I meant to post these a long time ago. My friend Erin's aunt works for the White Sox. She's a very good person to know. The seats we got to this game were on the front row, right next to the Twins' dugout. It was awesome!!!
Monday, June 16, 2008
Is Google Making Us Stoopid?
Atlantic Magazine poses an interesting question this issue. Is Google making us stupid?
I've often thought how different my life would be if I didn't have the internet close at hand. I use it to read the news, communicate, check my bank account, shop, find phone numbers, restaurant reviews, etc., etc. I don't really feel the need to remember anything because I can just quickly look up anything I need.
Ironically, the internet went down in my office this morning. I couldn't do anything! I had to call a money management firm and couldn't find its number. I didn't even know where to look -- we don't have phone books anymore! Basically, I sat around and waited for the internet to come back up. The Atlantic article argues (in part) that the internet has made it much more difficult for us to focus for long periods of time on a singular text. We want to jump around all the time. The Wikipedia of the brain, so to say. I definitely find myself having difficulty focusing on a long article (such as the Google article.) This isn't too far off what Neil Postman argued in Amusing Oursevles to Death.
I've often thought how different my life would be if I didn't have the internet close at hand. I use it to read the news, communicate, check my bank account, shop, find phone numbers, restaurant reviews, etc., etc. I don't really feel the need to remember anything because I can just quickly look up anything I need.
Ironically, the internet went down in my office this morning. I couldn't do anything! I had to call a money management firm and couldn't find its number. I didn't even know where to look -- we don't have phone books anymore! Basically, I sat around and waited for the internet to come back up. The Atlantic article argues (in part) that the internet has made it much more difficult for us to focus for long periods of time on a singular text. We want to jump around all the time. The Wikipedia of the brain, so to say. I definitely find myself having difficulty focusing on a long article (such as the Google article.) This isn't too far off what Neil Postman argued in Amusing Oursevles to Death.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Wrigley tour
I went on a tour of Wrigley Field with the KU Alumni Association yesterday. It was really interesting. There's so much history at Wrigley. It's a rare thing to see. And the other great thing about Wrigley is that it's in the middle of a neighborhood, not surrounded by parking and highways. It just feels so accessible. A treat for sure!
The Cubs' locker room
Carlos Zambrano's locker
Going into the locker room
My friend Scott hanging out by Tom Glavine's locker
Look at how much stuff they have in the visitor's locker room bathroom!
In the press room
Kaitlin and Scott out on the field.
The Cubs' locker room
Carlos Zambrano's locker
Going into the locker room
My friend Scott hanging out by Tom Glavine's locker
Look at how much stuff they have in the visitor's locker room bathroom!
In the press room
Kaitlin and Scott out on the field.Friday, June 13, 2008
It's been some time
So, I got an e-mail offering me $50 for this address since I hadn't updated it in eons. It could have been a scam, but I needed it to get my butt motivated to blog again! I was like, oh no dude, Jbyrdie's Nest is mine!! I stopped blogging for a long time because my old computer was moving so slow. But now that I have a new one and have actually settled down in a place to live, I'm out of excuses.
Well, very sad news today. Tim Russert died. I used to love watching Meet the Press. I kind of stopped for a while when I got disenchanted with politics but I always thought Tim was great. Of course the first thing that came to my mind when I heard the news was that his death was probably a heart attack and must have had something to do with the stress of the news business. One of my friends pointed out that it also probably had a lot to do with all the medium rare steaks! Everyone has stress in their jobs. It's just so important to let it not be all consuming. But at least Tim seemed to LOVE what he did. So, RIP, Tim Russert.
Well, very sad news today. Tim Russert died. I used to love watching Meet the Press. I kind of stopped for a while when I got disenchanted with politics but I always thought Tim was great. Of course the first thing that came to my mind when I heard the news was that his death was probably a heart attack and must have had something to do with the stress of the news business. One of my friends pointed out that it also probably had a lot to do with all the medium rare steaks! Everyone has stress in their jobs. It's just so important to let it not be all consuming. But at least Tim seemed to LOVE what he did. So, RIP, Tim Russert.
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