Welcome and thank you for your patronage. Unlimited free reading for all humans.
TED
Get link
Facebook
X
Pinterest
Email
Other Apps
For the past month or so, it seems that as soon as I get a free moment, I find myself watching yet another fascinating talk at TED. Soon I'll run through all the archives and will have to do with just a couple a week. Delirium tremens looms.
My New Year's resolution: to give up my car. I will donate it to a charity, and bike, walk, or bus to wherever I need to go. The advantages: helping the environment, saving money, improving my health by exercising more, and perhaps most importantly, find out if I have enough self-discipline to do it. Disadvantages: increased travel-time and reduced mobility. No late-night social events. Innability to give my friends rides, no large-bulk cargo hauling ability. My last attempt lasted two weeks. I am determined to make this second try last longer. P.S.: This isn't entirely an intellectual decision. I have never liked this car, even though I've owned less appealing vehicles in the past, I just could never entirely befriend this one. Sorry, car. I guess that makes it in part an emotional decision.
Way back when, at the turn of the millenium, I was part of a big family called Genuity. As in all families, there were disagreements, triumphs, bitter fights, great friendships, and the bond of common goals and struggles. It was in a way, a coming of age, a rite of passage at a critical time. Though for me it only lasted three years, it seemed like much longer -they were after all, not regular years, but internet years, and events that would normally develop over months, took only weeks. We were all still riding the internet boom, and things happened fast. Not surprisingly, they also ended fast. The much anticipated crash was finally beginning to happen. Then came the coup de grace on 9/11. Three rounds of lay-offs later, there was no longer a "u" in Genuity, as the joke went -and a pink slip was my inspiration to migrate westward. A few months after that, Genuity was little more than a billion-dollar garage sale. It is amazing how quickly time erodes the past. Today, while ...
7,360 kilometers away as the crow flies, in the former land of the Vikings, lives a good friend of mine. Though I haven't seen him for the better part of four years, the sense of familiarity hasn't changed; and I keep in touch with him more than I do with others who live in my city. In our last chat, we exchanged some awful poetry with as much ease as if we were sitting across from each other at the local Stabucks. http://www.earthdrifter.com/tamepoetry.htm http://www.quyrx.com/writings Another, closer friend, lives 11,240 kilometers away, in a corner of South America most people have never heard of -but he's just a keystroke away on my cell (OK, 3 keystrokes.) He's married and has a very busy professional life, so figuring out a good time to call is the toughest part of staying in touch. This planet of ours is just a village; isn't it time we left it behind and went see what's out there...?
Comments