Welcome to the Age of Virtual Reality

June 2, 2014June 2, 2014 / tellmemoreblogger / Leave a comment

Palmer Luckey, 21 year old Founder of Oculus and creator of the Rift

Oculus Rift Eye Port

Welcome to the age of virtual reality. Unlike the majority of gaming inventions being released by tech-giants, this innovation came from a garage. At the young age of just 21 years old, it is likely that if you haven’t heard of Palmer Luckey, then you will hear about him in the very near future. The much anticipated technology of virtual reality might even be available later this year. Palmer Luckey’s “Oculus Rift” will be the first mass produced virtual reality gaming device to ever be released to the public. With a prototype built while still in High school, the young entrepreneur perfected his VR headset in College.

One of the problems that most companies were having with the development of virtual reality was the delay between the movement of the user and the imagery being displayed after the movement. Most people who tried to use virtual reality headsets became nauseous after just a little while of game play. When looking from left to right, users would often see a delay in their screen which resulted in a trail effect rendering the device useless. However Palmer Luckey was able to identify this issue and improve upon it to the point of near perfection. His Oculus Rift is the first device free of a delay that users can immerse themselves in virtual reality with.

Oculus, the company featuring the Rift, was recently purchased by tech giant Facebook for a whopping 2 billion dollars. It’s clear that the implications for this device are far more than just gaming. With such evolutionary graphics and image speed, people are saying the device could revolutionize everything from video games to sex. While a kickstart model is already available for purchase, Palmer Luckey urges people not to do so just yet. He wants to perfect the Oculus Rift before releasing it to the public. Oculus CEO Brenden Iribe said that he knew this would be huge after wearing the device for the first time.

Iribe explained his experience with the Oculus Rift as revolutionary. He walked around the room, turned his head and looked up and down in disbelief. Several simulation programs later, Iribe wanted to run through the simulation again and again. As for consumers who have been waiting for virtual reality, this is the Holy Grail. So get ready to have your mind blown by the Oculus Rift, and when you do, remember that it wasn’t some giant industry that spent millions in research and development who brought it to you. But rather it was Palmer Luckey, a 21 year old entrepreneur working from his garage at home.

Oculus Rift Back Panel

Oculus Rift Overhead Image

Slave Labor in Qatar?

May 29, 2014June 17, 2014 / tellmemoreblogger / Leave a comment

Transporting new migrant workers to Doha, Qatar

How far would your country be willing to go in order to host the World Cup? Well, if your country is Qatar, then you could say they are willing to kill for that opportunity. Amnesty International, a transnational human rights organization, reported that over 568 workers have died since January 2012 while preparing for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. As more light is being shed on the issue, Qatar has been pressured to reform its current labor laws. While talks are underway to discuss the situation, the fact remains that nothing has been done to protect these migrant workers.

Currently Qatar has a labor law that allows corporations to control their employees’ exit visas. What this means is that by law, an employer could deny its employee the right to leave the country if they wish to do so. Recently I wrote a post on the migrant workers of Dubai, who suffer from a similar policy. Apparently, these construction corporations seek out poor immigrants from neighboring countries, mostly India, and then offer them an opportunity to provide for their families back home. These companies charge them what is known as a visa fee to cover their flight and work visa expenses, though they charge much more than necessary. Since their target employees are extremely impoverished people, the corporations offer a loan program to cover the visa fee.

Once the migrant workers arrive in Qatar, they find that they receive only a portion of their promised wage. The companies apply absurd interest rates on their visa fee loans and then withhold the promised wages so that these employees are not able to generate any real income. If they request their exit visa to return back to their country, the companies deny their request. The result is a slave workforce that is subjected to terrible living and working conditions. The companies responsible for this tragedy benefit from the free labor while Qatar benefits from the revenue of those very same companies. The fact that this is happening today in the year 2014 is beyond my comprehension.

