Because in the end, we’re all just screaming out loud with our words and our actions, “I’m Significant!”, even if we do feel like that dust speck. And who to teach us the lesson better than Calvin and Reddit.

All of the trials and tribulations that we endure on the day-to-day business that we call life boils down to that one simple fact. We seek to improve ourselves to prove our self worth to others (as well as to ourselves). We stand up for our beliefs because we feel that we just might be able to make a difference that will count in a memorable way. We attempt to go beyond the ordinary, because we remember that someone once told us that we had the chance to become extraordinary (yes, I believe we all had one or two people who said this to each and every one of us at some point in our life).

And no one is just a speck of dust, even if you’re looking at yourself against the scale of the universe. Because what you have within you will never be the same combination that any other living creature will have, simply because we’ve all lived our lives in our own ways.

Repeat after Calvin, “I’M SIGNIFICANT!” Now go out there and show everyone just how significant you really are. It’s all up to you.

Innovators in both of two domains are basically dreamers and storytellers. In the early stages of creation of both art and science, everything in the mind is a story. – E.O. Wilson

Harvard sociobiologist E.O. Wilson wrote this in his paper on the Origins of the Arts. He takes us on a journey from our earliest history to explain the potential actions of our ancestors. We evolved in our thought processes to create new from “understood”, so that we could define our experiences in ways that are familiar to us or might challenge us. But just as the image above shows, at the intersection of these two thoughtful disciplines holds the same sense of wonder that drives creation and inspiration. Wonder really is a powerful motivator.

- thanks again, Brain Pickings

There’s a new book that was just written by Christian Engström (MEP) and Rick Falkvinge that is worth the read. I’m partway through it myself, and it has a really strong history of copyright and the need for reforming it for the 21st century. It’s a clarion call that needs to be heeded in the wake of dangerous legislation that is taking place around the world that is making actions like file-sharing and downloading into criminal offenses. As more and more people are becoming worried that their basic rights are disappearing all to justify our current economic models, we’re all beginning to realize that change won’t happen until we start to think that nothing can remain static forever.

The Case For Copyright Reform contains a lot of good information that can get us started towards reforming the one industrial tool that is rapidly becoming dangerous to our society. No, no one is saying that copyright is a bad thing, but it’s become much bigger than it was ever intended, and is no longer even benefiting the real innovators and creators. The fight is only getting started, but at least a few people are already looking at alternatives that we can all accept. Check out more about it on Falkvinge.net.

Minds come in similar shapes but altogether different characteristics. As Carol S Dweck, PhD states, we can either have a fixed (talents are gifts) or growth (cultivate your abilities). Check out the chart below to compare the differences in how these two mindsets operate, and then listen to the professor explain what it all means and how you might be able to change to grow. – thanks this isn’t happiness for finding this chart

I saw this link in my email, but never in a million years thought that it would reach this kind of number. Freelancing is prevalent throughout the world, but it looks like deadbeat client’s are also just as prevalent. This whole idea came about from the Freelancer’s Union, which just goes to show you that some form of unionization is still necessary in our work world. With all of the talk about trust that businesses tout, it’s clear that trust is most definitely not equal across the business world. Kind of gives you a clearer picture of why so many people are looking at politicians and businesses with that look of distrust that’s been around since after the global market crash (well, actually a lot earlier than 2008).

So, if you have some unpaid bills, go check out The World’s Longest Invoice and add your name to the tally. As you can see, it’s at an alarming number, and the final numbers and list will be delivered to New York law makers on May 22nd, 2012, so that the law that will protect freelancers from non-payment and abuse can finally get put down into meaningful words.

Paul Radu is building a platform for the hacker community to collaborate with investigative journalists to expose the most vile, dangerous, and bizarre global corruption you never knew existed.

This is how the article, The Investigative Dashboard – Hacking Crime and Corruption, starts out on Boing Boing and it only gets better as you listen to and read about the concept of hackers and investigative journalists collaborating to fight crime. All of those laws that governments are trying to pass aren’t even coming close to fighting crime, most likely because so many actually participate in the corruption.

