not-so-good-odds

Jack says that Gartner says the odds will be 1 out of 10.

Do you like those odds? You sitting in a cube right now? You looking around?

I searched google to find some other 1 out of 10s, to help us put this news into perspective:

1 out of 10 people in nothern Ireland goes swimming for exercise.

1 in 10 people with an eating disorder is male.

1 in 10 people in the world today is over age 60.

1 in 10 people say they read better without computers. (I guess they're safe.)

what's good about orkut

There's only one thing that matters with Orkut in this stage of its evolution: Orkut's elegantly simple user interface. Technologists never seem to get it. Look at Blogger. Didn't matter that it was down a lot in the early days. Didn't matter that sometimes stuff didn't work, especially beta features. People came by the boatloads from the Internet land of the previously overlooked.

Blogger was and is push button simple, and that's what gets the most people playing online. Quick and easy gets the entire web lower and middle class every time.

Orkut's got that. Doesn't need anything else yet. Soon, but not yet.

There's so much more it can be.

Must make the social networks folks' fingers itch.

Makes me giggle.

or-kuts

What the hell is up with the elitist approach to invitation? That's just outright insulting and an attempt to pre-configure the masses through what the technorati are doing. Social networks are not just a product of technologists. Everyone has a social network and what they do with it is quite diverse. To demand that they behave by the norms of technologists is horrifying.

man, when I said something like that about misbehaving.net, i was just being negative.

If you stay around for it long enough, life sure is funny.

shelley blogs from a real blogger's conference

Ms. Powers gives us a stunning State of the Human address, in nature, with her camera, where she does some of her best work, and with people, not subjects but people, who are open, I see them being open, and I want them to come here and talk with us on all the things Shelley mentions, and on all the thing she doesn't.

Beautiful photo, beautiful post.

The if I were 23 again loop (or in my 42nd year)....

I'd have my babies. Lots of them. I'd love them all. Maybe I'd never have a great job. Maybe I'd never see my name in print. Maybe I would. Maybe I'd bake bread with them. Maybe I'd teach them how to milk a cow myself. Maybe they wouldn't have all my attention, but maybe they'd have enough. And maybe they'd have each other. And maybe they'd be 18, 16, 15, and 14. And maybe I'd be 45 and all my kids would be grown. And maybe I'd have grandbabies. If I survived it. And maybe I'd write a novel or go on vacation. And maybe I wouldn't know what to do. But I'd have my babies. Lots of them. And I'd love them all.... Just as much as I love my only baby. The only baby I'll ever have.

speaking of which...

Vacummed, dusted, sprayed, de-garbaged, wiped, mopped, shopped.

zzzzzzzzzzz.

I'd so rather be looking at this view.

That's the view just before you step out into the water to snorkel.

(Hi Carly! Hi Jeff!)

oh. i'm so depressed.

Troll Patriot Act

I was talking to Halley from the grocery store parking lot today, on my way to buy soy milk, Halley at home looking out the window with her new eyes, and I was telling her about the liberal use of the word "Troll" I'm seeing in comments these days, and well, actually, I was bitching at having been labeled one of those pesky trolls for some honest yet negative comments I've left on a deserved site or two recently.

People, people, people: Someone who disagrees with you, or even who thinks you're being dishonest and selfish and says so on your site, isn't a troll. Just a blogger with nothing to lose. Trolls are looking for attention, usually with a pseudonym or "anonymous" signature. Trolls don't tell you where they live online.

On the other hand, smart mouthy bloggers don't much care about getting attention (at least on Tuesdays and Thursdays), are usually trying to engage you in stepping off your bully pulpit and getting real, and will usually be happy to tell you where they live.

I said to Halley, "For crying out loud--I got called a TROLL! What's next? Anyone who says anything negative about a post is a fucking troll now?"

And we start laughing and come up with The Troll Patriot Act, which enforces support for all blog posts. That's right. From now on, if you disagree in blog comments, you go straight *not* to Gutanamo Bay, but to Runaway Bay.

