Ironically a Post on Twitter

Since I am forcing a bunch of students to write blogs for my own personal amusement, I figured I might as well make one myself.

Today I saw my girlfriend, went to class and made smalltalk with the people there, but spent most of my day sitting at my computer reading the news and other such things. Funny thing is that I feel like I have been sitting with a bunch of people.

Thanks to Twitter I am connected to so many people. For example, my co-TA Whit and I have probably never been closer since we started twittering. Likewise, there are many people whom I know but rarely see in person whom I feel like I know way too well thanks to Twitter. On top of this I am in very close contact with some of my favorite writers, bloggers, and artists who all let me into their lives with every twitter they make.

To be so close to these all these people is amazing, but the most interesting thing about it all is not what Wil Wheaton had for breakfast that day, but that we are all part of the same culture.

We are all feeling the same things for the deaths of people we cared about, for the little news articles that move the world slightly, and for everything else that we are all seeing and experiencing all at once. it is sort of like if the Borg were able to have individuality and share their thoughts all at the same time.

I was never truly convinced of all the Web 2.0 technologies that we had before, but Twitter is showing just one, very simple, way in which we are all connected. This feeling is no where for me in blogs or social network sites or anywhere else on the Web.

This is because twittering is spontaneous for all of us. It isn't edited beyond the moment it is written. Few twitters are worth reading too far into the past as well. Each twitter is just like so much of our lives, seemingly unimportant unless watched continuously. And as we follow each other we begin to develop a deep sense of community that is not intrusive, but totally comforting.

I'm Just Sayin

My Honors thesis has been justified or shown to be worth nothing by three New York hipsters.

Being Thankful

Life is pretty good. I have good family, good friends, and good food. I also had a $15 beer today. Life is pretty much wonderful.

Thanks to all who made it so.

This was an okay Monday.

I have a little more work to do before I can take most of tomorrow off, so I have to save my writing for places were I get grades.

- I presented the presentation over Saudi Arabia today. For having been so quickly put together it came out quite well.

- I went to the Bear's Den twice today. Once I had a few drinks before my afternoon class. The second time I had a few more drinks right after my afternoon class. There is just a really good felling about drinking with friends that I forget sometimes.

- I saw a foreign film. It was pretty good. Not depressing like so many others.

- I totally disagree with Donna's and Hannah's score for HIMYM tonight. While I might be willing to give it a low B, I don't see how anyone could give it an A. There was something about the pacing of it tonight that just didn't feel right, but I guess that was just me.

Late Night, Early Morning

I often debate with myself over which I should choose. One one side there is the idea of staying up to get things done, but the other side of just sleeping so that I won't be distracted by being tired also seems swell.

This never ends well. No matter what happens I will sleep at some point and I will get the work done. Just whether or not I get done when I wanted to is the thing.

To all of this I decide often that it is just as well that I sleep. At least then I will not have to have the debate anymore because that won't be an option.

Getting Cold Enough?

I always find that my sinuses seem to be much more sensitive to the temperature than I ever am. This creates a period of two or there weeks in which I am in a constant state of confusion as to why my nose does not want me to get that precious, precious oxygen.

I am pretty sure that this could be fixed if I could just stop changing the temperature of my surroundings. If I could know that going from building to building for class and the temperature for the short dashes between buildings would all just be the same I would be happy to take a more extreme temperature even. Just so long as it is the same.

Playing AMUN

Today I got to co-chair the Security Council for simulation involving a bunch of high school kids. I will continue to do so tomorrow.

I started doing this a few years ago as a way to make a few extra points in a class on the UN, but then I found that it was basically something that I really enjoy. It is a role playing game that gets the people playing to play as world leaders. The delegates then get to solve the world's problems by using their powers of coercion and compromise with their fellow delegates. Meanwhile, I make sure Robert looks down upon us and sees order.

For me this is the closest I have ever gotten to playing any kind of table top RPG. Mostly this is because I have never really found anyone that shares the same mix of love and ironic disdain for a game like D&D to play with. But, I love the way that you have a group of players all out for themselves but being forced to work together by a powerful force in the Dungeon Master. If done well everyone involved feels pretty good. The players with a bit of luck and skill have conquered the challenge, and the DM has made a fun story that will be remembered by all who got to be a part of it.

With the AMUN this is hard to do. There are so many people playing that compromise is rarely going to lead to action, but there is always the chance that you can get Russia to at least not disagree with what's going on. Or maybe you can get the France and China to but author a bill about Africa. Sure it might not be totally in character, but it can still be rewarding.