Global Nomads--part 2

Darn it! I actually had started sketching out a short essay on the fact that President Obama is a Third Culture Kid/Global Nomad and that at least one of his closest advisors is also a TCK/GN (and why all this is a Really Good Thing for this country), but Ruth Van Reken got there first.

Ah well, the important thing is that it's been said.

Global Nomads

I just got the nicest email from a woman in Japan, writing that as a TCK/global nomad herself she really felt she could relate to my Cultural Globalizaton book (which she found in a bookstore in Tokyo).

This got me thinking more about TCKs (third culture kids) and global nomads. So I ran a couple of searches just to see if anything new was out there and found, sadly, that Norma McCaig passed away last November. She was the leader of Global Nomads International and the woman who coined the term "Global Nomad." Ruth Hill Useem, the sociologist who coined the term "Third Culture Kids," died in 2003.

Also ran across Janera.com, a social networking site and magazine rolled into one which seeks to bring together global nomads (defined rather broadly, it seems) in conversation. Could be an interesting site, but have to read more of its articles.

This also got me thinking that a way to describe my book would be that it's a Third Culture Kid/Global Nomad's perspective on the processes of globalization and culture.

And this also got me thinking: my book is on bookshelves in Tokyo?? Why can't it be on bookshelves here?

ASU

Quick update. Looks like the Master's Programs at the west campus will be safe after all. They're hammering out a new vision statement for the campus, which includes MA programs.

Obama motorcade

Another grumpy dispatch from the clickable world

With analog TV, if there's interference you can still watch through the snow and odd rolling lines. With digital TV, if there's interference or a bad signal the picture pixellates, the sound goes out, like a skipping DVD, rendering it unwatchable.

The Senators

So, I got an invitation out of the blue to attend a breakfast with Jon Kyl, Senator from Arizona and current Republican Whip, which was taking place on our campus. There ended up being about 70 people or so attending, at 7:30 this morning, mainly business and community leaders with a handful of faculty. I was certainly the only guy there not wearing a tie and jacket. Kyl spoke for a while, primarily about how terrible he felt the “so-called stimulus bill” (his words) was. At one point the head of the Maricopa Community College District (the largest in the country) asked a question about their financial crisis and if the stimulus plan could help and Kyl said back, in no uncertain terms, that first off he felt that education was a local issue and it was a mistake for the federal government to get involved in education (funding, I would presume). Anyway, for the life of me I couldn’t think of a question I wanted to ask, or at least one with any chance of getting a real response.

And then in walks Senator McCain (there's a hyperlink there, but who doesn't know who he is at this point?), which was something of a surprise (a brief moment thinking, “that’s not…”). He looks much like he does on TV, a touch less hair. Everyone immediately leaps to their feet and starts clapping. He and Kyl answered a few more questions, primarily criticizing the stimulus bill, though McCain took some time to put in a pitch for a guest worker program and argued that we need to be much more worried than we seem to be about drug cartel violence in Mexico. I notice a couple of folks getting out cell phones to snap pictures. Then they both swept past me and out.

I found out they had a press conference scheduled in the next room, and since I was ASU faculty they let me hang out in the back of the room (and, yes, snapped a blurry cell phone picture). I was mainly curious to watch how the whole press conference thing worked, what the reporters would ask, how they would answer, and so on. It was a pretty sparsely attended conference (see above picture). I bet the Senators were wondering who on earth that long-hair was hanging around the breakfast and conference. Anyway, news reports of the press conference here and here and here. The Senators certainly have their talking points down about the stimulus package (“neither bipartisan nor stimulus”; “generational theft”; etc) and the economic crisis (according to them they’ve been pleading with the congress to do something about this pending housing crisis since the early 2000’s, but those darn Democrats would have none of it). The reporters were definitely asking more pointed questions than the community leaders, not surprisingly.

