I have a domain, let’s call it “networking.tld” (not really). It was obtained for my first business venture.
I first purchased it when I was 22 years old, starting a technical consulting and support company with a really good friend of mine, Chris. Another good friend, Steve, was our ‘acting’ business manager. I remember us all going to Round Table Pizza for a meeting one day. We were to discuss what the company name should be. I remember suggesting “Green Light Networking” which I thought was cool and clever because green blinking lights are synonymous with network links being ‘up’. Chris and Steve didn’t like it, though. They suggested something more formal, such as “Networking Solutions” (not really). I reluctantly bowed to their suggestion given I wanted to impress clients as well with our professionalism (ha!).
With the company name out of the way, we started thinking of a catchy slogan. We started joking around after a few minutes of throwing ideas around. “Networking Solutions – because we live in the information age… or something.” was the one slogan I remember from that day, 19 years later.
Soon after we started out Chris unfortunately bowed out of the operation. In the short amount of time we worked together though, I learned how to be more confident in selling myself and my business to clients. I’ll always appreciate him for demonstrating that with our first prospective, where we were to redesign a Microsoft database (which neither one of us at the time had any idea how to do).
So now that I’m finally winding this business down 19 years later and focusing on my new startup, I’m noticing that the domain we purchased so long ago is deeply embedded into all of my infra. I can’t just “change it out” to be tidy and current. I understand more and more each day how legacy names of systems, services, etc. of *any* operation stick around for years, if not decades, simply because it’s not worth playing janitor if it works. Besides, it’s given me a chance to re-imagine the meaning of the domain name for the future.
But more than that, there’s a certain nostalgia and lineage for I.T. / systems / network administrator / engineer / dev / ops types in the naming of their systems that tells a story; and those stories and how they all play out are some of the most remembered and cherished parts of any business.
Kamala Harris was the president of the United States for a short time today while Biden got his butt examined. She’s the first woman to ever be president of the United States, even if temporarily.
It’s a historic day for America, and for once in a very long time that’s a good thing.
One of my favorite compositions and songs with :gl1tch, my first band with Jon and Matt back in 2008. Sorry for the bad quality, I don’t remember what contraption we had going on at the time =p
Apart from my love of odd/free time signatures, I’m most proud of my incorporation of the Fibonacci sequence (1-1-2-3-5) in the fourth section.
The song starts super slow but has an interesting progression that gets cooler (well, I think so anyway) as it goes on. The ideas I was visualizing at the time for this song still shine in my mind’s eye. I love how music does this for me.
“When I’m scared to tackle an obstacle, I close my eyes and pretend I’m an 80 year old man who regrets not tackling all of the obstacles he wanted to in life. Then when I feel like that old man, I say to myself, “I wish I was young again”, then I open my eyes….And BOOM! I’m young again.” –Unknown Author
I’ve found that a good way to concentrate on breathing and remain in the moment is to understand that by consciously breathing, my actual consciousness is synchronizing with my body. Syncing up like this manifests the blissfully lucid energy that is usually trapped dormant within the confines of my soul, taken hostage by obsessive thought patterns about mundane and ultimately pointless day to day things. I feel very warm and welcoming feelings since I started practicing this way.
Why do some people seek to control others? Because of fear. Why fear? Because of insecurity. Why insecurity? Because of doubt. Why doubt? Because the inevitable ticking of the clock and natural growth sprouts new knowledge that may conflict with one’s old beliefs.
When a mind is in conflict with itself, the weak will take the path of least resistance in lieu of self improvement, which is undeniably more difficult (especially at first). For them, the path of least resistance seems to be ignoring or even becoming hostile to the newfound knowledge. This, in my opinion, leads to the clinging to old beliefs with an artificial grip… One that the mind already knows is flawed but will insist upon itself to keep in the name of habitual laziness (i.e. being honest and telling oneself one is wrong creates friction and is difficult for the ego to deal with).
Those who have grown used to believing that they are normally right have the most difficulty with self improvement and growth. It is very hard to admit that oneself may be wrong, especially about things one has strongly believed in the past. This is where the hostility, aggression and control of others comes in. One may cover up their faults with these negative traits toward others to strong-arm them into believing what their own mind is now in conflict with. If the issue is not neutralized it will mutate into a very unhealthy mind construct that will create an overabundance of mental conflict, negativity, hate, depression, fear, uncertainty and denial. These things eat away at one’s very soul.
This is something I’ve been working on for the majority of my life. I like to think that I am pretty humble most times when it comes to self-conflict. Of course, I have my days like everyone but I know that stepping back from myself reveals the real truth and I try my hardest to incorporate that into my conscious, waking every day life.
