On Anti, Pro, or Partial Discrimination

Most people in the U.S. believe in equal treatment of all citizens. A desire for freedom, fairness and equality are hallmarks of the Republic we have created. But are we taking a path to more fairness, equality, and freedom… or less?

This topic of anti-discrimination actually came up during a discussion related to some local legislation passed regarding LGBT anti-discrimination policy for city employees. I was less interested in the individual legislation, and more musing over the concept of anti-discrimination policy in general.

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Where the time Goes

I suppose I always thought of myself as a ‘book-a-day’ reader, but it appears I’ve been misleading myself! Since I’ve been keeping track of it better recently, I’ve noticed I actually read about 1/3 less than I thought I did. It looks like it’s about 60 for this most recent quarter, which I’ll post later. Of course, I suppose I can console myself with the reminder that I don’t limit myself to reading books only, being rather voracious in regard to news blogs and general information sites.

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Our 3D Replicator Moment

I recently read a book called The Replicator Moment, and while it was a really terrible book I really loved the phrase so I’ll keep them in mind for that.

Our Replicator Moment is most certainly here. We’re in it, living through it, watching it unfold. If you don’t know what 3D printing is up to – you really need to get caught up fast. You don’t want to miss being a part of this.

I’ve made a quick 49 minute playlist which covers each of the hottest 3D technologies in brief. It should be enough to get you caught up with the current goings-on in the 3D printing world so you can get your footing. I suggest you click on the video and watch it on YouTube. Here you go…

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Plastic Guns and Government Goons

Obviously the last week or so has been one giant headache on conversation about plastic guns. As someone who has been in technology for over a dozen years, I’ve been pretty stunned at the shocking level of ignorance the public, law enforcement, and government have about 3D printing.

There seems to be the typical gut response from the left which is screaming ‘regulate and ban!’ and from law enforcement and government which are saying ‘prevent this from happening’ and a whole bunch of public terror that is running rampant with ravings ranging from fears about terrorists shooting them up on a plane, to mental recreations of In the Line of Fire, and references to some apocalyptic version of the world where things just fall apart – all because people have plastic guns.

If they weren’t so serious and freaking out about it I’d be laughing myself silly.

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54 Books in the First Quarter

To those who know me, it’s probably little surprise that I read a lot of books. I decided to start trying to share which books I felt were actually useful. The last couple of months I didn’t read as much as normal, but this list doesn’t include the physical books I’ve been reading also. From the start of January till the end of March, I read 54 books and most of them I started reviewing after that point (usually takes me a couple of weeks to write up reviews).

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Yahoo! Begins to Shift

Yahoo! has just announced the largest clue to the future of the company – the new CEO has decided that they are going to stop letting employees telecommute to work. Now, to people on the outside of the tech industry, this may seem like a minor change. Others who ‘always thought it was a bad idea’ may feel vindicated by this move from a major corporation. Yet others may think this is a move which is an attack on the concept of telecommuting overall. It is exactly none of those things.

The reason the new CEO, Marissa Mayer, has done this is because they are getting ready to do major staff cuts.

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