RSS summary gives away the punch line.
Month: March 2011
“So, you can call anyone you know at any time, and that’s so convenient for you, right? Well, it isn’t. Do the math. How many numbers do you have stored in your phone? Fifty, a hundred, more? Well, they’re the people for whom your phone is a great convenience—they know that they can call you and wherever you are, even if you don’t pick up, they have asserted their presence as a part of your day. You are one person with one person’s communication needs; they are legion, and they want and expect answers now. Want to know real convenience? Leave a message on my machine, or email me, and I’ll get back to you when I damn well feel like it.”
Dana Albarella James, in My Life Without A Cell Phone: An Amazing Tale Of Survival [theawl.com] published at The Awl [theawl.com]
I do have a phone —I had one back in the mid-90’s and was, on at least one occasion mistaken for a drug dealer due to said cell phone, trench coat and dark glasses but that’s a story, about fish and their exorbitant electricity consumption, for another day— but I can sympathize with the sentiment. I don’t talk on my phone much. I much prefer SMS or email. I’ve never really liked to talk on the phone…. But I’ve said all this before… [confusion.cc]
Categories
Ravenala madagascariensis
Categories
Baked Earth or Nuked Earth?
Lots of debate about the Nuclear Power industries future these day —before the fallout has even settled over Japan. A lot of the debate is about “can Nuclear be made safe”… but I don’t hear any discussion about the real question: do you prefer your Earth baked or nuked? Fossil Fuel for base load generation or nuclear for base load generation? The technology is not there yet for any other source to do the heavy lifting of base load generation—at least that’s what I’ve always been told. If the alternative power gurus have a plan now is the time to be discussing it in detail… But it’s all “nuclear can never be safe…” blah blah blah.
Categories
The Tribe Mentality
“It is very difficult to get a man to understand something when his tribal identity depends on his not understanding it.”
Michael Bérubé, quoted by Judith Warner in the New York Times [nytimes.com] article Fact Free Science