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If you don't have GMAIL already maybe this sounds even creepier to you then to most, but for those of you out there who have subscribed to the gmail revolution, i have to ask: how do you feel about the new "google Paper"???
Let me explain, in case you haven't heard. Gmail, which is google's email server has a function by which you don't need to delete mail but rather can store it in an "archive" (my computer knowledge is low but presumably this means your email is stored on the web in a folder that you can access by sigining into your gmail account). As if this wasn't handy enough google has now decided that they will print out your conversations and mail them to you FREE OF CHARGE!!!!!!!! if you ask them to.
i know if you work in an office this is a huge incentive to make your company's email all GMAIL. that way you can archive conversations and then have someone else do the printing of it all for free...but seriously? who is it who is printing all this?
how are they paying for it all? through ads? how many hands will my conversation pass through before it gets to my door step? are there confidentiality measures in place?
while offering such a ridiculously cutting edge service to is subscribers (who also didn't have to pay to sign up for gmail....) is a fantastic marketing tool, it leaves me a little concerned about the quality of security in the archive function of GMAIL. both the web archive and the paper archive.
is this proof that anyone can get their hands on your email conversations? How does this affect a whole generation of people just coming of age whose entire lives, nearly, will be able to be documented through conversations and email exchanges?
Is this progress in a forward moving direction going to ultimatley be a distraction or an aid?
Isn't it terrible that calling strangers on the phone sometimes seems not worth it? Its awkward. WHY?
I spend hours on the phone with friends all over the world. I can sit and chat about mundane crap with strangers in a bar, cafe, or resteraunt. For some reason, however, calling a stranger on the phone seems horribly awkard.
what do you say on a machine? What if they answer? You never really know how much time you have or what information seems relevant. Is it rude to ask them to call you back? Should you indicate that you'll call back? Do you give them a time frame for response?
HOW DO PEOPLE DO IT?! I think the secret is to be confident in your opening. For example, "hi, I'm so and so from blankedy blank blank." but said with the sheer confidence that blankedy blank blank institution is not only recognizable to this person but is somehow of some interest. it means its a good opener, that they're likely to care what you're asking by virtue of who you are and where you work or what you represent....
And of course, you don't really have to be anyone important to make it sound like you are. That's the trendy part of calling strangers--making yourself confident (before you dial) that the person on the other end of the line WANTS to take your call!
A travel agent. I've always thought that if i needed to pick a career and pick it fast i would want to be a travel agent. How wonderful to plan trips of fantastic proportions how fantastical to think all day about exotic locations and distant destinations.
Now i'm planning a trip for myself and a friend and i've got to say--FRUSTRATING. Its not easy coordinating flights and buses and trains and boats and accomodation. Its not easy lining up in advance what we will want to do for 23 days straight. What will we want to eat, will we be able to find things in a specified price-range.
How much is this going to cost???
that's why being the agent has its perks...you care less how much it will cost. then again, all the frustration none of the reward at the end.
Would you like to work in travel, make your living by planning the trips that come to be the moments that defined a life?
Sounds worth the hassle to me!
A travel agent. I've always thought that if i needed to pick a career and pick it fast i would want to be a travel agent. How wonderful to plan trips of fantastic proportions how fantastical to think all day about exotic locations and distant destinations.
Now i'm planning a trip for myself and a friend and i've got to say--FRUSTRATING. Its not easy coordinating flights and buses and trains and boats and accomodation. Its not easy lining up in advance what we will want to do for 23 days straight. What will we want to eat, will we be able to find things in a specified price-range
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what if i hadn't let you come back with me last night, or what if i had never let you come back with me at all?
how different would my life here have been if you hadn't been a part of it at all? What if you hadn't played the same part? What part have you been? You've been lover and friend, confidant (mistakenly) comerade, commiserate, tutor and crowd-gatherer. What if I hadn't had you to fill those roles? What if the day i got that terrible news i didn't have you to call, to cry to, to ultimatley be frustrated by--what if
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is there some kind of reverse phenomena wherein people who are OBSESSED with music are unable to actually make it?
I've noticed over the course of a few years that some people are drawn to music, as in their ipods are full of obscure bands, they're forever going on about gigs and shows and artists and lyrics. They can pull lyrics from songs out of their heads that meet EVERY occassion, and yet, when you ask them why their love of music never translated into them seeking the ability to produce it they can't answer
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They (people.com) say that peace-sign earrings are back in fashion and the rest of us are left wondering when stick straight hair and bell-bottoms will rush into fashion, too.
Why are the 60s constantly being recycled (and in this case, why did it take so long
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There's a big anti-american protest going on in my city today. Actually, there are heaps of them going on today--they are protesting the American presence in Iraq (this is, afterall, the anniversary of the US' invasion). But the thing about protests is that they often find themselves oh-so-very confused.
I know everyone wants to jump down my throat and yell "american" the moment i critize the protesters and make any indication that America might be right (shudder) and to be clear from the outset, I DO NOT BELIEVE AMERICA IS RIGHT. However, I am an American and do you know what I received from my government the other day?? An email letting me know that the protesters were going to gather at a specific location from specific times and that i should be careful. I should try and avoid the area at those times if at all possible. and do you know why i was sent such an email? Because most of the time the protesters can't tell the difference between the cause they support, the enemy, and people who are on their side
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so i was going to write about democracy promotion and I was going to evaluate it from all different cultural lens and pose to you, all you out there, the questions that are puzzling and stumping the world's leaders....but i received some personal news today that trumps my interest in democracy (and wait til you hear what it is) and so...democracy will have to wait!
I inquired on the state of revenue that THIS blog has generated and do you know what the answer I got was? One dollar and fourteen cents, US (as if that's some sort of consolation--at least its in US currency---please, i'd rather it was in pounds
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A little bit of grace, that's all it takes to have the world asking "what's your secret?"
Its about sauntering off with more dignity than most. Its about the little gestures that no one anticipates (or admits that they expect) but can take quiet pleasure in receiving
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Comment by Joanna
on GOOGLE PAPER ARCHIVE
good prank though