other social avenues.

Thomas Holbrook II | *NIXEDBLOG 3.0

One hears the mantra over and over again.

1. Ubuntu is not the Linux.
2. Ubuntu doesn't deserve to be popular.
3. Ubuntu is broken.

There are other statements against the popular operating system, but they will likely fall into one of the three categories of mantras.  I can understand frustration at times.  I've known of people who have struggled with the distro that's updated every six months.  Do things break from time to time?  Oh yes.  Just ask Ken Starks or Steven Rosenberg.  They will tell you about the many problems that Ubuntu currently has.  It is also important to keep this next part in mind.

Ubuntu was what ultimately gave me hope about using an OS other than Windows.  Other distros would have various problems with the Compaq Presario notebook that I had at the time.  I gave Ubuntu one chance, and I was surprised that it actually worked at all.  The sound even worked.  I was thrilled.  I had dabbled with Mandrake (now known as Mandriva), Red Hat, SuSE, and Fedora.  It was Ubuntu that got me asking, "What if I don't need Windows anymore?"  The thought excited me.  So is Ubuntu the standard bearer of Linux?

Of course not!  The only standard bearer of Linux happens to be the Linux kernel itself.  Rest assured that I do get it.  I recognized how popularity can eventually bring harm to any given project.  That is why I decided to do the one thing that must be done; join the community and participate!  It is important to note that I have changed in the past several weeks.

I learned that I needed to take responsibility for myself.  My destiny is ultimately in my hands.  For every action I execute there is a response waiting for me.  That is why I am attempting to offer constructive criticism when something does go wrong as opposed to referring to software releases as "garbage salad" or "half baked."  There are those out there who use such phrases and then complain when they get flamed.  It's like taking a baseball bat and beating up a beehive.  It may be fun initially, but the consequences may not be pleasant, let alone productive.

So the next time one complains about a peripheral not working or something else being broken, please keep the following in mind:

1. Not everyone is going to have the same problem.
2. Bugs do not make the entire project "garbage salad."
3. In order for a review to be decent, whether one is a journalist or a blogger, the positives and negatives must both be covered.

I am not encouraging rapid fanboyism by any means.  I am simply pointing out that there are more productive ways to bring problems to the attention of the appropriate people.  So how about we stop with the insults and be a bit more constructive, shall we?