Light in the dark

We are thrown into this world with such little guidance. Parents are more relaxed with the standards their children must uphold and this in turn makes their children's children even lower on standards. Perhaps, people don't see this as an issue, their standards are so low that they don't care about moral issues. I am thankful for the resources I have been given through religion. The LDS church is not alone in the fight to keep standards high. There are other organizations out there, helping to maintain the integrity of people around the world. It's up to us to live right and help our children to grow up as a beacon to the world. By doing our part, we can help save a world that is growing ever darker.

Vlog

Light of the Internet

The Internet is filth. Of course, there are many useful websites out there, but a large portion of the Internet is dedicated to degrading and disgraceful acts. Searches for religion will result in topics that are anti-God or against specific religions. The number of uplifting sites are limited and without them, we would be in a worse state than we are now. In the midst of all of these evils, we, as a faith and people, need to stand tall. Official LDS websites help to debunk erroneous myths about the LDS faith, not only is this important, but we are provided with a place that we can find uplifting and inspiring material, without worry of stumbling across objectional material. We are a light to the world and we need to continue to shine our light in all areas of the world, no matter how dark, including, and perhaps especially, the Internet.

Open Source

Open source software is common these days, from programs such as Open Office to Linux operating systems. We are provided with plenty of free versions of the software big corporations are attempting to charge hundreds of dollars for. Of course, there are pros and cons as usual that come with free software. The pros are first, it's free! Secondly, there are often cool and very useful features added to make the users life better. The cons are, however, it's free! Interestingly enough, people don't want to put as much effort into something they aren't getting paid to make. I have found, from personal experience, that the open source versions of software are a lot less reliable than their costly competitors. Linux lacks the support and compatibility of Macs and Windows. Open Office has many features, but they don't always work as intended and the documents don't port their formatting to other word processors. Many open source programs are prone to freezing and unexpected behavior, probably due to lack of thorough testing. After all, who wants to waste their time testing something they aren't being paid to produce?

Banning outsourcing

Friedman considers the idea of banning outsourcing in The World is Flat, but dismisses the idea, believing that it would be detrimental to the goals America is trying to achieve (globalization). While this might be true, perhaps the goal we are trying to achieve is not the most beneficial goal for our country.

Outsourcing has many benefits for companies, the main one being cost reductions. On the other hand, outsourcing removes thousands of jobs from America each year. It's estimated that we could be losing up to 200,000 jobs a year to outsourcing. The unemployment rate in the USA is currently 9.7% (as of february 2010), which equates to approximately 15 million people that are unemployed. After 10 years of losing jobs at a rate of 200,000 per year, we will have lost 2 million jobs. Assuming this has already been happening, how many jobs have we lost to other countries, when we have plenty of people in our own country in need of work? If we continue with this trend, unemployment rates will continue to rise. The countries that we outsource to have practically no limit to the human resources they have available, the population of China and India are the largest in the world, it is entirely possible to give almost every job we have in the US to those countries and still have more people available to work. Unemployment would be up to 70-80% in the US, but we would have managed to globalize businesses and trade and these other countries we have been outsourcing to would be thriving. Finally! We will have achieved our goal and the world will be a better place. . .

So, where will this end? Should we continue to outsource jobs in order to save some money? If we banned outsourcing, the price of products would rise in the US. Maybe, we should just make the sacrifice for the better of our own country, or maybe there is another way? Prices would rise because we have a minimum wage set by the government, that prevents companies from paying American employees as little as they pay those in other countries. With all the unemployed people we have here, wouldn't $2 an hour be better than $0 an hour? Surely, the government could put something in place to allow companies to hire those without jobs, that desperately need money, for an amount smaller than minimum wage. If it was closely monitored, so that companies can't abuse the idea of outsourcing to pay their employees less, we could employ struggling Americans and still keep costs down.

Globalization in my opinion can never fully work, unless all countries unite as one. This seems a highly improbably event and thus integrating economies is not helping our country. We enjoy some benefits, which cannot be ignored, but is it really worth ignoring those struggling in our country to help those elsewhere? Let's sort out our own problems before looking to others.

BLS news release
Outsourcing's long-term effects on U.S.jobs

Copyright

The copyright system is in place to protect people. It stops others from stealing an idea and using it for their own gain. This is a good thing, sometimes, but how is this really affecting society? What if Picasso has copyrighted his artistic ideas? Or any other ground breaking artist, scientist or inventor? Our society would be years behind in progression compared to where we are today. The ideas of one person help to inspire others. We can't remove copyright altogether or it may have a similar effect (everyone copying each other and never coming up with new ideas), but perhaps the system should be more relaxed and less geared towards making money.

The dangers of CS404

People love to rant about video game addiction, but what about the addictions that are commonly ignored? I never saw a warning sign attached to this computer science class, saying, "Warning: Those with addictive natures may destroy their lives by taking this class." Why would anyone ever put a warning like this on a class? Probably, it's because we are forced to blog and we are never told that blogging can be addictive. It seems ridiculous, right? That's because, it is! I think, we use the word addiction too loosely these days. Anything can be addictive, if you enjoy it. "Moderation in all things" may not be a completely accurate statement, as Dr. Knutson noted, but it really does apply to many hobbies and forms of entertainment. If video games and blogging were addictive, in the same way heroin is, people would inadvertently try them and not be able to stop, even though they don't enjoy them. Perhaps the real issue is, people can be addicted to fun, whatever that may mean for each individual, and we just need to grow up and control ourselves.

Blogging addiction:
The Blogging Addiction: Causes and Cures
Blogging: Addiction or Conviction

Video game addiction:
Video Game Addiction
Video Game Addiction Debunked