Saturday, August 31, 2013

Trey Smith’s Exploration of Nephilim is Worth a Watch

Nephilim Skull


It’s important to always be careful with data, commentary, and information that you find anywhere, particularly on the internet. There is a ton of misinformation or even disinformation flooding us in regards to the Bible, science, history, the end of days, and anything of importance to our past and future. For every good piece of data, there are dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of bad pieces of data.


With that said, I have found the work of Trey Smith from God in a Nutshell both entertaining and informative. As always, I do not believe it’s necessary to try to “prove” our Lord, creation, or anything like that because we are told that knowledge of our God is part of us all. You don’t need proof. You need faith.


Smith’s work is still interesting. While I do not recommend it as a way to try to come to be a believer, for those who are solid in their faith, it makes for an intriguing exploration, albeit possibly distracting.


You should never try to prove the existence of God. You should help people find Him, but not through proof. Let the Word work. Allow the Holy Spirit to fill them. That’s the real goal. Proof is unnecessary and potentially blasphemous.


Here is the video that caught my attention. Set aside two hours before starting it – you won’t want to stop it once you get started. Smith has a style that is reminiscent of Jack Nicholson doing eschatology. I enjoyed it quite a bit.







via Judeo Christian http://judeochristianchurch.com/trey-smiths-exploration-of-nephilim-is-worth-a-watch/

The US is right in its aggressive cyber-security efforts

US Cyber Security


There’s another uproar brewing over the Snowden leaks that has Americans taking to social media voicing their disapproval. They’re classifying it in the same category as the privacy issues disclosed that surround the NSA spying on US citizens. This uproar is misguided as the actions taken in this regard are a complete 180 degree turn from the other offenses the government has been doing against its citizens.


The Washington Post brought it to light today that the US government performed 231 offensive cyber-operations in 2011. The specifics are unknown but it can be assumed that they rest somewhere between simple hacking into foreign computers for the sake of planting malware or spyware and the Stuxnet attack on Iran’s nuclear weapons research facilities.


The outrage by American citizens is completely misplaced in this scenario. One can be very easily upset about the spying of communication networks that the US government is performing on US citizens. This is a justifiable outrage – the perceived benefits from this sort of intelligence are outweighed by the implications of a Big Brother society that it precedes. However, using our technology to defend the country and our allies from cyber-attacks or real-world attacks from abroad is a completely different scenario.


The only way they are even similar is that technology is involved and Edward Snowden was the source of the leaks. Otherwise, they are completely opposite of each other in what they really mean to Americans and our allies.


We want the government to protect us from threats from abroad. We do not want the government to use their resources against law-abiding citizens just because there are criminals and terrorists amongst us. For domestic spying, they need to figure something else out. For foreign spying and counter-terrorism, the use of our best technologies and minds to prevent attacks against the country and our allies is not only justified, it should be expected.


As technology progresses, there are certain things that we absolutely must hold onto in order to maintain a free society. The methods are there to give complete control to the wrong people (which means anyone) over our internet and communications networks. This is the fight that we must continue, the one that prevents the government or any other entity from overstepping its bounds and mandating protections that aren’t justifiable.


On the other side, there are those in the world that want to take down the United States, Israel, Canada, the EU, Australia, and other countries that stand in the way of their own progress. The shift is happening where China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, and other nations are acquiring the power to truly threaten us all. It’s imperative that the US and allied governments do whatever is possible to keep the upper hand and quash any threats before they get out of control.


This isn’t about us versus them. It isn’t about people of the US versus people of Russia. This is about responsibility with the power and countries like Russia and China have demonstrated that they will use their resources to harm others. That’s not to say that US or the EU are perfect – not by a long shot. Still, the cyber-warfare upper hand must remain on the less-dangerous side which is currently the United States and allies.


Fight the government, any government, that is trying to take away the rights of their people, but don’t fight them when they’re using their resources to defend against catastrophes.


* * *


Cyber Security” image courtesy of Shutterstock.






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Thursday, August 29, 2013

Sometimes I take the #SoCal beach for granted. I don't go often but I'd miss it if I left.



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Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Do Not Underestimate the Importance of Subtle Blasphemy

Playstation Greatness Awaits


When a person start to see the evils of the world for what they are, that person often starts seeing it everywhere. It is so prevalent that some people even start to doubt, wondering if they’re being paranoid, wondering if they’re falling into the same trap that led to events like the Salem witch trials.


While it’s definitely possible to be mistaken and to start seeing too many things as evil, it’s usually the other way around. There truly is so much in the world today that we’ve grown complacent. We’ve allowed them to be a part of our lives whether we know it or not.