I find it very upsetting that this situation is not making the news. My hope is that whoever reads this post and my other post on Dubai will spread the word about this. As of today, it’s estimated that 1.4 million migrant workers are constructing the 2022 World Cup stadium and surrounding structures in Qatar. If these companies continue their enslavement practices and Qatar does nothing to stop them, then who will? How many more will have to die or suffer for the World Cup before action is taken? If you’re an avid soccer fan and were planning on attending this event, you should know that the stadium was built on the blood, sweat and tears of enslaved migrant workers.

Are you from Qatar or India? Have you ever heard about these practices? Leave me a comment and let me know what you think about this situation. Thank you for stopping by and if you like this post or any others make sure to subscribe to my blog.

Article Sources:

http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/qatar/qatar-pressed-to-protect-world-cup-workers-1.1327507

http://www.amnesty.org

World map of Qatar

Migrant workers in Qatar resting on site

Migrant workers in Doha, Qatar

Map of Qatar

Lessons of Love #2

May 22, 2014 / tellmemoreblogger / 2 Comments

Keep things fresh and avoiding routines

Do you ever feel like your relationship is boring? Do you feel like it lost its momentum? Well I wouldn’t be too worried about it because luckily there’s a solution to that problem. The first thing that I do when I see that things are getting boring is identify the routine. Routines, while useful for certain tasks, are probably the worst thing for relationships. Once you fall into a routine, you risk making things boring and stagnant. So I try to identify the routine and make that the first thing that I change. For instance, if you get home from work every day and then eat dinner, shower and go to bed, try to change that up. Instead of doing it every day, take your partner to a restaurant or go on a pic-nick a couple of days out of the week.

One time I fell into a routine of going to the same restaurants over and over. Although we enjoyed going to restaurants, my girlfriend and I eventually got bored of going to the same ones. The joy that we once felt for going out to eat was diminishing. The solution to that problem was making a point of only going to restaurants that we had never been to. It didn’t matter if they were good or bad because the whole point of going was never to be food critics but rather to have fun, and we did. This is only one example of thousands of possible routines that I encounter on a daily basis. However try to change just one at a time. You don’t want to change everything that you do. Try to find things that used to be fun and no longer are, and start changing those.

I promise that every time that you start to change things up, you will notice that you and your partner have more fun. Also, doing new things together gives you something new to talk about. Spending years together with someone could tend to cover all possible topics of conversation. But doing new things will allow you to engage each other with fresh topics. That’s why I say to keep things fresh. Keep in mind that none of us is perfect and we are going to fall into some sort of a routine eventually. The trick is to realize that they can and should be changed. If your partner is the one who fell into the routine then try to talk to them about it in a calm and casual way. Let them understand that you want to change the routine and that you are willing to do things differently too.

I hope this little tip helps someone out there with their routine. If you have been through a routine and overcome it I want to know about it. Please let me know your story and what they outcome was for you after changing your routine.

The fight for Ukraine

May 20, 2014June 17, 2014 / tellmemoreblogger / Leave a comment

Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovych

Russian President Vladimir Putin

If you have been watching the news lately then you’ve likely heard about the dispute between Ukraine and Russia. The Crimean peninsula is at the epicenter of the dispute. Russia proclaimed that the people of Crimea were free to defect from Ukraine and rejoin Russia as a new territory. Ukraine, along with several other nations, was once part of the Soviet Union. With Russia as its governing power, the Soviet Union united parts of Eastern Europe. However, after the fall of the Soviet Union, countries like Ukraine reclaimed their independence. The problem is that during the fall of the Soviet Union, many Russian citizens who migrated to Ukraine were now stuck living in a non-Russian country.

