Day Off From Social Media

One thing I've heard many times the past couple of years is that people are much more connected than they have ever been before.  We have cell phones, text messaging, e-mail, instant messaging, Twitter, Facebook, etc.  The list of ways we're constantly connected to other people is nearly endless, and new services pop up all the time to make this connectivity even easier.  Having a smart phone means you are rarely without the internet at your fingertips, meaning you have access to all this connectivity more often than just a few years ago, when smartphones were rarities.  With these services, it is amazing how much communication a person can manage in a day!

I can't find a link right now, but I remember seeing a study showing that the number of people we can actively keep in our mental social circle is fairly small, less than 200 if I remember correctly.  The study showed that the use of Facebook and other social sites these days has actually lead to an increase in this number.  This is amazing, as with around 600 people connected to me on Facebook, and another 200 or so on Twitter, as well as elsewhere, it would be nearly impossible to keep track of this many people without these services.  Granted, not all of those people are very active, and I don't keep track of all of them to much extent, but the fact that I could if I chose to is dumbfounding.

Something else I hear said these days is that people may be suffering from what can be called "information overload" due to all of this connectivity.  I can understand this, as there are plenty of days where I feel I just can't keep up with everything that is going on around me and in my online social circle.  The amount of information is staggering, especially on Twitter, where I attempt to read everything posted by those I'm following.

Lately I've begun playing Empire Avenue, which has been both a blessing and a curse.  It has connected me to so many more people that I otherwise probably would not have found, increasing readership of this personal blog, as well as gaining quite a few new followers for me on Twitter.  I've even signed up for Flickr as a result of joining the site, so now I'm becoming active in a small photography community.  All of that is very good, and I enjoy it.  The problem is that due to all of this social growth, the amount of information and contact I receive every day has gone up dramatically, and those days I feel I can't keep up with everyone have happened more often.

Yesterday, I decided I was going to just take the day off.  I don't have a job, other than being a full time student, so social media feels like a part-time job to me sometimes.  I felt that I needed a day off.  A few people contacted me when I didn't post my usual round of "good mornings" around the web, asking if I had actually gotten out of bed, but for the most part, I didn't have very many people contact me.

The peace and quiet of the day was refreshing.  The last time I spent any length taking a break from the internet was when I spent a week in Costa Rica on a mission trip.  Having been online for a good chunk of my life, leaving the internet is an interesting feeling for me, as the day feels as if it slows down when I'm disconnected.  I spent a good deal of time yesterday reading and writing, things I haven't been doing as much over the past few months.  Time was spent sitting and thinking, something I don't remember doing in quite some time.

In all, I enjoyed my day off, and plan on having more in the future.  If it's been a while since the last time you "disconnected," then I suggest you give it a try.  Who knows, you might find that you like it.

Supercomputing and Some Updates

Supercomputing, Cluster Computing, and Grid Computing. These are all topics I have been interested in for quite some time, though I've never done any actual work on the topics, just some casual browsing for information and ogling pictures of different setups.

Lately I've had my interest in these topics rekindled, and now I actually have the knowledge and means to play around with all of them.  Granted, I don't have the means ($$$) to play in these areas to the extent I would like to, but I can dabble nonetheless.

Over the next few weeks and months I'll be doing some small scale experiments with different High Performance Computing (HPC) models.  Expect to see a few write-ups and updates here as I do this.

Now, onto some updates.  

I've been taking classes for most of the summer, and when not in class, I've been enjoying my time off.  Due to this, I've been extremely busy, and haven't had time to update this blog as much as I wanted to.  I don't want to be one of those bloggers who apologizes constantly for not updating, so I'm not going to apologize.  If you want me to update more often, bug me about it, otherwise, deal with it.

Another area I've been spending some time playing around in is different programming languages.  Back in the day (I love sounding old), I dabbled in PHP in addition to writing HTML and CSS by hand.  It's been a couple years, and lots of things have changed in all these areas.  These past few weeks I've been doing some basic work in more languages than just Java (what my classes have been on during the past year).  I believe I'm falling in love with programming in Scala, so expect me to post some tidbits (you'll see this word again in a minute!) on these different languages as I work my way through learning them.

In other news, my friend, Miranda, over at Tidbits for Your Wits (She changes this name way too often, so if the link breaks, sorry.  She's promised not to change it again though.) has moved to an updating everyday system of posting.  Not to be left in the dust, I'm going to be moving to a posting at least once a week system, as opposed to my current "post when I feel like it" system of blogging.

I've also added a new section to the sidebar, called "Currently Reading."  This new feature is going to show to everyone (you guessed it) what I'm currently reading.  I'll try to update it as soon as I move on to a new book (or books), but it is bound to fall behind from time to time.  At the end of each book, I'll think about posting a review, if I feel like it.

That's about it, look forward to you all reading my stuff in the near future.

Computer Lab

It's interesting when I walk into a computer lab on campus. I always feel I have two choices when I walk in. Do I optimize my computer decision based on having an easy escape route from the room? Or would it be better to make the decision based on no one being able to see my screen?

Should I compromise a little on both?

If I compromise, how do I know which people to give the lowest threat ratings towards?

It's never as simple as just walking in and taking the closest computer, because you never know just how dangerous the computer lab can be. You never know just what the person next to you might catch on your screen, what they might be able to use as material for blackmail.

Maybe they catch your password and log in to your sites, wreaking havoc on your online identity. Or maybe they find out all about you, tracing all the sites you went to, finding your profiles and building a dossier on you to add to their collection.

Or maybe I'm just paranoid when I use public computers.