Martini Star Gazing in the Rain

I had the day off and so did DF. We went to the Mohegan Sun; watched rows of Senior Citizens drop tokens into slot machines and watch'em roll. We saw stacks of hundred dollar tokens swept away at craps & black jack. What a show! Spend it, lose it, or leave it to the kids??? The place is truly a Disneyland for grown-ups. Outside it's a surreal wide glass - mirror like tower with wings that looks like it's made of clear legos. Inside are dozens of little - fort like structures - kind of like the ones we made - or imagined making when we were kids out in the back yard - including tent-like coffee shops, log bars and stone restaurants, shopping, shopping, and oh, more shopping, waterfalls, fish aquariums, and the Michael Jordon cafe where I had to get on my tip toes in the ladies room to hang my purse on the stall door.

Star gazing with DF in the martini bar was definitely the highlight - who'd of thought - when it poured rain outside the whole time - we were inside loosing track of time, place and space...

The World is Flat and we areFat!

I'm lucky to have a boss that I can learn from on a fairly regular basis. He's a big picture thinker, very rational and practical, no emotion kind of guy. He NEVER sweats the small stuff.

Sooo he's been saying we should read The World isFlat. I picked it up and I am about half way through it. At first it all seemed very obvious to me - but I imagine this is because I work in a very technology oriented field and it is our jobs to be aware of emerging technologies and how whatever is next is going to be integrated in our lives. Freidman's observation of globalization, technology and the world economy is like a bucket of cold water over the head. It feels good if you have a migraine...

If you don't have a migraine you might have one by the time you finish reading this book, even without the hormones to push it along. I'm only half way through it and while I am fascinated by the entrepreneurial behaviors of India, China and some of the other countries that are gaining ground, it is disheartening that it appears America has been blindsided by commercialism and pseudo- political bullshit. We are a lazy, overweight, brainwashed pile up of underachieving, self effacing pigs right out of Orwell's Animal Farm. What's worse, it appears our own elite entrepreneurs are helping us get there. Who's the last laugh going to be at?

So I'm torn, as I am very intrigued by the technology, the business acumen, and the vision for the future, I am also cynical about the ulterior motives of those who are winning the race. I believe in change, and lifelong learning - we're on a roll - whether we like it or not - and we'd better get ready to run with the survivors.