Welcome to the Dark Side: Pitfalls and Other Assorted Dangers On The Information Super-highway

Is the Internet crumbling under it's own weight? Has it gotten so huge no one can really regulate the Wild West mentality that predominates? Does anyone really knows who is using it and how things are hooked up? Who is in charge?

I think we have become so dependent on technology and the internet for our stimulation and communication that we are unaware of our addiction and utter dependence on it. Many of my younger friends are experiencing a variety of emotions from murderous rage to catatonia as a result of the online Playstation outage that is still on going. When I offered one of them a book, he looked at me with bewilderment and said, "What is THAT" like it was an ancient relic. Facebook and the Internet has been  filled with rants and laments over this. http://news.cnet.com/8301-31021_3-20056503-260.html .

Amazon's cloud is also having problems and people are becoming very unhappy that the much touted cloud is so easily disrupted.http://www.itworld.com/cloud-computing/158589/amazon-outage-sparks-frustration-doubts-about-cloud.   It seems like the internet is falling apart by coordinated attacks by hackers. I fear a cascade of service failures will damage many companies who depend on the internet to conduct business, not to mention social networking sites would also disrupt communication around the world. In such uncertain times the last thing we need is more uncertainty.


Scams and hacks on the Internet abound and most of that comes in through our email or in posionous links put out by prankser, hackers and scammers; all assholes.  In my mail box I found a letter from a company claiming to be Paypal and offering me a new service if I would just follow the link provided. They just wanted all my information including my account number and pass word. Yeah, right. I don't even have a Paypal account! 

I, too have felt the sting of  being victimized by people who have invaded my computer in the past. Someone named Mrs. Julian Williams hijacked my ATT mail account.  It took an hour and a half to solve the problem. Boy, was I pissed.  I have no idea how that happened, but I am learning how to take better care of my computer. Number one safety tip is to have a good security service  like McAfee or Norton. I don't mind paying $60 or $70 a year for a security suite subscription that updates itself. Rule Number Two: Always log out of any webside and close your browser when you are done using the Internet.



The hacking group Anonymous is claiming they didn't do the Playstation hack (which makes them even more suspect in my mind).  I dispise people who take pleasure in disrupting people's lives for fun and profit.  These type of  people should  be vigorously denied access to the internet and technology.


Internet predators come in all ages, races and cultures . Cyber criminals should not be considered heroes. Unfortunately our world culture considers anyone who doesn't follow the rules admirable.  Perhaps when someone who admires hackers gets their identity stolen or even their Play Station service interrupted, they might reconsider what they find cool, kewl, or what ever way you want to spell it..

Criminal gangs from  around the world are finding easy pickings on the web and many times intimidate people by holding their data or webstites hostage.. Yea, the super information hiway will get you there fast, but like anything else that goes fast: when it crashes or you get hijacked it's  gonna hurt. I know one day we are going to see a closed sign when we try to get on the internet, I think this could easily happen if the government gives the president the power to shut it down or anonymous punks take power and shut it down.

Wordsmithing In The 21st Century



photo by Mary Beetle Carroll 2011

 Are you one of those people who  have a great story to tell? Do you procrastinate and find reasons not to move forward and get it done?  Well don’t let terrible handwriting hold you back!  Technology was made for you and me!  

We all started out with crayons, chalk and pencils. In the past, the next progression was to a variety of pens: fountain pens, quill pens, fancy pens of exotic woods or precious metals and of course, the ubiquitous Bic.

They all wound up in the desk drawer dried up and obsolete. We all probably went through our parent’s desk drawer with their own collection of pens, matchbooksm pocketknives and other interesting junk. Look at  today’s desk drawer and you will find blank cds, usb cords, sandisks, old mp3 players, and yeah a few dried out pens.

 Next came the manual typewriter; My  grandfather grudgingly let me use his Smith Corona when I had to turn in my first typed paper.  It took me two weeks and I had to redo it five times.  

 

The Apple IIE was the first computer I  bought.  I liked that you could  cut, paste and save your work. It made editing so much easier. I think it was then I was getting an inkling that I would succeed; eventually. It still didn't grammar and spellcheck, though. That would have to wait until the invention of Word Perfect.

