28/09/2008
This is possibly the most uplifting news I’ve heard from a tech-company in a long while. Google has openly stated in a blog post that they oppose a certain proposition that would eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry.
Snipped:
it is the chilling and discriminatory effect of the proposition on many of our employees that brings Google to publicly oppose Proposition 8. While we respect the strongly-held beliefs that people have on both sides of this argument, we see this fundamentally as an issue of equality. We hope that California voters will vote no on Proposition 8 — we should not eliminate anyone’s fundamental rights, whatever their sexuality, to marry the person they love.
I think it’s a bold move for Google to take, but one I think every right-thinking company should take. After all, you don’t find many companies saying they are neutral on segregation between black and white people, do you?
Edit: So has Apple, Adobe, Yahoo and several others! Sanity at last!
Edit 2: I’m that if you heard about this in the first place you’ve also heard that the Proposition passed anyway. To which I can only respond: “Fuck you California. No really, Fuck you!”
13/09/2008
Every once in a while in between loads of spam someone adds a thoughtful comment on a blog. Nothing particularly interesting to other readers perhaps, just a “Good job”, “Well put” or “Thanks for sharing”. It’s a wonderful thing to anyone that ever puts a bit of heart into a post and if you’re anything like me (and why wouldn’t you be?) you treasure these comments. We raise our voice, sadly, more often in disapproval than support, and the friendly nod or encouraging smile that is so inexpensive to give and so valuable to receive in meatspace is fraught with barriers on the internet. You may agree with someone in a heated discussion but not wish to get involved or publicly make a stand in the matter. You may not want to register or leave your email or you may just feel that wording your approval is too much of a hassle.
Call me a sucker for praise or an insecure sissy if you will, but there’s no denying the basic human need of positive feedback from your peers. Don’t take my word for it, take Maslows.
Read the rest of this article »
3/09/2008
Chrome!
And that’s all I have to say about that.
20/05/2008
One of the really shitty sides to bipolarity for me has been the exceptional ease with which I ignored bills and debts during both the up and down periods. Whether I was too depressed to manage or too manic to care doesn’t really make a difference. The result is that I find myself today in debt. Badly. No really badly.
Ever since I started taking some responsibility and pills I’ve been on the case of getting straight with all my creditors. It’s an uphill battle, let me tell you.
I estimate that the 7 months or so I’ve shilled about $18.000 in old debts. Now, that’s on top of the rent and regular expenses, so on my salary (which isn’t all that bad) it leaves a pretty hard dent in my pocket. This, as so many things, would not have been possible without my girlfriend. It may sound pretty fucked up to anyone who hasn’t had this problem, but getting past that dread of window envelopes is a pretty rough deal. And don’t get me started on just how fucking depressing it is to keep being surprised by some new gargantuan debt every time you think you’re starting to get control of the situation.
The important thing is to just keep chopping away at that mountain as long as it takes, and be upfront with all your creditors. Some day I’ll be out of debt. Just not some day soon.