Thought of the moment

So much to say; so little time... I've been dying to post but it's been complicated. What to do?

The Wolf And The Lamb

“A lamb was quenching its thirst
In the water of a pure stream.
A fasting wolf came by, looking for something;
He was attracted by hunger to this place.
—What makes you so bold as to meddle with my drinking?
Said this animal, very angry.
You will be punished for your boldness.
—Sir, answered the lamb, let Your Majesty
Not put himself into a rage;
But rather, let him consider
That I am taking a drink of water
In the stream
More than twenty steps below him;
And that, consequently, in no way,
Am I troubling his supply.
—You do trouble it, answered the cruel beast.
And I know you said bad things of me last year.
—How could I do that when I wasn't born,
Answered the lamb; I am still at my mother's breast.
—If it wasn't you, then it was your brother.
—I haven't a brother.
—It was then someone close to you;
For you have no sympathy for me,
You, your shepherds and your dogs.
I have been told of this. I have to make things even.
I won't remain supperless, even though you refute every one of my imputations.”
by Jean de La Fontaine

--
Surprisingly, this particular K9 now finds himself playing the Lamb's role...

SMS, yes! Do we have a problem?

I use sms all the time. Actually, most of the time, I would rather send a text message than call someone.

Some people say it's an ineffective way to communicate and depending on the circumstance, it would be more expensive than actually calling. Well... Yes; maybe. As I said, ‘depending’ on the circumstances.

You see, SMSs are discreet (unless of course you have Wagner's ‘Ride of the Valkyries’ set as a ring tone!); in a meeting it would not be appropriate to answer a call and disrupt the work being done but one single beep can be forgiven and it won't take the recipient much time to check what's going on. They are also unintrusive, giving the recipient the choice to reply immediately or at his/her own convenience.

Its limited size somewhat forces you to organize your thoughts before you hit the send button; you usually strive to convey as much information as needed while remaining concise. Fine, you could argue that can also be achieved with a phone call but it's still not the same. Here's an example:

- Hello, mate. How are ya?
- Yo, my man! I'm cool. Howdy?
- Chilling, man... Just chilling. Listen up. The boys and I are going to watch the game at Fred's house next Monday. Why don't you show up?
- Next Monday... Hmmm... I am not sure, dude. It will depend on my girl being in town. You know she's been traveling and stuff.
- Not an issue, brotha! Bring the girl along if you want. Fred's wife will be there.
- Ok. That could work, then. But I will check and let you know.
- Sure, dude. No probs. Talk to you on Sunday. See ya.
- See ya, bro.
- Hey, wait, wait, wait... I forgot to mention. Bring some beers, eh? We're all bringing some stuff to munch and drink.
- Sure thing. Will do. Bye.
- Bye.

Now, that is not a very long call, right? Maybe it would take a minute? A minute and a half? But if the fellow is on a meeting or doing whatever-it-is-the-fellow-does-when-he-cannot-answer such call, it would be like this:

- Hello, mate. How are ya?
- Bro, sorry but I can't talk right now.
- No, it's ok. It's pretty quick. The boys and I are going to watch...
- Mate, let me call you back. I'm in a meeting right now.
- Ok. It's about the game on Monday.
- I'll call you back.
- Ok. Bye.
- Bye.

Faster, sure. But you just put the guy in an uncomfortable situation. Maybe his boss is looking funny at him right now. Maybe his customer is upset his attention is not on what's being discussed even if there is nothing much going on other than Jill babbling about next years plans for refurnishing the office or whatever.

Let's try with an SMS, shall we?

‘The gang & I will watch the game at Fred's. Monday, 7pm. Bring beer. It's OK to bring your girl. Cheers.’

Fast, easy, succinct. Provides all the information needed and give him the choice to reply with a simple "OK" or call later for details. I guess you get the point.

And now, with Twitter, a whole bunch of nice cool web apps is using SMS in a very professional and creative way. Myself, I found Xpenser and started being able to reimburse all those small expenses I never remember to submit because a receipt is not provided and I can't remember the amount. It's a beautiful solution and it's free! I get out of the taxi, I SMS Xpenser. I pay lunch to my team. I get the receipt and SMS Xpenser. Sent money to my kid? SMS his mom and Xpenser. It works! End of the month, I just login to the site, export my expenses and submit!

I have been working like a horse. Do people notice? Perhaps yes, maybe no. Do I remember? Gee, I can't remember what I had for lunch yesterday, do you really think I will remember how many hours I worked lat month? In comes Keeptempo. One sms when I get to the office. One when I leave. And... That's it! I know exactly what I have been doing.

Meeting tomorrow? Hold on, I will SMS 30 Boxes. Or my Google Calendar!

I like SMS. I would rather SMS than call. And you can SMS me any time. I do not have Wagner's ‘Ride of the Valkyries’ set as a ring tone!

Too good not to share...

Obama's Use of Complete Sentences Stirs Controversy

In the first two weeks since the election, President-elect Barack Obama has broken with a tradition established over the past eight years through his controversial use of complete sentences, political observers say.

Millions of Americans who watched Mr. Obama's appearance on CBS's 60 Minutes on Sunday witnessed the president-elect's unorthodox verbal tick, which had Mr. Obama employing grammatically correct sentences virtually every time he opened his mouth.

But Mr. Obama's decision to use complete sentences in his public pronouncements carries with it certain risks, since after the last eight years many Americans may find his odd speaking style jarring.

According to presidential historian Davis Logsdon of the University of Minnesota, some Americans might find it "alienating" to have a president who speaks English as if it were his first language.

"Every time Obama opens his mouth, his subjects and verbs are in agreement," says Mr. Logsdon. "If he keeps it up, he is running the risk of sounding like an elitist."

The historian said that if Mr. Obama insists on using complete sentences in his speeches, the public may find itself saying, "Okay, subject, predicate, subject predicate -- we get it, stop showing off."

The president-elect's stubborn insistence on using complete sentences has already attracted a rebuke from one of his harshest critics, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska.

"Talking with complete sentences there and also too talking in a way that ordinary Americans like Joe the Plumber and Tito the Builder can't really do there, I think needing to do that isn't tapping into what Americans are needing also," she said.

Andy Borowitz is a comedian and writer whose work appears in The New Yorker and The New York Times, and at his award-winning humor site, BorowitzReport.com.

Mobile ramblings:

I ought to start blogging again...

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