I’ve always wondered if it takes me longer to get past clichéd thinking than others, or less time. I was thinking about this because I read someone’s response to a Facebook post that went something like “I’m wearing shorts today. I don’t think I could handle the weather in [place x] anymore.”

Seriously? Do you honestly believe that? Moreover, do you think any of us believe it? You lived in a colder place your entire life and now, after a tiny percentage of time in this new ‘better place’ you suddenly have no ability to stand the cold temperatures the rest of your friends so stupidly suffer through, year after year (you know, those people with which you associate yourself despite obviously being of superior intellect because you think the only true measure of a person is to identify a warmer climate)?

When I read stuff like that I find myself getting irritated a little; it really seems like a blatant attempt at thumbing one’s nose at someone because they live somewhere colder, as if the writer has really done some amazing thing by simply moving to a warmer place. Let’s face it: it’s far easier to drive your car and your crap to Florida, for example, than it is to toil away in a lab and win a Nobel Prize for physics. So why the open allusion to some amazing accomplishment for which one feels some massive need to take credit?

Why doesn’t anyone ever call out that person and say, “Well whoop-de-do for you! You moved to a warmer place that quite possibly sucks in every other way, yet you think we’re all sitting here simultaneously jealous of you and wondering how we could just hope to be more like you.”

Isn’t it funny how we’re all just too nice to (or perhaps too passive) to respond to this person?

There’s nothing better than getting your friends to take sides, in public, when you argue with your partner.

Except perhaps learning to solve your problems amongst yourselves in private and just plain suck it up.

Austin… great town and now the only place outside Palo Alto where you can work for Facebook.

Ed Finkler represents all of us geeks, but when he discusses the upcoming iPad I think he gets it completely when he says:

• What I’ve learned from interacting with most computer users, though, is that they do not give a rat’s ass about how computers work. They want to accomplish certain tasks, and will do this in the way that is most sensible and direct for them. And the way they end up accomplishing these tasks within the multitasking window motif is typically not the way I would do it.

I completely agree.  When I watch my family use the devices I obliterate, so much of what they do communicates the utter uselessness clutter 70% or more of what a typical computer operating system and its applications can do.  And let’s not discuss the goofy maintenance dance techies do to their family’s boxes from time to time.  That’s what’s wrong with computing today – netbooks are just a smaller form factor with the same problems -

Ed’s full article: We’re the Stupid Ones: Facebook, Google, and Our Failure as Developers.

AT&T says it’s fixed mobile Facebook problems now.  Pretty sloppy session identifier issues from the sound of it.  The average user will not understand this explanation, and AT&T and Facebook  both owe it to everyone to explain in detail how ridiculously easy it seems to have been for users to be able to access total strangers’ accounts.

• People are willing to put themselves out there when they can gain from it. But this doesn’t mean that everyone suddenly wants to be always in public. And it doesn’t mean that folks who live their lives in public don’t value privacy. The best way to maintain privacy as a public figure is to give folks the impression that everything about you is in public.

More commentary at: apophenia: Facebook’s move ain’t about changes in privacy norms.

From this firsthand account inside Facebook HQ:

• One of the most troubling revelations in the anonymous interview is the claim that any Facebook employee could log into any member account with a single master password (which was some derivation of Chuck Norris — not so funny in this scenario). The shadowy interviewee also said that various employees (at least two of whom were terminated) were caught inappropriately using that password to gain access to accounts.

More: Anonymous Employee Reveals Ugly Details of Facebook’s Inner Workings.

I’m not sure how “the Internet loses track” of your goings-on on Facebook – the original author of this article doesn’t seem to know much about technology.  But still an interesting development if you’re a Facebooker and you’re trying to keep a pulse on how good (or bad) FB’s infrastructure is.

I vote that it’s ‘kinda lousy’.

More here.

I’m not so sure it had ever begun on Facebook.

‘I don’t buy Zuckerberg’s argument that Facebook is now only reflecting the changes that society is undergoing. I think Facebook itself is a major agent of social change and by acting otherwise Zuckerberg is being arrogant and condescending.’

