Shades of the Orwellian future:
This week, IBM announced that it would refrain from using genetic data to screen prospective employees. The fact that this decision needed to be made public is a bit worrying; as employers seemingly crouch in on privacy rights, it looks like they may not be stopping with existing employees. People can be subjecting themselves to a very personal background check by merely applying for a job.
Oct 13, 2005
Oct 11, 2005
Women like Avis?
They just try harder - I don’t imagine they’re out there with the same requests.
I came across this during my lurid wanderings and found it quite funny. If your prudish be forewarned and don’t click through but, the whole thing is humorous if you don’t take these kinds of things too seriously.
Via MissFuzzyBunny.
Dear Men of Craig’s List:
The membership of the National Federated Union of Porn Stars wishes to register an official complaint and related Cease and Desist request. Your incessant searching for a “girl who f***s like a porn star,” the somewhat similar “girl who s***s d**k like a porn star,” and the unending fake posts regaling how “she took my s*****g c** all over her face like a porn star” are interfering with the conduct of business in the legitimate porn industry. A recent study conclude that the prevalence of these requests and reports have in fact begun to convince a startling proportion of otherwise normal women that they should and must behave like porn stars. This is still a trend in its infancy but gentleman, should this phenomenon reach critical mass we, the real porn stars of America, will be shit out of luck, not to mention jobs.
They just try harder - I don’t imagine they’re out there with the same requests.
I came across this during my lurid wanderings and found it quite funny. If your prudish be forewarned and don’t click through but, the whole thing is humorous if you don’t take these kinds of things too seriously.
Via MissFuzzyBunny.
Dear Men of Craig’s List:
The membership of the National Federated Union of Porn Stars wishes to register an official complaint and related Cease and Desist request. Your incessant searching for a “girl who f***s like a porn star,” the somewhat similar “girl who s***s d**k like a porn star,” and the unending fake posts regaling how “she took my s*****g c** all over her face like a porn star” are interfering with the conduct of business in the legitimate porn industry. A recent study conclude that the prevalence of these requests and reports have in fact begun to convince a startling proportion of otherwise normal women that they should and must behave like porn stars. This is still a trend in its infancy but gentleman, should this phenomenon reach critical mass we, the real porn stars of America, will be shit out of luck, not to mention jobs.
Because you need to know:
Courtesy of the Monster blog...
Here are 10 “excuses” — five smart and five not-so-smart — to help you save face and your sanity.
Courtesy of the Monster blog...
Here are 10 “excuses” — five smart and five not-so-smart — to help you save face and your sanity.
Oct 8, 2005
I walk alone.
The Empire State is an innocuous presence in the middle of Manhattan. It’s the city’s tallest building and I pass it all the time but hardly give it a second thought.
I love the way it looks, it’s not that I don’t think it’s a beautiful building because it is, I just seem to take it for granted. It’s this thing which has always been there and I can’t think of life without it. I haven’t been up to the top in a long, long time. Not that I haven’t wanted to go but, when I have been in the building the line looks so incredibly long, I don’t see the use in waiting on, I keep thinking I’ll go the one day or time when the rest of the world is asleep or off doing other things and I’ll be able to really enjoy the experience.
Many years ago, a friend used the observation deck as the place to propose to his wife - it struck me as so very romantic and I’m sure there are a lot of stories similar to that one.
It just reminded me of the World Trade Center in a way and how everytime I’m outside of Manhattan looking at the skyline, it seems so unbalanced now. Whether I’m out in the Meadowlands, driving along the BQE, coming down from the Bronx, or just riding the Hudson line there is this big gaping absence, it’s like looking at one of those cartoons where your supposed to compare the differences between two pictures that look the same. In this instance, the image is the one I grew up with, the mental picture that is jarred when I look at the skyline now.
Anyway, I do find myself looking up at the ESB when I’m walking up Fifth Avenue sometimes and looking up seeing the telltale flashes of photo takers on the observation deck thinking how I have to get up there one of these days soon.
The Empire State is an innocuous presence in the middle of Manhattan. It’s the city’s tallest building and I pass it all the time but hardly give it a second thought.
