Social Engineering

     A few weeks ago I received a letter announcing my selection as an Arbitron survey participant. It was characterized as a great honor. It went in the recycling bin before I even entered the house. I underestimated the determination of the folks at Arbitron. They have called me at least 3 times a day for the last several days, in some cases leaving voice messages reminding me of my selection. Last night they called between 9 and 10 PM. This morning they called between 7:30 and 8:00 and I decided to firmly demand that they not call me again. I answered the phone and a polite young man named Chris apologized for the early hour and asked me if I listened to the radio at all last week. I decided to follow the path of least resistance and told him I had, and that the only radio station I listen to is the local NPR station. He was quite impressed by this, and to shorten the story, I agreed to participate in the survey. I realized as we talked, that I was doing something contradictory to my plan of action when I answered the phone. They will send me a log of some sort, and I will return it to them at the end of the survey period. He asked if they could “count on me” to return the survey. I felt compelled to explain to him that I would return it, and that the ONLY reason I was participating was to help him out, as I assume his performance is judged by how many surveys are returned. I also added that I did not care at all about Arbitron or what they do. He thanked me for my frank opinion.

     I have mixed feelings about the experience. On the positive side, it gave me a chance to make someone happy at a cost of about 10 minutes of my time and the survey itself should take little effort to complete and mail. On the negative side, my participation will help perpetuate the cycle of junk mail and phone calls. I also suspect that I will be put in a “special category” of people who agree to do things for complete strangers over the phone. I can’t imagine that’s a good category to be in.

Yesterday I had to call Triwest healthcare (the administrator for military healthcare) about a referral. At the end of the call the young man thanked me for my military service. I know he was probably reading from a script, but it caught me off guard. It made me feel good in a visceral way. Maybe there's value in the act of saying something nice, even if you may not be sincere. This could be that "constructive hypocrisy" that' I've heard about.

My second entry of the year!

My wife and I often discuss moving to Florida, or someplace less frosty as winter tightens its grip. Whenever this happens I feel premature nostalgia for winter. There's something dignified and pure about moving through winter in the midwest. The snow, the cold, the long dark nights, and the eventual warming and greening we know is coming.

Living in Panama for three years gave me an appreciation for weather that changes. Maybe that's my point, if I have one. Life is most engaging when it changes, for good or for bad.

The beginning

In the beginning was the beginning. I exist because I think I exist. If I stop thinking I stop existing.

My Printer Has Attitude

I recently obtained a replacement printer from our local Best Buy. My old HP 812 was grinding and clanking and had to have the paper pushed into the feeder to work. My new HP (photosmart C4280) is much sleeker looking and has lots of cool controls and functions. I printed out a three page document after setting the print quality to "draft fast." The pages were printed at blinding speed (compared to the old printer) and were each shot onto the floor with what felt like contempt. It was as if my printer was saying, "here's your page, bitch!" The best response I could make was to turn it off. I can live with an abusive printer, as long as it works.

Distractions

We are distracted by: cell phones, text messages, web surfing, video games, television, books, magazines, each other, music, pets, love, housework, family, religion, and of course, our own mind. We are even distracted from our distractions. Television commercials, Internet advertising and magazine ads divert our already diverted attention. We are distracted because we want to be distracted. It may be what keeps us sane and manageable. Imagine a world of engaged, focused humans. If we really saw and understood what was happening around us how would we react? Would it be a world of social justice and common sense? Or a world of shrill short-sighted self interest. Since we already seem to have the latter, I would hope for the former.
I have always been deeply suspicious of the marketing industry. I don't think advertisers spend money unless it works, and I believe marketers have become quite good at convincing us we need certain things. Perhaps I should be grateful. The world we live in and the technology I am using at this moment may not exist were it not for the consumer lust at the heart of our economic system. This modulated greed keeps the wheels turning, and perhaps more importantly, it keeps us distracted.

The Dalai Lama says

The Dalai Lama says,
"If you can,
help others; if you cannot do that, at least do not harm them."
This is the essence of Buddhism.
It is simple, but hard.
Like many things:
losing weight, or getting in shape,
or saving money.
So many ways to fail,
but in the end I find comfort in my own quotation:
"Do your best, and remember, you are not
the Dalai Lama."