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The Questy site was revived last year. Now the Tao of Questy Blog is reborn here as well.
 
Reflections of the meaning of life and other rants will be covered here. In the broader sense, the Tao of Questy will reflect on philosophical matters as well as the world of entertainment. 

A few older posts were moved over to the new blog.  Some of the old posts will be revisted for the new blog, and a few of the older posts will become actual topic pages.  There are also a few pages of writings from the old Questy sites that will make their way to the new Tao of  Questy site.

We will also use the the Tao of Questy blog to promote the websites such as Philsophyguru where we concentrate on music and movies.  We also hope to find the time to bring our American Philosopher site back to life, as well as launch something new. 

Stay tuned!

Thought for today... 

The laws of human nature, love and compassion, do not always mesh well with the rules and policies of institutions. Let us not forget what it is to be human.

Why do so many "news" stories focus on the people speaking, rather than what they are saying?

Why do we introduce individuals as the Democrat from Pennsylvania, or the Republican from Texas?  Why not just Senator?  Or Congressman?

Why does our culture, or more specifically, our system of media, cause us to focus more on stereotypes than issues?

Think about it, and think about it from your personal perspective, as that will influence your own reaction, do you start with a bias when the sentence starts out with...

The right wing group is...

The Democrats are stating that...

The Tea Party members are...

According the Democrat from Pennsylvania...

In statements made by the Republican from Texas...

Be honest.  Do you start to create the story in your mind by who is doing it, before you even hear what they are doing?

The Political bickering solves nothing and is getting old.

 

If I say I believe in conservative politics, the first question I get asked, where is your Bible and your gun?

I don't own a gun, and I read the Tao Te Ching for inspiration.  That's not to say I am not Christian, just that I don't fit the stereotype. I often read the websites of the Pope as well as the Dalai Lama.

I have learned from writing on the web that my perceptions of what is relevant is biased by being an American, and living in the USA. Thanks to the global nature of the web I learn of other perspectives different from my own.

Follow me here on this blog,The Tao of Questy, as well as the Questy page on Facebook as I explore the philosophical side of life, and can't help myself to shake in a bit of technology from time to time.

Technology is a tool, nothing more. 

Dispel the myths. and please try to keep in all in perspective.

We don't need more technology, we need more common sense.

Peace!  Write On!

As someone who writes for online publications I often read similar articles to mine to gain insights to various points of view.

Some of the crap I have read clear show that the authors had absolutely no idea what the topic was about.

Please take a moment to read my complete spin on the topic from SmartTechnology.info.

Because of the way search engines work, it will probably not be one of my most viewed articles. But in terms of a message I wish I could hand deliver to everyone I meet. It is an article that I will continue to promote and talk about from time to time.

One of my favorite sayings in life is the often quoted line from Spiderman, "With great power comes great responsibility."

The internet gives everyone great power to communicate, and share ideas.

We all have the responsibility to use it wisely.  If you don't have first hand experience on a topic, don't act like you do.

Please be careful when you give advice, you never know when the person you are talking to will use your advice to make an important decision.

And please, don't ever forget, talk is cheap, wisdom is priceless.

Yes, that’s right, I’m not seeking any nomination for any political office.

But I would like your vote!

I am NOT a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, and I’ve never been a law professor.  I was NOT born in Hawaii, and I’ve NEVER been to Indonesia. But if you vote for me, I will make you laugh, and I won’t make any promises I can’t keep!

I enjoy the internet, I am passionate about technology, and helping YOU to understand it!

For the fun of the competition, and who knows I may even learn something in the process, I’m playing the game of a different kind.  Check it out.   If you enjoy reading our articles, have some fun, vote for me!

It can get confusing with all the acronyms flying around out there.  I’ve written numerous articles to try to take a lot of the geek speak and political spin and explain it in simple terms.

I have also used social bookmarking site Delicious to create a  “stack of links” on internet regulation.  Delicious is pretty cool for creating collections of links  like  this comprehensive list of internet legislation articles.

On one of the link stacks on Delicious someone has created a stack with the label “Stop Online Privacy Act (SOPA) News.”   You may feel like the folks on Capitol Hill want to take away your privacy, but SOPA is an acronym for Stop Online Piracy Act.  The well meaning folks in Washington want to stop piracy, not privacy. Internet pirates are folks who take intellectual property that they do not own like music and movies, and give it away or sell it on websites.

Over the years I’ve used many analogies in teaching and public speaking to get people to put technology into the proper perspective, The internet is just a mirror, a reflection. If you don’t like what you see, what do you do?  Some people break the mirror, others change what’s being reflected.

The internet doesn’t take sides, it gives birth to both good and evil. The internet is our collective mind, it is our collective soul. It is a reflection of all of us, and together we have the responsbiility to focus and form that reflection.

Yes, online piracy is a crime, and it should be punished.  But we should not break the internet, and punish the law abiding users of the internet in order to stop the pirates.

Technoloy has been my profession for 35 years, I get fired up  and I am passionate about the need for the internet, the technology itself to stay free of regulation.

I have been covering the proposed legislation on various internet topics.  I know all the acronyms, geek speak, and political double talk can be confusing, so  I have written two articles in hopes of sorting through all the acronyms and geek speak of the current SOPA and PIPA battle going on.

I’m a bit fired up over this because politicians don’t understand the technology. They should keep their fingers off of it!

