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Saturday, June 27, 2009

myspace.com lays off workers

Last week myspace.com laid off 30% of their workforce. I was worried that I was going to lose one of my only friends (besides my wife), Tom. (The Huffington Post: MySpace Layoffs: Slashing Workforce 30%)

 


Tom: 1 of my 2 friends

I only signed up for a myspace account to follow some bands, and really haven’t pursued it as a social networking site. In fact, most pages give me a headache. I really can’t stand it for that purpose. I guess I’ve always been a Facebook guy.

Myspace always seems like the wild west. I could add blinking images, I could put together colors that didn’t work, I could make pages a mile long. Most of these are eyesores that hurt my head. Facebook, while extensible with apps, keeps a consistent look and feel. They also do a good job of hiding older things, while giving you the option to see more.

I don’t mean to make this into a Coke v. Pepsi debate. I’m sure there are some die-hard myspacers out there. Myspace has taken a former Facebook exec as their new CEO. And not to worry, Tom, one of the co-founders I’ve learned, is still there. And hopefully will remain my friend.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Crisis of Faith

I’ve been away for a bit, first on vacation, then last week with my father’s funeral, which has a point.

While I was away on vacation, I received a New York Times article via email on the pitfalls of a spiritual path as a means of escapism. I like this because it doesn’t diminish the power of the spiritual tradition. It refers to both human experience and spiritual experience. It tries to not take the silver bullet of a spiritual practice and make it a cure-all of all of one’s ills in life. This was a wonderful read for me. The article can be read below.

The New York Times MAGAZINE | April 26, 2009
Enlightenment Therapy
By CHIP BROWN
How a Zen master found the light (again) on the analyst's couch.

I myself was brought up Catholic, then born-again Christian, then I drifted. I’ve practiced as an initiate of the Himalayan tradition under a guru and am practicing and studying Vodou today.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

On the corner of Barracks and Decatur

Sitting at Envie in the quarter sipping peach iced tea, there’s not a place I’d rather be. I’ve been to NOLA a few times now, and each trip is better than the last.

Saum’s at the New Orleans's Healing Center, in a planning meeting for Anba Dlo Deux. The name Anba Dlo means “from beneath the waters” and last year festival coincided with Halloween. It was a fantastic celebration with three live music venues, street stalls, food, drink. It was amazing. This year they’re planning the second annual event. In avoidance of responsibility, I’m enjoying a much needed vacation and staying away from the planning. It’s not like I don’t want to help, but whatever Saum ends up doing, I’ll be assisting in whatever capacity I can.

I don’t know exactly what it is about New Orleans that generates so much buzz, so much energy. I feel like a different person when I’m here. There’s a part of me that’s always been here. A part I reunite with when I come. I can feel that part of myself welcoming me back, becoming whole again. This is not the first time I’ve had this feeling. I’ve experienced it while in India, sitting at a certain temple in the Himalayas. Like I’ve been sitting there forever; and always will be. That same feeling exists here, a special place on Earth that invigorates the soul, that breathes through you.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Start Writing: Setting goals

I’ve been saying for some time that I was going to start writing again. It’s been a while, so I set out to go in stages. The blog, the short story, the book. This is step 1, the blog.

I’m actually not sure how far I really need to go. This entire process made me realize the lack of goals in my life. This hasn’t always been the case. I set out with major and intermediary goals earlier, but I accomplished them. Where I lacked was setting sufficient ones for the future. I was burnt out. I just kind of coasted.

Drifting through life, while being alright for some, doesn’t lend to leave much to look forward to. This was one of the new year’s resolutions I hope to keep.

So what exactly are you blogging? Good question. I plan on a tech blog, focused on enterprise storage challenges, disaster recover and business continuity, virtualization, encryption, de-duplication and grids. As well, I plan on a more diverse blog, the random notes, which will contain daily life as well as some short story gems I plan on getting into. All of this is step 1.

Another goals I set in 2009 were getting into some music classes. The first is scheduled this upcoming weekend – an African drumming class. The last goal set at that turn of the new year was to get more engaged with my horse, Jetta, and the riding and training  I hope to be doing with her.

That’s it. Things are happening. There’s a direction. Stopping the drift.