This is a topic that deserves a much deeper examination, but in this particular post I’m going to focus on a simple example. The video below isn’t the most evil thing you’ll ever see. You may even have a hard time determining that there’s anything blasphemous, misleading, or dangerous in it at all. That’s the point. The obvious examples can be easily broken down and avoided. It’s the subtle examples that often slip by us.


The message is more important than the delivery method. Unfortunately, the delivery method of this particular message is very powerful. It’s a commercial for a popular gaming system release expected before Christmas. This two month old Playstation 4 teaser video is loaded with messages that leave a trace on children and adults alike who accept the message.


Many will say that it’s just a video, that it cannot have an actual effect on anyone. This would be a naive notion. Of course it has an effect. The combined effects from the multiple points of negative message transmission that many people are bombarded with throughout the day is like ants eating an elephant. The elephant wouldn’t even notice 1, 10, or 100, but once they start eating away at the defensive surface, getting under the skin and into the flesh, they can have a major effect. By the thousands, they can prove to be deadly over time.


Here’s the video followed by a breakdown.



Remember, it’s all about subtly and the messages that are being delivered. Here is the text. Read it and decide if this is paranoia or if the sprinkling of evil and misleading directions is real.



Who are you not to be great?


You – the imagination of a brilliant child and the powers of an ancient god – who are you to be ordinary?


You who can rescind life or raise the dead…


Who are you to be afraid? You can serve as judge and jury while hoarding infinite lives.


Who are you to be a slave to the past? You who can travel time like the oceans and rewrite history with a single world.


Who are you to be anonymous? You whose name should be spoken in reverent tones or in terrified whispers.


Who are you to deny greatness? If you would deny it to yourself, you deny it to the entire world…


…and we will not be denied.



The easiest way to deliver a message is to use distraction. In this case, Playstation used 35 “easter eggs” or hidden references to games in order to keep viewers focused on what’s happening in the background while the message is delivered. Here’s the breakdown of the easter eggs:



All in all, it’s pretty clear to me, but you may see it differently. The important thing to note is this – messages are out there. Subtle blasphemies are real. Don’t dismiss them. Don’t underestimate them. Be cognizant and you’ll have your best chance of handling them appropriately.






via Judeo Christian http://judeochristianchurch.com/do-not-underestimate-the-importance-of-subtle-blasphemy/

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

My kid's friend asked, "What's that?"



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Monday, August 26, 2013



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Saturday, August 24, 2013

Check out this #gorgeous @chevrolet in #SoCal



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What better way to celebrate her 15th birthday than with a Springfield 1911?



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Confessions of a binge viewer: how technology took the cliffhanger waiting period away

House of Cards


I can’t wait until House of Cards, Netflix’ award-winning series, comes to an end. When the final season is announced and the final episode approaches, I’ll begin watching the series.


At this point, I know nothing about it other than it stars Kevin Spacey and has received unexpected praise from critics and viewers alike. I couldn’t even tell you what the premise behind the show is. In fact, I’ve shielded myself and my wife from anything that hints about it at all. This is the power of the digital age. You don’t need to keep up with a show if you’re like us. We’re binge viewers.


It started with Lost, the popular ABC supernatural drama that we watched exclusively through Hulu until the final episodes. It was wonderful, particularly for a show like that because it’s filled with cliffhangers and shocking endings to many of the episodes. We don’t like to wait.


Since then, we no longer watch any series until the end.


This is the power and the weakness of services like Netflix. On one hand, their original programming can be appealing in that it allows viewers to watch it on their own terms. When, where, on which medium – all are controlled by the viewer. This is possible for just about any television series (though some require illegal downloading to make it work out right) but there’s something about an original series on one of the pioneers of modern media consumption that makes House of Cards special.


As Spacey puts it, television has entered a new golden age.


“Our challenge now is to keep the flame of this revolutionary programming alive by continuing to seek out new talent, nurture it, encourage it, challenge it, give it home and the kind of autonomy that the past and present … has proved it deserves,” he told the audience of TV executives at the Edinburgh Television Festival.


This golden age does not come without a price. Netflix is learning the hard way that their hope for a more stable expenditure model isn’t working out the way they expected specifically because of people like me.


According to Variety, it may even rock their stock:



How’s that for irony: Netflix, which fancies itself a revolutionary in the TV business, may be forced to bring itself in line with traditional industry bean-counting precisely because of its boldest practice.



