I can relate

Forget those smug stickers plastered on boring rides by soccer moms still under the illusion that smart people end up winning in life. Childhood seemed so full of promise and yeah we all had such potential. But growing up got a little messy and now we know just enough about it all to feel like we should be doing way better than we are. Anyway here is a sticker.

Inspired by this comic

Starting fresh

It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power. - Alan Cohen

So after 25 yeas in Tucson, my mom and dad are leaving for Virginia.  Dad leaves tomorrow and mom will leave in a couple of weeks once the move is all in order.  I'm definitely sad to see them leave but I'm excited to see them take advantage of this new opportunity to start fresh. We'll miss you guys, but hopefully we'll have frequent visits.

Pageviews do not equal talent.

paranoia by katiew on Flickr

The brilliant Seth Godin posted a short entry on his blog this morning regarding the hyper-measurement of today's society. Specifically, he refers to the fact that a Washington Post columnist just got laid off due to a lack of page views on his blog posts:

"...in a digital world where everything can be measured, we all work on commission. And why not? If you do great work and it works, you should get rewarded. And if you don't, it's hard to see why a rational organization would keep you on." (emphasis mine)

While I understand Seth's (and the paper's) position, I shudder to think how much this would affect discourse regarding important matters. The problem is, "great work" is not necessarily a magnet for page views, but controversy is; if columnists write material solely to get page views, the most ostentatious and outrageous writers will thrive - is this a standard that we want? Do we really think that this will impact journalism for the better, or will it just create more noise?

Completely biased video

I know (or at least, hope) that this video doesn't represent too many people on the right, but I think it illustrates a real problem with how the Obama administration is criticized by people who clearly lack any knowledge in the topics of which they speak. [via]

Temptation

In this video, various children are told to sit in a chair in a room with one marshmallow. The adult tells the child that they can either eat the marshmallow now or wait until they come back and as a reward, the child would receive another marshmallow for their patience. It’s funny to watch the kids squirm and wrestle with the temptation to eat the marshmallow. [via]

Don't cry, buddy.

Pouty face, originally uploaded by Jeffry and/or Kerri.

Actually, yes - cry. Nice choke job, poutyface.

Memories

One of my earliest memories of my childhood is watching this movie that David at BoingBoing posted today. I was three or four years old, attending Young Explorers Preschool, and I distinctly remember vomiting on my teacher when the skeletons began to dance together. Fortunately, it no longer has the same effect on me.