I R Sam

I’ve been watching over the last year as the viral video phenomenon Loose Change has spread across the globe. When the video first came out I found myself drawn to it simply because it posed questions that I myself have thought after watching the events of 9/11 unfold. However, after awhile I started suspect the video was simply a hoax or perhaps a “test” video where some smart individual had thrown a bunch of circumstantial evidence into a video format in order to see how many people would fall for it.

After a few months of seeing the video being passed by person to person I became a little disgusted with the entire project. Even though my experience with  critial thinking and research is limited, I know enough of the basics to know that this video is complete trash.

In a recent interview with Democracy Now! the authors of Loose Change, Dylan Avery, Jason Bermas, and two Popular Mechanics magazine editors James Meigs, David Dunbar  creators of the book Debunking 9/11 Myths: Why Conspiracy Theories Can’t Stand Up to the Facts met with Amy Goodman to discuss their viewpoints on 9/11. The interview is available on both audio and video and shows some very telling things about both Jason and Dylan and their video but also shows the difference between seasoned researchers like James Meigs and David Dunbar and the Loose Change boys.

I’d recommend both the book and the interview to anyone who has friends that are convinced that Loose Change is a scientific based documentary on 9/11. After reading the book and seeing the immaturity of these two boys in the video I feel that many people will change their opinions on the film.

I will be returning to school to finish off my bachelors degree next year. I have about 1 year of schooling left and I’ll be graduating with my Bachelors in Applied Business Management from U.W. (University of Washington). This has been a goal of mine for several years now but didn’t feel that I should go back to school until I knew the situation was right. Right now I feel that this is the right step for my career and with my current position in the company getting into the school isn’t that much of a problem, I’m overqualified for the requirements.

One of the main reasons I haven’t gone back to finish my school earlier was partly because I didn’t feel I was fully utilizing the knowledge that I gained. An inherent problem with the education system is testing. The system of finals and tests does not truly reward people who are talented, or truly fit for the job, but reward good test takers. I have excellent testing skills and can nearly B.S. my way through a test. Since I’m not going to start a crusade to revolutionize our education system, I feel that the quality of education you receive is basically up to you, the student. If the course material is informative, well presented, etc, how much you learn is completely up to you. I think I’ve reached a point in my life where I can truly appreciate the material and utilize it to its full effect.

Anyways, I’m looking forward to a busy year of new challenges.

Wish me luck!

Having been involved in the web development field for several years now as a Creative Director and as I move towards the roll of Manager I have become more aware of the lack of standards in education for our field.

Plenty of kids are interested in the field but when they try to get practical education the material they are taught is not up to par with the technologies that web development companies are using. I realize that there are practical reasons for this as far as many smaller colleges and high schools are concerned, and I doubt whether these reasons have to do with complacency on the part of the educators. The ones that I interacted with seemed passionate about the teaching.

Our business is based out of Port Angeles, WA where technology is flourishing and yet inter-business bickering, general incompetence, and childish name calling holds the business community back from effectively contribute towards any goals that would actually benefit the community instead of one or two businesses. The result is various organizations all with small membership levels and attendance with less than exemplary results.

The kids in the community are going through high school and working as hard as they can to get out of this area. The tech gifted kids that do grow up here view this place as dead, and a vast majority of them move on to other places to find jobs. There is a complete disconnect between the local tech businesses and our high schools and colleges that I feel will cause definite employment problems down the road for these very businesses.

I believe that it is up to these businesses to take the first steps and try to work with local educators and foundations to help develop material, knowledge and maybe even resources to help develop a trained workforce that will benefit not just one but all that get involved.

I’d like to hear your thoughts on the issue and I have several projects in the works at the moment that I hope will help build a stronger tech community in the greater Olympic Peninsula area. If you are interested in discussing these topics with me, please contact me at any time.