Techdirt Insight Community

Filed under: Education, Technology by crystalattice @ 4:34 pm on December 18, 2007.

You’ll notice a sidebar badge listing me as a member of the Techdirt Insight Community. This is just a little plug for people who might be curious about it.

Techdirt is a company that provides valuable, targeted news to various companies. The Insight Community was created to gather information from knowledgable people from around the world. We provide our opinions and knowledge about various subjects based on the questions companies post to the community. In return, we get paid based on the quality of our comments; sort of like a bounty system for good ideas.

If you’re part of a company that wants alternative ideas to consider or are interested in providing your opinion, knowledge, and insight to a variety of topics, then consider taking a look at what the Techdirt Insight Community has to offer.

U.S. moving towards dictatorship?

Filed under: Politics by crystalattice @ 9:38 am on May 24, 2007.

I don’t usually post things like this and I hope this doesn’t become a habit. But I heard about it yesterday and thought others might be interested.

According to WorldNetDaily, President Bush signed an Executive Order back on May 9 (without telling anyone) that gives the Office of the President the power to take over the government in case of national emergency. From the article: “Translated into layman’s terms, when the president determines a national emergency has occurred, the president can declare to the office of the presidency powers usually assumed by dictators to direct any and all government and business activities until the emergency is declared over.” > more <

Video games as learning tools

Filed under: Cars, Education, Games by crystalattice @ 10:56 am on May 16, 2007.

After making a comment on a fellow GIDBlog site, I realized that it would make a good topic of discussion. The original comment I made was that, by playing Gran Turismo, I’ve learned quite a bit about cars that I didn’t know before. Obviously, it’s a game so a lot of real life aspects can’t be duplicated exactly, but much of the premise of the simulation is still applicable.

For example, I never realized how much tires affect the car. It makes sense though. The tires are the only part of a vehicle that actually interact with the environment, in this case the ground. Having poor quality tires means your are more likely to lose that precious ground contact. Once you lose good contact, you no longer have control of the vehicle. This means not just when your tires actually leave the ground (like when you go over a cliff) but when you lose any type of traction. If you brake too hard without anti-lock brakes, your wheels will lock up and you lose control. If you go over a “washboard” road or hit a speed bump too fast, your tires will momentarily lose contact with the ground and you just can’t drive on air very well. > more <

Hello world!

Filed under: Uncategorized by crystalattice @ 8:45 pm on May 3, 2007.

So, welcome to Common Sense v2.0. I’ve been thinking about starting a blog for a while, mostly because I’ve been reading that it can help when it comes time to look for a job. Since I plan on leaving the Navy next year, every little bit will help.

If you want to learn a little more about me, take a look at my bio. If you’re wondering about the title, it’s based off the booklet Common Sense by Thomas Paine. Though his was a critique of government, mine won’t be (at least, not often). Most of my posts will probably be tech-oriented though I’m sure some of my other thoughts will leak out at times. But that’s okay, because I hope it helps add to the common sense pool. There doesn’t seem to be enough out there anymore.

Well, that’s it for now. Hope you’ll enjoy visiting. Thanks, and see ya.

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