Geekgirl611’s Weblog

To laugh often and love much; to win the respect of intelligent persons and the affection of children; to earn the approbation of honest citizens and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to give of one’s self; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived—this is to have succeeded.

- Attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson

That is my favorite quote of all time. The last line is what I attempt to live my life by. To know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived…

That is so powerful. People, I think, confuse the true sense of helping someone. People think they have to be recognized in order for it to “qualify”. Not so, my friends. Just because no one gives you an “atta boy”  or rewards you does not mean you did not help, did not contribute. If you are going to help someone, somehow, do it for the reason and purpose of just plain helping. Trust me, it’s more rewarding than you think. Self-rewarding. Don’t set your standard of self worth on what other think or how much you get noticed. Place you worth on your own opinions, knowing what you have and will do.

Some of you may be familiar with this, some may not. I wanted to share this with all of you because I think that these days, it not only applies to hackers, but to the internet generation as a whole. Please take time to read this. The end is worth it…

((Written 15 years ago by a hacker known only as The Mentor, quoted in the 1995 movie “Hackers”))

Another one got caught today, it’s all over the papers.

“Teenager Arrested in Computer Crime Scandal”, “Hacker Arrested after Bank Tampering”…

Damn kids. They’re all alike.
But did you, in your three-piece psychology and 1950’s technobrain, ever take a look behind the eyes of the hacker? Did you ever wonder what made him tick, what forces shaped him, what may have molded him?
I am a hacker, enter my world…

Mine is a world that begins with school… I’m smarter than most of the other kids, this crap they teach us bores me…

Damn underachiever. They’re all alike.

I’m in junior high or high school. I’ve listened to teachers explain for the fifteenth time how to reduce a fraction. I understand it. “No, Ms. Smith, I didn’t show my work. I did it in my head…”

Damn kid. Probably copied it. They’re all alike.

I made a discovery today. I found a computer. Wait a second, this is cool. It does what I want it to. If it makes a mistake, it’s because I screwed it up. Not because it doesn’t like me… Or feels threatened by me.. Or thinks I’m a smart ass.. Or doesn’t like teaching and shouldn’t be here…

Damn kid. All he does is play games. They’re all alike.

And then it happened… a door opened to a world… rushing through the phone line like heroin through an addict’s veins, an electronic pulse is sent out, a refuge from the day-to-day incompetencies is sought… a board is found. “This is it… this is where I belong…” I know everyone here… even if I’ve never met them, never talked to them, may never hear from them again… I know you all…

Damn kid. Tying up the phone line again. They’re all alike…

You bet your ass we’re all alike… we’ve been spoon-fed baby food at school when we hungered for steak… the bits of meat that you did let slip through were pre-chewed and tasteless. We’ve been dominated by sadists, or ignored by the apathetic. The few that had something to teach found us willing pupils, but those few are like drops of water in the desert.

This is our world now… the world of the electron and the switch, the beauty of the baud. We make use of a service already existing without paying for what could be dirt-cheap if it wasn’t run by profiteering gluttons, and you call us criminals. We explore… and you call us criminals. We seek after knowledge… and you call us criminals. We exist without skin color, without nationality, without religious bias… and you call us criminals.

You build atomic bombs, you wage wars, you murder, cheat, and lie to us and try to make us believe it’s for our own good, yet we’re the criminals.

Yes, I am a criminal. My crime is that of curiosity. My crime is that of judging people by what they say and think, not what they look like. My crime is that of outsmarting you, something that you will never forgive me for.

I am a hacker, and this is my manifesto. You may stop this individual, but you can’t stop us all… after all, we’re all alike.

When I discovered Twitter, it was love at first type. I’m hopelessly addicted.  I have Twitter, Myspace(once a day or so), Facebook (NEVER use it), and usmcwives.com (addicted to as well).

But I have been wondering some thing. I know a lot of people think of internet friendships in a similar way they look at internet relationships – not truly real.

Why not?