You can’t blame them for success and you shouldn’t penalize them for not getting the accounting exactly right on such a new paradigm for entertainment, but that won’t change the minds of shareholders who fear what this will do to their stock prices and payouts.


As technology continues to give us new ways to consume our entertainment, it also raising challenges in the way to monetize it. They have shown that it’s possible to make money with the model, but will it be enough to cover the expenses upfront in an industry that is ready to tell them, “we told you so,” and in a time when stockholders have portfolio ADHD?






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Wednesday, August 21, 2013

The most colorful OEM showroom I've been in. @Kia



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Tuesday, August 20, 2013

GTO. 1966. Do want.



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Monday, August 19, 2013

This 1963 Alfa Romeo 2600 Coupe Speciale can only be truly viewed properly in #black and #white.



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Sunday, August 18, 2013

A Toast Box dessert at TeboTebo.#wacky #food



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Saturday, August 17, 2013

Stop Calling the Facebook News Feed Algorithm ‘EdgeRank’

EdgeRank


A little over a year ago, I stopped using the term, “EdgeRank” when referring to the algorithm that Facebook uses to determine when and where in the news feed that posts appear. Someone at Facebook had told me that it was no longer used so I stopped talking about it.


Over time, it crept back into my vernacular. It wasn’t that anything had changed – the new, more complex system was still well in place – but it became confusing to clients and prospects when I called it “the Facebook news feed ranking algorithm”. It was even more confusing when trying to talk to those who were knowledgeable enough to ask about EdgeRank. In those situations, I’d often spend several minutes explaining that EdgeRank no longer existed in its original form but that the three primary influencing factors were still part of the equation.


As a result, I started just calling it EdgeRank again. Now, it’s time to officially correct that course and call it what it is, an unnamed and exceptionally complex ranking algorithm that plays within itself at times to determine if and when a post made by an individual or a page can show up in an individual’s news feed. The old factors are still there… along with a rumored 100,000 other factors.


It’s good to start using the right terminology again. I always felt an internal cringe whenever I said it, but it passed.


There’s something about the algorithm that has intrigued me ever since I started playing with it over 2 years ago. My marketing career began in search and the all-powerful Google search ranking algorithm has always been a constant battle for those of us pursuing its mastery. However, as complex as the Google algorithm is, it has nothing on the Facebook algorithm. The intricacies are intense and the effects that it has on the visibility of posts makes it much more challenging than anything in search land.


Anyone who plays in the search and social world is likely in awe of the ever-changing ways that both algorithms play with our emotions, but at the end of the day it’s the Facebook algorithm that is more of a work of art. No offense, Google.









via Soshable | Social Media Blog http://soshable.com/stop-calling-the-facebook-news-feed-algorithm-edgerank/

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Name this car that I spotted at my barber...



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Friday, August 9, 2013

No filter required for #organic #hierloom tomatoes.



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Monday, August 5, 2013

Awesome Content on the Way and Why I Haven’t Been Posting Much Lately

Very Busy


The worlds of automotive social media and automotive search marketing are converging. We’ve known this for a while and I’ve been preparing for the collision in order to help our clients make the most out of the changes. The only thing I wasn’t expecting was how tremendously complex it all was going to be.


For the last month, we’ve been pushing hard to help educate and assist dealers on both fronts, but social media has been my primary focus. Most know that I spent the early part of my career focused almost solely on search but the transition from search to social has been happening for a couple of years now. Today, I’m happy to say that the transition is complete and I’ll be discussing more about the merging disciplines over the coming months.


To those who inquired, who were checking to make sure I hadn’t fallen off the face of the earth, thank you for your concern and all is well. In fact, it’s all very well. I’m continuing to explore new and innovative techniques that dealers can use to enhance their social media presence.


This leads me to the point of this post. I’m looking for participants, those willing to engage in case studies and discussions about the merging search and social marketing future that we all face. It can be dealers or vendors – I’m not picky. I just want to get some people together to bounce off ideas over email, at the upcoming conferences, on Google Hangouts – anything that works to make the industry better at the two most important components of marketing for 2014. If you’re interested, contact me or leave a comment below.


The goal is to put out the best educational content available on the subjects. I’m not being completely altruistic with this – the more I learn, the better I can make our products. I’ve spent the last six years honing my skills in a bubble. Now it’s time to take what I’ve learned and enhance it with what you all know. I look forward to seeing this move forward.









via Soshable | Social Media Blog http://soshable.com/awesome-content-on-the-way-and-why-i-havent-been-posting-much-lately/

Friday, August 2, 2013

#truth



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