I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence
And so the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're goin' through

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Weekend Linkee-poo with no special title

Entymology online. Because you know you wanna. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

Tobias Buckell talks about being authentic online. Yes, this. Now, unlike what some people think, you don't need to share everything. Sorry, I don't share everything. What I do share I do so being as fully honest as I can be. There are things like what I do at the day thing that I can't share because, well, because it's a very competitive business and much of what I deal with has various government controls on it. I don't share all of my personal life because it's personal. Do you need to know that I need to buy new underwear because many of what I have has too many holes? Probably not. But if I do decide to share these things with you, I will do it with humor, honesty, and sharing my feelings about it. And I also may cuss while I do it. I hope that's okay with you all.

When the dog whistles morph into attacks. Really, I don't… wait, I do understand the Hannity and Tucker Carlson's outrage at the 2007 video of President Obama speaking in an "accent." It's because if they ever had African American friends, they never paid close attention to how those friends interacted with their other friends. It's called coding. And I hate to tell you all but we all do it. When I'm talking with other designers, I change my patter. When I talk with other politicians (okay, well, I'm not really one anymore) I adjust my speech to match them. When I talk to people at work, people at school, when I talk with Bette, my speech patterns adjust. The core beliefs are the same, but I use the coded language which says, "I'm one of you." You don't think you do it? Really? You talk to a baby or a puppy the same way to talk to your Mom the same way you talk with your friends while out partying? If you do, you're being boring or condescending to at least two of those groups. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

Pretending to be poor can change your perspective. A Markeplace story on a workshop for social welfare employees to learn what it means to be poor. Forcing people to face the hard choices poor people face is a good start, although it can't compare to the never ending aspect of really being poor. And even in this simulation is reduced people to tears within the few hours the simulation ran. Also on the page is the Poverty Simulator, can you survive a month being poor?

Tax taxonomy. A handy list of how taxing works. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

2 comments:

Nathan said...

That Entymology Dictionary has been on my Bookmarks Toolbar forEVER. It's pretty terrific.

Steve Buchheit said...

Hey Nathan, I think I had a link to it on an old machine and then lost it. Might have to start referring to it more often.