I’ve been stewing for a few weeks over whether to start blogging again. After a 2-year hiatus from http://www.hawaiielectionwatch.org, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to commit myself to the task of producing something on a regular basis. Looking back on the amount of effort that was required left me apoplectic! However, after actively jumping into the world of FaceBook and Twitter during December, I concluded that it might be worth a go.
I’ll be honest with you, when I first heard about Web 2.0 and social networking, it left me cold. My life didn’t seem interesting enough nor was I particularly interested in what other geeks were doing to get and send electronic updates. As a semi-regular participant in the monthly Bytemarks lunches, I had been bombarded with the virtues of Twitter and other Web 2.0 novelties. I created an account for myself in November, but until the 12/26/08 Oahu blackout, the value hadn’t hit home.
There I was, sitting in the dark without a radio. Granted, I could have gone down to the car and listened to the radio but it quickly became apparent that it was unnecessary. From all over the island, around the state, and across the US, reports came in about who had power, where to get more information, who was saying what, and what the officials were saying. By utilizing the #hipower tag, I was able to quickly “filter in” reports. And, due to the sheer number of tweets, it was easy enough to validate any claims being made. It was like a critical mass of information had been achieved that was clarifying everything before my eyes. I was sold.
Today, more than 2 weeks after the event, I’ve come to the conclusion that this is just the tip of the iceberg. A real revolution is happening and I’m going to be an active participant. Please come back for my regular updates on what I’ve learned, who is teaching me, and where this is going.
I’m still not that interesting but some of the stuff I observe surely is.
So That's Life? 
Let There Be Computers
01/07/2009One of the main goals of this blog is to give some perspective to how emerging technology is, or can be applied, to everyday life. While I was thinking about it, I realized that I might have a rather unique perspective. Today, I establish my street cred with you readers.
Technically, I was born at the tail-end of the baby boomer generation. There were no computers (let alone typewriters) in my school and my only exposure to computing was the green-bar paper and punch cards my father brought home for scratch paper. In the late 70’s, I was fortunate enough to watch my dad build a Motorola 6800 (yes, 6800) kit with the 8 LED hexadecimal display output. While I had absolutely NO idea what it did, it was cool.
Next comes the dark period for me where I absolutely had to have that Mac II with the built-in monitor and upper-case only keyboard. I desperately wanted to spend $5k so I could be cool and play Lunar Lander. Cooler and wiser heads prevailed (my parents) and I was convinced that the $1,999 Osborne was a better choice. So, for those of you who suggest that I convert to Mac, I’m all for it as soon as Mr. Jobs forks over the $3,000.00 he tried to cheat me out of in 1982. I’ll take either compound interest or a signed confession from Jobs and Wozniak in return for my silence on this issue. NOT buying that Mac was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made because, if I had bought it, I’d still be trying to get it to run Lunar Lander to this day!
That’s enough of my personal gripe with Apple! Let’s move on to less polarizing issues.
So, there I was with the first portable/luggable computer that came with BASIC, SuperCalc, and WordStar. Granted, the non-GUI 5″ screen was a bit of a strain on the eyes, but I got used to it. When I finally added dBase II to the mix, I had the tools that would set me on my way to life-long geekdom. I could program, crunch numbers in a spreadsheet, write papers, and create a database. What else did I need?
Obviously, this was just a start but, in a single leap, I had moved into Generation X! Technologically, I no longer had any connection to those dinosaurs of a bygone era. I was part of the generation that would utilize computing power to change the world. OK, this lasted for maybe 10 years until the next generation claimed the title of “most tech savvy” but I hadn’t missed the boat. I had the necessary basics to keep up and the desire to learn. MS-DOS? No problem. Windows? No problem.. well problem with early versions. Cel phones? No problem. Internet, HTML, scripting, and web servers? No problem.
So now we come to Web2.0. I definitely wasn’t an early adopter, but now? No problem!
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