The vast majority of the political news in Phoenix today is about Obama’s visit (he’s in town overnight to introduce his housing plan in the morning), coverage of the Kyl-McCain press conference seems limited to smaller papers (or Fox news--the Grand Canyon metaphor and graphic on the flatscreen display towards the start of this piece is hysterically bad). Anyway, glad Obama’s in town, jealous of a friend of ours who got a ticket to see him, and hoping that traffic’s not too tied up because of the visit that I can’t get the kids to school.

Electric Cars

So, ever since I saw “Who Killed the Electric Car,” I’ve been somewhat interested in this vehicle, though haven’t studied it in any depth by any means. But I find it irritating that the Chevy Volt is being touted as a new innovation, when not only have electric vehicles been around for almost as long as internal combustion engines but that there were a number of models out and about in the 1990s (which were withdrawn and scrapped without a real explanation as soon as California lifted its regulations requiring a certain number of 0-emission vehicles on the road). Anyway, that’s the thesis of the documentary.

In today’s paper there’s an article on the Volt. Costing between $30K and $40K it can go up to 40 miles on a charge. After that a small internal combustion engine kicks in. So, for local trips only.

Later in the paper, there’s a review of the Tesla Roadster, an all-electric sports car. Now, I’m not a car guy by any means, but wow! Interestingly, this high performance vehicle can go about 200 miles on a charge (if going fast; if going slower—as if!—it can get up to 240 miles). Also for fairly local trips. This is for the very exclusive price of $109K, so I won’t be making that down payment any time soon.

But, running the numbers, if you divide car price by mileage, here’s what you get: the Volt, taking the midrange price: $35,000/40=$875/mile. The Tesla, taking the lower mileage: $109,000/200=$545/mile!

I’m not sure what to conclude from this, except I doubt that the Volt will be as impressive as it probably could be, and doubt that Chevrolet’s heart is really in it. Though I would have said that before I read these articles anyway.

ASU

No news. Just additional concern about changes at the west campus (e.g., here and here).

Apparently there's some meeting next week with representatives from State Government, ASU, and the city of Glendale regarding the West Campus. No details offered. Not sure if this is a renewal of the proposal to somehow spin the west campus off to become it's own State College, though that's apparently a plan on the table (as is the plan to shut the west campus down, and a plan just to continue as New College).

More ASU

No new info, just reactions.
Here
and
Here

ASU

Well, I haven't had much in here about ASU's financial difficulties which are the result of the State of Arizona's cutbacks. I'll just post a link to the latest:

http://www.azcentral.com/community/tempe/articles/2009/02/10/20090210asuadjustsonline.html

http://www.azcentral.com/community/glendale/articles/2009/02/10/20090210gl-asuwest0210-ON.html

Key for us is the loss of our Master's Program (and all MA programs on our campus).

We'll see what this all means...

A grumpy dispatch from the clickable world

What could this be? The answer my friends: a photo of the inside of my pocket. Yes, a photo of the inside of my pocket. Why do I have such a photo? Well, let me tell you.

My cell phone finally died last month. It was a rugged little thing, made by LG, that was battered and scratched, but had lasted for years. It was simple, without bells, whistles, or a camera. But finally, one day, it went through the wash, and that was just too much for it. Now, it tried to hang on for a few days after The Incident, sputtering to life, screen flickering meekly, seeking a signal from out of the aether, but finally flatlining (and taking down all my contacts and phone numbers with it).

As a replacement, I sought out something also non-flashy, simple; in other words, a phone and not an electronic Swiss Army knife. But cameras are ubiquitous these days and I ended up with a Samsung phone with a camera. It was about a week into my time with this new device when I discovered the Design Flaw. There is a button on the side which, when tapped lightly, turns on the display. I should note as an aside that as a power-saving feature the external screen goes black after a few seconds. My old phone kept the display going, so I could use it as a clock during lectures. This phone I can't. Anyway, if you press and hold down the side button it turns on the camera.

You're way ahead of me.

