Well, I’m glad you asked!

Having been a techie (in a professional capacity for 8 years, in a hobbiesty capacity for…geeze…30 years…) it’s high-time I step up my game.  I’ve made some nice connections over the last few years and things are looking up nicely.  I have hooked up with Vision Resource Group and am now their International Director of Online Media.  This means I get to play in the ‘big pond‘ with some pretty serious players.

I have already met some pretty incredible people and the most single interesting thing about them is their Vision.  They all have a vision.

See, as a typical employee, you usually never care about such things.  To you it’s just some fancy words you tell your board members to make you sound important to keep your high-paying CEO position.  It is a concept that the average citizen cannot and will not take the time to understand.  Yet said average citizen complains that these companies and CEOs make obscene amounts of money.  There is something seriously lacking in our education system and people never make the connection.  That being Vision is everything.

So how does this apply to me?  Well guess what I am doing?  Building my vision.  Take your typical person who you work with.  Most of them walk around looking at where they plant each foot.  Sometimes literally.  Yet when they walk into a pole/car/person, they will complain loudly.  Compare this to someone who walks looking, not only where he is going but farther down the line making a b-line for the goal.  That is what I am doing but with a twist.

What most people miss is that if you aim for your goal and ONLY your goal, you are missing a huge part of the equation.  Your goal should only EVER be a marker but never the end destination.  It should simply be something to note a certain point in your life and you should always continue past that.

“If you aim for the stars, you’ll at least hit the moon.” – T. Harv Eker

So, I’m aiming for the stars :)

Projects in the works can be read about on http://www.vrg-world.com and http://www.johnny-powers-presents.com .  There is sooo much work to be done.  So if you call or email me and I dno’t respond right away, don’t be surprised.  This is both the busiest tiem I’ve ever had as well as the most fun :)

As for my fun stuff, outside of learning the business ropes, I still have my 1978 Plymouth Volare and it’s currently parked in my garage for the winter.  I haven’t updated that blog recently but will do so soon.  For the most part, it’s going to wait and probably get the work it needs, done this winter.

I recently kicked Windows to the curb and installed Ubuntu on my main machine.  An interesting operating system and I have some learning to be done, but that is the point.  Besides, got tired and having extra protection running because of the rampant infections on the loose out there.

Every year keeps getting more and more interesting :)

With technology as pervasive as it is in out lives, there are things that will come and go that are become or cease to be useful.  Some we praise, deservedly or not, others we curse to the ends of the earth (which happens to be Hamilton actually<G>).  So here is a list of useful stuff that I currently enjoy.  (and in case you fear that this post will eventually get buried, I’ll add the links to the link section as well).

Google Logo

- How can anyone not be impacted by one of the most powerful brands on the planet?  They revolutionized email with their Gmail, they had a slam dunk when they purchsed Writely to incorporated it into GoogleDocs and now the Chrome OS is on teh horizon.  Microsoft spearheaded the initiative to get the Internet into just about everyone but Google says “Thanks, we’ll take it from here.”

Ubuntu Logo

Ubuntu is the next fiesty little OS that makes my life easier.  I had enough of Windows and installed Ubuntu and will not look back.  You do need at least a geeky friend if you aren’t technical, otherwise buy a Netbook with some sort of Linux installed on it and you’ll forever put away your anti-virus software :)

Gimp Logo

The Gimp is an awesome image editor program.  Free and has done everything I have ever asked of it.  It rivals the likes of Photoshop and typically the people who slam it complain because they are used to doing things a certain way but won’t open their mind to such a great tool.  Enjoy it!  Did I mention it was free?

http://trackyourgasmileage.com

Being a bit of a car buff, this free site is awesome for monitors your car’s health, track expenses and gas price trends.  A Great Guy runs the site too!

Wordpress Logo

Can’t possibly make this list (literally and figuratively!) without mentioned WordPress.  They make the software that makes this site possible!  The themes and extensions available are astounding.  This too is free!  You can either use their own site (wordpress.com) to create a blog hosted by them or download and install the software on your own web hoster (wordpress.org).  I rpefer the latter as the former limits what you can do to enhance the site.

Joomla Logo

This wonderful piece of software makes excellent websites!  So much functionality without doing 1/10th the work!  You will  need to have some basic HTML understanding and delve into the deep dark waters of php every now and then, but otherwise it is an excellent way to built a community or informational website.  There is a paradigm shift in order to use this site as I’ve seen many traditional website builders get lost because they can’t open their minds to new ways og doing things, let alone letter go of control.  Trust in Joomla!

AVG Logo

For those still stuck in the Windows world, AVG is simply a must for your protection.  It is the best free (http://free.avg.com) anti-virus software that I have ever ran across.  Get it, use it, stop spreading those damned viruses to other windows machines.  I don’t worry, see my Ubuntu entry above :)

Foxit Reader

The best FREE PDF  reader for windows.  Smaller, quicker, faster than Adobe will ever be.  Compare a typicall 1MB install to Adobe’s 20MB install!!  This is just a damn good program that works like it should without the fuss.

VLC Logo

What media program could possible be better than VLC?  It’s simple, fast and doesn’t need to worry about special codex software or drivers to display many oddball formats.  Sure you could get something prettier with all kinds of bells and whistle but keep in mind that is all you are getting…..bells and whistles.  Another free program.

VLC Logo

If you want a simple program to remotely access your machine, VNC is the place to start.  With the TightVNC and UltraVNC variants, you have more than enough options to make it work for your environment.  Free as well :)

Evernote Logo

Where would the tech world be without Evernote.  I keep waiting to hear Google snap up this awesome little company and this product.  It’s like having notepad online but with cut&paste websites to look directly like them.  Another free peoduct!  Maybe not as popular as say…of the H1N1 flu converstation but after you use it, it will be.

And saving the best for last:

The Pirate Bay Logo

The Pirate bay.  If you have never heard of them, what cavern in the center of the earth have you been living in?  I ain’t even going to bother explaining.  Just click on the logo and start your learning now!

Having been a techie for just slightly longer than I’ve been playing with computers, I’ve seen a  lot of stuff.  it absolutely blows me away at how people live such sheltered lives and remain so oblivious to the obvious.  Devo said it best with “Freedom of choice is what you have, freedom from choice is what you want.”  Probably the saddest line ever to be applied to the way society has let themselves be herded into.  While I don’t generally plan on making all kinds of broad sweeping statements on a regular basis, my focus with The Jaded Tech blog will be on technology.  It truly can be painful to see and deal with ‘techies’ who simply don’t have a clue what they are doing yet seem to be getting paid more than me.  What a messed system.  Enjoy the rants anyways.

http://www.jadedtech.com

As always, I reinvent my website to suit the times of my life.  Wordpress makes is pretty damn easy and has a lot of great features to make my life easier.  Stay tuned for more as it develops :)