The Nooby Book Writer

A content creator creates some form of online content like videos, blog posts, poems, art and photos among other things. Influencers are also content creators but their main focus is to influence others. Influencers are popular in digital marketing and with brands. Social media platforms are home to many content creators and influencers. I sometimes see persons complain about content creators. They may think that they are not authentic or that they have sold out to brands. I saw on twitter complaints that the local food reviewers were not giving balanced reviews and everything tasted good. I think if the followers supported content creators with additional independent sources of income like donations and purchase merchandise and paid for exclusive content then they would be in a position to be more independent. But we like free thing in Trinidad. Being a content creator can be profitable and can even be a fulltime career. It doesn't take much to get started but once you progress yo...

As I have said before, the internet brings the world to our doorsteps. It has made it much easier to learn and share knowledge. It has made it much easier to connect and communicate with others. Online forums are platforms used to connect with people with similar interests and discuss topics. Topics on forums are usually categorised and the forums are usually moderated. As a blogger sometimes I use forums to crowd source answers to my questions. I also use forums to keep up with what is happening in the local and international tech space. I am also on a forum to give and get support with mental health. Eforums was mentioned in the national ICT plan under headline targets as "50000 users participate in eForums moderated by Government". I tried several times to find out when we are going to see this eforum but got no responses. In a previous blog post I stated, we can develop an open forum platform where persons can share problems and then persons can offer solutions. Problems...

I came across a letter to the editor in Trinidad Guardian Sep 16 titled "Using internet to abuse citizens' rights." It starts off by stating, "It is not possible for the Government- to force anyone to use merely optional tools like online and internet." He does make a good point. This is something that should be debated. Digital inclusion is very important. I am guessing that many persons in Trinidad are comfortable with using the digital processes because they understand the greater good. But there are those who are hesitant for various reasons. The younger generation are tech savvy and can help the older geneation. Community centers can be places where older persons can go to get help. This is an opportunity for businesses to provide services that help persons. But these businesses would have to be certified as trusted. A digital inclusion and digital literacy strategy will help make sure that no one is left behind. Manual form processing and face to face can...

I started my fitness journey again. Or better yet I should say that I am continuing where I left off. Our health is our wealth. How many times have we heard this? Today I did chores and walked 23 laps around my house. Otherwise I lived a sedentary lifestyle. My weight has been pretty consistent over the last year at around 203 lbs. Everybody's fitness journey will be different and you should consult your doctor before starting your fitness journey. What do I want to get out of this? The body consists of mind, body and spirit and we have to take care of ourselves and these the best way we can. My mental health is different and I take medication for it. Previously I wrote about living with mental illness . In retrospect maybe I should not say illness but mental health differently gifted. I do not know. I have not given it much thought. What would be better wording than illness or suffering? I remember my many hours and plenty kilometers of walking. Walking is my favourite form of exe...

I saw a beautiful sunrise this morning as I went for my morning doubles. Just in time for me to complete this blog post I had lined up. Oil and gas is finite. In addition, we are becoming more environmentally concious. Renewable energy is the future. I read that steady progress is being made at the Piarco Solar Park . It is intended for the Piarco International Airport and will account for 3.5 percent of the electricity used by the airport. A drop in the bucket but we have to start somewhere. I also read that solar power plants at Brechin Castle and Orange Grove, providing 112 megawatts are in the works. The country has set a goal of 30 % renewable energy production by 2030. What can we do as individuals? There are several companies offering solar panel installations for homes and businesses locally. I imagine there would be opportunity for more solar power businesses to enter the market. Then there are enterprising persons who will choose to do it themselves. A simple thing as solar p...

I have been thinking about traits of mines that have helped me as a coder and I am sharing. I think our traits are a combination of what we were born with and what we were conditioned and this is debateable. Over time we come to have strengths and weaknesses. I think anything can be learnt and unlearnt. Some things are harder for some than others. We play to our strengths and try to work on our weaknesses.  I started young. We had a computer lab in secondary school. I developed a passion for tech and coding during secondary school. I am a problem solver and I think in terms of solutions. I would much quicker offer a solution than complain about something. I feel like I am naturally gifted and I was born with some talent. My mom let me choose what I wanted to be. I was not pressured to be a doctor or lawyer or something that I had no interest in. I am persistent and patient. Sometimes debugging code will test you. I am creative. I am good at searching for answers and I ask plenty qu...

I believe in God. I believe in an infinitely powerful higher Creator. I believe life is a test and if we pass this test we will be rewarded in the next life. I have asked myself but why test us? I dont know why. Maybe that why comes in the next life. I worship God so that I do not worship things in this world. I do not become a slave to this world. Why does God allow hunger, poverty, war, etc.? What if God asked us the same question? There is enough money, resources, knowledge, good people, smart people to solve our problems. Why do we allow it? I don't think that riches is a blessings in the same way I don't think that poverty is a curse. We are all tested differently. When we are rich do we become boastful, wasteful and arrogant or do we become thankful, kind and generous. When we are poor do we become bitter, ungrateful and troublesome or do we become humble, hopeful and grateful. Our blessings and rewards come in the next life, not this life. I do believe in separation of r...