It’s incredibly hard to admit fault, defeat, being wrong at first, for anybody. Maybe even so hard for some that have grown accustomed to their belief that they’re always right that it would seem unimaginable to be wrong, so they dig deep into the issue to find any fault at all they can point at and declare themselves technically right. I see this in my young children and believe that this is a common trait for adolescents… But to hold onto these mental structures into adulthood is not only counterproductive but downright dangerous. It is the parents’ duty to teach their children that this is something to be grown out of, but if the parents themselves never grew out of it, the chain of control continues.
Do you know someone like this? Is it difficult to hold conversations with them because you fear they will become hostile if you present an opinion, knowledge or facts that conflicts with their beliefs? I feel for you, and I think a lot of people are going through this same situation in their lives right now. May you hold the strength within yourself to admit imperfection, while remaining strong to hold that which you know is just and right against those who attempt to strip it from you with brute force tactics.
Much of what comprises organized religion has kept humans from progressing as a species. I’ve experienced this in my own life and I’ve seen it as an observer of this place.
The problem is primarily the function of interpretation and bias. These problems are enmeshed with human defects such as greed. Together, the innocent teachings of many religions are interpreted by many individuals, particularly those in a position of power (whether in a family, a community, a company, a nation) with a bias that (temporarily) satisfies their level of greed.
For followers, the satisfaction of believing that they are not ultimately responsible for their position in life, for example, is enough.
For religious figures/leaders, this greed eats away at their very souls… of course. They are only human. Some are stronger in their conviction than others, and it shows in regard to their true integrity. But others… dare I say most… of those in positions that ‘rule over’ others, so to speak, with the holy word, as if some kind of conduit is constructed between them and the divine… is just foolish to believe. Or, at least foolish to believe that you yourself do not contain every bit of pathway to the same thing as they do, no matter your background. There is no hierarchy in the heavens, but for some reason we are all drawn to constructs like that. It helps us reason somehow, I think.
I understand this does not apply to all religious humans. I do understand that true honesty, good will, respect and devotion do exist within many religious folks. But for those in power, in particular, these honorable qualities erode. It’s hard being a celebrity. Even a head-of-household can (and often does in my experience and knowledge of others) manipulate their immediate family on the basis of faith and religion. Power is a hell of a drug, and if not kept in check, it will inevitably become malignant and suffocate the above mentioned qualities; along with its bystanders.
Talking about this all reminds me of the lyrics… “Some of them want to abuse you // Some of them want to be abused”.
If we can learn balance, we can undo what has been done.
If we can learn balance, we can remember who we are.
If we can learn balance, we will re-sync with nature.
If we can learn balance, we will realize that peace has always existed.
If we can learn balance, and practice balance in every aspect of our lives through the pivotal and mundane alike, with the living and the dead, our minds will calm and slow.
If we treat the all encompassing concept of balance, both physical and metaphorical, as what it deserves to be in our minds, lives, relations and souls… Trouble will no longer rule this place. We will remember the purpose of life and the flow of energy that moves within us.
You can’t gamble for forgiveness
All of your attempts at this
All of the points you’ve missed:
You’ve spent this whole life running from yourself
And now your eyes are an empty shell
It’s quite obvious to all that you cry to and tell
And I’ll never be able to save you from yourself
Though it’s only been 35 minutes, and they’re just in the other room, learning from their laptops, I’ve already checked off three items on my to-do list for today. I’m almost lost; not sure what to do. I usually have had at least 3 ‘opportunities’ to stop what I’m doing and spend time with them (READ: One of them usually comes in the office, breaks my concentration and causes me to get up).
In bind, using YYYYMMDD## format for the zone file serial number increments is smart. It’s something I learned a long time ago, *nix knowledge passed to me from another guru (Garrett @ API) as I took over administrating a distributed DNS server setup for his global satellite data communications network… that was pretty sweet.
I have faith in the world music community because
I’ve learned what makes one thrive.
People that care about each other – a fellowship of
sorts, with a strong passion for the music – the art,
the movement, the microcosms that form within the
whole. Virgin sounds are created and repeated for
consumption by people, in an effort to extract an
emotion or feeling.
This core communal motivation to make and experience
music together as a group is undeniable for many people.
It’s not a choice but a necessity – an underlying, never ending
call.
—
I feel that it’s time to build a new global music ecosystem.
One that’s based on freely sharing originally created works
and allowing the covering, remixing of them too. We cannot
rely on the current industry to allow the art of music creation
and consumption to happen organically – we need new music
under a new premise that sidesteps the deadlocks that
money brings to it.
