Will Bridges

I spent all day yesterday lounging as many people did after drinking too much the night before. I know I should have been working with all of the tight schedules I’m under but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it, being a holiday and all. I did call a couple of my international clients and discuss some things with them. But, I really didn’t do much. New Years tends to be one of my favorite holidays along with Independence Day. I’m sure as my son gets older I will find Christmas more appealing.

I had my son Christened and Baptized on New Years Eve. I’m not a big fan of baptism this early but it seems it was part of the ceremony. I don’t want to force religion upon my son but I want him to know it exists and understand it. Yendis (my girlfriend) is more religious than me, as well. So, she really wanted to do it more than I did. Anyways, it turned out to be a beautiful ceremony. Further, a lot of my family attended and seemed to enjoy the church service. The church I go to here in my home town is really lively and they really get in to the message and worship. So, it was very different from my own family’s church. They highly enjoyed it.

This year will be one of prosperity and growth for my family. For many families it will still be a year of struggle and we need to think about how we can help bring those families up. Education (not just in the way of schooling) is the primary way people can bring themselves up. Learning how this society really works and it’s history would benefit every person. Yes, people can’t eat education but they can eat what is produced by education.

Any readers of my blog who need any help feel free to ask. I’ll do what I can to help. Any readers of this blog who can offer help to another, please do. We can improve the world one person at a time. Happy New Year and may your year be a prosperous one.

Comments(0)

Being a new parent has made me look at my own education as a reflection of myself. I’m not talking just about the government school I went to when I was a child but my overall education. As many of you know I’m a high school drop out. So, it seems ,to some people, like it would be odd for someone who is a drop out to value education as much as I do. But, just because I dropped out doesn’t mean I don’t value education. I just didn’t value the education I was getting from the government school. I learned enough that I could teach myself what I didn’t know and needed to know. I believe being a person in the Information Age gives you no excuse not to grow, learn, and look at world as a child would. Wonder, ‘what if’ or ‘why?’ or ‘how does that work?’. Accepting the world around you without question leads you to slavery from the world around you. Many of us go to school and belive that after that we are done being educated and that’s it. It then becomes time to ‘do’ with the education you have recieved. But, that’s not the case. Anyone who excels in their respective field will tell you that education is a life long struggle to know. We have to willing to learn and willing to be proven wrong and willing to accept we do not know as much as we think we do. This should be the lesson we all accept moving in to this new year.

Comments(0)

I’ve spent a couple days trying to learn more about the monetary system under the Federal Reserve in the United States. What I have learned has been very eye opening. Mind you, I learned much of this stuff about 5 years ago when I became very interested in American history and the lessons I seemed to be missing. Now I know tons on the subject and it’s very disturbing. I’m also learning how to protect my money and it’s value.

Let me start by a small history lesson. All money used to be made of silver, gold, or other precious metals. A person would have to go a metal smith and get the metal pressed in to coins or they would have the precious metal stored for them by the metal smith. When the metal was stored by the smith the person storing the metal would receive a redeemable receipt. From that receipt the person could go and get the precious metal back from the smith in whole or in part at any time. This kept the person from carrying the heavy precious metals around. This was good but inconvenient when you were trying to buy something and you had to go back to the metal smith exchange the receipt for an amount of precious metal, then run back to the person you are trying to buy from and give them some precious metals. Then the person you bought from has to the metal smith to store the precious metals they got from you. The metal smiths (soon to be the first bankers) had a great idea. They could give you paper (or non-valuable materials of some sort) notes which were traded and redeemable for stored metals. People could go about trading the notes with each other and not have to run back and forth to the metal smith. Awesome! This worked great for a while. Then, the metal smiths said something similar ‘hey, I have 1000 gold coins and people only ever come to claim 100 gold coins at a time with these notes. I bet I could loan money.’ So, then the metal smiths started loaning these notes which were redeemable for gold and charging interest based on them. This worked great. The metal smiths were making money hand over fist. The people they were charging interest had to pay them back in gold so it only increased the power to print more money. They got greedy and made more notes than they had available in gold. Thus the founding of Fractional Reserve Banking. That’s where the Federal Reserve comes from. Banks were born from metal smiths.

When paper notes are not backed by precious metals they only have the value the people give them. They are also subject to inflation. We had no inflation when we had all of our money backed by a gold standard. A note is an instrument of debt and not real money. If you want further information on this look up the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 (which was passed on Christmas vacation in congress when most people were home with families). Look at the real cause of the depression. Find out about who owns the federal reserve (it’s private banks, not the government). I will protect my money’s value and back it by gold and silver, not the value of a rich man’s word. Gold and silver have intrinsic value. Nobody will give you your liberty. You must claim it. So, be watchful and be informed.

