YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Va. Assembly Gives Final Approval to Smoking Ban

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/19/AR2009021901904.html?hpid=topnews

The Kojo Nnamdi Show: Social Networking: Hazards and Opportunities

listening to the Kojo Show today

http://wamu.org/audio/kn/09/02/k1090217-20744.asx

There is so much hype now about facebook and other social networking security issues.  I personally am mortified that employers are using social networking sites to spy on prospective employees and threaten current employees with termination.  I'd like to see what types of companies are actually monitoring these activities.  Also, the E-policy Institute talking about IP blocking?  That is ridiculous to me.  All those companies are working on an old model where the employer holds complete power over the employee and hampers creativity and focuses on weaknesses.  This mentality leads to less productivity and happiness in the long run, but it's not apparent since there are so few employers following a well thought out business model of encouraging strengths within their employees.

Also, Journalists using facebook?  WTF!? That's worse than citing wikipedia!  Maybe I'm old guard, but the idea that personal and public facades are different things rings true with me.  Possibly because I am a Gemini, but there are always different facets to a person, and the ones that come out on the weekend or after hours be that a kayaker, or a goth club dancer, does not, and should not be any indication of your performance at your job, unless of course it leaks over and affects your performance on a regular basis.

I know that the workforce is moving towards a lifestyle that has occupation and the rest of life tightly integrated, but there needs to be room for individuals to choose to draw a line between the two.

OK also, you're friends with your students?  Bad Call.

There is also a disconnect between those that have grown up with FB as a strictly social tool for college students to connect to each other, and those that see FB as an opportunity to connect in a professional space and attempt to monetize their network of contacts.  It's the second group, those that are using a social network for business purposes, that are making social networking sites a dangerous place.

The most lucid point I've heard so far has been from Jamie from Chevy Chase ~41 min.  His point reinforces my ideas that companies need to change their policy in the face of new technology.  Nancy Flynn and her hands off "well, there's not much we can do!" attitude is starting to really irritate me.  She vaults the importance of the company's rights over the individual.

A decent show and well worth listening to, but I'd like to see some numbers and hard facts from the ePolicy Institute.  A quick look at the website reveals no testimonials, and a shoddy attempt and selling Nancy's books and seminars.

Buddhist Economics

BUDDHIST ECONOMICS

by E. F. Schumacher

Great read, particularly in these economic and environmental times.  Some of the talk about consumption gets a bit convoluted, but the message is still there.  It's a way of thought that I haven't always subscribed to, but I know it's never been very far away.

January Bike progress

So it's the end of January and time to weigh in on my progress towards a 2000 mile year. With the freezing temperatures and the Inauguration, I don't feel quite so bad about only racking up 83 miles this month. I imagine it's about 1/3 of what it would be if the weather here matched that of SF. So here's the graph, and I can only dream of warmer weather and some long spring weekend rides.

Inauguration

I was woken up at 7:30am by a friend in Japan watching live streaming video of millions of people gathering less than a mile from my house. After a hearty breakfast and eight layers of clothing, I grabbed a thermos of tea and a bottle of water and headed out in to the madness of DC.


The town seemed relatively calm for being so crowded and I made my way up Massachusetts Ave to the bike valet at 16th & K where I would be parking bikes for the next four and a half hours.

The valet went really smooth thanks to WABA and all the volunteers, we had to ad-lib an overflow bike valet when we filled up around bike 996. I counted as high as 1148 before I left at 3.30pm


Afterwards, I spent some time biking around photographing and taking video of the aftermath of the parade. The atmosphere was surreal, somewhere between mardi gras and wasteland. I couldn't help but think of 28 days as I floated through the city, buses blocking streets, trash blowing in the wind, and people milling about in the streets, ignoring crosswalks and the constant alarm of police sirens. Take a look for yourself.

Two Challenges for the New Year

Make a resolution, stick with it for a few weeks, and then the new habits fade into a pile of well intentioned scraps. Instead of following through with those this year, I'm issuing myself two challenges for 2009 and encouraging everyone else to do the same. The second one just came to me, so here they are before I get any more bright ideas.

Challenge #1

Bike 2,000 miles this year. Given the adverse weather conditions, it's a challenge that is slightly more daunting than if I were still in California, but I'm hoping that the good weather and number of bike related events in DC will keep me on two wheels and average of 39 miles per week. I'm going to keep track and try to post results month by month here on the blog.

Challenge #2

Volunteer at least 100 hours of my time this year. I've been involved in volunteer nights for WABA, and I've been talking about Phonenix bikes. It's time to shoot for the moon! It's just under 2 hours per week, and if I can sacrifice a few weekends here and there, I think it isn't such an impossibility! I guess I should keep track of that too!

Internet Evil

Here's something for those of you that are not suffering financially in these times and may want to waste a TON of cash. Please keep the following site away from anyone with Social Security checks, or your loved ones!

Swoopo is EVIL!