WHAT DOES THE INTERNET MEAN TO YOU?

Checking foreign newspapers for some perspective, I cam across an article written for the Athens News. The article was titled: The Internet Revolution of the Noughties. It took a moment to realize that was not a misspelling.

The article interested me as it talked about Greece being somewhat behind much of the world in the way it used (or didn't) the Internet. The author points out, “The internet hasn’t really impacted the lives of the 50-plus age group, while the 35-50 age group, the most dynamic segment of society, at the peak of their lives and creativity, are lagging behind European averages when it comes to the internet.” This intrigued me as I thought of the Seniors Computer Group with which I had been involved with starting almost 15 years ago here in the U.S.A.

"The impact of internet social networking on social relations has been considerable, according to Yannis Larios of the Observatory for the Greek Information Society. For one, it has helped break down the traditional suspicion that Greeks have for strangers. “What the social media applications and platforms have succeeded in doing is to soften this cautious stance somewhat,” he says, adding that Greeks seem to find it easier to talk to strangers when they are online and share details from their personal life more readily than with their office colleagues, for example.

This is particularly the case among one demographic group in Greek society, which over the past decade has caught up with its European Union counterpart regarding internet use, according to Larios. “The younger generations in Greece, those in the 16- to 35-year-old age bracket, are now equal to their counterparts in the rest of Europe in that there is no longer a digital gap between them,” he explains. “The younger generations in Greece just don’t use the internet - they live through the internet. We’re talking about a 90 percent usage rate.”

The author is Damian Mac Con Uladh and the complete article can be read by clicking here.

So many questions are raised about the difference in life styles in other countries, as well. People handle aging quite differently. While I have not been in Greece for 30 years, I do not believe that the world for the over 50 Greek has changed that much. Older people are treated with far more respect and dignity than in the US. They accept deserving attendance for their years more akin to Asians than Americans. They are comfortable as many seniors in Florida are with socializing, eating and drinking as their major activities.

Society determines behavior. However, there is a down side to letting the outside direct your actions and behaviors in a one-size-fits-all fashion. Without doubt, the urban areas like Athens are far more in tune with the rest of the world in education and sophistication. The country is not as developed in the sense of letting go of their provincial and religious habits. The country has many peasant folk who are not around cities, eke out their living with little money, and are unaware of modern trends.

Since Google has made translating websites to English, for the most part, quite easily, the Internet has broadened the horizons for so much of the world and continue to make the world smaller. While I haven't made a formal research project out of it, I would guess that there are two major factors that influence the effect of the Internet in the world. The first is the money to buy computers, availability to connect to the Internet, the increase of English being taught in the world, and we must accept that it is limited by those who are fearful and unable to make change. Those who really utilize their computers wish to continue to learn long after their formal school education ends. They use it to socialize, play games, record their personal history with words and pictures, email, stay in touch with their children and grandchildren and the list goes on. Though it may overwhelm some elders there are still those who used them before they reached seniority and those who want to continue to learn.

ISN'T IT AMAZING HOW MANY ILL-PREPARED AND UNINFORMED PEOPLE TRY TO ADVISE OBAMA?

It seems the media has done the world a disservice by thinking man-on-the-street interviews are useful. For a while interviewers were like vultures, asking for feelings of people in trauma from loss of loved ones, homes, life savings and the countless emotional reactions which shatter people. It seemed they couldn't stop badgering people until they got them to cry on camera. For some reason I either have stopped watching those shows or the producers decided it was the wrong way to go. I found them too intrusive and painful to watch (and this from a psychotherapist who has never minded hearing people's feelings). It was the blatant exploitation of the most private and painful struggles people were forced to describe for the disinterested or voyeuristic public which bothered me.

Now the me4dia has seemed to decide that anyone who has an opinion that differs from that of the current administration is worth being given air and camera time. Considering that the Cheney's (the Big Dick and his opinion clone, Liz) really have no voted-in standing of political office, it always galls me that their word is reported more often than Obama's.

