I love the Internet, it's such an amazing source of information. I may still reach for a book first when it comes to reports and papers, but when the library fails (and sadly, where I live it fails often), the Internet can fill the gaps. It also lets me connect with people from all over the world via message boards and other forums. It even lets me have some fun with games that would never work on a home console. Best of all, the Internet lets me speak my mind in a way that lets many of you read my articles (though why you'd want to is another matter).

Unfortunately, the ability for people to reach so many also causes a few problems. Unlike newspapers, news shows, and other printed forms of information, there is no check on the Internet. Anyone can write something, and with the right dressing it can look like anything you want it to. What's worse is that you can say anything at all, and you don't have to know anything about what you're writing about. Thanks to the Internet misinformation, and outright lies are spread throughout the world at nearly the speed of light.

On Youtube I saw a video of a woman screaming about some government conspiracy concerning the water supply. Her evidence: her sprinkler produced a rainbow one day when she ran it. More recently, CERN faced lawsuits, protests, and even threats over the new Large Hadron Collider. Someone had posted on the Internet that the LHC would create mini black holes that would destroy the planet. More websites, and later news organizations who should've known better carried the story throughout the world. All of this culminated in the suicide of a 16 year old in India.

The most dangerous piece of information floating around the Internet right now is the idea that vaccines are harmful. For decades now some have claimed that vaccines cause a whole range of problems, from cancer to autism, to death. Time and time again doctors have shown these claims to be false, but the anti-vaccine groups keep coming back with the same claims. Right now, a battle is being waged in Australia between anti-vaccine groups and the government health departments over it. Children have died of preventable diseases because their parents wouldn't get them their shots.

2012 is 2 years from now and the Internet is full of doomsday prophecies. The movie of the same same name used these as marketing, and the advertising powerhouse that is Hollywood let these crackpot ideas reach many eyes and ears. NASA ended up having to make press releases refuting the nay-sayers because they were getting questions from teenagers asking if the world really was going to end in 2012, and if so, they would go ahead and commit suicide to avoid the end of the world.

Am I calling for a control of the Internet? Honestly, I'm not sure, but I don't want to see that happen if we can avoid it. Despite the hoaxers, the crackpots, the trolls, weirdoes, the sportos, the motorheads, geeks, sluts, bloods, wastoids, dweebies, dickheads, the Internet is an invaluable source of information about the world and universe. But be smart as you read, and be ready to question everything you find. Back up your research with books and reviewed articles. Mixed research sources are always the best. And never hesitate to share your thoughts about anything.

See you on the Information Super-Highway!

What About Nobel?

When I heard about the Emmys being awarded back last Sunday I did a quick count of all the major awards that we see on TV (at least the ones I could think of.) You've got the Emmys, the Grammys, the Academy Awards (Oscars) all major shows on TV. On the Internet you've got the Webbys and the Razzies. Nowadays we can add in the Viewers Choice Awards many cable channels run. I'm sure I've probably left a few out, but that should be a big enough list. Each of these awards are given out with much fanfare (especially the TV/film/music awards) and are considered major accomplishments for those who receive them, and rightfully so (well, most of the time at least.) We need entertainment. As the saying goes, "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."

But what about the granddaddy of all awards? The Nobel Prizes are awarded each and every year just like all those entertainment awards. In fact, they even come with a monetary prize (about $1.2 million) and the winners get to meet the King of Sweden (Norway if you get the Peace Prize)! What's more, the Nobels aren't handed out for being a good entertainer. No, you get a Nobel by contributing to the world itself, via scientific discovery, invention, or other such means. Thankfully the importance of the Nobels hasn't been lost in the years, you still hear about who got what prize (mainly the Peace Prize.)

But I have to ask: when was the last time the Nobels were on live TV with the full court press and red carpet? Can the average American name any recent winner other than Al Gore (and don't even get me started on how he got the Peace Prize)? Heck, I'm ashamed to say that I can't either. *smack's self*

The Nobel Prize winner announcements will be made in the next few weeks with the award ceremony itself on December 10. Can we please see them in the news, and more than just a byline? Is it too much to ask to have people be celebrities for actually doing something to help the world?

I'm A Mad Engineer!

Welcome everyone to the grand opening of this grand spanking new blog! With some luck I'll be able to get my points across while entertaining you, my readers. So without further delay, on to the introduction!

In less than a second I'm sure you've got three questions in your head:

1. Why do I call myself a "mad engineer"? Isn't the term a "mad scientist"?

2. Why in the world should you read anything I have to write?

3. Just what will I be writing about?

Those are very good questions. I know I can answer the first, and I'll take a stab at the second.

I call myself a mad engineer because that's what I am. Well, mostly. I'm not an engineer quite yet, I'm still in school, but since I've been groomed for that title since my first semester I feel that I can claim the title, at least probationally. Now a followup question: Aren't engineers scientists? Yes, we are. I like to think of us as applied scientists. Scientists work in labs and think tanks to figure out the laws that govern the universe. Engineers then take those laws and put them to work, designing and building machines, processes, and everything else that you can see and touch that nature didn't provide. The computer you're reading this on is a good example: scientists figured out the laws of electricity, mathematicians figure out the laws that govern logic computing, engineers combined the two into that box of silicon sitting in front of you.

As for the mad part, well that's a little more complicated. You see, I have ideas. Strange ideas. Some might even say ideas that are out there. When we read books and watch TV shows and movies that have mad scientists as strange people who are essentially kicked to the curb for being strange. Dr. Frankenstein is a mad scientist to a "T". (Rest easy, bio-engineering is not what I want to do, so I won't be making any monsters.) Combine that with the paragraph above and you get a "mad engineer". (Isn't it amazing how math can apply to writing as well?)

I know that sounds like a simple reason why I call myself a mad engineer, but there is a second reason: things today are making me mad. Many of the things that are going on in the world these days are often mind-boggling stupid to me. I won't go into detail here since this is supposed to be an introduction, I'll go into detail throughout the blog. So essentially, in a literal sense, I'm an engineer who's mad.

And now the moment you've been waiting for: what will I be writing about? Short answer: anything I want. Long answer: I'll focus on science and engineering with a focus on astronomy and related fields. I'll add in some commentary about how science is being treated in the world today as well as current events, then top the whole thing off with a dash of gaming chatter, bake at 450° for 20 minutes and voila: A blog! And for dessert I'll throw in a piece of religious commentary cake topped with a cherry.

So that's what's on the table. Feel free to comment, and don't be shy about offering topics for me to write about. My door is always open!