Author: loughlin
The Best of Miss Sweetie Poo
This feature would be extremely useful for meetings of any type, anywhere.
Also Sprach Zarathustra
Image via weheartit.com
A letter to the editor of the Irish Independent, published August 16, 2010. Full text reproduced below for posterity.
with regards to the comments made by Senator Liam Twomey regarding Brian Lenihan’s illness, and his ability to manage the finances of the State (‘Lenihan should resign because of ill health, says FG senator, Irish Independent, August 13), I am not a medical professional or a doctor like the senator, so I will not disagree with his diagnosis.
The point that irked me most about the senator’s comments is the increasingly disturbing trend by politicians, journalists and commentators to refer or compare the country we live in as a business, a corporation or a private limited company.
Mr Twomey’s remark that “Brian Lenihan is essentially managing a €50bn enterprise” is becoming typical of the way politicians see how this State runs and how they view the voting, but silent, majority of the public.
I do not live in Mussolini’s Italy.
This attitude of senior politicians is highly offensive to someone who has paid tax all through his career, who has avoided breaking the law and who has always supported the democratic process.
I have done all of the above — not due to fear of imprisonment or threats but because I believe in a State as an institution designed for the betterment of all; and via my taxes, good citizenship and sweat off my back, I am contributing to the country’s advancement.
When I work my eight- plus hours a day and finish for the evening, the moment I leave my office I am a free man. I am not a 24-hour worker in EireCorp. I resent being seen as taxable-income source in the good times and an overvalued asset in the bad.
The taxes I pay, I expect to go to works of public importance or high-priority facilities. I do not think that Mr Lenihan or Brian Cowen is my superior, or employer, for that matter.
I never got a wage packet from the State.
Mr Twomey, we the people are not workers in the great Ireland PLC: we will pay our taxes.
We will even pay more taxes, if required.
But we will not be told we are bottom-of-the-ladder workers in the fantasy corporation you live in.
Do not take your party’s victory in the next election as a sure thing.
Freddy Nietzy
DUBLIN 7
I predict a riot
To mark the start of yet another Premiership season. Memories.
In 1996 Graham Souness did his bit to further reconciliation on the football field. Oh, wait …
It’s Funny Because …
Google – Don’t Be Honest?
Mobile openness is the tool of the outsider, not the incumbent. Google is now registering some 200,000 Android handsets every day. Phone-to-phone, Android is now outselling the iPhone. Google doesn’t need openness anymore.
via wired.com
Ad Troll
“Internet Population Now Mostly Unable To Distinguish Between Advertising And Reality”
I saw multiple people on Twitter praising her bravery and hailing her as a hero. Seriously people, it didn’t look even slightly set up and scripted to you?
Some context here.
More from Jesse Schell
Here’s his full presentation from 2010 D.I.C.E. summit, ‘Design Outside the Box’
Go here for a comprehensive round-up of responses.
2010 Social Networking Map
Click to embiggen.
Weekend reading
Secret of Googlenomics: Data-Fueled Recipe Brews Profitability
“Selling ads doesn’t generate only profits; it also generates torrents of data about users’ tastes and habits, data that Google then sifts and processes in order to predict future consumer behavior, find ways to improve its products, and sell more ads. This is the heart and soul of Googlenomics.”
Students finally wake up to Facebook privacy issues
“young people are very engaged with the privacy settings on Facebook, contrary to the popular belief that their age group is reckless with what they post publicly.”
“I need my umlaut,” Blomkvist said. “What if I want to go to Svavelsjö? Or Strängnäs? Or Södertälje? What if I want to write to Wadensjö? Or Ekström or Nyström?”
Related to this, Stieg Larsson recently became the first member of Amazon’s ‘Kindle Million Club.
The Web’s New Gold Mine: Your Secrets
“We can segment it all the way down to one person,” says Eric Porres, Lotame’s chief marketing officer.
I think Mr. Porres may have lost the meaning of market segment (which implies groups sharing certain characteristics) in his excitement about his company’s technology. A question I’d be interested in is whether the law of repetition in advertising holds true for online ads that “follow people around the Internet”? A host of ads for Evony have followed me around the Internet for well over a year now and I have so far clicked on none of them. Context is also relevant here – will users be more prepared to click on ads on certain sites?