 In 2004 I formed an addiction to the MMORPG video game Lineage 2. I mentally fortified myself against all future MMORPGs. No, I have never played World of Warcraft, I am very aware of what to avoid to stay out of traps and other potential addictions...or so I thought. I spend no more than 5 minutes a day on FB, or Faceplace as I call it, as I have seen many people damage their actual social lives with it. I thought LinkedIn was "safe", and even google news and other news feeds were ok. I didn't realize how wrong I was until the last few months.
Starting with Hurricane Ida at the end of August 2021 - I have been constantly knocked offline. As soon as one things starts to resolve something else happens, to include current diagnosis of Covid. I am feeling much better, but still not great. Anyways, I logged onto faceplace (what I call FB) and was asked to take a survey about how FB cares...Thats when I realized I have stemmed my addiction to FB, IG, and a few others, but I allowed LinkedIn to take over, as well as my tailored news feeds. I was still feeding my ADHD demon, while adding stress because I was padding my time management goals with time that is not actually rest/relaxation. I realized a few things and that lead me to research more. 1. (Not addiction related) We should be compensated for our time/data, it doesn't have to be much, but it should be something. I know initially the fact that it is "free" is the benefit, but now that so much information can be generated, there should be modest compensation, at least in the form of tokens/coins or other non monetary items which wouldn't cost the platform as it would make money off of this as well. 2. Platforms such as LI and Faceplace (FB) actually take advantage of basic neurological constructs. Issues such as ADHD are actually rewarded through these platforms and provide a false sense of enjoyment. Those with certain disorders are able to stay on a platform for insane amounts of time. Addiction may not be formed, but it would not take much to manipulate persons with certain disorders like ADHD into developing devastating habits. 3. Social Media can become an addiction. No matter how resilient you are to addictions such as smoking or eating or other things that give us small shots of pleasure, these Social Media seem harmless, they are sneaky things. This is not the case, as seen from time management drafts and other facets of persons who spend more than a few minutes on a platform a day. 3a. Video games can form this same addiction, but it is easier to see because a person is generally static, but with social media they can be dynamic, taking momentary breaks or switching between devices. Social Media addiction should be seen in the same frame as video game addiction. These companies are aggregating massive amounts of data which can generate real intelligence that can in turn stimulate projects and programs or just sell to other organizations such as advertising firms. A user does not have to do a background check before joining social media, which is like someone being allowed into a casino if they have a gambling addiction, however, since the effects are not viewed on the same level it is not really an issue. The Reality is that a person can ruin their lives just as quickly being addicted to Social Media as an addiction to anything else. I really want to hear your thoughts. How long do you allow yourself to be on social media platforms? How many are you on and why? Do you look out for family and friends? Should these platforms be responsible to their uses? Should their be background checks or health/wellness screens? Should we have access to our real data driven profiles so that we can see what intelligence is being generated on us? If you want to read more about this subject I found these great articles: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/aug/23/social-media-addiction-gambling https://www.vice.com/en/article/vv5jkb/the-secret-ways-social-media-is-built-for-addiction https://sobermap.com/2018/07/08/engineering-addiction-social-media-dopamine/ https://www.sciencefocus.com/future-technology/trapped-the-secret-ways-social-media-is-built-to-be-addictive-and-what-you-can-do-to-fight-back/ https://www.casino.org/blog/tactics-social-media-has-been-stealing-from-casinos/
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 Fun with Critical Thinking: Imagine you are playing with your remote controlled car in the park.
Take a moment and really imagine it, a nice park with some obstacles and fun stuff to do. Imagine it is a nice warm day, even though most of you are likely freezing your buns off with snow and ice. Anyways, imagine this for a moment. Once you have that, imagine a friend, someone you know and like, brings their remote controlled car/truck to the same area to run it with you. Now there are two vehicles, and lots of fun to be had!! Then another person shows up because they see all the fun. Then another person shows up... Imagine they call everyone they know, even people who only have prototype cars/trucks and now there are dozens of vehicles of various programming and capabilities degrading your network, operations and safety stance. There are wrecks, and signal jamming, and the people themselves are loud and throwing trash everywhere. Now shift your imagination from that park to a sea port with lots of vessels and companies, and shipping storage, chemical storage, oil and gas facilities, and more. Imagine instead of bits of plastic, you are controlling weigh anywhere from 10,000 tons to 200,000 tons or more and can be quite agile in the water. This doesn't even breach data concerns, but just something to think about if you are bored and wanting to look into potential future issues and how to get in front of them. What do you see on our horizon as an issue? #criticalthinking  I was reminded of valuable life lessons tonight: Perspective is variable, challenge reality, and value is multifaceted. Intrinsic value is mindful value.
I had gotten so closed minded of late with all the studying and valuation measures, risk management, disaster recovery, business continuity and on and on that my brain was getting cemented in "the right way". Until recently I always challenged that mentality to find optimal solutions and explore all options. I limited myself trying to be like everyone else... However, no one told Zelda her new Popit was a drink lid. She saw a Pop-it, and loved it. Her perception of a popit did not limit her to only the colorful and pricy silicone fidget toys. She isn't wrong. She also approached it optimistically and with a loving heart. Value is not always obvious. Thinking outside the box is wonderful, but to fully realize the value in all things, a type of free thought can be applied without controlling barriers, cages, or that dang "box". So many people are out to "think outside the box" that the box is lost in transit and the perception of tangible degrades. To put it in hunting terms, when trying to hit a moving target, sometimes "Zooming out" isn't as helpful as not using the scope at all. Zelda: Daddy, you like Pop-it? Me: It's ok Zelda: I love my new Pop-it, you play? Me: What new Pop-it? Then she hands me the lid from her drink and popped 2 of the dimples. Zelda: So fun Pop-it, Daddy. You play? I share, you can play with my Pop-it. I recorded a video as soon as I could find my phone.  Things for me were finally looking optimistic back in August 2021. College was going well, I was helping with business development efforts for a few companies, I was building my own vineyard company, my career and family life was healthy, and everything was about to be "stable" for likely the first time in my life. I was about to see the top of the mountain I have been pushing the proverbial boulder up since childhood.