 It took me until just a few years ago to start writing stories that I made up. You know; Fiction.  My grammar is so so. I couldn’t give you the parts of speech or diagram a sentence if my life depended on it.   I welcomed the pesky little green and red lines that told me something was wrong.

Things are a bit more complicated writing a script or story on a laptop, but the results can be stunning and fast. I wrote 26 pages of my script this morning in about two hours. There is nothing like being motivated, jazz on the radio and ice cold tea to drink while I  write my masterpiece. I easily type over 100 hundred words a minute on a computer, can make corrections on the spot and can globally  replace a word with another.  The ability to be awesome has come to my desk.

My "masterpiece" is a story about my grandmother who was a teenager during the Mexican Revolution. She used to tell it to me when I was a kid.  It is about the day she met the most famous person she would ever meet. It has been stuck in my mind for 2o years waiting to be let out.  That time is now.  Taking a course in scriptwriting is giving me the confidence to write this script.

Writing this script is a means for me to honor my grandmother and family with a story that tells our story but would still be entertaining and uplifting even to strangers. Themes of hope, despair, love, perseverance and survival are universal and we all cheer when the bad guy gets it, justice is served and the good guy gets the pretty girl.

 I want to make people feel like they are actually there and to feel the things the characters in my script and movie feel. The only thing I need to do now is check the stars and make sure I have the backing of the universe and I think I will…! I can see it now: "Coming soon to a theater near you "Lemonade and Justice."  A young girl finds love, finds justice and keeps her family together when her father is murdered by an unscrupulous employee in a Mexico wracked by civil war.....

HEAVY METAL FOR SENIOR CITIZENS 102 - FUN WITH PHOTOSHOP!

Ever want to put people in a place they can't or don't want to be in?  You can do it in Photoshop with a bit of imagination, time and patience. My friends in the Death Metal Band Burial of Terra wanted me to do exactly that as a result of a change in the band member lineup. 

Jacob "The Destroyer" Williams

Jacob had to take over playing bass because the bass player quit, so the band was down to four members. THEN, the vocalist quit and the bass player came back. Jacob is now on vocals. Multi-talented guy that Jacob.

The band is playing more gigs http://youtu.be/_gro1LWKhyM and want more publicity. I volunteered my creative services in that department.  It is not about money, I enjoy their energy and am practicing my PR and creative skills. I am still documenting their shows; their fan base is growing.

I also created a future CD cover for them which is not PG!  Young metal fans love anything that is contemptuous of conventional mores. This image would not be well recieved at schools which we send publicity out to.

Jacob, asked me, "Beetle, (my nickname) can you put us in water like a creek or river without us having to get wet?" I thought about it and said, "Yeah I think I can." Up in Bandera there many running creeks and the Medina River.  We went to a creek near Jacob's house and I started shooting pictures.  I got the shots I needed to create the band in the creek idea; I just had to figure out how.

     

After some experimentation I finally got the effect the band wanted.  Using my Photoshop and visual artist skills the band was up to their waists in the creek. They liked the way their reflections came out in the water.

Ha, Ha, I got some nice complements from them including, " Beetle, your the man" even though I am female. Neat trick considering the water in this section of the creek was only a foot deep.

I forgot to include their guitars and drums.  I will save that idea for another day. Ummm, maybe I will put them on the moon  riding dragons or on a giant guitar with the earth exploding behind them....the possibilities are endless!







The Electronic Pickpocket

I do most of my banking, pay bills and shop over the Internet like millions of people do.  It was only two years ago that I quit going to the post office to buy money orders, pay a bill in person or write a check.  Online banking though a boon for most is still fraught with danger if caution is not exercised when conducting business.  We hear plenty of horror stories of people whose identity has been stolen, but what I don’t hear enough of is these people being arrested, prosecuted and incarcerated with no internet access at all for life.