It does depend on how forthcoming you are on the internet, and I am not saying that ALL internet based conversations automatically make you the best of friends. However, when you DO open up to people, and converse about your personal or professional life, does that not create some kind of a bond? Some kind of friendship? There are many people I have not had the luxury of meeting face to face but I consider them dear friends. If you don’t agree, then so be it, but that is my opinion.

After all, is that not one of the reasons the internet was made public? To connect with others over vast distances?

So, to anyone who takes the time to read this, thank you, my friend.

One of things I have forgotten to put in my bio ( I will have to update it now) is that I am severely honest. Blunt even. In my opinion, political correctness is simply a new way to silence and conform the masses. I’m sorry if something I say, type, blog, think or express in any other way, shape or form offends you, but you’re an adult, act like it. Why is it, that in same century that women can walk around in clothing that hardly covers anything, and we can riot in the middle of the streets, and we can have abortions and gay marriage (I am not condoning ANY of these behaviors) but it’s “rude” to tell someone that they are freakin’ idiot!?

I think to be politically correct is to be a hypocrite. What is more important – to be be honest with one’s self, or to placate the world and hide your true thoughts and opinions so that you don’t offend anyone?

Now, the sad thing, is somebody out there is probably reading this and WOULD rather hide themselves, whether it be for fear of confrontation in case of disagreement, or whether it be for fear or hurting one’s feelings, etc. I feel sorry for them. They will never know the freedom in just being themselves.

Furthermore, when you are open to the world, many things happen. People are drawn to confidence. For the confident, it’s enjoyable to be around others that are not afraid to speak their minds and know they are not inferior to anyone. For un-confident, it is enjoyable to be around the confident because they feel they have something to learn or gain from them. Secondly, you connect with people around you that you didn’t know existed before because you were afraid to speak your mind. When you do, you learn that many others think the same way! That is how great friendships start – over minor commonalities.

I do not and will not “sugarcoat” my thoughts or opinions. My husband fights for my right to speak my mind, and you can be sure I am going to take full advantage of that. If i offend or hurt your feelings, take solace in the fact that while I am not and will not be apologetic for being purely me, I did not intend to hurt or offend anyone.

Thus, I strongly encourage to be brave, and speak your mind. Some will like it, some will not. It’s ok.

Be strong. Be YOU.

I don’t know if you have read my most recent blog entitled TO SURVIVE, or even HUMANS ARE PUZZLE PIECES, but if you have, you know how important I believe friends to be.

Well, today, with Twitters breakdown, and losing over 70 followers and 70 followings, I was frantic.

You may thinking, “Wow, she has NO life for her to be frantic over Twitter”.  *shrugs* Maybe I am. Maybe I’m not. I’m a homeschool mom of two kids, two dogs, a cat and a snake. My husband is away with the Marine Corps, so it’s me and my kids and my animals, all day every day. My two babysitters both just moved out of state, so I have NO opportunity for any time for just me, except when they are napping or off to bed for the night. And then still, I’m usually cleaning up their messes.

All that being said, Twitter, MySpace, and a USMC wives forum board, are my ONLY links to communicate with adults. Sure there’s family, but we’re not that close, and you HAVE to love family. My friends mean the world to me (cyber or IRL) because I chose them. They make me laugh, cry, smile, and relax. They inform me, educate me, enlighten me, humor me, entertain me and I’d like to think appreciate me. I mean, after all,  it’s not as if I forced myself upon them.

So, Twitter lost all my Tweeps today, and I found a few, but on the whole, I could not remember all 80 of them. Who could? So, I was very sad, I missed them. Even though some may find it stupid or silly, I have grown quite attached to my circle of friends.

And I have a confession to make. This is only going to serve to further your thoughts of thinking I am rather juvenile, but so be it. There are a few people I am following that make, draw, direct, etc comic books for Marvel and/or DC. OMG. I’m so starstruck, even over the vastness of the wonderful worldwide web. and when I randomly twitted a few of them about nonsense, and they replied… yeah, I lost it. ROFL. I called my husband and told him. What can I say – they don’t call me GeekGirl for nothing!