I am used to roadblocks and difficulties. I am fond of challenges and change. I can pivot and run with the best, but Hurricane Ida started a gauntlet of challenges lasting more than 3 months without stopping that I couldn't begin to describe in detail and it is still ongoing without an end in sight. Losing my dad (Joseph "Kenny" Jaubert Jr) and my Mentor Mr. Jim Eddins was sure the worst of the last 3 months, but the demoralizing daily grind of dealing with a community deteriorating around us has made each day worse than the last. For 1.5 months We lived on generator power which meant constant maintenance, the AC and more kept breaking, sewage backed up. Waking up each day has been an adventure in problem-solving because there are no service people here anymore and everything just kept breaking, every day something posed a new insane level of increased demoralization. For 3 months we had no internet and even phone calls and texting were difficult at best. All that aside, this post is about my recent win in college. See, I was about to complete my final paper in a Master's Psychology course when Hurricane Ida hit. The college put me on an extension which expired on the 17th of December. I was able to get Starlink Internet a week ago, and complete my 16-page paper on the deadline date! The reviewed paper was returned with almost a dozen "Excellent" remarks and was graded 100/flawless, making my overall grade for that class a 96.5. The paper itself is a reflection on Prison Reform and how Psychology and Cybersecurity can reduce recidivism and fill critical jobs shortage through a software program I am capable of designing and developing. I did not crumble though I was on the verge many days. There were a handful of people who gave me strength during these difficult days. I did not stagnate, I actually became stronger, enlightened, evolved. Not a single one of my ambitions met its demise but instead has been tempered and enhanced. To the few who have helped me these last many months, I will forever be in your debt.  Imagine you are playing with your remote controlled car in the park.
Take a moment and really imagine it, a nice park with some obstacles and fun stuff to do. Imagine it is a nice warm day like here in Louisiana (79 degrees, no clouds, beautiful day), even though most of you are likely freezing your buns off with snow and ice. Anyways, imagine this for a moment. Once you have that, imagine a friend, someone you know and like, brings their remote controlled car/truck to the same area to run it with you. Now there are two vehicles, and lots of fun to be had!! Then another person shows up because they see all the fun. Imagine they call everyone they know, even people who only have prototype cars/trucks and now there are dozens of vehicles of various programming and capability pee peeing on your parade!! There are wrecks, and signal jamming, and the people themselves are annoying and throwing trash everywhere. Now shift your imagination from that park to a sea port with lots of vessels and companies, and shipping storage, chemical storage, oil and gas facilities, and more. Imagine instead of bits of plastic, you are controlling weigh anywhere from 10,000 tons to 200,000 tons or more and can be quite agile in the water. This doesn't even breach data concerns, but just something to think about if you are bored and wanting to look into potential future issues and how to get in front of them. What do you see on our horizon as an issue? #criticalthinking LinkedIn Posts will instead become articles for CTS. From there I will write Summaries and post that on LinkedIn, pointing to here. This is important as we take CTS out of the shadows and into the sunshine. The last few years have been a constant learning environment, and the landscape was tough. We pivoted in ways we didn't think we were ever going to need to, but we did, and it has been the most glorious journey!
More to follow Hard work pays off We will be working with a local Small Business Owner to help him establish his Game Lounge and Consignment Shop and building his website. For this he will allow us to finally have a brick and mortar location to call home. We have been a virtual company since inception and this is just the thing we need to reach more people.
With this, we will be able to open more of our products and services to a greater range of people. 2015 has been dedicated to Inventions and maintenance of current clients. 2016 will see us increase trainees and clients, content, and products. Please stay posted as all of our patience and hard work is about to pay off. We had been using the Private Work Site to post company updates, new clients, new techs and other data. We now feel that potential clients might want to see what we are up to, and hopefully realize that we are a small company, not out for profit, but to help Military Veterans and local communities.
So, on that note, we will start everything off with today... I (Joseph) am in talks with a new client, details will not be disclosed on public site. -I will be creating a demo site for the client, if it is moved forward, I will work with one of our newest Veterans to complete it. Dez is in talks with a new client. The client has a site that they over paid for and the site itself is very very bland. Sheree is finishing monthly reports for our current clients. We are still hoping to lock in 2 more Veterans before the end of March. The Cyber Site is coming along nicely, and everyone is making great use of it. We are still in need of new products which we hope to get from our first bi-annual mini project. I am starting to get a new team built around the unity program. It is a step in the right direction.
Working on streamlining our teams. Next month I will focus on Web Dev and Sales team.
We started our third project with hopes that our fourth will be started by April. Not much to discuss in the way of what I can make public. Soon, I will be able to reveal all of the confidential workings and goings on. I have developed a new website for employees and freelance guys/gals. Needs work, and data, but it will help reduce the time I spend emailing everyone and help the team leaders and all departments stay connected. On a personal note, I am learning a new language (computer). |
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Resume: Joseph Archives
January 2022
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