It is more than a bit difficult to trace and track down people who steal other people’s money and identity.  Usually, these thieves live in another country that doesn’t really have the resources or the will to combat online thieves.  The latest threat to our financial wellbeing is the ability of people to steal information by scanning a person’s wallet from a few feet away.   The remedy for that is to have a metal wallet that the scanner cannot penetrate.  I thought I would have to spend a lot of money and order it on line, but they sell them at HEB for 10 bucks. Am I paranoid? You bet I am when it comes to my money.

http://godirect.org/

A bit of interesting information I learned this week from my friend (who receives VA disability) is that the Federal Government will stop printing checks in 2013 for the millions of people who receive any kind of government payments.  She has no bank account and is not taking kindly to this major change in her life.  She cannot afford all the banking fees on her limited income. The government says federal check recipients have two options: 1. Direct deposit to a checking or savings account or 2. get a debit card. I explained to her that if she gets the debit card there are not as many fees as if she had a checking account. 



graphic by Mary Beetle Carroll 2011



Personally, I think it is a good way for the government to save money on printing and mailing those millions of checks.  It is also a good way to possibly stop the flow of drug money. But knowing how crafty drug dealers are, how soon will it be until the local drug dealer has a card reader?

The only problem I have is that now the government can also track a person’s spending habits much more easily.  I think the government is trying to do away with a cash economy. It is a way for the government to document a person’s every expenditure if a debit card is used.  I wonder how soon it will be a crime to use cash for purchases.  It seems like the “mark of the beast” (as foretold in the Bible) is appearing before our very eyes in the form of microchips.

 How soon until it is mandatory for all people to have one implanted?  How soon until we get a letter in the mail from the government telling us we will have to be chipped if we want to do any kind of financial transaction ? Will it start in 2013?   According to some people http://www.av1611.org/666/biochip.html it is on its way.

Every Family Needs A Media Geek




Have you ever missed an important family function but still wanted to see who went and what happened? The next best thing to being there in person is to have a family facebook page where everyone can gather. Whether family members and friends attended a certain function or not, they can experience the event through photos, video and interactive communication. 

We all have our own personal Facebook page, but I think a family page is a good thing to have. I also think every family should have a media geek that can record, collect,assemble and distribute information about the family and upcoming family events.  http://www.facebook.com/?sk=nf#!/pages/Alatorre-Family-San-Antonio-Texas/222061136372


As traditional forms of communication have given way to electronic forms. The event and invite features in Facebook makes it a snap to invite relatives and friends to all the births, weddings, parties, graduations and debuts occurring in our family. Electronic RSVPing can help in planning and controlling costs. With a few mouse clicks we can spread  the word almost instantly instead of having to go to the time and expense of sending out traditional paper invitations, plus it also saves natural resources! The dirty little secret of the US Post Office is that email and other electronic forms of communication are putting them out of business. Electronic communication will never totally replace sending beautiful invitations, but it can supplement it.


Quincinera portrait of Amelia Alatorre by Mary Carroll 2011

In the past people used to have to pay professional photographers to get quality large format photographs to frame and display in their homes and scrapbooks. 
When affordable digital still and video cameras  came along, people also started making their own videos of family events.



Computer operating systems now come with free video editing software like Windows Movie Maker or I Movie forMac.Though limited in editing options, both these programs allow people to make some very nice videos by using a bit of imagination. Image editing software like Picassa http://picasa.google.com/ and Gimp http://www.gimp.org/downloads/are also free.

Learning technical skills in producing better family photos or videos is easy. There are thousands of tutorials  available online on You Tube to teach an eager learner the basics of lighting, shooting, editing and digital imaging. Hopefully, the days of boring, fuzzy video and bad sound are on the wane. A more polished production telling a story is more enjoyable and entertaining than just a long clip of shaky video. I made a short video of my cousin Johnny's first karate tournament. It may not be significant to anyone else, but this video captures his commitment to a sport and shows a mother's pride in supporting her son's efforts and goals.

Whether it is an estranged brother, an elderly aunt unable to travel, or future generations of family, technology does and will allow them to vicariously enjoy family events. Even through the distance of time and space digital communications will keep them aware that they are indeed part of a family. The digitally recorded history of my family can continue once I find a younger family member to take up the mantle as my family's media geek. I guess I should start recruiting at the next family function.  Hmmm, Cousin Terrie might be a good prospect.....