My intent is not to be derisive about the man-on-the-street but have full intent to be so about the paid talking heads on radio and TV. They speak with not much more knowledge than the average citizen. What they know is usually passed on like the parlor game (telephone) so the what they finally say is not-recognizable, quite distorted and no longer accurate. I can only hope they are so thrilled that someone is asking their opinion and can have their 5 minutes of TV fame, many probably don't require much paid. The principals, however, earn huge amounts for reading teleprompters and occasionally being allowed to ask questions, cued by the bug in their ear. Chris Matthews, like Bill O'Reilly, ask lots of questions and then answer them before the guest is permitted to speak. Actually Chris Matthews belabors points to death, subjectively, before he gives an opportunity for his guest to resopnd, if he allows them to at all.

It should be sad for the media that many prefer infomercials and ads to their version of the news.

IT IS DIFFICULT TO LEARN TO SPEAK PROPER ENGLISH

There are so many words that sound the same but are sometimes spelled differently (not always) but have totally different meaning. Sometimes the same word had several very dissimilar meanings. An example of the first are the three words: there, their, and they're.

there means in or at that place.
their personal pronoun (possessive) belonging to them.
they're a contraction of they are

For a good list of these words, known as homophones, click here.

Since language evolves from other languages as well as with new concepts, it helps to know other languages. I was raised bi-lingually into 'kitchen Greek' at a time when my parents were totally isolated from their mother country by two wars. During that period, Greek took on many words from other languages. For example, a restroom in Greece is more apt to display a 'toilette' sign, clear;y French.

English is the most widely learned language in the world at present, with French being the second. To read more, click herehttp://askville.amazon.com/learned-foreign-language-English-number-purhcas/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=848052.

Unfortunately most data on language came out with the 2000 census. At that time, Spanish was second to English as most widely spoken at home. Having been raised in a household where parents spoke Greek but knew that they had to learn English to assimilate, as children we were required to speak Greek to our parents who in return spoke English to the children. It was a case of the lame and the halt, in a way, but taught both parents and children something necessary and helpful. It saddens me that there are people on the road, driving cars, that can't read signs beyond STOP. We spend a lot of money to make signs in English and Spanish but this is not at all helpful to the many other languages spoken. I submit the we, as citizens, should not have to pay more taxes to print signs for foreigners but that foreigners be required to speak English to live in this country. As of 2000, click here to see languages spoken in homes in America. It does not include the well more than a hundred other languages spoken. Click here for the most spoken in homes.

And you will hear it here. You will go by plane to Spain where the rain stays mainly on the plain.

However, one of the worst found is bear: # have; "bear a resemblance"; "bear a signature"
# give birth: cause to be born; "My wife had twins yesterday!"
# digest: put up with something or somebody unpleasant; "I cannot bear his constant criticism"; "The new secretary had to endure a lot of unprofessional remarks"; "he learned to tolerate the heat"; "She stuck out two years in a miserable marriage"
# move while holding up or supporting; "Bear gifts"; "bear a heavy load"; "bear news"; "bearing orders"
# bring forth, "The apple tree bore delicious apples this year"; "The unidentified plant bore gorgeous flowers"
# take on as one's own the expenses or debts of another person; "I'll accept the charges"; "She agreed to bear the responsibility"
# hold: contain or hold; have within; "The jar carries wine"; "The canteen holds fresh water"; "This can contains water"
# yield: bring in; "interest-bearing accounts"; "How much does this savings certificate pay annually?"
# wear: have on one's person; "He wore a red ribbon"; "bear a scar"
# behave: behave in a certain manner; "She carried herself well"; "he bore himself with dignity"; "They conducted themselves well during these difficult times"
# have rightfully; of rights, titles, and offices; "She bears the title of Duchess"; "He held the governorship for almost a decade"
# hold: support or hold in a certain manner; "She holds her head high"; "He carried himself upright"
# massive plantigrade carnivorous or omnivorous mammals with long shaggy coats and strong claws
# have a bun in the oven: be pregnant with; "She is bearing his child"; "The are expecting another child in January"; "I am carrying his child"
# an investor with a pessimistic market outlook; an investor who expects prices to fall and so sells now in order to buy later at a lower price
as compared to bare: Online English Dictionary
Online English Dictionary
bare
Definition bare [adj]
1. completely unclothed; "bare bodies"; "naked from the waist up"; "a nude model"
2. lacking in amplitude or quantity; "a bare livelihood"; "a scanty harvest"; "a spare diet" 3. not having a protective covering; "unsheathed cables"; "a bare blade"
4. lacking its natural or customary covering; "a bare hill"; "bare feet"
5. just barely adequate or within a lower limit; "a bare majority"; "a marginal victory" 6. apart from anything else; without additions or modifications; "only the bare facts"; "shocked by the mere idea"; "the simple passage of time was enough"; "the simple truth" 7. lacking a surface finish such as paint; "bare wood"; "unfinished furniture" 8. providing no shelter or sustenance; "bare rocky hills"; "barren lands"; "the bleak treeless regions of the high Andes"; "the desolate surface of the moon"; "a stark landscape" 9. having everything extraneous removed including contents; "the bare walls"; "the cupboard was bare" 10. lacking embellishment or ornamentation; "a plain hair style"; "unembellished white walls"; "functional architecture featuring stark unornamented concrete"
bare [verb
1. lay bare; "bare your breasts"; "bare your feelings" 2. make public; "She aired her opinions on welfare" 3. lay bare; "denude a forest"

