As the world gets more connected, is it becoming more difficult to differentiate yourself? Invariably, something you think of has already been thought of, and now with thought-aggregators like Twitter and even Google, you can easily find a ton of other people that have already thought and shared the same thing you're thinking.
Here's a list of random searches I just did on Twitter and the number of people that have Tweeted them.
"Meatballs": 15 people in the last hour
"Feet Smell": 15 people in the past day
"Sue Simmons": Not as popular - only 5 times in the past week
"Valentine's Day": 12 times in the last 2 minutes
Even my name has been Tweeted 44 times in the past 2 days, in at least 3 languages and at least that many contexts! I wonder what "skriver material till vårt bord på Feministiskt Forum i Sthlm nästa vecka. Missa inte det!" means...
And if you're thinking "huh???", you're right -- I didn't really have a point with this post.
February 12, 2009
February 10, 2009
No More Jerbs to Take
'Twas a much simpler time when we could explain the lack of jobs by blaming illegal immigrants for "taking our joerbs", the concept of which was spoofed on South Park in 2004 and echoed by lots of angry commentators on the CNN article accompanying the below video. Now that there are no jobs or jerbs for anyone, and no more jobs Americans won't do, the migrant workers are heading home.
I must admit that it deeply saddens me that the American Dream is failing even the most desperate (and arguably hard-working) community. An American dollar goes a long way in the 3rd world, and for countries like Ecuador where I've heard from friends (but can't find evidence online) that their 3rd largest revenue-generating export after bananas and flowers are Ecuadorians working abroad and sending their money back home.
After spending time in Ecuador in 2006 and seeing what a 3rd world country is like first hand, any negative view I may have harbored about illegal immigrants totally went away (after years of already being pretty liberal about it). Witnessing extreme poverty--women washing clothes knee-deep in the river, children doing cartwheels in traffic for pennies, eating in the only restaurant in town that was actually someone's personal kitchen--made me realize that I was 100% fine with people breaking US law to work here in order to provide a better life for their families at home.
Now that's not a viable reality for many, and I hope that the individuals that want to go back to their countries can get there, and that they will be able to provide for their families once they return.
And I hope that as our economy recovers, there will be Americans willing and able to take on the work of our lost workers.
I must admit that it deeply saddens me that the American Dream is failing even the most desperate (and arguably hard-working) community. An American dollar goes a long way in the 3rd world, and for countries like Ecuador where I've heard from friends (but can't find evidence online) that their 3rd largest revenue-generating export after bananas and flowers are Ecuadorians working abroad and sending their money back home.
After spending time in Ecuador in 2006 and seeing what a 3rd world country is like first hand, any negative view I may have harbored about illegal immigrants totally went away (after years of already being pretty liberal about it). Witnessing extreme poverty--women washing clothes knee-deep in the river, children doing cartwheels in traffic for pennies, eating in the only restaurant in town that was actually someone's personal kitchen--made me realize that I was 100% fine with people breaking US law to work here in order to provide a better life for their families at home.
Now that's not a viable reality for many, and I hope that the individuals that want to go back to their countries can get there, and that they will be able to provide for their families once they return.
And I hope that as our economy recovers, there will be Americans willing and able to take on the work of our lost workers.
February 3, 2009
Word Verification Wheelchair - WTF???
What is up with the man in the wheelchair that appears next to the text entry box on Blogger's word verification page??? (See image above.)
The first time I noticed this graphic was after receiving an error message because I typed in my word incorrectly, and was outraged that Google was making a connection between a typing error and being disabled. Hence the photo. This of course is not what they're doing--the little man is always there.
Now I'm just confused as to what this wheelchair-bound man is supposed to signify. Does anyone know? Has anyone else been baffled by this?
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