Green Oasis

I am grateful…

1. … that all the math that is involved in my current class is soaking in. I’ve finally learned how to study regularly.
2. … for the generous spirit that pervades the intertubes and leads us to share our knowledge with others. Case in point: Academic Earth.
3. … for the family-focused attitude that I learned from my own family, and yes, the Mormon church.
4. … for all the wonderful books out there, more than I’ll ever be able to read.
5. … to live without constant fear.

I am grateful for …

1. … my older daughter: her curiousity, her intellectual enthusiasm, how considerate of others’ feelings she can be, how loving she is.
2. … my younger daughter: her joi d’vivre, her tender heart, her beautiful laugh, her willingness to share.
3. … my wife who treats me better than she should and is generally more wonderful than I deserve.
4. … the clothes on my back: that they’re clean, that I don’t have to wear the same clothes every day, that I don’t have to walk around naked (I’m sure it’s not as fun as it sounds).
5. … the internet and how connected it is making our world.

Valkenburg and Peter have an idea about this. They believe that the 21st century Internet encourages honest talking about very personal issues—feelings, worries, vulnerabilities—that are difficult for many self-conscious teens to talk about. When they communicate through the Internet, they have fewer sounds and sights and social cues to distract them, so they become less concerned with how others perceive them. This in turn reduces inhibition, leading to unusually intimate talk. This emotionally liberating frankness is healthy and tonic. (Coming of Age on the Internet)

I resemble that remark!

Compare and contrast with Snark Undermines Public Discourse.

Bruce Schneier pointed me to a scary development: the FBI can now get a warrant and confiscate your computer equipment indefinitely because you clicked on a link (or someone sent you an email with an illegal embedded image, or embedded an illegal image on a website you innocently visited, or your web browser pre-fetched the image, or someone uses your open wireless connection to access the image, etc.) all with court approval.

As one commenter on Schneier’s blog pointed out, the FBI has basically stooped to entrapment through Rickrolling.