Life

Original Mouse over text: "I'm teaching every 8-year-old relative to say this, and every 14-year-old to do the same thing with Toy Story. Also, Pokemon hit the US over a decade ago and kids born after Aladdin came out will turn 18 next year."
xkcd.com

As our family enters the 2010's, I am amazed at how quickly our lives can change. A few years ago, I was in high school. Now, I'm married, have a ~4 month old son, and this summer I'm going to work for one of the biggest companies in the world as an intern. Things that I used to love to do, my hobbies, have to take a back seat to the responsibility I have as a husband and father. While my career path allows me to geek out on technology and computers still, I miss the times I could play cello and video games all day. But you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way. When I see the smile on my son's face, when he laughs, it is the greatest feeling in the world. I can no longer be happy alone. The scriptures talk about the man and woman becoming one, well, this truly does occur on a deep personal level. I had an opportunity to go to Seattle (well, Bellevue/Redmond area) for an interview which I thought would be a fun relaxing weekend, aside from the interview that is. But I found myself bored without my wonderful wife with me. Our emotions are tied together, when she is happy, so am I. When she is sad, so am I. I am no longer just Krit Petty, I am Dad, I am Sweetie, I am LaoGong.

Life comes fast, enjoy all of it, even the tough stuff.

We are the Cause of our Own Problems

Male chauvinists create a poor environment for women to excel in math and science. Women are looked poorly upon and aren't expected to succeed as often. This is what we are lead to believe, but is this truly the root cause of women choosing not to pursue math as a career? According to a recent study, it seems the trepidation of female teachers in math lead young women in our day to fear success as well. Even my wife recognizes the fact that her own feelings of inadequacy come from her parents consistently making her feel like she wasn't good enough. How can women grow up with confidence when their role models aren't confident as well? Teachers must teach confidence in the skills they pass on to the next generation. We often look to the youth as examples of what the world of tomorrow will be like. This perspective is good, although incomplete. As Gandhi famously said, "We must be the change we want to see in the world." This is just as true for the older generation as it is for the younger.

Built in Responses.

Men love to create new things. From the earliest man Adam, men have been programmed and trained to build and provide for their families. Today men like to build cars, computer programs, and companies from the ground up. Women, on the other hand, like to design. Historically, after the man built the house, the woman was the one who had to live in it. It only seems natural that she'd make it a space she liked to spend time in. Generally speaking, men plant the food and the women make it taste good. Well built mathematical systems and computer programs also need to be well designed. Unfortunately, this equilibrium has yet to be reached in the fields of Science and Technology. How can we make the world of programming more appealing to women? The solution is simple. Programmers should take the initiative to shower everyday, clean their offices every once in a while, and maybe tone down how much Star Trek paraphernalia is in the office just a little bit. Only then will women consistently be happy to share a workspace with a programmer.


Do you want to work next to these guys? -- image taken from Fanboys

Google and China

Google and China have been in a bit of a disagreement lately. It seems an attack on Google from within China was the last straw in what was already a precarious relationship. Google is in the business of giving information to anyone who wants it. China is in the business of screening all information before handing it to the public. Minister Wang Chen of China's State Council Information Office reinforced this idea stating "Properly guiding Internet opinion is a major measure for protecting Internet information security." The reason Google is threatening withdrawal, while officially tied to the recent hacker attacks, lies in more than this single incident. Google and Google's services (i.e. YouTube) are consistently shutdown or blocked in China causing a huge loss in revenue and apparent unreliable services from Google. Google seems to think that China consistently violates Google's motto "Don't be Evil" by not allowing freedom of speech. In reality, these recent attacks have created a good excuse for Google to not have to deal with the "Great Firewall of China." For more reading on the subject see this article posted on ArsTechnica.

The world continues to change

Technology has made the world smarter, more intellectual, more opinionated, lazy, and completely alien to what humans have experienced through all of time. What an interesting fact that one single concept can have such a profound affect in such a small amount of time. When was the last time you bought a CD? How long can you go without your cell phone before you go insane? When was the last time you had a question you didn't turn to Google for? We literally have the world's information at our fingertips and what do we use it for? Today's top 5 Google searches all are related to today's broadcast of American Idol. As I am in a questioning mood, let me end with another... Would this paragraph have made sense 50 years ago? 20? 10? Think about it.

Neither a beginning, nor an ending...

The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the Third Age by some, a young man sat in his office trying to understand the complexities of life, family, and relationships when he decided to write a blog. The blog was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But is was a beginning.