I'm back + main plans.

Hi everybody! Sorry I've been away for so long, I kinda forgot.... Anyway, I plan to update this as regularly as I can from now on.

Recently, I've been working quite a bit on what is to be my big "capstone" project, which is to build a 3D printer. Specifically, a RepRap variant. A RepRap is a type of 3D printer that is simple, compact, easy to use, cheap, and most importantly, open source. So instead of buying a premade printer from MakerBot (which makes very good printers), I can build my own, for a fraction of the cost.

I personally plan on building mine based off of the designs of Nophead. As of now, I think I will have to spend around $300 to get it up and running, which all things considered is very cheap.

I suppose I should back up a bit, and explain how a 3D printer works, for those who might not know. Basically, it is just like a regular printer, except it prints in liquid plastic. While a normal inkjet printer prints ink back and forth, line by line, a 3D printer prints back and forth, rising up layer by layer, putting down beads of liquid plastic, which quickly harden. (For that matter, it doesn't need to print just plastic, 3D printers can be made to print anything from metal to chocolate!)

So, when (fingers crossed) I have the printer up and running, what will I do with it? Well, besides from printing random plastic/chocolate figurines, and stuff like that, I am looking into possibly printing custom arch supports. Basically, while pre-made arch supports are very cheap, custom ones (molded to an individual's foot) are usually a few hundred dollars. Since arch supports (also called orthotics) are just made out of a plastic/gel polymer, I'm thinking I might be able to print them, to give/sell cheaply to lower-income families (specifically to children, who of course grow very fast, and require new shoes frequently).

Anyway, those are my main plans, and I plan on posting more in the next day or so.
Cheers,
-Rafaello

Why Nerds are Unpopular, and what I aim to do about it.

           In the piece “Why Nerds are Unpopular”  by Paul Graham, he talks about his experience growing up as a nerd. Graham argues that the reason nerds are more successful after school is they did real, useful activities/projects while still in school.

           First off, I need to say that I have had the good luck to not experience much of what is in Graham’s essay, due to my being homeschooled. I am somewhat of a nerd myself. But I have always just hung out with other nerds, and nobody picked on me because of it. In the last few years (AKA since I became a teen), I hang out with the popular nerds. It seems to me that in this day and age, it is cool to be a nerd.
            Anyway, enough about me. They honed skills they would need in the real world, such as computer programming. These days, schools mostly teach skills that while very (somewhat?) important, have little practical use in life. The “popular” kids spend a lot of their time staying popular, while the nerds can spend their time learning. As a homeschooler, I personally love the fact that I can learn stuff that is useful to me. For example, I am currently working towards building a 3-D printer. Along the way, I’m learning how to use a wide range of skills, among them: how electricity works; how to put mechanical items together (or take them apart again); and a wide range of other skills that I can use in the real world. I highly doubt many high-school kids are doing the same stuff.
           Maybe this is just a sign of the changing times. Up until maybe 50 years ago, kids would have jobs/internships/ starting as young as 8 years old. They would learn a trade, and within a few years would be quite good at it. Today, kids don’t really get to do anything that has a lasting impact until they are around 21.
However, there is a bright side to all this. I have personally noticed that in recent years it has become “cool” to be a nerd, and I’m seeing more and more kids who want to learn, not just because they have to, but because they can do cool things with their knowledge. I hope this trend continues.
           So what can we change with the system? For one, even if you are in school, you can spend some of your free time building a 3-D printer like I am, or maybe a LEGO record player, or something else cool. Learn to program (there are numerous good textbooks for this), build a cool toy, or whatever you want to do. Also, share what you are doing with friends, try to get a few of them interested as well. That’s what I will be doing, care to join me?

Hi! My name is Rafaello. I'm a 17 year old. I, like most of you, love to use technology, and especially love to browse the internet.

When I first started using the internet (when I was around 8 or 9), it was a strange place to me. Of course, everybody told me to not use my real name on the internet, don't share data etc.. So I didn't. Over time however, I started to put a bit of my personal data online, such as my name, and so forth. Now, I look at it, and realize just how much of my personal details are online, and just how much corporations have access to.

For example, Target would track exactly what you had purchased, and an algorithm could figure out whether the customer was pregnant, often before other members of the woman's family even knew.

Now I'm not saying the internet is all evil, or is out to get you. But I am saying that we need to be more careful with what data we have online, and how it gets used.

Throughout this blog, I hope to be writing about computer security in general, both at a personal, and at a large scale (such as cyber warfare or industrial espionage level). I also aim to write about about internet privacy, and how to protect your data. Also expect some random pieces about really cool technology I'm reading about, or whatever's on my mind. I hope to update this once a week, maybe more.

Regards,
-RAfaello