So I went back to Borders. They send me coupons, I go back to buy books. It’s a lovely relationship. Bought the second FAT volume of Robert Aspirin’s Myth Adventures- haven’t even begun to read the first FAT volume. The covers are a bit outre, but colorful – and the books are H.U.G.E. This pleases me so muchly, because it means that once I climb into the book, I can stay for a long time. Nice.
Also, wordplay runs rampant, I suspect, through both books.Yes!
Fast: Signed up for Bloglines and Xanga.
Bloglines = confusing, frustrating, intractable
Xanga = confusing, forgiving
I’ll go back and work on these again; doing the sign up/first post thing at the end of the day may be creatively fun, but it’s also extra-taxing for my weary brain. Early mornings should be better.
See? FAST!!
Or should that be Userid World? Beats me. I’ve been doing this internet signing up thing for a relatively short time: since the end of 2006. Not so long. In the world of the ‘net, forever, but for me, just a blip of time. Every now and then I do a sign-up thing (yes, that’s exactly what I call it) and scan the feeds, the newspaper, other peoples’ posts and blogs, for interesting sites and providers and then SIGN UP. For several. Just to do it. Just to try it. Just to learn from it.
Because I can.
Two results: an array of blogs and other platforms that beckon throughout the day AND a blossoming list of userids and passwords.
If I were a Social Psychology major, as I once was, I’d do a paper or two on how people create and manage these human tags. I’d ask:
How many do you have? Where do you keep them? On paper? On your computer? Both? Just in your brain?
How did you think of them? Whose name did you take in vain, break up, spell backwards, whatever? Do you use upper and lower case? How upset do you get when you can’t remember them? Do you tell anyone these things? Do you post them on your computer, for all to see?
What feelings do you get when you use a password or userid that you wish you hadn’ t created and now can’t change?
Could your loved ones guess them, just in case?
Questions like that. Why? Because there’s a magic to it, that process; and I know this because I’ve felt it, and because I’ve been asking people, informally, in passing, in waiting rooms, at the store, wherever; whenever they’ll talk to me about them.
My “survey” has produced some interesting results – will share one tidbit now: out of 20 people asked, only one answered YES, to this:
”Do you know ‘by heart’ one of your passwords?”
This man offered to tell it to me. I declined. He offered two more times before I convinced him I really didn’t want to know.
More later. In the meantime, give it some thought, that special process, of creating our “human tags.”
Or anyone else’s. So stop wishing me Happy Mother’s Day!
When you do that, you dilute the honor of the thing: mothers do a difficult job. I certainly wouldn’t want to do it. If you say “Happy Mother’s Day” to everyone, what’s the point?
And then there’s biology. Wishing a 10-year old girl Happy Mother’s Day makes little sense.
And what about those people who just “lost” babies, children? Maybe the mother isn’t a mother anymore, and is devastated? And what about the people who’ve recently “lost” a mother? Can you imagine the pain you cause?
I don’t care about your intentions – I don’t care that the store you work for MAKES you do it. Stop it. Now.
Don’t wish me or anyone BUT YOUR OWN MOTHER a “Happy Mother’s Day.” And OK, if your Mom’s not around or if you have a near-Mother, or stepmother, or whatever, fine. Wish them anything you want.
But remember: I am not your mother.