I love the way it looks, it’s not that I don’t think it’s a beautiful building because it is, I just seem to take it for granted. It’s this thing which has always been there and I can’t think of life without it. I haven’t been up to the top in a long, long time. Not that I haven’t wanted to go but, when I have been in the building the line looks so incredibly long, I don’t see the use in waiting on, I keep thinking I’ll go the one day or time when the rest of the world is asleep or off doing other things and I’ll be able to really enjoy the experience.
Many years ago, a friend used the observation deck as the place to propose to his wife - it struck me as so very romantic and I’m sure there are a lot of stories similar to that one.
It just reminded me of the World Trade Center in a way and how everytime I’m outside of Manhattan looking at the skyline, it seems so unbalanced now. Whether I’m out in the Meadowlands, driving along the BQE, coming down from the Bronx, or just riding the Hudson line there is this big gaping absence, it’s like looking at one of those cartoons where your supposed to compare the differences between two pictures that look the same. In this instance, the image is the one I grew up with, the mental picture that is jarred when I look at the skyline now.
Anyway, I do find myself looking up at the ESB when I’m walking up Fifth Avenue sometimes and looking up seeing the telltale flashes of photo takers on the observation deck thinking how I have to get up there one of these days soon.
Double standard?
[I]f America holds something as the moral standard, it should be unacceptable for us as a people to change that moral standard based on fear. The measure of a person or a people’s character is not what they do when everything is comfortable. It’s what they do in an extremely trying and difficult situation, and if we want to claim that these are our ideals and our values then we need to hold to them no matter how dark the situation.
Testimony by US Army officers on torture in Iraq, the Human Rights Watch report.
[I]f America holds something as the moral standard, it should be unacceptable for us as a people to change that moral standard based on fear. The measure of a person or a people’s character is not what they do when everything is comfortable. It’s what they do in an extremely trying and difficult situation, and if we want to claim that these are our ideals and our values then we need to hold to them no matter how dark the situation.
Testimony by US Army officers on torture in Iraq, the Human Rights Watch report.
More voices:
It’s interesting to hold an opposite position from nearly everyone you know. Especially about something politically divisive. Everyone assumes you think like they do, lots of offensive stuff gets emailed and linked, people nudge you about things and expect something other than a blank stare.
This is a snippet of an entry from Joe Maller’s blog (click through to read in its entirety). I know Joe vaguely in the sense our orbits have intersected occasionally - I worked with his wife. I can’t say I’ve really had an extensive, soul-baring conversation with Joe when we have bumped into each other, but reading his thoughts on his blog, he strikes me as a smart and fair-minded guy. His entry got me thinking about what I had written awhile back, ostensibly the increasing tendency to be dismissive of views not in agreement with our own.
I can’t say I know Joe’s opinions and wouldn’t presume to speak for the him but, his point reminded me of experiences I have had: being in a room full of people when the topic of discussion has turned to the events of the day (and the players), knowing speaking up with an opposing voice wouldn’t be the best thing for the ’ole career or another instance when I got an email from someone which begat to a series of emails ending that friendship.
The email concerned the 2004 election and it struck me out of left field but, the assumption of the person who sent it was, I would agree with the sentiments expressed wholeheartedly. When I didn’t and when I pointed out to the person I didn’t (asking not to receive further emails of this kind), the trouble began and what followed was volleys of emails going back and forth with of increasing intensity. I was tweaking the guy after a point. Truthfully, I knew he felt strongly but, I was disappointed in him, disappointed because he didn’t leave any room to disagree. While I liked him as a person (and he’s a good guy), I also knew to stay friends would mean journeying into the realm of the blank stare regularly. Spending far too much time there already, I can say I wasn’t as interested in increasing my stay so, there went that friendship.
I would have much rather bought him a drink and been able to disagree - which is the way Joe might have handled it. If I see Joe sometime down the road I’ll probably take him up on his invitation to buy him a beer or two because even if I don’t agree with the guy (and in some ways I’m sure I will) - at least he’ll be open minded enough to have a discussion and there aren’t enough people out there these days even willing to do that.
Of course, being a happy drunk helps too.
It’s interesting to hold an opposite position from nearly everyone you know. Especially about something politically divisive. Everyone assumes you think like they do, lots of offensive stuff gets emailed and linked, people nudge you about things and expect something other than a blank stare.
