Wired’s article on Silicon Valley recruiters is enlightening if you haven’t run across the concept of the power broker recruiter before. The valley’s best and brightest are akin to Hollywood stars with their agents tracking down hot leads for new companies and enticing positions. I feel lucky to have cultivated solid relationships with three decent, straight-shooting recruiters over the years, using them for hiring and finding new jobs for myself. They know to check in every once in a while and they know my personality quite well. And I know they won’t screw me over. They try to be persuasive, of course, but they know when to stop. The biggest gold mine of jobs for me, though? People I’ve worked with before. It is so comforting to have a network of contacts who periodically check in to see if I’m “interested”.

Tom Merritt from ZDTV also has a commentary on Günter Grass’ opinions on writing and computers which I mentioned on 2/9/00.

Anyone want to bid on an Original Lip Print from Jerry Yang? I’d rather have a signed photo of him with the lipstick on! I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that out of the list of celebrity kisses, Gillian Anderson’s is going for the most (by a wide margin).

I am always amazed by how instantly our brains process input and create a reaction. I react instantaneously to many things which I find funny. From something someone said, something I read, or a situation I see, it takes almost no time for my giggling to commence. Sometimes there is a delay while I figure out the humor in something, but I react to the funniest things right away. How do we do it? How do all those calculations of “well, that’s ironic because he hates fish sticks” or “that’s bitingly sarcastic and I’m amused because it is so true!” or “look — his underwear is pink too” click through so rapidly and trigger the laughter? How did this trait evolve in humans? It’s not like a sense of humor kept us from being eaten by wolves. Or maybe laughter does scare away predators. It certainly is, as the saying goes, the best medicine.

Bob Greene, a Chicago Tribune columnist (who, unlike me, apparently was not cured by an English teacher of an overuse of dashes), has mused in his past few articles about reading the newspaper online vs. on newsprint. First he discovers that, thanks to the Internet, he has readers all around the world. Then he considers the attachment some people have to newspapers in the bathroom and the comfort of the Sunday paper. Third, he directly confronts the reality that readers are canceling their subscriptions and reading online instead. Lastly, he winds up with the good news that people are personally attached to their newspapers, on paper or online. Readers wrote him about “my paper”, not “your paper”, and he sees that as a sign that newspaper people are doing their job right. I know many people who only read the paper online. I read a large amount of news online, but I still practice an almost ritualistic reading of the physical paper; so much so that I get antsy when some else reads my virginal paper before I get to it. Sunday is especially ritualistic, involving a sorting technique (ads in this pile, news in this pile, classifieds in the recycling bin, comics last) and relaxation that I look forward to. I can envision reading my news online only, and in fact I read the New York Times online because I can’t stand the idea of wasting even more paper. But I am so attached to the browsing, turning, rustling, and clipping. Will it all go away someday? Maybe.

Günter Grass’ traditionally minded opinions about not using computers when writing are extreme for my taste. The Nobel Prize winner thinks computers and the Internet are a bad influence on writing and claims (jokes?) that he can tell after reading 10 pages if a book was written on a computer. He starts with pen and paper and then uses a typewriter for subsequent drafts. I’ve used all three methods; pen, typewriter, computer, and they are suited for different things. Free form brainstorming and idea connecting works best for me with pen and paper. A typewriter was just a cool funky thing I used to use to whack out short poetry and thoughts; I doubt I’ll go back to that again. And, contrary to what Grass may believe, the word processor has freed me from the tangles of my tools and given me an ease of space to “scribble” out my coalescing thoughts, allowing them to manifest themselves into reality. Different things work for different people. His mind is accustomed to the rhythms of pen on paper, and he always writes standing up. I sit. I ponder. I type words onto the screen. I use the backspace key a lot.

I’ve been checking Walter S. Arnold’s website periodically for a few years now. He’s a sculptor and stone carver who has been on the web since 1994. He creates beautiful things by chipping away at limestone and marble. I especially like the gargoyles and fireplaces. It’s comforting to read about the meticulous creation of art from stone. It provides a reassuring contrast to my daily hurried pace of pushing and prodding bits into the right configurations.

Nicely done animated evolution of alphabets. Very cool. (found on Yahoo’s Weekly Picks)

This weekend I bought a world globe. I’ve wanted one for years, but kept forgetting to get one. Everyone should have a globe. I hate how much time we spend looking at and thinking of a flat earth, believing that the distorted view is accurate. A lot of educational material is two dimensional when a three dimensional view would be more appropriate for our brains to learn and grow from. All those cutaway views of cell structures are so much more vivid when represented in a realistic three dimensional view. I’m not talking about having a physical 3D model necessarily, but a diagram drawn in 3D instead of the typical textbook smushed microscope slide view. Wouldn’t that exercise the brains of our kids more? I hope the addition of computers in the educational process will allow more realistic materials to be used, but my fear is that the folks who prepare the materials will continue to pander to simplistic conceptualizations of the world around us. (Note: this entry can be linked to using anchor #20700)

Saw Tim Robbins’ Cradle Will Rock last night. Decent movie; it gives an enlightening perspective on the 1930’s social and political climate. I was pleased with the array of strong female characters (I suppose you can expect that from someone whose partner in life is Susan Sarandon :-). My favorite line came from the always wonderful Vanessa Redgrave who, upon being ordered back into the car by her husband, piped out “Perhaps you have mistaken me for a spaniel!” And towards the end of the credits, I heard an eerily familiar voice singing one of the closing songs and realized it was Susan Sarandon… and that I recognized the voice because of Rocky Horror.