After years of living under Ukrainian governance, the most pro-Russian region of Ukraine (the Crimean peninsula) decided that it no longer wanted to be part of Ukraine. However it was not until Ukrainian citizens began to protest against their corrupt government that the pro-Russian Crimean citizens decided to remove themselves entirely from Ukraine. With Russian support, the Crimean peninsula was quickly overrun by its citizens and Russian troops in disguise. Now Ukraine faces two issues at the same time. First, its citizens took to the streets in violent protests, fighting for new leadership. Second, the people of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula sided with Russia and aligned themselves with Russian president Vladimir Putin. Ukraine is facing a serious economic crisis now that its resources have been spread out and its government is in a state of uncertainty, unable to do business.

Now, after a few months of conflict, Vladimir Putin has claimed that he is pulling his troops back to the Russian border. While he never formally claimed that he sent troops into Ukraine to take Crimea, everyone watching knew that his forces were present. Now it’s estimated that about 40,000 Russian troops are to retreat to their border bases, a move that was likely caused by economic sanctions placed on Vladimir Putin’s wealthiest supporters. However despite Putin’s statements, NATO forces have yet to see any retreat from the Russian forces. As Ukraine’s future hangs in the balance, the world is watching the conflict closely. Should Vladimir Putin choose to intervene any further into the conflict, it is likely that other nations will respond with economic sanctions and as a last resort, military intervention.

As the conflict continues, I wonder what the people of Ukraine think about what has been happening in their country. If you are from Ukraine or you have family that lives there, please leave a comment on this post. I would love to know what it is like to live through this conflict and to know what you think should be done. Do you feel safe or is the conflict reaching your neighborhood and threatening your way of life? Please let me know what you think.

World map of Ukraine

Ukraine, Russian speaking population map

Lessons of Love #1

May 20, 2014May 20, 2014 / tellmemoreblogger / 1 Comment

A relationship always has room for improvement.

About a year or two ago I remember my girlfriend Jessica asked me if I was truly happy with our relationship. I remember thinking then that our relationship was good enough. That was the problem. “Good enough” is just another way of saying tolerable. Neither of us wanted to say it but we were lacking something from our relationship. It lost its momentum somewhere along the way and comfort replaced feelings of passion. We soon realized that we were not satisfied with a relationship that was just “good enough”. We wanted more. We wanted a relationship that was amazing, like it was when we first started dating. That’s when a miracle happened. Someone recommended a book on relationships to Jessica, which she went on to read. When she was finished she begged me to read it. So I opened up the book and started learning about the art of giving and receiving love. That was a turning point for us.

After reading and applying what this book taught us, our relationship improved astronomically. That’s when it hit me. Relationships, like anything else, improve with practice, dedication and hard work. If you never put any time or effort into learning how to improve your relationship and then apply those lessons, you shouldn’t expect a relationship to get any better than it already is. Once those initial butterflies start to disappear, you and your significant other are faced with a choice. Either part ways and look for someone else, or choose to continue loving each other and work on bringing those elusive butterflies back. If you’re thinking of the latter, then I suggest that you start making an effort to learn more about relationships and love. None of us were born as experts in anything, so don’t assume that you can’t learn something new about love or relationships. Personally I recommend that you read a book titled, “The Five Love Languages”. This book has been the equivalent of the Bible for me, as far as relationships are concerned, and I’m certain that it could help you too.

Today my relationship is stronger than it has ever been. This does not mean that we don’t fight, argue or get on each other’s nerves because we certainly do, a lot. But rather it means that both of us make a genuine effort to love each other better each day. I hope this lesson of love helped some of you out there looking for answers.

What about you? Did you read a book, attend a seminar or meet with a counselor that changed your relationship for the better? Tell me more about it, I would love to hear your story of love and what you learned.

Cannibal Warlord, General “Butt Naked”

May 16, 2014June 17, 2014 / tellmemoreblogger / 5 Comments

Do you remember the last time that you ate a child’s heart so that you could be invincible in battle? Can’t recall ever doing so? Well take a look at this documentary that I found on youtube.com. The documentary was produced by Vice News, a news agency that does in depth reporting across the globe. In this documentary Shane Smith, Vice News co-founder and field correspondent, travels to the west African nation of Liberia to investigate the so called Cannibal Warlords that live there. Let me warn you that the documentary has some strong content.

