Shop-a-what?

Are you a shopaholic? Do you live for the next sale, deal or bargain? I have a confession: I suck at shopping. If someone ever taught a course in this stuff for girls I missed it. I was probably down at the park playing basketball, baseball or hockey depending on the season. As I hit the teen years, I didn't spend much money on clothes, make up or nail polish. Nope, not me. By the time I hit high school, I needed go juice for that four wheeled ticket to freedom more than any pair of jeans.

I've never been much of a girly girl. More book oriented, sporty or techie would be much more descriptive of me. Don't get me wrong. I know how it's done and can play the game with the best of them. I just don't see the point in painting myself up every day for work. My geeky friends and colleagues know what I look like and respect me more for . . . *gasp* . . . my brain than my looks. I just don't see the point in using the stuff when it just wears away, smudges or washes off before I go to bed.

When it comes to clothes, I'm pretty lazy. I like comfort. I like durability. I like classic styles. Why spend $100 on a trendy pair of jeans that you wouldn't be caught dead wearing in 6 months? I can spend $20 on a pair I can wear for years and still look presentable. I'm not even going to talk (much) about what constitutes presentable for jeans in this day and age. If I can see your underwear or any part of your anatomy that shouldn't be showing: butt cracks, belly bulge, love handles, whatever . . . it's not presentable, but that's me.

What does all this have to do with shopping? Well, I shop like a guy. I know what I want I go in and buy it. End of story. I guess that's more hunting than shopping. I buy tech toys, gadgets, DVDs, books, and the like. I do some research, figure out what I want based on features, coolness or potential usefulness and only as an afterthought consider the cost. That is where my money goes. I've cut back A LOT in recent years, but there are times when I cannot resist the latest and greatest toy on the market. For instance, I have cell-phone envy. I'm in a tech world with a tech job. I see gadgets all the time and I want them because they are cool! Wow, you can check your email? Stock report? Traffic? And cook dinner with it? I have got to get me one of those!

Needless to say this means that I need to be aware of the money I spend. Tech toys can really add up fast. Especially in a world where as soon as you buy one something new comes out the next day. Now if I could just figure out how to have all of that and save for emergencies, the future and whatnot . . . I'd be in great shape. All I can say is that I'm working on it.

Manners Online

Web 2.0 was a major move forward in the Internet and allowing of more online interaction and community. There is no doubt that the way we've evolved to interact with each other has embraced the updates in technology. The technology will continue to evolve whether people like it or not. The question becomes: are we all so inured to criticism and feelings that our conduct online is considered appropriate? Have we completely abandoned the concept of manners?

People post things all the time. Personal, technical, opinion, public, anonymous or not: the topics are endless. Some discussions are very civil and stay on topic without degrading into personal attacks or vituperative remarks. Those are the exception rather than the rule, it seems.

No area or subject is immune to comment trolls as I call them. These are the people who take a valid topical discussion and bring in a personal attack that derail everything. Granted, everyone is entitled to their opinion.

My question is: has technology evolved to the point where individuals no longer care that another person is at the other end of the comment, post, article, thread, email, text message or whatever? Have we devolved to the point that manners are not important? We're more and more isolated by technology. Need to contact someone, send a text. Need to discuss details on a project, send an email. Want to comment on a product or technology, make a post on your blog or comment on someone else's blog. Even while we're in social settings, mobile phones and wireless devices keep us abreast of what's going on in the ether. Has someone you know answered a text or responded to an email while you're in their presence in the past week? I bet you have seen this.

Any online offering is subject to this behavior: games, newsgroups, blogs, shopping sites, reviews, etc. At what point do we say enough? Some people admit to being provocative and hostile on purpose. They don't care that others take what has been said personally. Follow up posts telling people not to be so sensitive are not helpful. What is written in text does not contain the nuances of feeling or tone that could make an innocuous message hurtful. Hurtful messages are hurtful regardless.

There are times when unplugging is the right thing to do. What happens when all the good people unplug and leave all the content to the trolls? Given the way technology and industry are going, I don't believe this is going to happen. More people would benefit from "Nettiquite" and better writing classes.

Fool’s Who?

Ok, I'm something of a skeptic. I've spent all day thinking about the fact that it's April Fool's Day. Fell for a couple odd jokes as well along the way. However, given the line of work I'm in, nothing that a customer wants surprises me anymore. That, however, is a topic for another day.

What I don't get is everyone trying so desperately to be funny. Most of this crap isn't funny, not even slightly. Granted, I looked at everything I read today with a jaded eye. If they keep pushing these stories forward on a real news site on any day but today, I'll be absolutely sickened. All I can say is, "Thank GAWD it's almost over."

I'm all for a good joke, but nothing I saw today even remotely resembled a "good joke."