One Hundred Thirty Nine: BO Can't Compromise

Last night I saw a news snippet of BO addressing a group of state governors.  BO was campaigning to prevent the $85B reduction in the rate of growth of government spending, also bizarrely called a "sequester."  BO was telling the govs that the situation just required "compromise," and that he, BO, had already demonstrated his willingness to compromise.  This willingness, BO said, was manifest in his previous offers and actions over the past 4 four years.  Even by Washington standard's, this is the mother of all whoppers.  But as George Costanza used to say, "It's not a lie if you believe it."  And BO really does seem to believe his own BS. 

If BO really had shown the tiniest bit willingness to compromise, our recovery from 2008-2009 would be off to the races.  But in fact BO does not want compromise.  He wants a relentless continuation of federal government growth to redistribute private wealth.

One Hundred Thirty Eight: Still Trying Facebook

A couple of years on, I am still trying to figure out the value of FB.  Now that it's a public company with a current market cap of some $70B, it's pretty hard to discount the reality of FB as a presence in the lives of individuals, especially those under 40 years old.  And of course the fact that corporate entities are also "persons" in the FB realm is another reason to take FB seriously.  But what redeeming social or economic benefit accrues from the bazillions of hours spent by people revealing every idiotic thought or image on their respective pages? 

In the past few days I have spent a couple of hours Facebooking.  After trying to make sense of what I encountered, I returned to read a few chapters of Moby Dick.  Comparing the two experiences, it strikes me that I have retained much more from Moby than FB.

One Hundred Thirty Seven: Lots of Data But No Communication

I have been an avid writer all of my life.  It started I suppose with my parents forcing me to write "thank you" notes when I received a dollar or two for a birthday or some other occasion.  Somehow, I learned how to write (and speak) succinctly, which is a talent and skill I wish was more widely practiced. 

The younger crowd in business today has grown up with instant and constant information resulting in tsunamis of data.  Email, Twitter, Facebook, You Tube - 24/7 connectivity, but it seems to me very little communication.  In a recent transaction for the sale of a house, I received an average of 20 emails per day, which could easily have been reduced to one single email or telephone call.  The clients and the realtor were creating blizzards of messages almost one letter at a time.  The point is that with the ability to spew out information at will, individuals feel compelled to take advantage of that ability, usually without much if any thought.  It's just too damn easy to empty one's brain into the airwaves without thinking.  Perhaps as computers get smarter they will develop the kind of protection a good secretary gives her boss.  She serves at a check valve to make sure what he tries to send is wise.