Look, a squirrel!

Quick rewrite:

"The traditional bloggers (can we assign such a qualifier already?) sometimes see social networks like Facebook and Twitter to be a waste of time..."

I'm a big fan of putting your name to what you write. If someone is not going to hire me because of something I say or write online, then odds are I don't want to work for them. That is, I understand, a luxury that not everyone has and I did recently come across  a situation where my ability to be so strident with that principle was undermined. And I'm sure it will crop up again having gone into business for myself. So while I believe firmly in one side of the argument, I understand and empathize with the other side of the coin.

But what I really wanted to note out of this was the micro-fracturing becoming apparent in various "new media" networks. The traditional bloggers (can we assign such a qualifier already?) often see social networks like Facebook and Twitter to be a waste of time for a variety of reasons in the same way that some traditional writers and journalists used to (and in some cases still do) see blogs as a waste of time.

There's no great analysis here. I just find this cycle amusing in a benign sort of way. Given my chosen business model, I'm not inclined to call networks like Facebook or Twitter a waste of time. But I do think we have a tendency to over-apply the useful of these networks. Each has its own strengths, weaknesses, and idiosyncrasies  and are ultimately best used when we bear those in mind vis-a-vis our chosen application.

It still tears me up to read those words. There is something ineffably poignant about the fact that he wrote them two days before his death. Staring the end squarely down, there was little to gain and little to lose. It was all fading into an inevitable darkness. And that's what Jack decided to say before he left.

It remains unclear what this event will mean to the country's politics and the country as a whole. But I am increasingly convinced that this was a real moment for us as a nation. I think that a whole segment and, indeed, perhaps a generation of Canadians now have a symbol around which to rally their political lives.

I'm sentimental about all of this, I admit. I cried sporadically throughout all of Monday. But I think that Jack, even in his leaving us, managed to provide us with his most substantial contribution. And I'm getting the inkling that we might be gathering the courage to live up to it.

Oy, this whole episode has been a bit weird. But, to my mind, the comments around it have been pretty level headed and grounded. Opinions may vary, but that's mine. So as one of the folks who wound up feeling responsible for what transpired due to early involvement in creating this site, I just wanted to thank the commenting community for that. Happy holidays, y'all.

RTod,

Barrett's actions aside, please rest assured that to the best of my knowledge no contributor at this site has in the past used any of the information submitted by commenters to the site in any way that a reasonable person would deem inappropriate. I have, on occasion, emailed a commenter to carry on a conversation privately using an email address that has been sent to me electronically via comments left on a post I've published. But I have never utilized any other information in any other way to acquire personal information about a commenter. Neither has any other contributor to knowledge -- again, Barrett's actions aside.

If you have any further concerns about this issue, please feel free to email me at scott.h.payne@gmail.com and I'd be glad to address them with you. You could also contact Erik and I'm sure he would be glad to do the same.

Best,
Scott

Even worse, I'm Canadian. So, you know, there's that.

@Scott H. Payne, I think we're non-partisan in our propagandizing. If the givers be givin', then we're good for the takin'.

Note to Warren Buffett: you're late.

@Mark Thompson, I blame the Koch brothers, personally. Don't they fund this obviously glibertarian claptrap?

@Good Grief, The Comedian's Incompetent, Negative, I let various of your other comments that didn't explicitly cross our policy stand. I could care less what your position on Prop 19 is. What I and the site do care about is how you choose to express that position in our comment threads. We have an agreed upon commenting policy that is clearly posted on the site. If you don't like it or don't want to follow it, then comment elsewhere.

@Transplanted Lawyer, Agreed. Comments by Good Grief, The Comedian's Incompetent and Francis have been removed pursuant to our commenting policy (http://www.ordinary-gentlemen.com/commenting-policy/).

Thanks for the note.

Anecdotal vindication!

@Cascadian, not sure why your comment was being held. Apologies.

@Carsten, we demand the best in judgment calls of those individuals we train to police society and authorize to use extreme force in very specific situations and when they fail to live up to those expectations we, rightly, question their failure in judgment.

@Mike at The Big Stick, I don't condone the actions of the girls, but I think the officer's response was inappropriate in the extreme. The poor behaviour of the citizens does not somehow justify what strikes me as extremely poor judgment call of trained police officer.

@Scott, no, I think he should have followed a course of action that did not involve blatantly assaulting a minor in public. I think that is what police officers are trained to do. And so I question why this officer failed to do so in this instance.

@Carsten, if it wasn't the best then why is it okay? Why aren't we talking about why that was the wrong response and the officer should have followed a procedure that did not involve punching a minor?

@Scott, so punching a 17 year old girl in the face is the best way to deal with that situation.

@Jaybird, I wondered the same thing and my conclusion was: I doubt it.

I still think that seeing the cop break free of the girl, stop, look at her, take stock of the situation, and then make the decision to haul off and clock a young girl in the face makes for even more startling viewing than even, perhaps, your average round of police brutality. Though, to be fair, there is footage of far worse incidents and watching this kind of activity is and should always be deeply offensive.

There are polar bears in Vancouver. They just all happen to be located in the West End and yr HQ is in Kits. And if you were to cross pathes, there would be a solid 64.35% chance they'd call you, "kitty cat".

Their version of Beyonce's Crazy in Love is also amazing.

North, old boy, humbly request the opportunity to jawbone with you about something. Would be ever so appreciative if you were to drop me a line whilst I'm on hiatus: scott.h.payne@gmail.com

Much obliged!

http://www.flowgo.com/funny/5921_im-watching-you.html

No worries, figured it was an honest oversight.