This is a snippet of an entry from Joe Maller’s blog (click through to read in its entirety). I know Joe vaguely in the sense our orbits have intersected occasionally - I worked with his wife. I can’t say I’ve really had an extensive, soul-baring conversation with Joe when we have bumped into each other, but reading his thoughts on his blog, he strikes me as a smart and fair-minded guy. His entry got me thinking about what I had written awhile back, ostensibly the increasing tendency to be dismissive of views not in agreement with our own.
I can’t say I know Joe’s opinions and wouldn’t presume to speak for the him but, his point reminded me of experiences I have had: being in a room full of people when the topic of discussion has turned to the events of the day (and the players), knowing speaking up with an opposing voice wouldn’t be the best thing for the ’ole career or another instance when I got an email from someone which begat to a series of emails ending that friendship.
The email concerned the 2004 election and it struck me out of left field but, the assumption of the person who sent it was, I would agree with the sentiments expressed wholeheartedly. When I didn’t and when I pointed out to the person I didn’t (asking not to receive further emails of this kind), the trouble began and what followed was volleys of emails going back and forth with of increasing intensity. I was tweaking the guy after a point. Truthfully, I knew he felt strongly but, I was disappointed in him, disappointed because he didn’t leave any room to disagree. While I liked him as a person (and he’s a good guy), I also knew to stay friends would mean journeying into the realm of the blank stare regularly. Spending far too much time there already, I can say I wasn’t as interested in increasing my stay so, there went that friendship.
I would have much rather bought him a drink and been able to disagree - which is the way Joe might have handled it. If I see Joe sometime down the road I’ll probably take him up on his invitation to buy him a beer or two because even if I don’t agree with the guy (and in some ways I’m sure I will) - at least he’ll be open minded enough to have a discussion and there aren’t enough people out there these days even willing to do that.
Of course, being a happy drunk helps too.
Oct 6, 2005
Tales from the workaday world.
Just some jewels from a variety of sources to reassure you that in fact working these days can truly be maddening:
Garrison, who lives in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, said he never thought he would be rewarded for getting fired. Then again, he never dreamed he would be fired after he ate two of the six pieces of pepperoni pizza left over from a company meeting.
Or this jewel from the Monster blog:
Workplace Mistakes to Avoid. To guard your job security, be sure to avoid the 10 common pitfalls on this checklist from Jennifer Star, a New York City-based corporate recruiter and trainer specializing in administrative-support personnel:
Or another one:
These kinds of firings open a dangerous can of worms for employees, whose once-deemed personal lives may now be subject to their employers’ scrutiny and, ultimately, may be grounds for termination. The one-time proverbial wall between economic church and state is being broken down. Fast.
And finally this jewel which reminded me of the client I had that had two kinds of deodorizer in the men’s bathroom.
Workplace Bathroom Etiquette. People tend to equate the bathroom with privacy. And although you can’t see anyone when you’re behind a closed stall door, that doesn’t mean you’re alone or that people can’t hear you.
Getting back to the deodorizer thingee, I couldn’t quite grasp why there were two different kinds of deodorizer in the bathroom. It implied that each spray would be used for a different purpose - perhaps one was for flatulent individuals and the other for cases of severe defecation?
I was just trying to make sense of the logic behind the decision for a variety. It appeared as if there was some serious thinking going on behind it.
Of course, that’s not to say any men’s restroom I’ve been in has ever been terrific although I do remember the executive loo from years back when I was a guard on a midnight shift and I can honestly say I know from personal experience that those corporate kings do in fact have their very own throne rooms.
Just some jewels from a variety of sources to reassure you that in fact working these days can truly be maddening:
Garrison, who lives in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, said he never thought he would be rewarded for getting fired. Then again, he never dreamed he would be fired after he ate two of the six pieces of pepperoni pizza left over from a company meeting.
