Why Utah isn't so bad right now

When our current unemployment rate in Utah is as bad as the best unemployment rate of the national average it makes me feel a little better about this silly place.

via: google public data

What I Do: Satellite Dealer Software - Agemni CMS

I've had a couple people ask what I do for my day job so I'd like to clarify. I work for a great software company called Agemni. We make crm software for satellite dealers, home security retailers, home theater installers, call centers, and pretty much anybody who needs to track their customers through a sale to install process. The software was previously called Dishstar, but when we started integrating more business models outside the satellite industry we changed the name.

I started at the company as one of the software engineers working mostly on migrating customers existing data from other software into our system. After working a couple years for the company and leaving for a couple years to finish school and things I came back to do sales for Agemni. It's definitely one of the best sales jobs I've heard of. Practically all of my leads come from referrals from current clients or from people signing up for one of our 15 day free trials. I spend my day showing potential clients the different ways that the software could save them money. It really sells itself.

Feel free to check out our site at www.agemni.com. You can see my first and only real attempt at non-procedural Flash animation.

Open-mindedness

This is a perfect followup to my previous article on Evolution and a great supplement to a discussion I had with some friends and family this last week. It explains my stance on belief completely. Thanks Stephe for the share.

Iraqi Jumping Jacks

I was asked a little while ago what the funniest viral video online was... I think that this is my selection. Kills me.

Coca-Cola : Encounter

This was too good not to share.

The Music So Far

Here's a graph of the music that I have been listening to so far this year. This is made using last.fm and LastGraph. To see my favorites from last year click here. (click on the graph for more detail)

From Dean and You

In defense of something that shouldn't need it

I have been somewhat inspired lately to write this article. The following items are a couple things that I didn't really understand until recent years. If any of you reading this don't share my view on this subject I ask you to read with an open mind, but also not to take my word for it. Go find out about it on your own as well.

First of all... a couple points about science:

1. When someone talks a bout a scientific theory they are not talking about a theory in the same way that Sherlock Holmes does when he has a hunch about something. In order for something to be considered a theory in the scientific community it is tested in multiple ways and have multiple laws describing it. It must be able to make accurate predictions concerning scientific experiments or observations. more info here.

2. Science doesn't claim absolute truth. When someone makes a claim in science it is based on the evidence at hand. As technology improves and more evidence is found scientific ideas are changed, updated, and sometimes completely disproved. This doesn't mean that science is worthless though. Even disproved theories hold some truths and some worth. Isaac Newton found ways to explain the universe that weren't completely correct, but still used until Einstein came along and disproved some of Newton's ideas.

3. "Scientists" are not some giant collective of back patters who conspire together to debate one side of an issue. Scientists are everywhere in the world doing their work in many different fields. Scientists, in general, are not motivated to keep the status quo. They don't set out to rediscover what's already been discovered. A scientist's dream is to overturn a previously accepted theory. There's no great advantage for science as a whole to stay the same.

Now to what I wish everyone would understand:

When someone talks about Evolution as a scientific theory they aren't saying that it's something that people have a hunch or guess that it's right. It means that this is something that people have rigorously tested and people have used to predict and invent great new things. If you discredit Evolution because it's just a theory you are also discrediting Germ Theory, Gravity, and any other established scientific belief.

Evolution occurs everywhere. From the way societies react, to how humans came from single celled organisms, to how the universe developed. I don't claim that all principles of the Theory of Evolution are perfect, but the evidence points towards it being correct.

If you are someone who doesn't believe in evolution I ask that you take the time to read about it. It is a beautiful concept that is so simple yet so universal. Also, if any of you would like to discuss this I would love to do that as well.