Wednesday, January 18, 2012

And there was darkness, and it was almost as good...

As I sit here in the electricity deprived darkness of my bedroom, taking care of my 7 month old child as my wife scoops the snow off of our sidewalk, I find myself wondering what it is, exactly, that we did as kids during blackouts instead of tinkering on battery powered electronic devices.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

I'm totally diggin' technology that is coming out these days. Here, you can call me without knowing my number nor revealing yours! Ingenious!

Friday, October 22, 2010

Grateful for my Daughter

This morning and for the last couple of days, I have noticed that Mckenna (5 yo) will go to her room, shut the door and put on various church/primary CDs. I have even heard her singing along to them behind the closed door. She even busted out "Follow the Prophet" while we were in the car, without any music to accompany her. This makes me so happy, almost to the point of tears. I'm glad to see her clinging to the iron rod of her own free will and choice. It wasn't long ago that she would rail against church or any type of media about church. It warms my soul to know that I and her mother have succeeded in some small way, influencing her for good. I can only imaging how full of joy our Father's heart must be when he witnesses us choose that which is good, wholesome, and uplifting. This is truly one of the sweet mercies of parenting.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Google Doodle Article Response

Here's the article if your interested...

And the picture of what we're talking about:








Quotes from and responses to the article:

"How much influence does Google have in terms of driving the news?"

Google is HUGE and therefore whatever it does IS news. Google is not supposed to be some non-biased journalist. And Google News isn't a reporting platform, just a culling of reports from other news organizations as a courtesy to its visitors. It is first and foremost a search engine and a software solutions provider. So to answer your question, Google should drive the news if only to inundate the internet with buzz about itself for profit's sake.

"[Google doodle as advertising]"

I say more power to them. I don't think it'll happen though. Google's been around long enough with their own ad agency and have yet to exploit their vanilla homepage as such. If they ever did, it just might be enough to make people switch search engines to Bing or at the very least stop clicking on the doodle.

"But the Google doodle could also be used to advance a political cause as well."

And why couldn't it? Google has the right to free speech just like anyone else. The de facto line is drawn at the point where they start offending/turning-off a large part of their customers/users. Hence it would be bad for business to hard-line such a divisive subject.

"But what if the Google doodle were to be used for more commercial purposes? Would it be a source of controversy?"

What isn't a source of controversy today? Everyone readily vomits out their approval or disapproval about someone else's doings. I don't see why this should be any different.

"Would it give an unfair advantage to those who could afford to pay for it?"

This one actually made me laugh out loud. This question alone reveals the Marxist views of the article's author. To believe that you've done something inherently unfair by purchasing more avenues of opportunity to solidify business profitability is downright diabolical. As the downtrodden masses, unable to successfully make use of the equal opportunities this country provides, should we also demand the abolition of Super Bowl advertisements on the same grounds? And if you'll indulge me... In response to an accusation of unfairness, David Bowie replies in The Labyrinth, "You say that so often. I wonder what your basis for comparison is." Because someone has worked hard and become successful while the rest of us are still in the struggling phase leads the disaffected to declare that some injustice has befallen them. That this is in some way unfair. That we should all attain success together and anyone showing premature promise should systematically be punished or maligned. This idea takes focus off of its proper place, the one. The minute one stops focusing on betting their own situation to take note of others around them, the differences becomes obvious. If the difference seems insurmountable this observation easily leads to envy and a desire to "even the odds" through any number of legal or illegal means. This further breeds the socialistic attitude of equal results no matter the effort or ability.

"Could it create a situation where Google could be accused of advancing a personal agenda?"

Do you call it an accusation of advancing a personal agenda when Coca-Cola comes up with some new marketing plan to net new profits? Or just damned fine business acumen? I bet its share holders want Google to be accused of advancing the personal agenda of maximizing profits.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Okay so major updates here. Just go check out my Picasa Web Albums to see all the wonderful things that have happened recently. But just to summarize, I've uploaded pics from our trip to Mt. Rainier, San Diego, The Temple, and our cat's newborn baby kittens. Enjoy!!!: http://picasaweb.google.com/patrick.connor

Friday, May 29, 2009

Friday Workout

Today went fairly well. Pounded out my hour. Pushed myself a little more than yesterday. I'm almost done with the Faraday book, probably will finish it today at work. Kenna had a water playday at preschool due to the 78+ degree weather. I got her all sunscreened up and put her in her tankini. She's getting a little to tall and lanky for it though, her belly is finding it hard to stay covered.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

In da internets...

Sometimes you find something that just tickles you so pink, you have to share it with others. And such it is with:
Behold, the leftest-extreme-latee-sipping-hippie-loon's solution to global warming.
I'd almost drop $10 on this just to chump on all my friends with an iPhone. The Apps are a hoot, but definitely check out the specs page. You'll roll in stitches, if we have the same sense of humor that is.