Strikes me as a cop out, too.  I wonder how many lawyers it took to convince Mark to pretend an expectation of privacy – or at least slightly granular, logical discretion – would cost more than he could ever make.

via Facebook’s Zuckerberg Says The Age of Privacy is Over.

Like almost everyone else I’ve found a lot of old friends on Facebook since joining some time ago. And also (like everyone else) most of my friends are from childhood and are, logically, very close to my age.

At the moment that means were all approaching forty years old, we’re all watching grandparents die, and our parents aren’t getting any younger either. Not that they need any help figuring this out as they say goodbye to their parents.

Those of us who have children are seeing them transition into at least their second or third defined phase. What was once a helpless baby is now an independent thinking, analyzing, and often independent being that doesn’t need us as much as before and is showing strong reflections of what we’ve taught – or exposed to – them.
This rush of diverse emotional feedback causes most of us to reflect inwardly at the things that have happened to us throughout our lives, perhaps more lucidly than ever before.

And how are we going to move forward? I can’t attest to what most of my friends have decided. I feel as if what’s come before is actually a “pre-test” of a sort. It’s almost like saying, “You’re finished with your audition and now it’s time to perform.”

The funniest part is who I thought to be and who I want to be are two entirely different things. What was so important to me not so long ago has become incredibly insignificant. Perhaps I succeeded beyond my wildest expectations too soon. Perhaps my values have changed. Or maybe the world I’ve seen around me is not the same as the world I expected.

Regardless the answer, I feel I’ve learned several things. Everything we were ever told when we were young about not wasting every single moment is true. Every sentiment written in a store-bought card, every story that seems too good to be true, every dream we’ve ever had… there is no reason why we shouldn’t be actively pursuing these.

And mortality truly isn’t the real enemy – it’s regret.

Remember that list you made? Stop looking at it as that thing you rehash every January 1 or throw away every March after you fail to realize your most desired goals.  Start checking items off this list, one at a time. If you can’t complete at least some items quickly, add items you can. Be realistic. Don’t set yourself up for failure. More importantly, don’t set yourself up for regret.

Start now, don’t delay. Time doesn’t care if it’s January 1, or January 15, or September 18, or December 11. You can’t delay death so don’t delay your life. Most importantly, don’t delay your goals.

My guess is that’s one thing on which all my forty year old friends would agree.

Here’s how to get started:

1. If you haven’t already, read Getting Things Done by David Allen.  If you have, read it again.  Here is more info if you haven’t or are unfamiliar.  And by the way, his book is available just about everywhere including Amazon (get it here).  This will change how you look at everything you do, and in particular will give you amazing control over all the stuff that gets in the way of your most important – yet hardest to achieve – goals.

2. Grab an app that’ll keep you on track every day.  My favorite for the Mac is OmniFocus.  There’s another one called Things that’s pretty good, and more can be found here.  OmniFocus is by no means the cheapest, but are you really going to put a price on gaining control over your achievements?  While you’re at it, think about things like syncing with your iPhone or smartphone, because this is something you want to have with you everywhere (OmniFocus, Things, and others have an app for that, by the way).  If you don’t have a Mac, try TeuxDeux or use Google’s To-Do list and Calendar apps on the web.  Again, I don’t recommend you do this on the cheap because you’ll find yourself right back where you are now.  It’s like trying to run a marathon after training by walking around your house.

3. Thoroughly read the document set for the app.  In fact, this probably should be done before purchasing, so hopefully you’ve been working with a trial version at this point.  See?  I’m proof of how important it is to get your life in order!

4. Use every ounce of discipline you have.  It’s a change keeping your list updated and close by at all times, but it’s no different than brushing your teeth every day without fail because you don’t want them to fall out.  Remind yourself how this is changing your life, and consider this effort your *only* goal for now, since without it all other goals can’t be achieved with nearly the success.

If you need help along the way or simply discipline to stay with it, don’t forget there are hundreds of sources online for assistance and inspiration.

Here’s to a life without regret.