Educate Yourself (and stop clutching your purse!)

Okay, if you've kept up with the topic with some devoted interest, and don't watch the news (that's me) you should know that the word 'hacker' does not mean anything negative. However, the media like to say "hackers broke in to..." and "...was brought down by a hacker group...," scaring you into thinking that anyone who calls himself/herself a hacker is immediately deemed evil.

Frankly, that's un-American. You shouldn't assume. If one would look into the word a bit more, they would find that hackers are absolutely everywhere. I hack computers. That doesn't mean I can get into your bank account if you visit my blog; it only means that I pound away at the keyboard in search of knowledge. I want to know so much more about computer systems and how networks work, so I just hack away at it.

I also hack construction. I'm currently finishing up my shed project, my first experience with wood foundations, framing, windows, trusses, and roofing, without the use of a book. With my "well, it makes sense" approach to building, coupled with my father's experience, we hacked out a pretty good storage building/workshop that should add a good bit of value to my home.

How does a lumberjack cut through a tree with an axe? He just hacks away at it until the job is done. Mind you, it's not as pretty as if it were done with a chainsaw, but the mission was accomplished with the tools at hand. That's what hacking is about.

I've got to go to work now, but I encourage you all to re-think your terminology for malicious computer criminals and virus writers. I'm not one of them.