Cyberwar 2013 post 5

I read an article on ABCnews.com called "Top 5 Ways to Prepare for the Coming Cyber War" by Adam Levin. It discussed the possibilities of an upcoming cyberwar and the ways that a cyber war could seriously affect our day to day lives. As if we don't have enough things to worry about, the cyberwar described is one of the scariest modern ways of warfare that could cause more harm than anything we have ever seen before.

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/top-ways-prepare-coming-cyber-war/story?id=18570685#

A quote from the article shows just how much damage can  be done:

"A worst-case scenario would feature a cornucopia of catastrophe such as shutting down major sections of the power grid, erasing millions of bank accounts, manipulating or hijacking tens of millions of identities, and/or disrupting transportation systems throughout the land. Simply put -- systems failure."

The five ways to prepare for the coming cyber war included (these are summarized)
1.) Print it AND store it (bank transactions/ documental proof)
2.) Get all records and certificates together, make copies and store in waterproof packages
3.) Have emergency basics around the house (food, money, candles)
4.) Work with your neighbors to make up a plan if an emergency situation may occur
5.) Demand from government a unified security standard from places such as nuclear powerplants and subway systems

This all scares me a lot. I think about how much I, and all the people around me, rely on technology, transportation and much much more. All of the things that are saved on computers would never be able to fit on paper, but we have to keep only the most personal information stored securely so that nothing happens to those irreplaceable things. I know that typical warfare kills people, but a cyberwar would affect thousands, maybe even millions more people and the outcome would not be pretty. Bottom line: Technology can be used for good, and for evil!

 

18 years old. blog 4

Wednesday, February 27, 2013 I will finally be turning 18 years old! I have waited, well, 18 years for this. While there are many perks to becoming "legal", I still have to remember that this age is not just all fun and games.

Why receive presents from your friends and family when you are given the present of adulthood from society? Nothing can top that. I will be able to vote, stay out after curfew, join the army, get married, get a tattoo/piercing, and much more without the consent of my parents. Unfortunately, I still have "house rules" which outweigh the state laws, but I still have hope for the future!

The thing that makes me nervous is the criminal punishments for teenagers who are 18 and older. Getting in trouble with the police can then get you arrested and tried as an adult. And these punishments are typically more serious than juvenile punishments. The law is there to protect us and just because we are 18, that doesn't mean that anyone is above the law. "With great power comes great responsibility"- Spiderman movie quote. I believe that this quote defines turning 18, because it implies being 18 as a great time but just a more mature time in someone's life. A time to learn from mistakes and take responsibility for your actions. To even act at all.

This is one birthday I will not forget, and I cannot wait to be seen as an adult in the best country in the world!

Youtube blog 3

Youtube is the best place to find any sort of video or song you are looking for. The videos range from all different things including sports games to people talking to their cats. I wonder why some things are more watched than others. There are so many issues (hunger/poverty/unemployment/suicide) that actually need our attention in the world, yet we are focusing our energy and viewing pleasures on things like music videos and funny bloopers.

Recently, the new song "Gangnam Style" by the artist, PSY, hit the top Youtube hit EVER. as of right now, (February 25, 2013 at 11:52 am) the song has received 1,356,224,241 views on the website. It is also the only youtube post to have received over 1 billion hits. Now, I'm thinking. the dance is really unique, the whole horse riding step and the jumping up and down with your arms crossed. The chorus lyrics are super easy to the song and the dance moves are elementary. The video is also very colorful and fun to watch.

I After considering why this is the most watched video on youtube, I figured that it was because of all the reasons I mentioned, because it just is lighthearted in nature and no one can be offended by it. Issues are always controversial and there will be people who find fault in opinions of others, but a youtube video like Gangnam style just puts people in a good mood (if they like the song- which obviously, they do) and therefore it is number one on the charts.

I wonder what the next new most watched youtube video will be. It will have to be in a while to top 1 billion hits though!
  

Mars 2018 post 2

I came across a fascinating article on CNN.com. It was called, "Human Mission to Mars May Be Planned for 2018" by Elizabeth Landau. 

http://lightyears.blogs.cnn.com/2013/02/21/human-mission-to-mars-may-be-planned-for-2018/?hpt=hp_bn1

Here is an excerpt from the article:

"A nonprofit organization called the Inspiration Mars Foundation is hosting a press conference next week in which plans for a trip to Mars and back will be revealed. The proposed launch date is January 2018, and the venture is called "Mission for America."

The organization's new idea is to get to Mars and back in 501 days. The official description is as follows:

This "Mission for America" will generate new knowledge, experience and momentum for the next great era of space exploration. It is intended to encourage all Americans to believe again in doing the hard things that make our nation great, while inspiring youth through Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education and motivation

After reading the title of this article I got so excited about the idea of people traveling successfully to Mars.  But, the article did not explicitly say that the mission is manned. Since I was not alive when people first landed on the moon, I think it would be awesome to see them land on something so foreign to me like MARS. Just as the article said, the space venture would make Americans believe in the impossible because that is what we are known for, in my opinion. Space is such a narrow field of study in my mind because it is so abstract and only a select group of people are even able to handle the realities of many other solar systems. I just think of the Jetson's and Star Wars when I think of outer space, and I hope someday we will actually know first hand what it is really like up there, not just estimated guesses and blurry pictures. 

harlem shake blog 1

So, the new hit song and dance phenomenon is called the "Harlem Shake". There's also the older musical group called "Cali Swag District". I was thinking about it recently, and wondering if you could name a song after a state? What about naming it after a person? Or having a person's (usually a celebrity's) name in a song or song lyrics? What are the legalities with all of these things vs. the rights of free speech? 

I did some research and found an interesting blog about a person trying to write a celebrity's name in a song and they were also wondering about the legalities of that. The response to the post was "Certainly. If you are defaming them, of course they could sue you for defamation - but you have the right to parody. Also, their name might be their trademark, in which case you couldn't pretend to be them. Otherwise, you have the write to write about anybody. You can't "copy protect" your name." (blog link below)

http://www.musesmuse.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=53818

I really agree with this person who wrote the response because I believe that we all have a right to say what we want, about whoever we want AS LONG AS it is not something offensive or false. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything online about writing city names in song titles and having that be a LEGAL issue. I guess there really is no way a whole state could sue someone unless the song was extremely controversial and represented the state in a bad way.