Comments(0)

I’ve always been extremely worried about our country straying away from the foundation of freedom it was built on. I suspected something was going on that just wasn’t right. This something seemed to be eroding our freedoms and slowly eating away at what it means to be a Citizen of the United States. I suspected, but was not aware of actually how deep this goes. It’s a story that starts around 1913 and ends in the devaluation of our money, the removal of personal property, the abolishment of our constitution, and the beginning to a world government. Sounds like a conspiracy theory? Yes, but the facts add up. I’ve read about this around 2001 before 9-11 and read more about it afterwards but I wasn’t sure about what exactly to do. It still wasn’t enough information. I was outraged that I had been lied to about everything from taxes to our constitution. I was embarrassed at the complacency and apathy of my fellow Americans.

Now, it takes quite a bit to make me afraid. I refuse to live in fear. When I do get fearful I tend to look for a solution than to bow down to what I fear. Some how I came across this video America: Freedom to Fascism which is a movie created by Aaron Russo that he released to the public through google video and is also available on DVD. What I learned from this video about the history of our country, the IRS, the Federal Reserve, and the big plans of those in power disgusts me so much I have no words to explain how angry I am. I realize there is nowhere in the world I can go to escape what those in power want to do but there are things I can do to help. I want to help secure freedom from tyranny for my children and the future generations of children. This is a hard fight though and I’m not sure how we will win but I believe we can win. I hope you all watch this video and do what you can to help reverse the process which is happening right now. I’m going to be researching what I can do and how I can apply my skills. But, trust I will be doing something.

Comments(0)

Yesterday I was working off of 3 hours of sleep after spending about 23 hours awake the day before helping a client in London get a website up and functioning. My friend Chris helped and then went to work at his full time job. Wow, how can you stay awake 48 hours! I definitely couldn’t work and be worth anything during most of that time. But, I guess everybody is different. I’m not very efficient if I only get 5 hours of sleep. Some people live off of 5 hours of sleep. I’ve read people who get a proper amount of sleep don’t age as quickly and tend to live longer. Personally, most times, I would rather get 7-8 hours of sleep and be late on a project but I’m pretty customer service oriented when it comes to work so I argue with myself to make sure things get done all the time. What’s really bad is I had a face-to-face business meeting on 3 hours of sleep yesterday. But, I preformed real well and I’m pretty sure I got the contract from that meeting. A good business meeting will give you a boost of adreniline when you have a family to feed, Christmas is coming up, and you are trying to save to move to Uruguay.

Anyways, I think the lesson is we all need more sleep. Nobody is as good as they would be if they got the proper amount of sleep. You are doing yourself a disservice and those who count on you a disservice by not getting the proper amount. However, in rare situations, sometimes you have to suck it up and do it. Just make sure you schedule the proper rest afterwards to make up for the tax you just imposed on your body and mind.

Comments(0)

A few days I had a post “Fair Wage for Fair Work”. It was kind of a shallow rant. Someone commented on it and I really thought about it for a minute. I’m very strongly in favor of capitalism and the free market. The Indians & Chinese are able to offer $12/hour to do the work I can do and more of them will be able to do so as time goes on which will create global competition and drive the market prices down. The current generation of Indian & Chinese software developers will be senior developers in a few years. This is a very bad thing for my current profession as I am a web developer but not a bad thing overall as I am a business man first and foremost. As market prices drop I am able to hire some of these cheap and experienced developers and have them work for me. I wouldn’t be doing programming as much but I would adapt and survive. Or I could learn a new technology that is in favor and expensive. Thus, I’m not really a programmer but a Free Market Technologist. It’s the people who don’t adapt and survive that the free market destroys. Much like evolution it sheds the undesirable traits in the economy and keeps it moving. It seems those who are wealthy in the free market ride it like a wave following it’s ins, outs, and saving cash along the way.

For each profession the free market has an outrageous rate and window of opportunity when the profession is created. Good labor in that profession is hard to find. Then, everyone start to learn it and the supply meets the demand. Once the supply meets the demand the rates for that profession start to fall as others find a way to offer the work at a lower price and start undercutting people to find available work. The profession eventually bottoms out with wages. People find other work or adapt their skills. The supply falls and the demand raises the prices. This will be the picture of the global economy.

Everybody needs to stop worrying about the Indians, Chinese, and others driving the rates down. The fact is it will happen. It’s a matter of time. So, make your money, save your money, adapt, diversify, then move up and over these hurdles.

Comments(0)

I saw in the news there was a giant open forum amoung scientists the other day there was a massive debate amoung scientists on religion and science.

It doesn’t seem to be that religion and science are opposing forces. Science can explain the creation of the universe but it cannot explain why that from nothing there came something. I would argue that the processes of science are real, evolution is real, and the world and universe are billions of years old. But, I am sure the processes of science were created by a higher being. I feel god in the things I do and the reality we live in. Because I can’t measure it doesn’t mean it’s not real. I’m spiritual in that way. However, I am not much a religious person. I believe the stories in religion teach valuable lessons about life. But, they are only stories and most of them are not real. I believe in the teachings and stories of Christ and believe they have real world value. I do not believe in a hell, a devil, or that god is vindictive or vengeful. I believe the processes that make this universe work the way it does are creations of god. They are beautiful and splendid in the way they created the world we live in.

