Tek Syndicate Podcast Review

Tek Syndicate is a podcast/YouTube channel I have been following for quite some time now. They give helpful tips such as building capable PC’s for cheap, and going over happening in tech. In their latest podcast there were multiple topics that piqued my interest. Tek Syndicate goes over the latest gadgets, deals to be had shopping, and news that affects the tech world.

The Brewie was something I was very interested in as a beer lover. With the push of a button you can brew up your own beers. While the price is out of my range it was nice to a product that I would actually be interested in. Some other tidbit I seen was how Pizza Hut is looking into subconscious ordering, smellovision is making a return, and how Logan of the Podcast apologized for recommending a Kingston SSD as the specs weren't what he thought when he gave it his approval.

The main issue that garnered my attention the most was AT&T getting into a dispute with a town in Kansas over them wanting to lay down their own fiber network. Chanute a town of about 9,000 people were sick of getting 6 Mbps and AT&T stating they would not upgrade their infrastructure due to the town being so small. AT&T is trying to block this from taking place as of course they will lose out on business for being stubborn. This is just another example of corporate bullying and one of the reasons I love watching Tek Syndicate as most media outlets will not run this story. Speaking of corporate bullying the Podcast also touched on Time Warner Cable throttling YouTube which is terrible in it’s own right.  

I strongly recommend anyone who’s a gamer or just someone who wants to stay in the know in tech to follow Tek Syndicate’s Podcast. From showing you how to build a gaming PC for cheap to exposing how shameless ISPs are The Tek offers a wealth of information that everyone should know so check them out on their website https://teksyndicate.com/.

Sources

• https://teksyndicate.com
• www.brewie.org
• http://www.ibtimes.com/why-att-trying-block-small-kansas-town-building-better-isp-1736630

The Failing Drug War

The war on drugs is a very volatile subject in todays society. In watching a TED Talks with Ethan Nadelmann about ending the war on drugs it further reinforces many citizens beliefs that it has failed american society and needs to end.

Ethan gave numerous facts to back up his stance on how the drug war has failed. He stated that the war was started based on fear. Chinese immigrants who came to work on the railroads back in the early 1900’s sometimes after work would smoke opiates. This lead to the fear that “respectable” white women were being seduced into a life prostitution and debauchery. Ethan Nadelmann also pointed out that if young black men were the prime users of Viagra and older white men used cocaine that cocaine would be legal while Viagra would be criminalized.

Taxpayer dollars were also another point of discussion. Rather than american taxpayers dollars going to further fight the war on drugs they can be used for other means such as education or our nation's infrastructure. Ethan also pointed out the hypocrisy that alcohol that causes numerous deaths each day is legal while marijuana is not.  

Some of the questions brought up were Is legalization the answer? A great example used was New Zealand and their stance to regulate and control drugs rather than criminalize them. He also pointed out that since these changes drug abuse, overdoses, and addictions have all lowered.

In conclusion this talk kept me engaged while painting a vivid picture on why the drug war is failing. Using humor, and facts Ethan Nadelmann kept his audience enthralled with his talk and hopefully sueded opinions that throwing everyone who is caught with a joint or blunt be locked away in the prison industrial complex.

Source:  

http://www.ted.com/talks/ethan_nadelmann_why_we_need_to_end_the_war_on_drugs#t-333554

Social Media Use In Business

With the growth of social media companies have joined to further grow and promote their businesses. Twitter for example you can find everything from small start-ups to fortune 500 companies recruiting and looking for new ways to get customers involved. Taking a look into how companies use Twitter two great examples come to mine Quad Graphics and Corvisa.

Lunch at Corvisa

 

 

Corvisa is a small Milwaukee based company that uses Twitter mainly to recruit. Tweets that Corvisa sends out can usually show an event that the company is having, lunches that the company serves it’s employees and just workers having a good time at work! By looking at their Twitter you can tell the company is looking for people and wants to look more attractive to people who may have never heard of the company and they like to follow people who give them praise following 169 of their 337 followers half of their followers. Tweets sent out seem to be geared towards the tech crowd when looking at the services they produce makes sense as you want people who can actually do work for your company to take notice.