Paul and his intrepid team is developing this tool to help people get involved in fighting the type of crime that affects their lives directly. Any time a politician votes with money; anytime a criminal has fingers in the legal system; anytime a poor individual gets swept away by “legalities” while fighting the good fight – that’s when the people take one (unfairly) for the team. But now, innovative people everywhere are changing the game by literally changing the game. Yes, education pays off and here’s more definitive proof of that sentiment. So, go out there and learn about the true crimes so that you too can find a way to give a hand in making sure life is played on an even playing field.

And government everywhere, seriously, this is crime fighting.

- thanks Boing Boing for this incredible project find!!!

I listened to the folks talking about protecting the future of the Internet on Hacking Society on Tuesday. Now, there’s a word that I really love to see when discussing change: hacking. There’s also a pretty awesome post written by Venkat that has been floating around Twitter that caught my eye for obvious reasons: Hacking the Non-Disposable Planet. And with just a few of these treasures brings this post about what the Network means to me (as asked during #hacksociety).

The network is the all-inclusive digital society that literally gives each and every one of us a chance to be heard and understood. In our physical society, we only have to look around to see that this is not even remotely true. Those who have the most money or power are the ones who are heard loud and clear. The rest of us…not so much. We are those frail wraiths who are floating against the onslaught of hot air that carries little message of value through the norm. Although to the norm, this value is fundamental because it is something that can be measured and given a price tag.

Those of us on the digital network that are fighting tooth-and-nail against that hot air blowing across the lands and oceans know all to well that this domain is our last stand. But it’s not as hopeless as the words “last stand” might signify, because we’ve managed to build a vibrant community that hasn’t unleashed the multitude of horrors easily found in the physical world. Yes, we are physical, but we are also metaphysical. We’re much more than flesh and bones. We’re also emotions, ideals, dreams, hopes, and frustrations that push us to be more than physical. That’s probably the reason why digital netizens (I know, most people hate this word) choose to reject the divisions that seek to exclude. We get that we’re embracing contradictions, but we’re doing so because we don’t ever want to reach the point where there is something that we can’t uncover.

Read more »

A shot from the critical scene in Longitude:

I honestly never even thought that I would see such a clear image of the IP battle from this movie. I briefly spoke about the movie Longitude a few posts ago. The battle this one poor man (John Harrison) had while trying to invent a mechanism that would assist seafarers in acquiring accurate longitudinal measurements at sea was probably one of the most educational pieces showing the true nature of a constricting IP regime. If you want to know why people look at IP suspiciously, then you couldn’t ask for a more relevant portrayal of creator vs. system.

We tend to look at the creator with a mixture of sympathy (they just want to survive) and exasperation (why are they so entitled), but the main public conversation that should be taking place is the role of the gate keeper or investor. If you’ve been following the non-stop legislative battle (SOPA, PIPA, ACTA, TPP, and CISPA, etc.) that the Internet is having with global governments and industry, then you know that this conversation is happening though it has yet to reach those who can make system modernization happen. There are two camps:

Camp A – IP stakeholders: We have been funding this modern society, and deserve to be paid for creating the world that you now all enjoy. So in order for us to continue with these investments, we require an IP regime that allows for us to protect our valuable commodity. We want to ensure that “creators” are protected, so we require ever increasing legislation that will secure the world we worked so hard in achieving. Without us, you would not exist in such luxury. Protection is paramount for survival! Note: IP stakeholders typically hold title to patents and copyrights, but they are usually not the original content creators (e.g writer, designer, inventor, etc.).

Camp B – public domain supporters: We are the ones who are responsible for creating the actual content on which society thrives. We realize that no one lives in a vacuum, so we’re constantly impacted by external influences. Nothing is ever truly original, because there is always another source that inspires each new creation. We build upon the previous, and create something that is exponentially bigger than the previous. One cannot exist without the other. It belongs to us all, and it cannot be constrained by economics or self interest. A vibrant public domain allows for continuous innovation! Read more »