I’m not an expert on economics or political science, health care or energy policy. I am an interactive developer. I write the code on some web sites you may have seen, and many more that you haven’t. I’m employed, I’m married, I own a home, and I’m about to be a father. I’m twenty-five years old and I suddenly find myself caring, truly caring, about the world for the first time. The statement “let’s make this world a better place for our children” is really starting to sink in. I’ve been following the #occupywallstreet movement since about the time it started via Twitter, long before it was shown on the mainstream media, and I’ve paid attention as supportive groups have sprung up across the nation, including here in Indianapolis.

One of the biggest “complaints” about this movement is that it is just a group of lazy, jealous hippies, looking to rob from the rich so they can give to themselves. They say that this movement is about class warfare. To me it’s not about that at all. This movement is about we the people wanting our voices to actually be heard above the money of the financial institutions and massive corporations. This isn’t about the rich and the poor. This is about all of us. I grew up in a fairly wealthy family. I’ve been involved in a family business that employed more than one hundred people that now has been going through incredibly tough times because even people who want to buy their products can’t get the loans needed due to flaws in the financial industry (even if their credit is good enough to merit that loan). This is about a system that tries to make money from nothing.

Last night I read something that made my stomach turn. I read an article about Newt Gingrich degrading the OWS supporters as more or less being “uneducated” and “dumb” and saying that this country is about “the Steve Jobs experience” of working hard to make a better future. He used Steve Jobs (and basically, his recent passing) as a political point for big corporation and big finance. I can’t speak for anyone else but Steve Jobs has always been one of my biggest personal heroes and I agree that “the Steve Jobs experience” really is what it’s all about, and that’s exactly what the OWS movement is about. Steve started Apple in a garage, and ironically got kicked out of the company when he brought Wall Street into Apple!

I know the OWS movement means a lot of different things to a lot of different people but let me paint for you what it means for me. Some decry OWS as being anti-American, and anti-capitalism. I say no, capitalism and the free market are about supply and demand. I have something you want, and you will pay me for that good or service. The biggest problems with Wall Street are the complex schemes used to create wealth and the ramifications of what happens when that artificial system breaks down. I won’t say Wall Street is all bad, because in the past it has made many things possible through funding that wouldn’t have happened without it. But now we’re entering a new age. We’re entering an age where anyone with a skill can create, and be paid to create, to teach, to help, etc. I’ve witnessed a friend be able to completely follow one of his dreams by setting up a Kickstarter to get the money from people who are genuinely interested in his success, not from some hedge fund. I’ve seen game developers go from creating fun experiences in their off-time, to making games for the masses because of the QUALITY of their work. If these aren’t examples of The American Dream, I don’t know what is.

In terms of the movement itself, I may not agree with all of their tennents, but at least they’re standing up for what the believe in instead of just listening to what someone says they should believe. If we all start doing that I think we can move this country in a very positive direction. Just remember, even though Wall Street and their likes are very loud and influential, but we really are the 99%!

I Fight for the Users! (Taken with instagram)

Someone’s going to miss this tonight… (Taken with instagram)

Our delicious dinner tonight! (Taken with instagram)

Everyone loves an ice skating penguin! (Taken with instagram)

Well it’s been a bit, but I’m back on the wagon of working on iOS projects. I’ve got a few real projects on the backburner at the moment in design and prototyping whilst I actually learn this stuff.

I’d been going through the Stanford iOS dev class on iTunes U but even it didn’t seem to be doing me any good. Then I realized it was because I was watching them on the treadmill, or late at night, or other times when I couldn’t really concentrate. I’ve changed the way I approach that class now. Now I look at it as, well, a class!

Here are a few of things that I’ve found help me get through the content and feel like I’m really grasping Obj-C and xcode and how it all works.

• Do the demos they do in lecture as they do them (pause often to make sure you understand what’s going on).
• Learn to use the developer documentation, it’s your friend.
• This one I can’t stress enough, go online to the course website and download all available files, assignments, lecture notes, etc. (link, this may go down soon so get the files while you can)
• Do the homework assignments and projects! I really didn’t even start to feel confident with the environment or the language until I started doing the assignments along with the lectures.
• As you do the assignments, once you get one done, see if there are any ways you can tweak it to learn about different aspects of what you can do with the SDK!

That’s about it for now, I’ll post more as I keep moving along!

I’m a different kind of crafty… (Taken with instagram)

Bulletto of the Moofia (Taken with instagram)

Quorra (Taken with instagram)

Best Christmas ornament ever!!! (Taken with instagram)