State of the world fireside chat

Just when it seems our economy may be avoiding a double dip recession, European and Asian markets go and wet themselves and the whole system starts to shake.

The job market here in Tacoma could be better and unemployment rates nationwide are high. I don’t think unemployment rates have anything to do with Obama policy, but many people believe they do. Our nation is in an odd situation. The 90’s were fueled by the technological revolution and then suddenly the fruits of this revolution created a yellow brick road to widespread outsourcing of labor and importing of goods. I’m not talking about Walmart buying from China and selling to you.. I’m talking about you now having access to bottom dollar doohickeys straight from Chinese sellers online. Ebay, Amazon and individual websites across the innersphere are chock-full of deals that grossly undercut even Walmart prices. This is often irresistible to the consumer.

And so the story goes. People hollering, demanding politicians make new jobs out of thin air and political hocus-pocus.

IMHO, Politics and tax manipulation will not be key elements for creating the majority of jobs for the future. I don’t care if you are on the left or the right of me; I’m walking the line of reality not principle – application, not ideology. The lost jobs in old, cash cow industries of the late 20th Century are never coming back. If you are on the sidelines waiting for your industry to “pick back up” you are probably going to need to consider a different angle.

The only thing that will save our economy, and the global 1st/2nd world economy for that matter, is innovation. Invention. Without it we are in big trouble. What is the next realm of life-changing innovation? I am stumped. The world is stumped. I do, however, doubt that fancy technology will be the ticket.

Most of the world seems to believe new technology drives all significant current and future innovation.

Consider this: I can already get my current GPS coordinates from a satellite and send them to you with a picture of my smiling face, order a pizza, play multiple games of scrabble and chess with friends from the real world, converse with Alec Baldwin on twitter, buy music, sell used pants and publish information accessible within seconds to anyone in the entire world… from a handheld device in my bathtub.

Advances in technology are becoming expected and/or ho-hum. Might the next, truly BIG THING not involve cutting edge technology at all?

Middle of the road

Why do so many people walk or jog down the middle of the road in North Tacoma? It seems every day I see folks who opt out of our more-than-adequate sidewalks in favor of danger and excitement provided by the middle of the street. Is it because they’ve tripped over imperfections on the sidewalk in the past? Better view of houses from the street? Death wish?

Puzzling.

Attention Google: you’re in trouble

HI, YOU’VE REACHED THE NEWLY CONJOINED SEARCH MONSTER OF MICROSOFT AND YAHOO, FEATURING AMAZING DAILY PHOTOGRAPHY, AND A VARIETY OF EDUCATIONAL CONTENT TO COMPLEMENT OUR TRADITIONAL WEB SEARCH FUNCTION. WE WILL WORK FROM A COUPLE DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES, AND MAYBE EVEN PROVIDE SEARCH RESULTS THAT CHANGE REGULARLY AFTER INTERACTING WITH USERS TO FIND OUT WHAT THEY ACTUALLY GIVE A SHIT ABOUT IN SEARCH RESULT PAGES! PLEASE LEAVE YOUR MESSAGE AFTER THE TONE……… BING!!!

“Hey, Google here… We’re not happy about this at all. It looks like we should have focused on improving our look, our search algorithm and our online advertising program a long time ago. At the very least, we could have taken a few more bong hits, watched Star Wars a few more times and just bought Yahoo ourselves. Unfortunately, we’ve been super busy with our head up our ass creating a million new things for which many people could certainly care less. What do we do now?? Photos are cool, right? Hey, have you seen the truly lame ground photos we’ve taken of practically every street in the world? That’s almost cool, right?”

Volcano Spew temporarily dormant?

Is the Weekly Volcano downsizing? Reorganizing? Shape-shifting? Dieting?

As I regularly browse the Volcano over coffee and breakfast, I hope for an as-close-to-full-strength-as-possible Weekly Volcano to continue entertaining me for the foreseeable future. I would like to start the unofficial “Keep the Volcano Active!” club, as of this writing.

There are other perspectives, however. A long-time contributor to feed>>tacoma, Dave L, has a great idea: “Maybe do the back Volcano-section upside down so either the Volcano or the Ranger is in front, depending on how you hold it.”

Not bad. I can live with this. The concept has conservation at its core. Nothing’s more sustainably hip than that.

Whatever it takes, I will be patient with them as they attempt to adapt to our changing economic environment. If you are a fan of keeping things local, you should be patient with them as well. It worries me to think of our local cultural reporting stream coming from a non-really-local group. Don’t let the Stranger or other outside organizations in on Tacoma’s arts & entertainment scene! I love the Stranger, but it belongs to Seattle. Tacoma needs a homegrown outlet.

Revolution. Reunion.

As everybody knows, the Facebook thing is completely bonkers. It is exercising viral domination on society like nothing I’ve seen prior, and along the way it is reshaping our culture. Email is a nifty idea. It provides a way to keep in touch with people you otherwise would not keep in touch with. Facebook takes this to an absolute extreme by putting you in touch with people you forgot you knew in the first place.

It used to take a class president hours to organize a mediocre reunion for one class back in the day. With the help of Facebook, a few girls from Lakewood have launched their own reunion. Not just for a graduating class at a particular school, but a sort of open invite to people from an entire town, from an entire era. The 80’s and 90’s era Lakewood kids have been summoned.

The Hub on Tacoma Ave near Stadium High School will be the location, and I am curious to see the extent of the actual turnout. It has been discussed that there will be many no-shows, but also that there will be plenty of attendees who don’t even participate in Facebook. At last count, the official “yes” RSVP’s totalled 26. I have this sneaking suspicion that there will be a lot more than 26 people there, but we’ll find out tonight. See you there!

Inaugural Lakehood Reunion, 8:30pm

THE HUB
203 Tacoma Ave S
Tacoma, WA
(253) 683-4601