After exploring several parts of Liberia, Shane Smith lands a shady interview with former General “Butt Naked.” The general, who gave himself the name “Butt Naked”, explains the origin of his name to Shane. He tells the reporter that he chose this name because of his combat strategy during Liberia’s civil war. A strategy in which he would instruct his rebel soldiers to strip down completely before battle. Once fully nude, he would have his soldiers bring an innocent child to him for ritualistic purposes. He would then cut the child’s heart out of his/her chest, while still alive, and have each of his soldiers consume a piece of it. General “Butt Naked” explained to his soldiers that this sacrifice would bring them magical powers in combat and make them invincible. Only then would the General and his soldiers go into battle, while still completely nude I should add. This ritual of sacrifice was repeated before every single battle, thus causing the needless slaughter of hundreds of innocent children during the war.

Today General “Butt Naked” spends his days preaching to his community. He converted to Christianity after the war and now preaches at churches around Liberia about his struggle with his violent past. Former victims of his cannibal rituals say that he converted to Christianity only to avoid punishment for his war crimes. So the former general’s life is now in constant danger of attack from people affected by his military past. According to him these are false accusations. He says that the reason he converted to Christianity was so that he could be a better person and more importantly a better father to his young daughter. Though he takes the full blame for his actions, he recognizes that if his parents would have raised him instead of abandon him, then he might be a different man today. That thought is what motivates him to be a better father and a better person with the help of Christianity.

I tried to put myself in his shoes and imagine what life must have been like for him in Liberia. I wonder what kind of trauma he experienced before deciding that killing children and eating their hearts was the right thing to do. Maybe he’s just a psychopath with no remorse, incapable of distinguishing right from wrong. However it seems odd to me that a person who is incapable of knowing right from wrong would choose to devote the rest of his life to Christianity seeking forgiveness for his sins. The question of whether or not this man should be executed for his crimes remains a mixed issue. Does punishing a person’s ignorance with death solve the issue of ignorance? Does not punishing this man solve the issue of ignorance? I’m not sure what the solution is, if there even is a solution, but what I do know is that this country and its people are completely foreign to me. I will pray for them and hope that change comes sooner than later…

I would love to hear from someone living in Liberia. If you are from there or have family that lives there, please reply to this blog post. I want to hear your story and know what it is like for you as a citizen of Liberia. I look forward to hearing back from you soon.

Post Sources

cia.gov

youtube.com

Source (Picture 1) Source (Picture 2)

15 Quick Facts about Liberia

Official Language: English (Though only 20% of the population exclusively speaks English)

President: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, since 2006 (She was reelected in 2011 with 90.7% of the total vote in her favor)

Religion: 85.6% Christian, 12.2% Muslim

Total Population: 4,092,310

Capital: Monrovia

Median Age of Population: 18 years old (U.S. median age: 37 years old)

Sanitation Facility Access: 18.2% of the total population (81.8% with no access to restrooms or sewage infrastructure)

Health Expenditures: 19.5% of GDP

Physician Density: 0.01 Physicians/1000 people (Whatever you do don’t get sick in Liberia)

Education Expenditures: 2.8% of GDP

Total GDP: $2.89 Billion U.S. Dollars (Mark Zuckerberg’s Net Worth: $26.6 Billion U.S. Dollars)

Average Annual Income (Per Person): $700.00 U.S. Dollars (Qatar’s average is the highest at: $102,100 U.S. Dollars)

Privately Owned T.V. Stations: 3

Total Internet Users: 20,000 people (That’s less than 1% of the entire population)

Transnational Issues: Human Trafficking, Drug Trafficking, Civil Unrest, Refugee Disputes with Neighboring Countries