I couldn't bear being bare in public! For shame!

WHO DEFINES WHAT A SMART PRESIDENT IS?

Tonight, moving around on channels, I heard Britt Hume on (Fox News) advising (in replay) Tiger Woods to convert to Christianity so that he can get absolution. The Hume went on to complain about the length of time it took Obama to do something about the Christmas Day plane bomber. Apparently a president has done nothing if the media hasn't been told so they can distort it all to the public and stir up some more upset, hate and fear.

The teabaggers have gone wild again. They have gone far beyond their right to free speech expressing opinions and are advocating, dangerously, death to the Democratic party, to Obama's goals, and when they burn Obama in effigy, I think they have gone to far in tour United States. The media says nothing about anything being done about it.

Quist is running to be a Congressman from Minnesota. He has mentored Michelle Bachman who also has his wife working for her. He admits to trying everything he can do to kill the HealthCare bill. Watch here if your stomach is strong. He accuses Obama, Pelosi and other democrats of being radicals, not liberals. He talks about doing team work but he is no team player. The team to be on is FOR the USA, not against it. He was not elected president. Obana was. I deeply resent the Republicans for not allowing Obama to do what he was elected to do and see many today as being treasonous and getting away with it.

On Countdown, one of his usually brighter guests said Obama didn't look smart in the way he handled Christmas Day bomber threat. What should he have done to look smart? Should he have done what stupid people want...play the blame game rather than focus on how to correct a present problem? Apparently he doesn't appear smart unless he continues to do that which people expect...all the things that have been done and didn't work.

SIMPLICITY OF LIFE

When the world is ticking away quietly but not yet blowing up, people wait for the other shoe to drop, to end the anxiety-producing wait. Predictably, the Legislative branch voted not to raise the Social Security COLA but did not fail to give themselves a raise. It is winter in New England. There are lots of people poor, cold and hung, but our politicians seem to be isolated from having to deal with those facts. Snow falls occasionally but, with the help of the weather people, predictions have been fairly accurate. The end result, snow falls but has been cold and light and quickly plowed or shoveled away.

Those of us who are fortunate to have a roof over our heads and a heating system to keep us warm though it may cost our life savings to run, note the winter through the windows in the comfort of our homes. We try not to feel uncomfortable about what is happening in the rest of the world because we have no control over it. However, we have some control over how we handle those less fortunate around us. We avoid them, for the most part, because we are inside and they are outside...much like the politicians. All those good feelings of fellowship, tossing coins into the Salvation Army's pot, carols floating out of every store, radio station, and in restaurants...are over for the season. We Northerners can toss out our Poinsettias, they are for Christmas, after all. We'd have to care for them and water them anyway (though some of us see them as a living plant we cannot kill but must try to keep alive regardless of the season.














