XKCD does it again

Damn, first I had the actual pic but my blog writing window isn't wide enough. So please check out link here XKCD.

A new way to see the world

Reading this guy's twitter I came across this link. What's going on in the economy in our country and our world is something that everyone is experiencing but we are still having a damn hard time processing it. Or maybe that's just me. These pictures bring it home in a whole new way for me and if you're a visual learner they might help you as well.

I think the most startling for my own ignorance was that up until now I have been thinking of the crashing economy in a strictly United States sense. Picture #5 of the job seekers in China now out of work because exports are down because we aren't buying anymore hit home like a bullet to the brain. I am amazed at my own exclusivity, I've never been patriotic before so I'm not sure why I all of a sudden started to think of this problem in such a small mindset.

I'm not sure if this makes it better or not. Opening my mind is always a good thing but I must be careful so that I not drown in the reality. When it comes down to it though I'm pretty damn lucky. My job (as far as forecasts can see) isn't going anywhere.

So if you want another look (or just a different way to look) check out the pictures.

And for another take check out Notes from the Unemployment Line brought to you by The Stranger (a Seattle based newspaper), really brought to you by impending unemployment who gave me the link in the first place. The article is all about the numbers and it's fascinating.

Sometimes I am quiet

I can talk a lot. I can fill up a room with stories and anecdotes. I can chat for hours on topics that range far and wide, sometimes knowledgeably, sometimes not. But there are also times when I am quiet.

Sometimes it is because I am sick, and I am using all the energy and resources I have simply to function which leaves nothing left over for witty banter or engaged facial reactions. More often than not I am simply choosing observation over participation. I am watching the world around me, I am watching you interact. Like an alien studying human behavior in order to learn how to assimilate. Like a basketball player studying plays. I am learning, I am watching.

I am also most likely not angry with you. Trust me, you will know when my quiet means anger. I will use my words sparingly and wield them like a professional ninja with throwing stars. I will whip them at you so fast and deadly that you won't even know I have severed a limb until I am long gone and the bleeding can't be stopped. This is a gift my father has given me. The way that I fight, and I try not to use it very often as I get older. The worst part is the gift works best with those I love and know.

Often the room does not even notice my quiet. You are so loud around me that my silence does not register. I prefer when this happens. Then the probing questions of my health and thoughts are left unasked. It's easier this way since I won't answer them anyway.

I enjoy quiet. I enjoy my solitude. It does not mean that I am not having a good time. It does not mean that I want the world to go away. It is the same way I love to sit on the edge of a game, watching but not playing. I don't expect you to understand, and I can not explain it any better than this. All I ask is that you please not try and take it away.

Pondering Magnetic Forces

If I had time I would like to do a sociological study on the invisible magnetic forces at work when more than one person enter a small space, such as in an elevator. I think it would be fascinating. And if nothing else would make a great short story.