I asked chatgpt to give me some suggestions for tech topics I could write about. One suggestion was "The potential of quantum cryptography for secure communication". I had never heard about quantum cryptography before and my interest was piqued. I set out to see how much I could learn within a day and share what I learned on my blog. Lets start with quantum computing. Quantum computing uses quantum bits (qubits) that can be both 0 and 1 at the same time. The power of quantum computing poses a threat to traditional cryptography thus researchers have started looking at quantum cryptography. Crypt means hidden and graphy means writing and together cryptography is hidden (or secure) writing. Quantum cryptography involves quantum entanglement and quantum key distribution. It is at an experimental stage and changing and some time before it becomes practice. I dont get how some articles are saying it is unbreakable and I found out that there are ways to break it like intercepting an...

Recently I saw in the papers the headline "Gordon: Turn off social media for Lent". It hurts me when I see social media get a bad rap. Social media is just a tool. It is a reflection of us. We have a choice to use it for bad or use it for good. We have a choice of what to follow and what to interact with. We get to shape social media. If we let the bad actors dominate social media then we lose out on its utility. I once did a 1 minute youtube on what I saw as the positives of social media . How social media was being used in a positive way. I think instead of the church complaining in this way they should be thinking about how to grow with the times. How they can reach persons through social media. The church needs a social media strategy. People are online more and more and I don't think that this is going to change. If less and less persons are coming to church then if people are not coming to you then go to the people and the people can be found online. The internet b...

The world is filled with persons performing different roles and functions. Writers and bloggers have their job also. I see my purpose as a local tech blogger to educate and inform. I make myself easy to contact and my comments are open for discussion. I consider all sides and I provide a local perspective. The media needs more tech coverage and more tech writers. Tech should be given as much space as sports. There are not many local tech bloggers. I write about things that I would want to read. I created a space that I am looking for. The increasing democratisation of the internet is meaning that we want anyone to be able to start a blog. Our voices matter and we don't have to depend only on mainstream media. I started blogging some 20 years ago before social media was popular. My first blog was called HAVEWORLD which was short for Hassan Voyeau's World. Then came TECHTT and then The Tech Remix. I have now settled on this space, Trinbago Techie, for the past 3 years. I have lea...

What is silica? This is a naturally occuring and common mineral. Silicon is made from silica. Silicon material is commonly used as a semiconductor in electronics. Guyana has significant deposits of silica. I am guessing that these things would have influenced the naming of Silica City. Similar to how we talk about Silicon Valley. Guyana's economy is booming as they have become an oil and gas producing nation. I am happy for them and I wish for them that they don't make the mistakes we made here in Trinidad and Tobago. Maintaining a diversified economy will be key. Understanding that tech will be a driver and enabler of country development will also be key. Silica City has been an idea of President Ali since 2013. Ali has said recently that Silica City will showcase Guyana as a tech-driven economy and society. A major component of this would be BPOs. Silica City will be a smart city. The city will be powered by renewable energy. It will contain an innovation village in which the...

Make the price is right . In business you have to set the right price. If the price is too high sales will suffer. If the price is too low quality will suffer. The price of doubles makes it affordable for most. It is so afforable that you can afford to buy two or three at a time depending on your appetite. The pricing also means that doubles vendors make a decent living and there are many across the country. It is a thriving business model. Cater to the different customer needs . People tastes are different. No pepper, slight pepper and all the way to heavy pepper. If two barras is not enough, you can have a triples. Although, I have never heard of anyone getting a quadruple. Allergic to flour, some persons get a cup of channa. I have even seen persons order the channa and barra separately to carry home. Some vendors come out in the morning and some come out in the evenings and nights. There is something for everyone meaning the doubles vendor can cover a larger market segment. Keep it...

In this article titled "How can Leaders in the Caribbean Prevent Cybersecurity Attacks?" they list building the right team as one thing. They state, "Have you heard of white hat hackers? Also known as ethical hackers, these savvy IT professionals can help your company get ahead of breaches and avoid cybercrime by thinking like malicious hackers." If I wasn't so already invested in tech blogging and tech youtuber and photography and content creation, I would think about becoming an ethical hacker. Trinidad needs ethical hackers. We need persons who companies can hire to point out weaknesses in their technologies and systems. You will also hear about penetration tester. As an ethical hacker you have to abide by an ethical standard. You have to make sure you get permission first or that you are authorised to perform the hack. Otherwise you will be testing and learning in your own isolated sandbox. In my youtube video where I described my idea of tech labs for Tri...

