My mother made an interesting post on facebook this morning,
How did this happen to me Chris? You know, how I used to not understand at all the blogging, etc. that you did and all the rest. Now I’m loving the fact that I can make a comment and two or three people are interested enough to comment back and I am interested in them and what they are doing, etc,etc,. I’m loving it.
I responded with the following:
It is the greatest reality show of all time. It’s real. It’s not scripted situations or setups, but connecting with real people in a real way. “All the world’s a stage!”
That exchange got me inspired to write this post. Think about it - the very thing that has been accused of dividing us and forcing us away from conversations with our neighbors, is actually bringing us together. I liken it to the difference between grade school and college. In grade school, you get to choose your friends from a very small number of people (your class.) Most of those friendships are the result of the sheer coincidence that you happen to be in the same class of 20 or so kids. When you get to college, the student population is often 15,000 - 30,000… that is a big cohort to select from. The street you live on versus the Internet is the same thing.
Just because Billy’s family bought a house next to your family, you had to choose from Billy or Stinky Frank for the role of “best friend.” Those are the same people you are escaping when hitting the Internet. Suddenly, Stinky Frank no longer makes the cut because you have millions of options.
The reality show analogy is good, with the exception that television reality shows are actually the farthest thing from reality. What you find on the net however, can be completely real.
This could be why my backpack is so heavy. I unloaded the thing on the conference table to see just what all was inside. This is WITHOUT the laptop, power cord, mouse etc. that are in the other room right now. We are talking magazines (4), clipboard, calculators (3), digital cameras (3), tripod, rechargeable batteries (8), charger, voice recorders (2), marketing flyers, extra hard drive, thumb drives (2), packs of gum (2), chapstick, pens (5), iPods (2), earbuds, power bars (3), broadband card, collapsible dog water bowl, business cards, contact lens solution, checkbook, Tai Chi DVD, and a half dozen different USB connectors. THIS is what it takes to be a New Media Titan
I weighed the thing this morning when it was fully loaded and it comes in at nearly 50 pounds. I just know one of the straps is going to break soon because I fling it over one shoulder and take it everywhere. I am going to try to eliminate some of the extraneous stuff and get down to a more appropriate weight.
Posts like the previous one may be why I keep losing weight. Yes, I have dropped another pound and not sit at 216. This is the lowest in - hell, I can’t remember how long. As you may remember, when I moved to San Marcos just over a year ago, I weighed in at my highest EVER - 240 pounds!
It’s only 24 pounds, but it has been an amazing change. I won’t get into all the circumstances that led to my decision to do something about the expanding waistline, but let’s just say I found some reasons.
I am thinking about skydiving when I break the 200 pound mark, but not sure yet. I want to do something - just not sure if that is special enough. Any ideas?
Recently, after trips to the grocery store, I really don’t want to eat any of the stuff I just bought. It used to be such a task trying to figure out what to start with when you unload. (Usually, the junk food would win out.)
I don’t know if it’s because I am just not buying as much crap or what - but that mad dash to eat all the cool stuff I bought just doesn’t hit anymore.
Maybe ALL food is getting boring? I still try tons of new and interesting junk food, but nothing seems to stick.
It is Saturday night and I have just returned from the final concert of the season for the Victoria Symphony Orchestra’s 35th season. I had heard several good things about the Symphony and Music Director/Conductor Darryl One - it is all true.
This was one of their Master Series featuring guest artists. Yuqing Meng, the 2007 Davidson Fellow, was born in Shanghai China and begun his musical studies at age 4. By the age of 12, Meng made his orchestral debut with the New York Philharmonic. He was the featured performer for Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto #1 in B-flat minor op.23 and his skill was amazing.
There was also a organ symphony that really just dragged on and wasn’t all that interesting. Overall though, the night was a lot of fun and even included reconnecting with an old professor of mine from the Victoria College days. Professor Michael Hummel taught History and Western Civilization, and was one of the most entertaining lecturers I remember from that period.
Prior to the symphony, I went to “The World Goes ‘Round” presented by Texas State University with my mother and Hap. The show featured classics from the famous musicals “Chicago,” “Cabaret,” “New York, New York” and many more. This was the highlight of the weekend as the talent of all the student performers was brilliant. The music was great, the story was great, the voices were great - the evening was superb.
Posted by Chris Doelle on April 23rd, 2009 under Politics
Now there is talk about a GM bailout or the impending collapse of the prehistoric automaker. I want to make a couple of points here.
1 - Capitalism is designed so that the smartest, leanest, best-run companies survive and the dinosaurs go under. You can’t complain that giving healthcare to citizens if communism without agreeing that giving welfare to giant conglomerates is communism as well - it is just welfare for the rich.
2 - GM’s largest stake holder is State Street Global Advisors. They are an 800lb gorilla in a room of 800lb gorilla institutional investors. They are owned by Barclays of London, Credit Suisse, themselves - you name it - all fabulously wealthy companies. In fact, if you look at the largest companies in the world, nearly all are owned by a dozen of these financial giants. THEY need to bailout their company. They have more money than the US Government and certainly more than the US taxpayers, who they are asking to foot the bill for their mismanagement.
3 - If your company was doing poorly, there would be no one to bail you out - at least not without taking over some ownership. They do NOT need a bailout from the US taxpayer. If these companies value GM, they will save it. We need to call their bluff.
How do you call their bluff. Bitch. That’s right - get on the phone or shoot an email to your elected officials (at every level) and tell them that you WILL NEVER VOTE FOR THEM AGAIN if the bailouts do not stop NOW.
Posts like the previous one may be why I keep losing weight. Yes, I have dropped another pound and not sit at 216. This is the lowest in - hell, I can’t remember how long. As you may remember, when I moved to San Marcos just over a year ago, I weighed in at my highest EVER - 240 pounds!
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