Truth, Justice and The Internet Way

Media Technology can be used for the common good or for just plain evil. We have seen in the last two months how the internet, cell phones and Youtube have been the catalyst for social change in countries that are very resistant to change.  Some of that change has been for real and some of it has been for show.

Witness Saudi Arabia and other countries giving away billions to their disaffected populations. Do the people in power really believe they can stave off revolution by throwing money at people? There are problems that require a change of heart and minds, not just the King’s spare change.

We have also seen that subjects or viewpoints that we disagree with or find reprehensible abound in cyberspace. Whether it is some bizarre cultural practice or some group hating another, the internet plays host to all. 


The US Supreme Court recently ruled that the Westborough Baptist Church of Wichita had a right to picket the funerals of soldiers to express their hatred of  homosexuals. Though many of us find the actions and message of Westboro Baptist Church disgusting, the Supreme Court ruled a small group of people have the right to offend the majority.

In repressive countries like China, Iran and North Korea  the government has total control over what information their citizens receive.  In North Korea for instance the people are starving and are told that Americans are cannibals.  Many people believe it because they have been brainwashed by the state.  My fecetious reply to a curious North Korean would be, "Why you are so skinny you wouldn't even make a good snack.“

Media can be manipulated to seem authentic and real.  If you don’t have the technology to do so, the next best thing is to repress the truth and create a reality that will help control the masses.  Some people entrenched in power for decades believe the general population cannot handle the truth and will go to great lengths to protect both lies and truth.  Ultimately the truth is not in the eye of the beholder, but in the power of the person, or organization presenting what they say is the truth.

I believe that hundreds, if not thousands of people have died this week in all the conflicts going on in the world. The only truth I am really sure of this week is that "Knut" the polar bear died.

Front Row Seats To Hell

Watching video of the tsunami in Japan racing across the fields gives me a rush at mother nature's might. People had never so keenly witnessed the power of a tsunami before the advent of movie and still cameras. We can experience these events safely from our homes and offices. The horrible ones like the recent Japan 9.1 and tsunami http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12307698 kept us glued to the news whether it was radio, tv or the Internet.

Technology has made everyone a news reporter. With all the cell phones and cameras in Japan there are hundreds of thousands of videos and pictures of the devastation flooding the Internet. Now, the threat of their nuclear reactors melting down is a very real possibility. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Kc-KvQ-XUQ Not to sound callous, but finally something  more profound  on the news than a celebrity drug addict melting down.

Dramatic events like the Hindenburg blowing up are iconic images of tragedy. I know we all feel a rush when we see such images of destruction.  The first time I saw that video, I could  feel the heat and hear the girders twisting in the inferno, not to mention the explosion of the gas.

Reading about an exploding airship is not as exciting  as seeing it happen even if it is only a still shot. Seeing the video is more exciting than viewing a still.   I could see red and yellow even though the video was in black and white. 

words:http://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video;_ylt=A0SO8Zl7Wn1NrnoAE.f7w8QF;_ylu=X3oDMTBncGdyMzQ0BHNlYwNzZWFyY2gEdnRpZAM-?p=the+hindenburg+broadcast&fr=mcsaoff&ei=utf-8&fr2=tab-web&n=21&tnr=20&y=Search

Technology has given us new eyes and ears to supplement our own.  We can go  from the depths of the ocean to other galaxies or we can go to a grocery store in Japan and experience a 9.1 without having to worry about being crushed or killed by flying debris. .http://wwfw.youtube.com/watch?v=MW6u2ENXCHQ&feature=related

Though we are tempted to be mesmerized by horror and drama, people also use the Internet and multimedia to help one another during times of overwhelming crises. Rescue efforts and fundraising can be coordinated via the Internet and twitter. The worlds scientific minds can come together to help solve problems like the one's happening in Japan.  In this case, it is not just  one country's problem because 2 or 3 nuclear reactor cores melting down can affect the whole planet, not just Japan. 

I think the Japanese people are still in shock and will continue to suffer, but they will survive. Though they are a modern country, the destruction has reduced some of Japan to very primitive conditions. I would ask all who read this or have religious or spiritual feelings to pray for the people of Japan as they struggle to recover from this massive disaster. If you can help in any other way; please do.