Internet Service

This is directed primarily at my Alma Matter, Western State College (now Western State Colorado University; that's right, without any punctuation.)

Enabling people to do things online should not be a complete substitute for customer service. When someone takes the time to journey into an office to ask somethings such as, "hey, I'm looking to get an Official Transcript, because I need one for my job." they should not be told: "Go online, go away."

Because they are not online; they are in her office.

Perhaps, instead, she can tell them, "you can do all this online, you know. You don't have to traipse all the way up here!"

"Uh...." he'll say, sheepishly, "Right. Shoulda known that. Of course. Internet. Forgot about that."

"But, since you're already here, I can put that order in for you. Where would you like it sent? Or would you just like to pick them up here in a week or two?" or whatever it takes to get an Official Stamped Sealed Notarized Cauterized Ledgerized Legalized Transcript.

Why can she only take orders from a computer? What ever happened to human interaction? Why do I sound like a 60 year old complaining about all this new-fanged technology even though I'm in my 2nd decade?

I kinda hope that my school collapses, as I predict it will. But I'm afraid that everyone is doing this. I know you can't apply for a soul-sucking dead-end job at a box store with an application and resume anymore. Because.. i've tried... No, the only way it is possible to apply is by submitting a Standardized Test Style Application online. Then, you're placed in a virtual pile of 10K other applications which will never be read.

But The Trick to getting out of that virtual pile is still to go in person to the store, find the managers, shake their hands, make them laugh, and get them to remember your name. Then, they'll look (or search) for your application and hire you.


Especially if you make them laugh. In a good natured and clean sort of way.

The Shack by William P. Young (2007)

As always, the people on the back of this book have wonderful things to say about it. They are all bubbles and praise.

But I cannot bring myself to praise this book. I find it to be a Headache, but not in the way that the author wanted it to be.

First of all, I will dispense some advise: to anyone who is thinking about reading The Shack, is pretty sure they want to read this book, or is about to start reading this book. What ever you do, skip the Forward. The forward is a big hurdle for me. Something about how I read and interact with characters... it has presented the single biggest problem I have. In the forward, the character Mackenzie is told to be a very smart guy. Able to converse in a wide variety of topics well. He's smart, smart, smart and an all around cool guy.

But in the story, Mack is about as dumb as a salamander. His rain don't quite reach the ground. Mack's entire purpose in this story is to inanely ask the same question (on behalf of the reader) about a half a dozen times and still not quite get it. But always be blown away. There is not a time in the book when his head isn't filled, his processors overloaded. He's always about to blow a circuit. Always. Always.... Always....

It gets really tiresome. Mack is the source of my headache. I really cannot abide him. Look, I don't quite buy the book; I don't think it is the word of God! or anything. But I get it. I can follow most of the thoughts and the arguments. Don't agree with it all. I think Will thinks contradiction and conundrum equal wisdom. But I get it. I think most people will get it. I think most people have heard all of this stuff before. But Mack? Oi.

The entire book gets really tiresome. It's like Ishmael. I know there are a lot of people who were impressed by that book as well, and to those who are: you could quite possibly like The Shack.

But I didn't like Ishmale, in the end, I couldn't finish it. And I don't like The Shack. They are very similar books. They were created the same way and for a similar purpose, and both will be hard to finish if you don't like Choose Your Own Adventure books when you aren't even allowed to chose your adventure.

These books are a chance to preach. One of the characters in the book acts as a stand in for you. They are the audience and they ask a few questions and are told answers. The other character in the book is a stand in for the author. They set themselves up as some arbiter of good information that you should follow, they try to predict your questions and the difficulties you might have with the philosophies disposed, and they preach to you.

It is a hard thing to do with a book for a book is not a dialog. A book is static. What if you have a different question? You cannot ask the book it and expect a response.

But, oh, how I wish I could ask it questions. I would have a lot to say.

The Shack's existence is really an oxymoron. One of it's omnipresent themes is that we should not live by rules (Will seems to trust in anarchy...), and that God does not tell us how to live. But his book sure does.

Institutions are bad! Oh, and we created the Missy Project!
People tend to take their best characteristics, magnify them, project them, and assume that God is like that, but God is More Than That (says the God character in the book)....who is a projection of Will...
Mack is Smart! As eating lead paint.

Really, though, I am too hard on this book. It's because I'm at the end, and it's been going downhill for the last 100 pages. Earlier, it wasn't so bad. There are some good things in it; they just get horribly overshadowed by the end. Then the book falls apart. I'm a little regretful that I picked it up in the first place.

On the bright side, talking about religion always gives me a lot of philosophical exercise.

Guilt Power!

Apparently, Guilt is a great tool for getting people to behave well.

According to this little study, there is a pretty decent correlation to how guilty people feel and how greenly they consume.

America, that cesspit of Satan's Society, cares, a little--about a quarter as much as Indians-- but is the least green place on the planet. Surprise. I suppose I might feel a little better here than in Germany. Though they actually consume a little more appropriately, they don't care too much about the environment.

The lesson to be learned from this: guilt your friends. Environmentalists the world over: play the guilt game. It has a good chance of helping out. At least in the short term. Point out when people buy something that was shipped 10,000 miles; tell your friends when they leave the window open and the furnace on that they are horrible, awful, no good, very bad people; berate people for driving a few blocks and tell them the stories of poor African villages being polluted; laugh at people stupid enough to belive Global Warming is a hoax like the moon landing; ask people if they like forests being plowed up for coal just because they can't be bothered to unplug/turn off unused electric appliances.

It may not be a good way to make friends, but maybe it'll help make a difference.