Science allows us to measure, analize, and control these processes more and more every day. Also science allows us to create beautiful and intelligently made things based off of the rules and processes of the universe. Science is man’s outstreched arm, reaching in to the darkeness to know and control that which he cannot yet see, wholy. To me, science is as holy as the teachings of Christ. Christ was here to teach us that we each have the ability to be as he was and further that we each have god within us. Take these quotes from Jesus:
“Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.”
I John 4:4
or
“…behold, the kindom of God is within you…”
Luke 17:21
Science should be respected by Christians however it is reviled by many Christians. Spirituality should be respected by scientists. However, blind religion leads to ignorance, stupidity, and danger in one’s own life and possibly the life of others. Know and feel what you are priasing. Don’t do it just out of fear and you may come to the same conclusion as I have.

God is real, she is in me, walks with me, and through the processes of him I can create anything, good or evil, wise or unwise. Praise god.

Comments(0)

I’ve got this friend that has been programming in ASP since back in 2000 or around that time. He helped get me a job at FEMA programming back in the day. However, being at the government for any long period of time kinda puts in a learning bubble. That’s the main reason I left working for the government is because I saw nothing that would help me advance as a programmer. Of course there were many other reasons.

But, anyways, my friend left FEMA about 3 months ago and found another job doing classic ASP programming. He found a pretty good one working for this company locally in Winchester, VA. But, because he was in a technology bubble from working at the government he had never been around .NET or any of the new Microsoft techs that are out now. Anyways, this company gave him a raise after three months and then laid him off two days later. To me, that seems absurd. Why give somebody a raise and then lay them off. Regardless, now he is
out of a job, he has a morgatge, and a son he is raising by himself.

All of the windows jobs I know of are .NET. If anybody knows of any freelance windows work in classic asp let me know and I’ll forward the information on. This is a terrible situation. All programmers need to take some lessons from this.

• Never over-specialize.
• Always continue your dedication to learning when you are a programmer.
• Diversify your skill set and be vigilant to find the tools and people to get you out of career choices that are a dead end.

Most companies do not care about you in this industry, even if you care deeply about their success. It’s just not the nature of the business. It’s unfortunate and maybe it would be a good idea for programmers to unionize at some point to relieve some of these problems. But the problems with unions is there is always someone out there, just as talented, who is willing to work outside the union for less money or more hours. So, maybe unions are not the answer, but then what is?

Comments(0)

Americans really need to open their eyes. Benjamin Franklin once said:
“Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
The best thing we could have done to show the terrorists that we stand united and America will not be budged by their actions is absolutely nothing. By taking away the liberties and freedoms we enjoy to increase our safety, we take away the protections that the founders of this country gave us when they founded this country. Those protections keep us from being ruled by tyrants and aristocrats. We should not erode those freedoms one bit. If we give an inch then we will give a foot and then we will give a yard. It’s only a matter of time. There are tyrants in this country that want to take away our rights to further exploit us for their will. We should be on the watch for things like allowing illegal wire tapping on citizens, being able to detain people without evidence of a crime, allowing toucher. These things are a prelude to the destruction of our essential liberties and not only that but they represent the fact that Americans no longer care about the world around them. Further Americans may have lost the fight that founded this country. Let’s hope the rest of us wake up before it’s too late.

Comments(0)

Building a business is about creating a legacy and an entity which you can be proud of. A business is an entity all it’s own that will resemble the personal attributes of the people who have influence within the business. As that influence shifts and is added to by new employees or removed from by employees who leave the policies and abilities of that business entity will change.

Much in the way a child grows so does a business. The creation of a corporation is a way to create an entity that has no personal responsibility. At that point it can be argued the corporate veil creates a non-human feel to a business. It’s much like an email address at that point. The corporate veil seems to help people make decisions, say things, and represnt themselves in a way that they would not normally do as a single person.

I think that there is a lack of personal responsibility in this country and it starts with the way we raise our children (another subject for another time) but continues in to the way we do business as adults. All business should be conducted with care about your fellow human beings and under the realization that you have to share the world with other people and knowing that decisions you make will effect others. The most powerfull businesses in this country do not seem to conduct themselves in this way. They conduct themselves as if they are money machines riding the backs of the lowest waged workers to provide extreme wealth for the highest ranks of the company. Further goes the gap between the rich and the middle class. Worse becomes the enviromental conditions. Worse becomes the health of our young and our poor. More inhumane becomes our irresponsible corporate entities because they have the rights of a human under law but none of the responsibilities of a human.

Creating a legacy isn’t always positive. I will make my business legacy a positive one as my business grows and becomes a corporation. But, that’s just me. Most of the companies of today will leave a legacy of exploitation of the people and of our natural resources. That’s a sad legacy and I hope it changes one day. I’m willing to be a part of that change, are you?

Comments(0)