You are using the internet right now to read this. As someone who uses the internet you should care about the governments desires to regulate it.  It is your internet too! Give a damn! Understand!

PLEASE, take a moment to read the following articles.

We attempt to explain the geek speak in simple terms,  PIPA, SOPA, and the battle for the internet: Understanding the technology.

Hope this helps you to understand what we are fighting for,  PIPA, SOPA, and the battle for the internet: Understanding the politics

The argument I use here is a lot like an analogy I use to put the internet into perspective.  The internet is not evil.  But evil people use the internet.

The internet is like a mirror, it simply reflects what it sees.  If you don’t like what you see in the mirror, you don’t break the mirror, you change the reflection!

Don’t let Congress break the internet! 

To stay informed follow me  @Gu42 on Twitter or Guru42 on Facebook.

If you missed any of the recent news click on this link to a comprehensive list of internet legislation articles.

The line, “We learn from failure, not from success!” sounds like pretty sound advice.

You may find it interesting to know they are the words of Professor Abraham Van Helsing to Dr. John Seward in the Novel “Dracula” by Bram Stoker…

“Nothing is too small. I counsel you, put down in record even your doubts and surmises. Hereafter it may be of interest to you to see how true you guess. We learn from failure, not from success!”

The website SmartTechnology.Info is about using technology smarter to make your life easier. These thoughts are based on my many interactions over the years with a wide variety of technology users.

The section on Power and Responsibility is based on some business writing and workshops that I have done over the years.

I taught for at the community college level for many years.  While most of the courses I taught were technology courses, not everyone taking the classes was there to be a technician or engineer. Some folks were taking the classes to better appreciate the topics covered so they could better understand, and communicate more effectively with the technology folks they had to deal with in their roles as business professionals or managers.

SmartTechnology.Info aims to educate the folks in their roles as business professionals or managers. Our companion site  ComputerGuru is more from the perspective of the technology professional.

Over the last few weeks I’ve been tweaking the Drupal code and fine tuning my websites. Little by little I’ll focus on promoting each one as I give them an overhaul.

Take a look at SmartTechnology.Info, tell me what you think.  Something you like?  Something you would like to see further developed, or a similar topic cover?

Share your thoughts on the Guru 42 Facebook page, or drop me a message directly.

Wow, is it Wednesday already!

I’ve been so wrapped up in overhauling my websites the last few days that I just realized I had not been on Facebook or checked my email since Sunday!   I have really been focusing on Drupal and site building the last few weeks.  Looking forward to having some of these sites take off in 2012!

While I have a bunch of new websites in the works, I have been focusing on over the weekend and the last few days on getting some of my existing websites “cleaned up.”

If you have not stopped by any of these sites lately, please stop by, check them out and tell me what you think.

PhilosophyGuru – Adding a bunch of content there on rock music history.  Also have a bunch of notes on movies.   Movies and music are topics that are very popular in searches.  Trying to put come content here and see what kind of traffic I can drive to it.

Smart Technology Info — Technology website trying to focus from the small business owner and business manager perspective.

ComputerGuru  — From my old links and lessons on learning from my teaching days. Reworking old material trying to make it friendly for those learning technology searching for info.

Please feel free to check out our sponsors! Look over the ads and click a few links!  Look over our websites, kick the tires on them.  Let me know what you like, don’t like.

Stay tuned!  There’s more to come from the Guru 42 Universe in 2012!

As the new year starts  we often reflect.  Spending many years in technology, I often reflect on how we all did things BC. (before computers).    Here are a few words that I was thinking about.

Remember when…  If somebody asked you if knew about Bing, you thought they were talking about some old guy singing Christmas songs…

Remember when… If somebody asked you if knew about Yahoo, you thought they were talking about the crazy guy down the street…

Remember when… If somebody asked you if knew about Google, you thought they were talking about Scope or Listerine…

Remember when…  Everyone didn’t have a blog. If this blog post makes perfect sense to you, I guess you are an old fart like me?

Best Wishes for a prosperous New Year from the Guru 42 Universe

I remember when you could tell everyone you know Merry Christmas!  … and you didn’t have to worry about who you offended.

I have many friends, who believe in many things, and respect them for their beliefs and convictions.  It has nothing to with political correctness. It has to do with being a friend.

Merry Christmas

I want to wish a Merry Christmas to all my friends and the fans of the Guru 42 Universe and the Tao of Questy.

I Believe in Santa Claus! Please take a moment to read Believe in Santa Claus and allow me to share my Christmas thoughts with you.

Happy New Year

We look forward to your friendship and support in 2012.

Follow the the Guru 42 Universe for technology news and features, and the Tao of Questy, to share ideas on our crazy world and being a little bit crazy in order to stay sane.

May your new year be filled with Peace, Love, and Happiness.

I am as mad as hell, and you should be too.  For months congress has been promising to create laws to regulate the internet.

Regardless of where you stand on the issues, hopefully you give a damn about them, and will take a minute to understand the issues.

Take a moment to read, SOPA Marathon session in Congress produces nothing.

This really burns me up. This is crazy and childish. Congress needs to take this seriously!

If you have not been following this, please catch on in these articles as well.

Google starts war of words over online piracy bill

Online protests aim to kill SOPA and Protect IP legislation

Technology companies ask lawmakers to scrap online piracy legislation

Protect IP Act aims to block internet pirates

Tweet this one up with #DontBreakTheInternet

It is your internet too!  Give a damn!  Understand!