Open-Source Genealogy

Genealogy has a small open-source community. But its not good enough. Genealogy is a big-data problem. And the data is not freely available. The closest thing to freely available records is FamilySearch.org, but they have no APIs for searching their records. Most open-source genealogy software is tackling problems that have already been solved by PAF and RootsMagic. Genealogy data needs to be opened. FamilySearch began to share this vision during Jay Verkler's keynote at the 2012 RootsTech conference. When the open-source community gets access to data, without screen-scraping, we will see a surge of innovation.

Privacy Has No Value

The Patriot Act has stirred controversy since it was introduced to Congress in October 2001. Critics of the the bill claim that it infringes on our right to privacy. Those critics forget that privacy comes at a cost. In The Cuckoo's Egg, Cliff Stoll tells a true story about tracing a hacker. He attempts to enlist the help of law enforcement and military officials but they constantly resist. Cliff then realizes that "[our] rights actually limit what police can do."

One of the responsibilities of our government is to protect our lives and property. That requires the government to take preemptive action. The government can't protect us if they can't prevent attacks against us. Taking preemptive action requires the ability to gather intelligence on reasonable threats. But intelligence gathering can't be limited only to previously determined threats. The government also needs the ability to identify new threats. This level of gathering intelligence requires an invasion of privacy.

There is nothing wrong with the government invading our privacy. We lose nothing if we have nothing to hide. Instead, we enable the government to fulfill its responsibility to protect our life and property.

Our Ancestors Need Me

I have always felt a yearning to do genealogy. I remember developing my own pedigree system in Excel when I was a child. Over 15 years later my desire to find my ancestors has only grown stronger. I feel my ancestors cheering me on and begging for me to continue researching and taking names to the temple. I also believe that I am among the "skilled men and women" that the Lord has inspired "in developing new technologies which we can use to our great advantage in moving forward this sacred work." Currently I am working on the 20 Minute Genealogist with Dr Knutson, Dr Zapalla, and 8 other students. Though my work on that project will cease when I graduate in April, I will continue applying my talents to genealogy. At RootsTech 2012 I caught a glimpse of the future. It looks bright, and I will make it even brighter.

Buy More AAPL

In response to growing pressure, Apple asked an auditor to inspect the overseas factories where most of their products are made. Despite bad press, the controversy hasn't had any affect on their sales. 19% of all consumer electronics bought in the 4th quarter of 2011 were Apple products; Apple received $1 for every $5 spent on electronics in the US. Their stock is soaring and is expected to continue performing well. Why hasn't the bad press affected their revenue? Because we don't care if our life-changing electronics are made in factories with working conditions that hearken back to the industrial revolution. All modern economies experience growth pains. Conditions in Chinese factories will improve, prices will go up, and electronic manufacturers will find a country with cheaper labor. All the while we will continue consuming amazingly shiny and life-changing Apple products. The release of the iPad 3 is on the horizon and there is still no worthy competitor. I think now is a good time to buy more AAPL.

Child Safety on the Internet is Easy

The safety of children on the internet (especially sites like Facebook) is still a concern despite laws that seek to protect them. Now people are shocked to learn that 44% of children have on Facebook who they have never met. This seems very silly because the solution is so simple: monitor your child's activities on the web. It's not that hard. Don't let them use Facebook if you can't be their friend. Better yet, have them share all usernames and passwords with you that they use on the internet. Facebook and email are the most important accounts (do children use anything else?). If you are concerned about their internet activities while away from home, just take away their smart phone. Children don't need a smart phone (I do quite well without one). Don't depend on federal law and corporate kindness to protect your children -- only you can do that. The solution is easy.