Building a better country will require thinkers, innovators, problem solvers, visionaries, and techies among others. We will be challenged to solve our biggest problems and tech can help. What is a hackathon? Hackathon is a combining of the words hacking and marathon. It is an event where persons including coders team together to create solutions using code and technology. Not to be confused with hacking where systems are broken into. We do need ethical hackers locally and it can be rewarding through bug bounty programs but that is for another blog post . The first hackathon on record was the one organized by the OpenBSD operating system project. Hackathons did not become widespread until the mid 2000s when companies like Yahoo and Google began hosting them. It was a way to encourage innovation and creativity among their employees. In my days there were programming contests like the Informatics Olympiad which I have blogged about before . Some past hackathons locally include Teleios co...

Innovation put simply in my mind is new ways of doing things that adds value. This might be hard for the older generation to embrace but the next generation are ready and willing. Numerous studies have been done by the government on the topic of innovation and how to promote innovation. There is even the 2017 National Innovation Policy. This has led to the Shaping The Future of Innovation programme that was launched to develop the national innovation ecosystem. Some companies have already benefitted from funding. We want to be globally competitive. We want to recognise and reward innovators. Having innovation hubs, networking events and conferences are some things that could promote innovation. How do we describe a culture of innovation? There is a willingness to experiment, plenty collaboration, openness to failure and sharing of ideas among other things. We are a creative and resilient people and this fits right in with a culture of innovation. Innovation can help us tackle the grow...

I came across this article, Employment of people with disabilities surges to a record high amid remote work policies , and it encouraged me to write on the topic of work from home. According to the article, "the recent push by companies urging workers to return to the office may threaten the gains made by disabled people." Decision makers have to always be mindful of vulnerable sections of society. Work from home is a great opportunity and advantage for the differently abled community in Trinidad and Tobago. We have to think about rights, inclusion and equity. We in Trinidad and Tobago dispiritedly await the work from home policy from the government and the changes to come if it ever happens. It seems that the private sector would have to lead the way with example companies like Nestle and Media Insite. Work from home was a manifesto promise. Many persons would have voted because of those promises. I am entitled to a viewpoint and I say the hold back on work from home in the ...

I spent part of my Sunday watching this podcast with Marques Brownlee and Hasan Minhaj and I am glad I did. I am all about learning and becoming better. I stumbled on a sketch that led me to the podcast. I think Hasan is cool and it is also cool that we share a first name. What I took away was that tech is not perfect and tech has problems and it affects some more than others. Watching this has challenged me to always keep this in mind. I am a tech evangelist and the last thing I want is persons turning into technophobes. At the end of the day people want solutions to their problems and I think tech can help but we dont want to be creating bigger problems. Sometimes the tech does not work but how do we know if we don't try different things and experiment. I do believe sometimes it boils down to being patient. Perfection requires practice and it might be unreasonable to expect things to work without any effort. I do understand that no one shoe fits all and it is extremely difficul...

The world is filled with problems. We here in Trinidad and Tobago also have our problems. I am often thinking about how tech can help with solving our problems. I hear the complaints. I hear the ideas and solutions. We have lots of bright minds. So then why does it feel like we are not making progress and things are getting worse? What do we do with our bright minds and great ideas? How do we ensure that the right persons are in the right positions? What is a bright mind? A bright mind sees the world differently. Someone who applies critical thinking, analytical thinking and innovative thinking in daily living. Someone who thinks deeply and can solve complex problems. Someone who is open minded. Bright minds discuss ideas. What are great ideas? I think that the greatest ideas are the simplest. Great ideas inspire us to act. Great ideas make a huge impact on our lives. We all have the potential to come up with great ideas. So what is next? I love the message I came across in this video ...

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What is deep tech? It was hard for me to find a good definition of deep tech and it seems that the definition of the term is still evolving while persons find different ways to use the term. I turned to chatgpt and asked it to define deep tech. It said that deep tech refers to technologies that are based on scientific and engineering discoveries, and are often characterized by a high degree of complexity, novelty, and intellectual property. It went on to say that examples of deep tech include advanced robotics, quantum computing, genetic engineering, 3D printing, and machine learning. These technologies often have the potential to solve complex problems and address societal challenges in areas such as healthcare, energy, and environmental sustainability. So basically you have to have deep understanding. A subset of deep tech is hard tech where the focus is on hardware. In this space you will also hear about frontier technologies. Some sources say that the origin of the term started wit...

We in the Caribbean share a similar journey. We are considered small island developing states. We can learn from each other. We are challenged by some of the same things. We are all trying to use technology for country development. The Grenada ICT Week happens at the Grenada Trade Centre from February 25 to March 3 2023. Local, regional and international experts discuss the increasing role of technology in business, government, and society. I signed up for the Public Sector Forum through online participation. In researching and to learn more about what is happening in Grenada, I found this presentation on the Caribbean Development Bank website from 2019 titled Grenada's Public Service Transformation and a vision was clearly defined. Government needs to be smarter and resilient. Doing business should be simple, fast and convenient. They should be guided by data driven policies, regulations and processes. There should be flexible deployment of resources. There should be a whole-of-...