See you there!

orkut

rad. how fast how many have gathered there. the "now what?" doesn't seem to matter. no rush. just hangin'. scoping out communities, pulling up a chair in some. see my old friends there--you and you, and especially you. Oooo--seeing all our faces plastered together in a net mosaic, little tapestries of white people all linked one through the next.

Would be good to have a shared file space--like e-room--that a community could use to place documents, etc. not sure if scrapbook works this way. I could see a business-side offshoot with e-room functionality and the ability to tap into shared knowledge ACROSS communities over time--strategic linkage and knowledge across areas of shared interest.

So fascinating.

And they smell too

the pretend flowers that is.

what's up with silk flowers these days?

My sister digs artificial flowers. I don't. I don't do well with real flowers (or anything green) as evidenced by the complete lack of plant life inside this house. Silk flowers only remind me how badly I do with real flowers, so I don't like em.

Tonight I took my sister over to the dreaded Walmart. She had surgery recently and can't drive, so Jenna and I had a fun afternoon taking my sister to the store. I had to take a phone call while we were walking around, and of course since Walmart is the size of a very large prison, and with as much mortor and steel as one, I had no reception and took the six-mile hike outside so I could hear.

When I caught up with Jenna and my sister, they were in the pretend flower isle. I was blown away by how far pretend flowers have come since I stopped even passing by the fabric and flower sectionl tucked in the back of the store. Damn. These pretend flowermakers have gotten serious.

Do you know they even have fake water droplets on the fake flowers now? It's like hyperreality. Freaked me right out. My synapses were flying fast and furious--it's a real flower, no fake, no it's real water on a fake flower, no it's fake water on a real flower. NOOOOO!

So then I went and picked out toilet paper.

lesson 2 for blogging beginners

Do.

lesson 1 for blogging beginners

Don't.

Closer

I'm getting closer to "being in the moment" as they say in a nonsensical way that basically makes sense. You know how I can tell? I can feel it--every now and then I find myself NOT thinking of the last thing or the next thing. Just being, or if not being, getting really close to being in that very special special place (or so I hear) called the n-o-w. When I get there, I assume time will stop and I won't know it, because I'll be smack-dab-right-there.

so cool.

i'll email you and let you know how it was if I ever get out.

Past Perfect.... or not.

If I had known then what I know now, as they say, I mean before I knew it, I would have known what to do and what not to have done. But I didn't know. How could I have known? I only knew what I knew and not a smidgeon more. I could not have known what I didn't know.

And even if I had known, how much would knowing matter? I mean, would I have known enough not to?

Maybe, if I had known myself, and if I myself had known, I wouldn't have. But I didn't know myself, and I certainly didn't know that I didn't know myself.

I'm not trying to fool myself here--just trying to figure things out.

feelingsomewhatbetter

It's amazing how many folks unass this place when I'm sick for a couple of days and writing boring shit or nothing at all. Not really amazing, 'cause I do it to other people all the time now. Like, hey, wow, so-n-so isn't posting....click....off I go to another blog to giggle about some rare newsbit.

Blogging is now cable TV with 400,000 channels.

Of course, it wasn't always this way. I just wanted some of you to know that, and to remind others--well, remind myself. Used to be if you went quiet for a few days, the emails would start coming from friends, some funny, some sad, some comiserating, and most of them urging you back.

Not that it needs to be that way. But when you think "community," don't you kind of of think that way?

do drug expiration dates mean anything?

Apparently not for the majority of drugs, according to this.

But even better, check out this great post from a blogger whose dad knew all along.

In fact, Feet First looks like a cool blog. And I like Feet's Dad too.

This is war

Okay, you all have provided such great advice for types like me (and some of you) who get on that cycle of sicky-sicky-sick-sick one after the other. I actually had an eight-month stretch where I took my vitamins every day and stayed relatively well (i.e., 8 months without antibiotics, steroids, and the like).

Then this month. Ugh.

