Category Archives: Culture

different worlds

April 23, 2014 6:39 AM , 2 Comments ,

I took another step into the social media world the other day.  I joined LinkedIn.  I can’t say that I did so willingly or enthusiastically. I’ve known about LinkedIn for quite a while but I’ve resisted joining for my own reasons.

The whole thing was precipitated by a serious inquiry that came into our website.  The client wanted to connect through LinkedIn.  Normally other people in the office would deal with this but they were busy so it fell to me and I had to register to begin the conversation.  The first thing that struck me is that I have never had anything to do with LinkedIn and yet I had over 200 connection requests already waiting for me.  What’s more LinkedIn wanted to take a peek into my mail contacts and social contacts to add more people.  I bypassed this option and cropped through the requests taking only the ones that looked familiar and ignoring the rest for now.

Some people might find it odd that I want to keep my professional and social lives apart but to me they have little intersection.  My professional life deals with many technical subjects that my friends and family don’t really know all that much about.  On the work side, the people who I deal with are mainly consummate professionals.   They eat, breathe, and sleep their jobs and don’t really like to share their home life.  In some cases I don’t really know anything about them.

To me social media has always been a more private affair that dealt with my life outside of work.  Something that was for family and friends.  To my peers I am someone who is interested in movies, writing, science fiction, and various other things.  To my co-workers and business contacts I am the guy that provides them reliable service and advice.

The only intersection between the two worlds is me.

So how will this play out in the long run?  My aim is to try to keep these worlds separate as much as possible.  I know that the two sides can be successfully integrated and can even enhance each other in some ways.  But I value my home life and I feel a line has to be drawn between the two.

Posted in: business, culture, life in general, relationships, social media

the black cauldron of science

March 26, 2014 6:56 AM , 2 Comments ,

“Can you find my lost shoes?”

“Do you have 24 hour a day video monitoring over my cheating boyfriend’s house?”

“Is there treasure buried under my farm?”

I get these questions all the time.  People seem to be under the impression that there are squadrons of satellites overhead and that they watch each and every one of us with minute detail every minute of every day.  What’s more these satellites can see everything.

I blame Hollywood for part of it.

We’re not quite there yet.  But this post really isn’t about the dangers of the surveillance state.  I will save that for another day.  It has more to do with the public’s relationship with science and the perception that science is the modern-day equivalent of magic.

It really isn’t a modern phenomena either.  Particularly in our country’s history we’ve fallen under the sway of science’s siren call.  Look at the 19th century traveling medicine show, or all the quack applications of electricity or radiation (electropathy, the X-ray shoe sizer, magnetic therapy).

In the middle ages we had the promise of alchemy and magic to capture the public’s imagination and promise solutions to even our most conventional problems.

Seems that little has changed.  The general public is little interested in the inner workings of science or magic.  Just as long as it works, they’re satisfied.

If you look at the above examples you see problems and concerns that really don’t need science to address.  The public could easily solve or sidestep these problems themselves but instead they choose to try to find the easy and convenient way out.

I suppose what really irks me about this attitude is that there is a total lack of understanding about the mechanics of science.  Not only that but there is a total lack of desire to understand the mechanics.  This is more than just willfully ignorant, it’s dangerous.

This sets the public up for all manner of abuse, fraud, and manipulation.

In my line I run into this problem quite a bit.  “Companies” based out of basements or boiler rooms and promising to locate oil, gold, and other valuable resources underground for clients and then collecting hefty fees and disappearing.

Not only damaging to the client who just wasted money but also damaging to companies that do honest work.

I tell people to take the time to double-check these promises and try to teach and inform them about what we can and cannot do with our technology.  I can’t outright call these other companies frauds and con-men but I do tell these potential clients to ask for references, to read up on the subject, and to just use common sense.

I don’t expect every person to become a scientist or read science journals but I would hope that they would use a little more common sense and look for the practical solution rather than the easy way out.

Posted in: culture, myths, science, thought

generation which?

February 2, 2014 6:41 AM , 2 Comments ,

I was reading an article in Wired magazine the other day about Generation X and how we’ve matured and changed in the last quarter century to become more responsible and settled.

While I don’t necessarily disagree with this assessment, what really caught my eye was a list of famous generation Xer’s, particularly President Obama.

While technically it is true (he was born in 1961 and by the definition of the generation X time frame of 1961 to 1981 he fits), I find it hard to accept that he is part of my generation.  He seems to be more in tune with an older, more analog generation.

Being born in 1970 I am smack dab in the middle of Generation X and I suppose I do carry some of the ideas, faults, and peccadilloes of my generation.  I am more in tune with my fellow X’ers than with my parents and with those born to the later generations. I don’t necessarily agree with all the ideas of this generation but I am aware of them.

But what is it like for those born right at the edge of one generation and another?  How do they identify?  Ideas, concepts, and movements from both generations tug at them constantly.  I always think that it must be something akin to ‘middle child syndrome”, where you don’t really know what role you play in the family.

Sometimes the generational gap isn’t too broad a leap.  The Millennial generation seems to me to be quite similar to the Xer’s in ideas and problems and I don’t imagine that those born between these two generations are too confused.

I don’t think that the same can be said for those born between the baby boomers and generation X.  I imagine that the early sixties was a somewhat confusing time to be born and to start out in life.  Many of the old cultural identities didn’t apply anymore and the new ones had not yet been drafted.  One generation is more idealistic and the other one more self-centered.  What does this make these in betweeners?  Do they rebel against both generations and set their own course?  Are they somehow handicapped in life by not having a firm set of ideas?

Posted in: aging, culture, life in general, pop culture, thought

Now what?

