Archive for 2007

• 9.15.07 "The Depressing Internet and the Refreshing Real World, for a change" is posted in Friendship, Reflections

Browsing around the web can be such an echo chamber, reinforcing everything you’re looking for, for better or worse. The addition of social networking has exacerbated the effect–now you can feel as popular or unpopular as you’d like, depending on the variable you’re looking to compare. At 12:30am on this Saturday morning, my glass is decidedly not full. Hopefully in the morning it’ll all be better.

Even with all our methods of contact and keeping in touch, does it really help us to feel any more a part of a community? Sure, there are more places to participate, but that also means there are more places to feel behind or out of the loop. With all the communities where one can be popular, one can always turn a corner to find a place where they really haven’t made it.

Both locally and nationally I can always turn to my left and see someone who’s made it big. While I may not be a worthy judge, deep down I still have some opinion about whether or not they deserve it. When it comes to internet popularity the “wisdom of the crowd” is so often merely a litmus test for “pretty good” but rarely accurate enough for “truly the best.” The difference between a hero and a superhero is how many sneezing fans they have, not the existence of superpowers. (more…)

• 8.12.07 "New Photos: BarCamp, Dinners, and another Wedding" is posted in Photos, Too, Reflections

I’m still loving the new camera. Here are some pictures from the last couple weeks:

BarCamp:

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• 7.29.07 "Seeking Fulfillment" is posted in Reflections, Work & Career

A while back I read Gregg Easterbrook’s The Progress Paradox: How Life Gets Better While People Feel Worse, and he talked a lot about “choice anxiety”–which he defined as “the transition from people being so constrained by social forces that they [feel] trapped, to the current situation of having so many options that choice itself becomes a source of anguish.” I feel like I have so many options in front of me and that it’s as daunting as it is liberating. I need to make some decisions.

The first half of this summer was filled to the gills with activities and general merriment. It was light but fun. The second half has been about big decisions, planning ahead, and a slight ennui from the ephemeral. That is, busyness is no path to fulfillment. And I’m itching to grow or grow something. (more…)