However, there is always new life in the plant world until we stop being green. Our beautiful Holland bulbs take over with new color and life, giving us hope that another winter will be over before we expect it, to be followed by renewed hope for our world.

THE END OF THE HOLIDAY SEASON

There is nothing like a denuded Christmas tree lying on its side in the snow, waiting for the trash men to whisk it to dead tree Heaven, having served us all so well when we needed it.

In its short life with humans, it gave both beauty and pleasure as well as delightful aroma, bringing the forest into our living room. Now the Nutcrackers have all been put away with the rest of the decorations around the house...the candles in the windows...and everything else that spelled Christmas, to be rediscovered next year. For me, the beauty of the season did not lie in any religious tales (though I love the carols) nor in the commercialism; not in the material goods passed around family and friends. For me, unlike the sadness of Scrooge's Christmases past, it is a memory of what once was fun but will be no more. It is the memory of eager young children, still believing in Santa Claus and waiting to be gifted, with anxious little faces waiting to be surprised, and smiling at the miracle of the season.

MARKETERS WASTE A LOT OF YOUR LIFE

Last evening I watched Episode #2 (The Two Towers) from Lord of the Rings on TV. I had seen it in theater when it first came out and own the DVDs but, decided I could see it and read my book, since I pretty much knew how it was going. The too-frequent interruptions is a reason I so rarely watch commercial TV. There are few memorable ads, while an ad ,ay be clever, I usually miss the product. Few deserve the time to watch, and none more than once. They are foolish enough to give warning that the ads are on when engineers raise the gain and the ad comes booming, shattering eardrums like fingernails on the blackboard, amputating the mood the movie had engendered. I can't reach for the mute button fast enough! My peripheral vision tells me when the movie is back on to regain sound. Instead of turning me into a consumer of whatever is being advertised, they have driven me away.

I'm guessing station managers are fooled by the number of viewers of a program. When a program is good it will draw lots of people. However, the stupid producers make listeners get into a competition. Rather than staggering the good shows, the stations tend to put the good ones on at the same time. Thus shows that would draw a huge audience have to share it, each getting lower numbers, thus less advertising pull.

Cable companies do not make it easy to record shows for future viewing if you don't rent their recorder. This assures that you cannot turn it into a DVD, but assumes that you will watch it in the near future, which for me is unlikely. If I can't see a show when it is on, I now know not to record it because I will never find the time to watch it and am less likely to fast forward the commercials to do so. I am forced to choose as though I am looking at a restaurant menu...I can have one entree only! If I make the wrong choice, I have to 'suck it up', or put more delicately, I have to 'eat it'.

Telemarketers are just as bad. Charities, allowed to ignore the 'do not call' list, are also losing money and wasting my time by their tactics. Today, on a phone call with a friend, I was interrupted by another call...'callus interruptus' as my son and wife would say. Telemarketers give themselves away because they pause a long time before saying hello. When someone answered my repeated 'hello' I realized it was a telemarketer. I said, "I have someone on the line, is this an important call?" The person identified himself as calling from one of the leading medical charities. I interrupted him immediately and said you are gong to ask me for money, aren't you? Well, you aren't going to get any from me today as I was interrupted me on a call. Could you call back another time?" He didn't accept that and began to read his spiel. At this point I simply said, "You interrupted my call and aren't listening to me. Call me another time." ...and I hung up on him. I am not without empathy for the people who have to call and beg for money but when will they realize they do not have a taker on the line and are also wasting their own time?

Caller ID helps make this a bit more tolerable because I can ignore some calls. When they do not list the number, I know not to answer the call. (Another stupid move on their part.) As I grow older and have less time left to waste, these issues take on greater importance to me. My computer privacy is violated with adbots tracking where I go, what I buy, and what pop-ups with which to try to blind and bind me. It eats up time just to clean them off the computer periodically, knowing that they will be back each time I glance at commercial sites.