January 5, 2014 7:00 AM , Leave a Comment ,
“You know, a town with money’s a little like the mule with a spinning wheel. No one knows how he got it, and danged if he knows how to use it!”
―Lyle Lanley from “The Simpsons”

A few weeks back everyone was getting excited about one of the big lotteries.  The sum total had climbed over $600 million and people were in a state of hysteria buying up more and more tickets.

Inevitably on the news channels came the man on the street interviews asking people what they would do with all that money and the answers ranged from “not working ever again” or buying some expensive item or paying off bills.

Good enough for a thirty-second news piece but really have these folks pondered what they would really do with all of that money?  Let’s imagine a winner that gets a modest jackpot of 50 million.

Pay debts – An investing website in September reported that the average American was about a quarter of a million dollars in debt.  A good chunk of this is of course mortgage debt.  That’s all gone with a few strokes of the pen.  bye-bye debts and bye-bye $250,000

Buy things – So of course the average person is going to go on a spending spree and of course hold some parties for his family and friends.  He will no doubt purchase cars, televisions, furniture, clothes, and most certainly one or more properties.  So there goes another 3 to 4 million.

Travel – Jet set around the world and see those places and things you’ve heard about all of your life.  Another million or so.

Invest – So now that you’ve slaked all the urges you can think of, someone (usually a friend or family member) suggests that you invest in something and they usually have a good idea of where to invest and oddly enough it involves them.  So here goes another 5 to 10 million or more.

(A side note, in researching this I found that 44% of all lottery winners spend all their winnings in 5 years or less.  Where does it all go?!?!)

But now what?  You’ve done it all and seen it all but that’s about as far as most people get.  If even that far.  We look at the short-term prize and say to ourselves “wouldn’t that be great if we had that?”  But most people never stop to think and then what?

I think it’s a telling difference between people who earn their money and those that win or inherit their money that the people who earn their money through hard work and planning are able to answer this question.

They’ve obsessed, planned, and strived for their dreams for so long that they know exactly what they need to do next.  Those that suddenly have good fortune dropped on their laps don’t.

But it’s not just money.  Some people dream about being celebrities, some dream about being athletes, some about marrying some attractive person or some other seemingly impossible dream.  But these people never stop and consider or plan on how they get from here to there.

I’m not saying that it’s impossible.  What I am saying though is rather than just dream or lust after some unattainable goal, why not plan and work for it?  And then consider what you will do after you get it.

Posted in: culture, goals, plans, thought

Princes and Princesses

November 26, 2013 8:49 AM , Leave a Comment ,

[Author’s note:  this is an edited version of a journal post that I wrote in 2010]
Sub cultures are interesting if just for the reason that they describe the way people attempt to deal with their immediate surroundings and circumstances by forming coalitions amongst themselves.  Using outward symbols such as speech, dress, and behavior help bind these groups together and set them apart.  The need to belong to something, even if it is a small sub cultural group, is strong in humans.  In ancient times this may have led to the beginnings of clans and tribes

Some people however delve deeper into their sub-culture.  They eat, live, breathe the culture and without it they would figuratively cease to exist.

In the American lexicon there exists the expression “Jewish American princess”.  Typically it refers to a shallow, materialistic, young female (Jewish in this case) that is distinct enough to categorize.  Generally it is thought of as an offensive term though some take pride in the label.  These young ladies will generally band together to share their thoughts, dress alike, talk alike, gossip, make plans, and generally just hang out together.  To some extent their world view is shaped by their self-identity and they will generally scorn or eschew anything or anyone that contradicts that.  Whereas others might put away this identity for leisure time they live this identity all the time.

At first I thought this to be a unique circumstance but looking around you begin to realize the term prince or princess can be applied to any individual that is so subsumed, so deep into their sub culture to the exclusion of all other things, that in a sense nothing else exists.  The self-identity affects not only the outward appearance but also in their speech and their thought process.

In Texas for example you have the cowboy sub culture.  The cowboy prince or princess will generally dress in jeans or western wear for work or play.  The symbols of the sub culture show up in every aspect of their lives.  The boots, that hat (though most save these for social occasions), the music, the food, even the vehicle (pick up trucks or full size trucks) are all relics of that sub culture.  But the changes are not just outward but inward as well.  Their point of view favors more rural attitudes, more traditional opinions as to social issues, and derision of anything that does not conform to the lifestyle.

Goths princes are another good example.  They tend to be more urban, they favor certain types of clothes, certain music and ideas.  Again, they tend to scorn things outside of their world view.

But sub-cultures are not solely limited to choices of music or clothes.  Just about every aspect of human endeavor can be sub-culturized.  I have seen sub-cultures based around computers, the Air Force, fitness, religion, science, wine, boats, cars, even blogging.  Just about anything you can name has a sub-culture.  Of course in all of these you will find the princess and princesses.

Although I’ve taken an interest in various sub-cultures I was never able to fully integrate into any sub culture as deeply as one of these individuals.   I could never take that final step and say I will fully and totally join in to the exclusion of all other things.  It’s something that I was always leery of but also envied to an extent.

I should explain that last part.  When you fully take on that sub culture you know what you’re about.  The parameters of your world are fully developed and you know how far you can safely wander away and how to get back to safety.  I imagine that this is comforting to some people.

But it comes at a price.  You artificially limit yourself.  Not only is your individuality compromised but there is no room to grow beyond the parameters of that sub-culture.

My individuality was always more important to me.  I could not allow that to fade into the background of a sub-culture.  I could also not limit myself to a limited pattern of thought.  I cannot claim to be totally unbiased but such an artificial limit on my mind is unacceptable.

I chose a life outside the sub-cultures.  But there is a price to be paid by those of us that walk outside the lines.

Posted in: culture, life in general, relationships