In A California Minute

Summarized Cliffsnotes.

Cliffsnotes are getting even more abbreviated. Specifically, the mini-books are getting translated into 1 minute digital videos to be distributed by AOL.

If we are becoming too lazy to read Cliffsnotes, what does this say about our attention spans?

You can read more about this transformation in this article.

Skypecasted.

I'm still finding my Skype legs. But gradually, I'm becoming increasingly comfortable with speaking aloud to my computer screen. It's still weird. Up until now, I've felt that I've had to catch up to those already versed in video chatting. However, a recent interview on NPR led me to believe that Skype (and I refer exclusively to its video chat function) is an honor to the older folks.

Texting is the communication of the future. This was a problem stated by the particular author in the Science Friday interview. And because younger generations are relying so heavily on texting, they run the risk of retarding their inter-personal skills. Reading mannerisms, facial gestures, voice articulations - these will be foreign to them.

With Skype, we get the best of both worlds. Along with the convenience of digital communication, we can see the other person face to face. It's even a step up from the ol' phone call. Could Skype save us?

The Paradox of Our Age

We have bigger houses but smaller families;
more conveniences, but less time;
We have more degrees, but less sense;
more knowledge, but less judgement;
more experts, but more problems;
more medicines, but less healthiness;
We've been all the way to the moon and back,
but have trouble crossing the street to meet
the new neighbor.
We build more computers to hold more
information to produce more copies then ever,
but have less communication;
We have become long on quantity,
but short on quality.
These are times of fast foods
but slow digestion;
Tall men but short character;
Steep profits but shallow relationships.
It's a time when there is much in the window,
but nothing in the room.

- Dalai Lama

Green Tea Blues

Last night I dreamed that I looked up the word sanctum.

The online dictionary defined it as a place to put things, a bed. I distinctly remember it saying this: sanctum is a _____ _____. For some reason, I interpreted the blank spaces as a a graphical representation of a floor. Perhaps dictionary.com is taking a new approach to their definitions.

The correct definition of sanctum is:

a sacred place to retreat

It appears that my subconscious was partially correct.

Does this mean I should just look to myself for answers more often?

There are things in life more important than money.