Or this jewel from the Monster blog:
Workplace Mistakes to Avoid. To guard your job security, be sure to avoid the 10 common pitfalls on this checklist from Jennifer Star, a New York City-based corporate recruiter and trainer specializing in administrative-support personnel:
Or another one:
These kinds of firings open a dangerous can of worms for employees, whose once-deemed personal lives may now be subject to their employers’ scrutiny and, ultimately, may be grounds for termination. The one-time proverbial wall between economic church and state is being broken down. Fast.
And finally this jewel which reminded me of the client I had that had two kinds of deodorizer in the men’s bathroom.
Workplace Bathroom Etiquette. People tend to equate the bathroom with privacy. And although you can’t see anyone when you’re behind a closed stall door, that doesn’t mean you’re alone or that people can’t hear you.
Getting back to the deodorizer thingee, I couldn’t quite grasp why there were two different kinds of deodorizer in the bathroom. It implied that each spray would be used for a different purpose - perhaps one was for flatulent individuals and the other for cases of severe defecation?
I was just trying to make sense of the logic behind the decision for a variety. It appeared as if there was some serious thinking going on behind it.
Of course, that’s not to say any men’s restroom I’ve been in has ever been terrific although I do remember the executive loo from years back when I was a guard on a midnight shift and I can honestly say I know from personal experience that those corporate kings do in fact have their very own throne rooms.
Oct 4, 2005
Oct 2, 2005
ICU. Telemetry. ICU. Telemetry. ICU...
Three weeks and counting and that’s pretty much how it could all be summed up. We’re in the ICU, no we’re in telemetry. Three weeks and counting since the EYOC took the trip to the hospital.
It’s really amazing. There are times I’m sorry for bringing him to the hospital. Remembering how afraid he was before the journey, how terrified and trapped he felt - go to the hospital or just hope whatever is bothering him just goes away. Man, I tell you, wherever there is an opening on your body, once you’re in the hospital they find a way to put something in it. There are good days and there are bad days but, there are more days which there wouldn’t have been without the trip.
One day I go and EYOC can barely talk or move. He doesn’t seem to even be aware of where he’s at. Then. I get a surprise towards the end of last week when my sister calls and tells me EYOC will be discharged in the coming week!?!? Since I had been the day before, I was somewhat dumbstruck by the announcement. How can you release someone so very seriously ill? The next day I go down and EYOC looks better than he has in weeks. He’s awake. He appears to have his wits about him. He moves (albeit very slowly). The difference in his condition from my previous visit only 48 hours before is remarkable! I can hardly believe it, it’s as if a higher power has come down and breathed life back into his lungs again.
Afterward, I sit in the cafeteria with my sister, amazed and relieved at the change in his condition. Just glad to see him regaining some of his strength and beginning the progression back to normalcy.
Then the next day I get the phone call from the cardiologist that the EYOC has been shuttled back to the ICU after an unexplainable drop in both blood pressure and blood sugar - I imagine next week’s release date was a little too optimistic. So, I just keep puttering away. It’s this strange limbo not knowing what will happen and not being able to plan because it really depends on someone’s health. EYOC will be 82 next week and I can’t imagine he’ll be happy celebrating in the hospital. Ah, if only they’d let me bring the kitty for a visit.
Three weeks and counting and that’s pretty much how it could all be summed up. We’re in the ICU, no we’re in telemetry. Three weeks and counting since the EYOC took the trip to the hospital.
It’s really amazing. There are times I’m sorry for bringing him to the hospital. Remembering how afraid he was before the journey, how terrified and trapped he felt - go to the hospital or just hope whatever is bothering him just goes away. Man, I tell you, wherever there is an opening on your body, once you’re in the hospital they find a way to put something in it. There are good days and there are bad days but, there are more days which there wouldn’t have been without the trip.
One day I go and EYOC can barely talk or move. He doesn’t seem to even be aware of where he’s at. Then. I get a surprise towards the end of last week when my sister calls and tells me EYOC will be discharged in the coming week!?!? Since I had been the day before, I was somewhat dumbstruck by the announcement. How can you release someone so very seriously ill? The next day I go down and EYOC looks better than he has in weeks. He’s awake. He appears to have his wits about him. He moves (albeit very slowly). The difference in his condition from my previous visit only 48 hours before is remarkable! I can hardly believe it, it’s as if a higher power has come down and breathed life back into his lungs again.
