Whither Facebook

I joined Facebook this week in order to receive some free iTunes music. Of course, EVERYBODY is already on Facebook, so in just a little while I was hooked up with about 40 friends, and have had the full Facebook experience for the last few days.

I thought that I had been missing out - that I was missing tons of fun, and that I would discover loads of long lost friends and contacts. So far, I just don't get it. Facebook seems to me to be an endless stream of 2 things - parents posting pictures of their kids, and people posting inane page updates like what they just ate, what their day has been like or this one: "I need one more Firebomb!! Does anyone have one that they can give me?" (someone playing a game called Mafia Wars).

(As an aside, can anyone tell me why it makes sense to make your profile photo a picture of your 5-year old, or your pet chihuahua?)

I'd also read in some industry journals that Facebook thinks there is much more to their business than simply hosting pictures and facilitating blog-type postings. Like competing against Google in search.

I really don't see it. Facebook isn't anything special, and unless something amazing happens in the next few weeks, I think Facebook - for me at least - will be a once-a-month check-in kind of thing.

Grab bag with more cool stuff.

Here's a quote worth reading and couple of great articles to make up for my Facebook-like natterings:

Quote:


"This is the issue...... Whether we believe in our capacity for self-government or whether we abandon the American Revolution and confess that a little intellectual elite in a far-distant capital can plan our lives for us better than we can plan them ourselves.


You and I are told we must choose between a left or right, but I suggest there is no such thing as a left or right. There is only an up or down. Up to man’s age-old dream — the maximum of individual freedom consistent with order — or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism. Regardless of their sincerity, their humanitarian motives, those who would sacrifice freedom for security have embarked on this downward path. Plutarch warned, “The real destroyer of the liberties of the people is he who spreads among them bounties, donations and benefits.”


The Founding Fathers knew a government can’t control the economy without controlling people. And they knew when a government sets out to do that, it must use force and coercion to achieve its purpose."


Is that Newt Gingrich or Ron Paul or Jeff Flake critiquing the Obama governing philosophy? Nope, it's from 1964, also known as the beginning of the Great Society. This quote was delivered as part of a larger, very prominent speech written and delivered by none other than Ronald Reagan in support of Barry Goldwater's presidential campaign. As CATO points out, today is the 45th anniversary of the speech, and it is as relevant today, as it was then.

2 articles worth your time:

Everything You Know About China Is Wrong

and

The Long Road to Indecision

If you're an Obama fan, this article tracks the evolution of the US Af-Pak strategy. If you're not an Obama fan, you'll read this as 7 months of dawdling, indecision, and confusion. 

At the least, it is clear at this stage that Obama is waiting for the US elections next week before announcing his decision on McChrystal's request. No matter which way he goes, he'll disappoint a large number of people. I just wonder if the the stalling ight be costing lives.

How to pick your religion......

Check out this hilarious flow chart to help you select your next religion. Who knew the keys to finding spiritual bliss were your attitude towards hummus and bacon.

(Original found here: the Friendly Atheist.)