I'm sick now, but it hasn't turned up to full volume like usual, so I'm going to try to combat this with the wonderful tips I've gotten on this blog during Jenna's strep etc. episodes the past year. Also using the kid-friendly stuff on her. So here's the regimen I began in full force this week to see if I can kick this cold before it turns into sinusitis or bronchitis or our friend strep:

Acidolphilus Capsules, empty the powder into a cup with tepid water, gargle it, swallow it. Thanks to Elizabeth!

Goldenseal Echinacea, from personal experience and Elaine of Kalilily.

My favorite brand Super Nutrition Women's Blend vitamin (and Perfect Kids for Jenna), AND some Super C Power.

And, SinuSave followed by saline nasal spray.

While sick with this cold, I'm using my old standby which I still think is the biggest innovation in OTC cold "medicine" in the last 20 years, Zicam, (even though everything tasts rather bizzarre while using the throat spray).

AND, lest I forget Biotene for gargling after teeth brushing.

Add to that, my own blend of disinfecting spray, consisting of 1/2 tsp of tea tree oil and a touch of antibacterial soap mixed in a spray bottle to mist all over this joint.

You've got the picture of the army I've assembled to beat the enemy.

Down, but not out.... -j.

and in case you were getting too heady with ideas of blogging grandeur, enter Toilet Graffitti

Blogging as evolution of Iranian toilet graffitti.

niice.

Actually, the other day I was considering the realworld parallel for what the comment spammers and crapflooders are doing to MT Blogs. At first I was thinking it graffitti, but graffitti is in many ways art -- street art, performance art, subversive art, whatever -- and is usually not anonymous. How many graffitti artists spray their initials as they go?

But the comment spammers and crapflooders, I think they're more like vandals, or maybe even arsonists. I think arsonists because they're trying to drive bloggers out of their home. And if they organize, then perhaps a malitia. An army.

But right now, arsonists.

I am not really coherent right now as my right ear is throbbing.

googleyboogley

well shit i see google page ranking has behaved just like a corporate massa by knocking me back down to 6/10 from 7/10 today. Kid's got strep, I'm all a feverish, been busy with suppositories and pills. Ain't it just like b'ness to kick ya when you're down. Mofos.

No worry, I'll be back.

[[You do know, by now, I know you do, that despite my knowing that this means nothing, I enjoy writinng countless rambling posts regarding my google page rank, which to half of those reading means nothing, because it only shows up if you have the google toolbar, and I'm fairly certain from previous comments not everyone does. But to me, it's my double-sworded sabre-toothed nemesis.

let me have my fun, will you?

off to wallow now.]]

me, unscathed? no way

Sorry I haven't been writing--sorry more for me than for sparing you the gory details. Jenna is turning round for the good. Hopping about the house. Predictably, bathing in her throwup and catching her cough spray with my eyes, despite my best efforts NOT to, has left me, um, sick.

So I got nothing to give. Instead, read the folks I read on my blogroll, or check out the bunch I've run upon recently in my list at the left, or for the directionally impaired, right here:

Classic Values

RowBoat

Weblogsky

Net Warriors

RadioFreeBlogistan

Snappy the Clam

Reusability

Dong Resin

Leuschke.org

Mike Whybark

Telescreen

Andrew's Life

Helga

Blogjazz

Colleen

John Kuraoka

Kevin Walzer

Monkey Span

Dr. Bill Koslosky

Ben Silverman

Peking Duck

Darren Barefoot

PR Opinions

Jeremy at PopPR

Elizabeth Albrycht

IzzlePfaff

Stowe Boyd

The Jer Zone

One Good Move

NetWoman

Kevin Walzer

Guff Depot

Yule Heibel

Ken (i always want to say champ) Camp

Xeni

J-Mo

David Hoggard

Java Mama!

Strep.

a what a difference a decade makes

Boy, in 1993, they'd do anything to keep us working, working, working. That "how can we help keep you here" business model turned out to be less strategic than today's "talk to the hand" business model.

Wishing you all...

Good Health
Good Health
Good Health
Good Health
Good Health

ugh

Been cleaning up throw up today.

101 fever, headache, sick stomach, pokies (hairs that hurt all over her body) and sore throat.

And the ability to keep tiny pieces of french fries down, but nothing else.

more soon.