Afterward, I sit in the cafeteria with my sister, amazed and relieved at the change in his condition. Just glad to see him regaining some of his strength and beginning the progression back to normalcy.
Then the next day I get the phone call from the cardiologist that the EYOC has been shuttled back to the ICU after an unexplainable drop in both blood pressure and blood sugar - I imagine next week’s release date was a little too optimistic. So, I just keep puttering away. It’s this strange limbo not knowing what will happen and not being able to plan because it really depends on someone’s health. EYOC will be 82 next week and I can’t imagine he’ll be happy celebrating in the hospital. Ah, if only they’d let me bring the kitty for a visit.
Sep 30, 2005
Time to move?
Via BlogSensei (link at right).
Your personality type is RCUAI
You are moderately reserved, moderately calm, unstructured, moderately accommodating, and intellectual, and may prefer a city which matches those traits.
What Places In The World Match Your Personality?
City Reviews at CityCulture.org
Via BlogSensei (link at right).
You are moderately reserved, moderately calm, unstructured, moderately accommodating, and intellectual, and may prefer a city which matches those traits.
The largest representation of your personality type can be found in the these U.S. cities: Washington DC, Oklahoma City, Raleigh/Durham, Louisville, New Orleans, Greensboro, Austin, Albuquerque/Santa Fe, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, Denver and these international countries/regions Luxembourg, Iceland, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Slovenia, Netherlands, Greece, Puerto Rico, Denmark, Belgium, Croatia, Germany, Turkey, Sweden, Ireland
City Reviews at CityCulture.org
The good ole days?
On the heels of the debacle that was Katrina, the latest headline to make me cringe had to be the one referring to the dialog between Bill Bennett and a caller on his radio show the other day. Bennett’s comment had been taken largely out of context but, that didn’t make it better. It’s the kind of statement that bought us the fun guys in the Nazi party of post WW1 Germany or maybe even that gregarious bunch that swears allegiance to the Grand Dragon.
The scary thing is, this is a former Secretary of Education speaking - like, you’d think this would be a smart person? If there is one small part of you that can even attempt to justify his statement, I suggest you swap out the word black in his comments and replace it with the name of your very own religious or ethnic group and see how well it sits.
Surprisingly enough, Bennett and his caller were citing Freakonomics, a book that is doing quite well recently. I haven’t read Freakonomics, so I can’t speak to the accuracy of their comments. I did however, read a snippet of the book as posted on Amazon which drew a correlation between the abortion rate and the decreasing crime rate. It’s a great thing when you can mask your own bs theories behind some kind of pseudo science. Not only that, it’s better still to get rich off of it.
I don’t know if I will actually plunk down money to buy Freakonomics but, I certainly want to read it. If only to see if there is any mention of our country’s increasing prison population as well as the declining US birth rate. Much as they may want to lay the decreasing crime rate at the door of Roe V Wade, I would like to think the issue is a bit more complicated than they would have you believe.
In the meantime, I have to say again one of the benefits of living in a free and open society is people have the ability to publicly put their foot in their mouth - I’m not agreeing with what their saying but they do have a right to say it.
On the heels of the debacle that was Katrina, the latest headline to make me cringe had to be the one referring to the dialog between Bill Bennett and a caller on his radio show the other day. Bennett’s comment had been taken largely out of context but, that didn’t make it better. It’s the kind of statement that bought us the fun guys in the Nazi party of post WW1 Germany or maybe even that gregarious bunch that swears allegiance to the Grand Dragon.
The scary thing is, this is a former Secretary of Education speaking - like, you’d think this would be a smart person? If there is one small part of you that can even attempt to justify his statement, I suggest you swap out the word black in his comments and replace it with the name of your very own religious or ethnic group and see how well it sits.
Surprisingly enough, Bennett and his caller were citing Freakonomics, a book that is doing quite well recently. I haven’t read Freakonomics, so I can’t speak to the accuracy of their comments. I did however, read a snippet of the book as posted on Amazon which drew a correlation between the abortion rate and the decreasing crime rate. It’s a great thing when you can mask your own bs theories behind some kind of pseudo science. Not only that, it’s better still to get rich off of it.
