Farlops Industries

Let’s suppose there is an afterlife. I don’t believe there is one, but let’s just suppose there is. Why do most people automatically assume this means something? What if we die and and are reborn into a world that is just as confusing and meaningless and trivial as this one? What if we are reborn into an afterlife that brings us no closer to knowing the ultimate mysteries than we know now? The existence of an afterlife doesn’t necessary entail the existence of god or gods. It doesn’t necessarily mean anything except that there is something about physics that requires sapience to be transferred into this new existence. Is that just natural law or did the powers that be write things that way?

Just something to think about.

Yesterday I spent 9 hours in a crowded, hot, school gymnasium for my district’s Democratic Party Caucus. It was very rewarding, inspiring and pleasantly exhausting and, it renewed my faith in the system.

The turn out was enormous–nearly three times what they were expecting! Apparently people on the left are so ticked off by the incompetence of the current administration, that they turned out in droves at the precinct caucuses and now at the district caucuses. Party members also donated record amounts of money and volunteered by legions. And perhaps the turn out will be very heavy all across the country. I think the strategists of Shrub’s reelection campaign had better worry about this! Apparently if you irritate enough people, they will get political and they will remove you, if only to stop apologizing for your stupidity around the world!

Anyway, here is another thing that I think is remarkable–an example of how the left is finally recapturing the center again. There was section of the party platform with inflammatory wording about withdrawing from the WTO and NAFTA. This was challenged, amended and changed to support reform of and opening up of these organizations for the public all participating countries–not withdrawal from them. Finally some rational heads prevail on the left! This from one of the most radical, left-wing districts in the city. This from the city that gave us the WTO demonstrations of 1999 (Which I took part in as the token moderate who supported the reform and opening of these organizations, not the abolition or withdrawal from them. Global trade is a fact folks–better to reform and steer it toward beneficial ends for global labor and the environment than to shun it in disgust and fear.)!

A lot of people were harping on Bush’s economic record and failure to contain deficits. Could it be? Is it possible? That the Democrats are the party of fiscal realism and responsibility again?

On the other hand, the Dennis Kucinich supporters were able to get nine delegates to send on to the Congressional District and State Caucuses and they added several key pieces to the platform, so we haven’t lost those further to the left either. This year, we close ranks!

Techie, geek, technologist, web monkey.

What, isn’t “computer technician” good enough? I am a web server technician. I am a network technician. I am not a computer scientist, engineer or computer programmer. I have no formal training in those things. Technician suffices in describing what I do without taking on presumptive airs like technologist or engineer does. It also doesn’t sound cutesy like webmaster, geek or techie.

Newbie.

What, isn’t “greenhorn” sufficient? Why invent a new, cutesy word when there are dozens of perfectly good words that apply?

Smilie, emoticon.

There used to be a time in the dim past when authors of letters and tracts used politeness and nuance to avoid misinterpretation of dry humor and satire. These days people have to rely on bogus punctuation to avoid misinterpretation. If what you are writing could be misinterpreted, don’t send it. Re-write it so that it makes sense and carries the exact emotional nuance you intend. We laugh at the people of 17th, 18th and 19th centuries as being overly verbose and polite, but I think this was due to the culture of letter writers that existed at the time. Perhaps it is time we rediscovered these skills.