Internet without ads?

I am getting SO sick and tired of simple webpages taking minutes to load because there are so many advertisements and moving images on the page.

Today, it was CNN's website. All I'm trying to do is to read TEXT, just plain text. What happens?

First, a photo loads. Why? I'm not here to view the photo, I'm here to read the text.

Then the top bar, something about an edition I've chosen? Noooo... I didn't choose anything. Software did, by reading my IP address to determine where I'm from. Why? Is the article I'm trying to read different depending on the version? Is the American version different from the international version for instance?

Next are links to other articles. Again - not here to read those other articles, just here to read the article that the search engine just found for me... Which I'm still waiting for...

Underneath the photo, the first lines of text appear. Scrolling is still impossible. Reading the rest of the article...

After realising how much all this waiting annoys me, I decide to skip reading the article in favour of writing down how annoyed I am. Thankfully, writing this helped calm me down and gave me the break I needed. I think maybe my article is finally ready, now...!

The one who changed my thinking

There's a difference between the person who writes this blog, and the person I am when not writing this blog. In my personal life, I'm quiet, someone who doesn't like attention. There are two reasons for that: One: I often feel like people just don't get me. Being 'the outsider' is just easier. No strained interactions. No having to try to fit in. Two: When it comes to stuff I am passionate about, like sociology, psychology, politics and religion, my opinion differs from many around me. I am pro-Israel. Something that doesn't seem very popular or mainstream. Especially since October 7th. Being pro-Israel, to me... That doesn't mean that I support, or agree with, every decision the Israeli government makes. Far from it. But do I support Israel's right to exist? Yes. Do I support Israel's right to defend itself? Yes. Do I feel that the world is against Israel? Also: Yes. On the 7th of October 2023, a large number of rather angry men entered towns ...

Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory

Urie Bronfenbrenner (1917 - 2005) was a Russian American psychologist and professor known for developing the Ecological Systems Theory. He was generally regarded as one of the world's leading scholars in the field of developmental psychology. I learned about theorists such as Bronfenbrenner while studying towards my B.Ed. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory views the person as developing within a multi-layered system of relationships. Using the example of a child, the systems are: The Microsystem - One's family, classroom The Mesosystem - Two micro-systems in interaction (i.e. family and classroom) The Exosystem - External environments which indirectly influence development The Macrosystem - The larger socio-cultural context. Added later: The Chronosystem - The evolution of the external systems over time. Each system contains roles, norms and rules that can powerfully shape development. (Source: Wikipedia ) The Microsystem: The setting in which the indi...

New Orleans' Garden District

Anne Rice's old house on 1239 First Street and the setting of Mayfair Manor Photo Source: Flickr Looking up information about the house writer Anne Rice uses as the site for the family mansion in her Mayfair Witches series, I came across a lot of interesting information about that particular house as well as about the Garden District area of New Orleans. As Victoriana Magazine's website puts it: One of the world's most dazzling residential neighborhoods – containing a time capsule of historic southern mansions – is located in the Louisiana city of New Orleans. The Garden District, a large square area bounded by Jackson Avenue, Louisiana Avenue, Magazine St. and St. Charles Ave, is the live oak tree-lined "American" sector of this southern city. ... The architecture of these historic houses is a fusion of classic styles with influence of Spanish, French, Italianate and English, as well as Greek Revival. These stately homes represent some of the best...

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