Every so often, as I go about my daily business, I hear the digital reproduction of a shutter clicking from somewhere in my pants pocket. The button has been pressed by keys or a nail clipper or loose change (or my hand seeking any of these items) and the camera has been activated. It happily starts taking pictures. In the month I have had this phone I have had to delete, I kid you not, over 150 of these pictures. Most are pitch black. I think the above photo, and a couple of its companions, are from a day I was wearing khakis and light seeped through the fabric.

In any case, if we are to make any progress towards wearable computers, someone needs to solve this button problem. An electronic device with a button subject to jostling, gets jostled in a pocket, purse, or bag. This was a problem with my old Palm Zire. The power button was too exposed and it would turn on in my bag and the power would drain away (and when the power was gone, so was the memory, and anything not backed up: poof). This was also a problem with the first set of remote car keys I ever got (being suspicious of them on principle for years: key--lock seems safe; key fob--radio signal--carlock seems less safe, but that's just me). I would accidentally unlock the van or open the sliding doors while I was inside my house. I'd go out and it would be open. Or I'd set off the alarm. I'm glad I don't have one of those remotes which remote starts the car or else my vehicle would head off like the Batmobile. Luckily it seems to have calmed down and for some reason isn't as sensitive anymore, or perhaps I've just trained myself to keep my keys free and out until I'm out of range. That's probably it. "Change for the machines," as Pat Cadigan once wrote in Synners.

Bill Posters Will Be Band

A couple of links to live performances of the Bill Posters Will be Band, an anarchic British jazz group made up of performers from a variety of other groups including the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band.

http://www.vimeo.com/album/42487

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ius1f9b1Ybw

Their home page: http://www.billposterswillbeband.co.uk/

Elise and I know (or, at least, knew, since it's been ages and ages since we've seen him) one of the members of the troupe, Jim "Golden Boots" Chambers, through a friend of a friend. We were given Jim and Sharon's contact information when Elise and I were over in England as undergraduates for study abroad back in the mid 1980s. Jim and Sharon were always very kind and welcoming and we loved visiting them in their house south of London. Jim worked as a curator at the Natural History Museum in London, in charge of the fish section. I went with him to work one day and he showed me some of the preserved specimens in a back storeroom, some well over a hundred years old (and some apparently collected by Darwin himself, though I don't recall). Bill Posters was his occasional gig. He's the sax player with the long beard and the John Lennon glasses.

Bad Ideas

A collection of random Bad Ideas (by me, not collected from elsewhere):

1) Reality TV Show: "So You Think You can Dance Like an American Fifth Grader" [OK, that's more parody than a bad idea...]

2) Cell Phones with customizable scents. Just like you can customize your phone to ring a different tune for different callers, embed one with technology to make different scents. So rather than an annoying ringtone, you get a slight waft of something, telling you that you have a new text message, or call. Different scents for different folks (flowery, acrid, and so on). Scent, unfortunately, is not as quick as sound so that's a negative factor here (missed calls if you're in so much as a slight breeze). And it's also as public as sound ("Is that you or did your boss just call?")

3) One upon a time I actually drafted a parodic post in response to a news article on NASA's budget troubles, though I don't think I ever posted it. Might lead Bad Ideas II with that one later on, but given proximity of this post with the previous one I'll hold off for now (though it may have come through on an earlier posting).

Columbia report

http://www.nasa.gov.pdf/298870main_SP-2008-565.pdf

This is gripping, horrifying, and tragic. It's the final report on the spaceshuttle Columbia's catastrophic re-entry in 2003, complete with acronyms (CMCE: Crew Module Catastrophic Event). In some ways its coldness and technicality is a way of respecting the privacy of the deceased [a number of redacted sections at the end also keep personal details private]. But its second by second account has an inexorable fatalism, watching a disaster unfold in slow motion (watching technology fail) knowing there's nothing you can do. In the end the crew didn't suffer. But man, reading this really hits me hard.

Speeding Cameras

Arizona is rolling out quite a number of new automated speed and red light cameras, an expansion which is expected to continue. See the article here.

