Why Hacking is NOT Illegal

I love hacking.
That statement has consistently rung alarm bells amongst my non-techy pals whenever I make that statement. Typical responses include:

“You’re a hacker??”
“Don’t say that too loud.”
“I’ll visit you in prison.”

Instagram @futuristmindset

Imagine, the reactions when I go further to mention that I’ve been to some Hackathons in my time!?

tldr; There are two definitions given in Dictionary.com for the word “hack”:

Computers.

1. to modify (a computer program or electronic device) or write (a program) in a skilful or clever way: Developers have hacked the app.
   I hacked my tablet to do some very cool things.
2. to circumvent security and break into (a network, computer, file, etc.), usually with malicious intent: Criminals hacked the bank’s servers yesterday.
   Our team systematically hacks our network to find vulnerabilities.

Now, I do understand the confusion. I get why everyone always jumps to the negative connotation first. The answer is simple. Media.

Hacking is simply creatively and relentlessly solving a technical problem.

Instagram @futuristmindset

Unfortunately, the only time you hear the term “hacking” in the media is when some media company like Sony or a bank has been broken into. Or organised groups  attempting to derail a website. Not the more positive connotation like hacking to build new wearable technology, or even charitable hacking. Because… news.

Social media has spread this misunderstanding. When someone posts a silly status on someone else’s account, somehow “hacking” is a word that gets bandied about.

It’s a bit like the term downloading. You only hear the word when associated with illegally downloading movies or music. But it’s simply the act of retrieving files from a remote location – online or on another device – and saving it onto another.

Now I’m no conspiracy theorist, but the media does tend to warp meanings and opinions effortlessly.

I realise of course that I have inadvertently included myself in that last statement, and I am ok with that. And I’m not ok with that.

Hackathons themselves are amazing. There are so many challenges organised within and between different companies, where individuals or groups are challenged to create something innovative within 24 hours, 72 hours, or any other time period. It’s a great excuse to consume pizza and block out life for a small period of time, but the results are astounding, and the competition is healthy.

AT&T Mobile App Hackathon

Imagine if something like that existed for your chosen profession or hobby?

So you can sleep soundly knowing that there are literally millions of us hacking each and every day. Comforting right…?

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Do You Even Tech Your Workout Bro?

Wearable tech like FitBit, Food tracker apps like MyFitnessPal… we are increasingly invited to tech our workout with technology that promises to monitor our health, work out what we need to eat, and what exercises to do.

It can all be a bit too much – which one is correct? What works best for you? Which wrist monitor is more accurate? Which app takes into account my lifestyle?

I am not writing to help you out with this at all. I’m here to add to your problem of choice.

Don’t worry, I will cover wearable technology at some point.

Earlier in the week, I’ve been slaving away at creating a mobile web app for Asgard Fit. They found my gig on Fiverr.com. I use the term “slaving away” not because it was a bad project, but because that’s what we software developers do for any project!

On the contrary, it was great to combine 2 of my interests: technology and fitness. *Asgard Fit* have a Nutrition Template spreadsheet which can be purchased from their website. Using information you enter from your vital statistics to your lifestyle, it calculates the amounts of carbohydrates, protein and fat you should ideally be taking on your rest and training days.

Now, I don’t have time for spreadsheets. I’m betting I’m not alone in that. So my task was to “appify” it into something people can access on their mobile browser.

Although I have my own ways of eating which involves Carb Backloading, I’ve been intrigued by the complex excel formulas and calculations that go into creating something like this. From it’s calculations for me, if I were not doing Carb Backloading, I believe the figures are sound – and actually correlates to a lot of principles of Carb Backloading.

Give it a try yourself, I think you’ll find it useful. There is more to come to the app which I am most likely to be involved with. I am certainly going to use it as a guide!

Now if I could just get back to workout consistency again…

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