Gregory Lewis Web-Log

 Science, Technology, and Society Studies A popular, and growing, field of study is in the area of Science, Technology, and Society, or STS for short. STS examines the impact and effect of science and technology on individuals, groups, and in some instances, Nations and the Globe. Many of these various technologies are utilized on a global scale, and impacts many of the current 8.2 billion Earthly inhabitants. I am a Microsoft Certified Windows Programmer. Microsoft, a more than $3.5 trillion company, is considered by most to be the most valuable company on Earth. Microsoft has more than 1.6 billion active Windows Devices, worldwide. Today’s $2,000 Windows PC has 40X(times) the computing capability of an $8 million supercomputer of the late 1970’s. Microsoft is celebrating its 50th year of successful business this year, empowering individuals, schools, and businesses alike. Most of my PC work meets, or exceeds, U.S. Government / Military standards. Personal Computers are now essent...

 Sic Semper Tyrannis The Seal of Virginia Tech, my alma mater, prominently features an obverse of Virtue defeating Tyranny. The standing allegorical female figure of Virtue is shown having vanquished Tyranny, symbolized by a fallen king at her feet. She has an exposed breast in the manner of classical depictions of Amazons. The scene is adopted from the Flag and Seal of the State of Virginia that has its origins in the American Revolution of 1776. The motto shown on the seal, Sic Semper Tyrannis, means "Thus always to tyrants." It is only slightly ironic that Virginia is named after Queen Elizabeth I of England, who was known as the Virgin Queen because she never married. During ancient classical times of Greece and Rome Tyrants were political leaders who seized power by illegal means, but usually enjoyed widespread support among the masses. The poor and middle-classes of ancient Greece and Rome preferred Tyrants to the ruling monarchs or aristocracy. Nevertheless, by late an...

 Easter Weekend 2025 Tomorrow is Easter Sunday 2025. Easter has come late this year and many colleges and universities will be holding graduation ceremonies in less than a month. Virginia Tech, my alma mater, will graduate 5,000 new fellow Hokies Nation alumni members next month, many of whom will be exploring their graduate school options. As the stock market slips further into bear-market territory, and Washington D.C. gets closer to shutting down because of budget problems, more and more people will be exploring his/her online college options. Firstly, a college graduate with a four-year bachelors degree earns, on average, twice that of someone who has only a high-school diploma. Secondly, many professions require some college, or even specific college diplomas, to meet the academic requirements of practicing in that respective profession. For example; teachers, financial advisors, stock traders, lawyers, military officers, healthcare providers, and even some auto-mechanic certi...

 Not the Economics Nobel Prize It has widely been accepted for nearly 100 years tariffs, and other economic protections policies, greatly contributed to, and possibly caused, the Great Depression of the 1930’s. In free-market capitalist economies the consumer is the final determinant on what is a good or bad product or service, and is the main driver of economic growth, employment, and inflation. In free-market capitalist economies the Consumer is King. It has been proven, time and time again, the consumer prefers the lowest price cost of comparable products and services, more so than any other determining factor. Tariffs, and other protectionist policies cause supply-chain problems, price uncertainties, and ultimately pain for the consumer. Any professional economist who has deviated from that generally accepted economic principle of the past 100 years has eliminated themselves from being considered for the Economics Nobel Prize. No professional economist will ever win the Nobel P...

 Amazonian Warrior Women and Dwarf Armies Most Westerners have heard of the Amazonian Warrior Women of ancient Greek legend and the stories of the Dwarf Armies in the Dungeons and Dragons and the Hobbit franchises. I submit to my followers and readers here on the internet that modern personal computers and related internet communications technologies can make these legends and stories a reality. I want to very clear. I am strongly against women, females, and anyone who cannot meet the rigorous physical standards of active duty military service serving in dangerous combat roles and being eligible for the military draft. Nevertheless, with the availability of online degrees in Military Science, and other online degrees, there are many ways individuals can support the war efforts, while not serving in combat roles.  Additionally, if the military draft is ever re-instituted an online degree in Military Science can help those in direct combat roles better serve his country and defe...

 A Wikipedia Legacy and Heritage United States President Joe Biden just concluded his Farewell Address from the White House Oval Office in Washington D.C. Recently, the 119th U.S. Congress has convened and certified the election results with former President Donald Trump winning the November 2024 Electoral College and has retaken the White House. Additionally, former President Jimmy Carter has recently passed and funeral ceremonies were held in Washington D.C. and his home State of Georgia.   This is my first blog post of the new year 2025. In addition to writing blog posts I also keep and maintain various copies of the Wikipedia Database. These various system-local Wikipedia Databases can be accessed without internet and do not need any cell-phone connections. They are particularly useful in areas where phone, internet, electricity, radio and television transmissions, or other critical infrastructure are unavailable or unreliable. I can provide a working offline Wikipedia Dat...

 Christmas Holiday 2024 Interfaith Message The Puritan Pilgrim Baptist Separatists of the 1600’s, of which I am a descendant, did not place much emphasis on Christmas celebrations. In fact, the Puritan Pilgrims believed the Christmas celebrations of Europe to be a pagan-inspired drunken revelry of debauchery and sin, and is at least in part, why they separated from the major religious institutions of their day and came to the New World. Nevertheless, Christians around the world will celebrate Christmas this month in their own way. Much of my professional IT experience has been in E-commerce, E-marketing, and online digital advertising. This is a very busy time of year for E-commerce. The recent Cyber Week 2024 was the biggest week for online sales, ever, with Adobe reporting $41.1 billion U.S. sales, and Salesforce reporting $314.9 billion in global sales, up 8.2% and 6% over 2023 sales, respectively. The most interesting aspect of E-commerce, however, is the technology in use is g...