I don’t know if I will actually plunk down money to buy Freakonomics but, I certainly want to read it. If only to see if there is any mention of our country’s increasing prison population as well as the declining US birth rate. Much as they may want to lay the decreasing crime rate at the door of Roe V Wade, I would like to think the issue is a bit more complicated than they would have you believe.
In the meantime, I have to say again one of the benefits of living in a free and open society is people have the ability to publicly put their foot in their mouth - I’m not agreeing with what their saying but they do have a right to say it.
Sep 25, 2005
Sep 24, 2005
I am binary and I must change.
The world is such a simple place, as simple as we make it that is.
Once we are able to apply a label to a person, place or thing - we have the ability to compartmentalize how we will approach the person, place or thing evermore.
Case in point, how many buzzwords can I throw out there for you in the next paragraph and how quickly or rather how crisp are the images these words bring to mind: liberal, conservative, fundamentalist, minority, republican, democrat, christian, muslim, terrorist, freedom fighter, peace keeper, working class, protester, pundit, administration - see, even as I was writing those words, it seemed that each and every one bought a very clear image into my minds’ eye.
And... that’s a problem.
Because, it’s been my experience the world we live in is nowhere near as simple as black or white, wherein every issue can be divided into two clear areas of (dis) agreement. Here’s the rub though, I find I have a natural tendency as I get older to gravitate towards the ease of breaking down each and every ideological dilemma I run across into a very clear and distinct binary mode of thinking: black or white, good or bad, right or wrong. It’s never as simple as that though and I have to take a step back and remind myself of the very fact all the time.
The reason I broach the subject is I find an increasing amount of rhetoric broken down into these terms. It’s bad math. It‘s the math of a static society and I think it is a very important thing for all of us in this country to be aware of it and to try and resist its pull. The point I’m trying to get at is in a democracy, it’s healthy to disagree. Plurality is supposed to be one of the strengths of democracies and I believe we are well along the way to forgetting that.
So, I am going to try and make a promise and stick to it. The next time I am ready to apply a label to someone, ready to paste one of those buzzwords prominently across them and their argument, I will take a step back and try to look at the issue from their point of view. I know I will more than likely screw up a majority of the time but, I won’t ever change unless I make the attempt. My small effort probably won’t have the grand sweeping effect I would like but, I figure you’ve got to start somewhere and maybe if you’re reading this you’ll be willing to give it a shot too.
The world is such a simple place, as simple as we make it that is.
Once we are able to apply a label to a person, place or thing - we have the ability to compartmentalize how we will approach the person, place or thing evermore.
Case in point, how many buzzwords can I throw out there for you in the next paragraph and how quickly or rather how crisp are the images these words bring to mind: liberal, conservative, fundamentalist, minority, republican, democrat, christian, muslim, terrorist, freedom fighter, peace keeper, working class, protester, pundit, administration - see, even as I was writing those words, it seemed that each and every one bought a very clear image into my minds’ eye.
And... that’s a problem.
Because, it’s been my experience the world we live in is nowhere near as simple as black or white, wherein every issue can be divided into two clear areas of (dis) agreement. Here’s the rub though, I find I have a natural tendency as I get older to gravitate towards the ease of breaking down each and every ideological dilemma I run across into a very clear and distinct binary mode of thinking: black or white, good or bad, right or wrong. It’s never as simple as that though and I have to take a step back and remind myself of the very fact all the time.
The reason I broach the subject is I find an increasing amount of rhetoric broken down into these terms. It’s bad math. It‘s the math of a static society and I think it is a very important thing for all of us in this country to be aware of it and to try and resist its pull. The point I’m trying to get at is in a democracy, it’s healthy to disagree. Plurality is supposed to be one of the strengths of democracies and I believe we are well along the way to forgetting that.
So, I am going to try and make a promise and stick to it. The next time I am ready to apply a label to someone, ready to paste one of those buzzwords prominently across them and their argument, I will take a step back and try to look at the issue from their point of view. I know I will more than likely screw up a majority of the time but, I won’t ever change unless I make the attempt. My small effort probably won’t have the grand sweeping effect I would like but, I figure you’ve got to start somewhere and maybe if you’re reading this you’ll be willing to give it a shot too.
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