Showing businesses how mail marketing can help them grow sales

Quad Graphics is North America’s largest publishing company and gears more to using Twitter to land new customers. Most of Quad's tweets seem to be geared at small business as they look to win over their printing services letting potential customers know of events, speakers, and new technologies that businesses can use to grow sales. By giving tips on how mail marketing can affect business growth Quad Graphics can gain goodwill with potential clients thus created another source for finding clients through Twitter.

Just by viewing these two companies we see two different ways companies can use twitter to their benefit. Whether attracting new employees is their goal or growing their client base social media has become a valuable tool in the digital age.

Sources:

QuadGraphics - https://twitter.com/QuadGraphics

Corvisa - https://twitter.com/corvisa

Wild Week

Today wraps up a week great week for me. Recruiters have been getting in touch with me some as far as New Jersey and I completed my first case study for building a WAN. With the help of my group we were able to build a WAN for the BSA for very little cost thanks to the wonders of WI-FI.

My Son with Larry Sanders, John Henson, and Damien Ingles.

Also I was able to take my son to his first ever Bucks fan fest where we got to watch practice and a scrimmage(even if it was only three quarters) and meet some of the players. It was a great experience for both of us and I was glad I was able to squeeze in some father & son time between my studies.

 In summary it was a good week I have job fairs to attend and hopefully part-time employment in IT is on the horizon. It seems the hard work is paying off and I want to lead by an example that it doesn't matter what mistakes you made in the past you can always take charge of your life and turn it around.

Why I'm at MATC

Growing up I could've never imagined that one day I would be studying to receive a degree in networking. Throughout high school I was steadfast on my track to become a sports journalist wanting to do whatever it took. Once I graduated High School I enrolled into the journalism program at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Unbeknownst to me that was my first mistake. Every summer during high school I attended a pre-college program called the PEOPLE (Pre-College Enrichment Opportunity Program for Learning Excellence) program. Through this program I would have had a full ride to the University of Madison something a lot of people would kill for but me I just threw this opportunity away.

I was scared to leave home, leave my family, and my friends. I grew up predominantly around other African-Americans I was scared to go somewhere where I wouldn't see another face like mine. To this very day I still regret not making the choice to attend especially when my friend and journalism partner Earl Arms now covers sports for WISN 12 with that degree he obtained through the university of Wisconsin-Madison. I still remember the day I first seen him on TV I broke down crying because I felt like a failure. They say time heals all wounds but I don't know if that one can ever be truly mended.

Over the past six years (I'm 28 now) I changed so much from the kid I once was. I was starting to learn to be myself and not what the people around me thought was cool. With some of the interests I have now I would be the laughing stock for my friends when I was growing up. Today you can catch me watching Anime (Only subtitled English voice actors suck!), playing JRPGs, building my own PC's so I can play games in glorious 1080p 60 FPS(Master Race FTW), and One Republic is one of my favorite bands. Yes people change and if I was to reach my destiny I had to grow up.

I've only had three jobs my whole life but have gained a wealth of experience from them. As a young adult I worked at Jewel-Osco, early twenties I worked at Walgreens even making it up to assistant manager, and the last three years I was an employee at FIS. Walgreen's was a place I loved my hard work was being rewarded with promotions. As an assistant manager I loved the responsibility that was on my shoulders and I thought I found my calling in life. That was until one morning I overslept and opened the store late (5 mins late to be exact). The next couple of day went by and I was called in by my store manager who then put me suspension for opening the store late. Weeks went by and no one would tell me what was going on or whether I had a job to even come back to. Almost a month later they called me in and fired me and again my emotions ran wild and I cried because of how much blood, sweat, and tears I gave that company.

What does this have to do with me being at MATC you may ask? All of my life’s actions have shaped my future and is the reason I’m there. I want a career not a job and I love to learn so the lifelong learning that takes place in IT does not scare me at all. When I was laid off from FIS I was given a chance to attend school at no cost to me I jumped at the opportunity to make up for past mistakes. I also want my story to inspire other young adults in that no matter if you fail or make mistakes there will always be an opportunity for redemption.