Cutting down on speeding around here is a good thing (130mph??). But what's always worrying about such technologies is their function creep. Also, they're a technical fix that doesn't consider why people are driving so much and have to go so far (urban planning) and have to get there so quickly. Broader, and deeper, social questions.

Of course, do the cameras work?
Here's the Independent from London this summer.

What Color is Your House?

An interesting post about airport security and the new surveillance by Anita Allen over at the blog Daily Beast. How to get through security if you lack proper ID and the sorts of things they can find out about you.

The Case Against Electronic Books (take 2)

Miscellany

1. After around two and a half years of blogging, Ain't Got Time to Blog just logged it's 2,000th visit ("Low Traffic Site" I think is the phrase). Our final push over the top is due to the popularity of MC Howie and Julie and those searching for them on the web ending up here. Add to that some searches for Crying Nut and a few for Faye Wong. And even a few folks looking for me, this blog, or something I wrote.

2. Starting an occasional anecdotal series in this blog: "Argument Against Electronic Book Readers"
Our first entry I scrawled on the back page of Galloway and Thacker's "The Exploit" towards the end of Monday's flight from San Diego to Phoenix. "As we make our final descent into Phoenix, please turn off all portable electronic devices until we are on the ground."

3. As a side note regarding Monday's flight: Southwest is stating in ads that they now serve Monster beverages on board. Just what I need when packed like a smoked oyster (hah--thought I'd say "sardine"?) into a flying tin can: some guy hyped up on power drinks twitching in the seat next to me. What could be worse? Well, the day they allow cell phone calls on flights, that would be worse.

4. Update on the College of Human Services (CHS) saga: as of last Friday (21 November) the college and department are officially disestablished. In terms of the upcoming convocation, we (Com Studies faculty and students) are now back with the resurrected-for-one-day-like-David's-Mom-in-A.I. CHS for one final Convocation ceremony with our students before we join our new colleagues and students in the New College in next Spring's Convocation.

Limbo

[despite the date above, this was posted 11/8/08]

So, while we wait for the official vote by the Arizona Board of Regents in December or late November to dissolve the Department of Communication Studies and the College of Human Services, they are for all practical purposes gone. The Dean has been un-Deaned (and is currently an Interim Vice Provost) though I’ve heard rumors of an Acting Dean (somewhere), our Chair has been un-Chaired, all of the Dean’s staff is gone, Com Studies faculty now officially report to the Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences in the New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, our students are now being advised by an Advisor on the other side of the building (rather than around the corner from our offices), and so on.

The latest oddity in this whole process is that the College of Human Services will be resurrected for one last Convocation Ceremony in mid-December. However, as I understand it, the ceremony will be run by administrators from a different college (where the other departments and schools from CHS have gone), and Communication Studies will not be taking part. We (faculty and students) will be at the New College’s ceremony. I wonder what our students will make of the switch?

By the way, none of this is a reflection on my new colleagues or administrators in the New College. It’s just an observation on the strange limbo-like state that has been this semester.

This is also in the midst of another round of budget cuts. See the story in the Arizona Republic (and note the plan to have classes with up to 1,000 students in mass lectures). And the New York Times just picked up on some of the adjunct faculty layoffs--things are bad all over.

Supermarket surveillance

So you know that supermarket rewards cards help create nice consumer profiles of you. A concrete example of this just arrived in the mail from the grovery store we tend to frequent. It included 16 "personalized coupons" for things we "buy the most." They were (of course) pretty, scarily accurate (missed on a couple of things: we don't buy Coke Classic, for example, and do we really buy black olives that often? Maybe. And the offer of the free cashews is just trying to redirect our nut-buying habits onto new products). But they were also, sigh, really useful.

Of course, what the store can't profile are the things we buy at other places because they aren't available at their store (fair trade, organic coffee, for example), so the system just reinforces specific things from their own stock. It's a closed cybernetic system (teaching Andrejevic's iSpy next week, so this is all bouncing around in my cranium anyway).