30.3.06

A seed

I got an idea, see? And I think it's a workable one, maybe even a good one. Dare to dream, could it be a great one?

If any of you have read Malcolm Gladwell's book, The Tipping Point, you'll know that he makes a pretty strong case for the societal effects of certain types of individuals. He calls them Connectors, Mavens and Salespeople. I won't go into detail here, other than to recommend the book. I bring it up because it gave me the glimmer of an idea.

I'm a Connector, you see. Just a few words will suffice to describe Connectors, they're those people we all know who just seem to know EVERYBODY. No matter where they go, they always seem to run into at least one friend. I've always been that person - I don't know why, and I'm not complaining. In fact, I just realized that the blog phenomenon is one of the best things that could happen to us Connectors. Now we can reach all our network of friends with ease.

But I'm digressing again.

Knowing that I'm a Connector, and realizing what an influence they can have over society, I've decided to take the Spiderman approach to it all. With great power comes great responsibility, and there are things that I can accomplish through my connections. At least I hope.

Here's the crux of the matter. I know that the situation with the climate is getting very bad, and we all have to take ownership and help out to change that, or quite frankly, we're doomed. Just a few days after reading The Tipping Point, I heard an interview on CBC with Tim Flannery, the author of The Weather Makers. I haven't read the book yet, but he made a lot of sense on when he was talking. I've decided to read the book, and, if it's as good as the critics are saying, and as effective, I plan to start buying additional copies and giving them away to friends and acquaintances. Maybe I can assist in spreading this important message.

Well, that all sounded very righteous and noble. I do really mean it, without any bluster. I just wanted to document the plan as it grows. Who knows, maybe you'll be the next one to get one. Let me know if you are interested.

Hiati - that is so not a word!

K

#1 - I'm sick of doing this in Icelandic.
#1a - Actually, I'm just sick of having a rule that this should be written in Icelandic, because obviously I'm not doing it in any language. Let's hope this fixes that.

#2 - I was thinking maybe I should wait and make it a full year with no posts, but it turns out that the last one was in July 2005, and I kinda want to write something right now.

#3 - I don't really know what I want to write, and I'm hesitant to put in anything about personal stuff. Would be very unprofessional of me to write about Convergys and frustrations here, and the same goes for the singing and choirs. Honestly, I think the main motivating (or un-motivating factor) is that I wouldn't want anything to come back and haunt me.

You know, that kind of gets me thinking. When I was a kid, I used to read those 'Choose-your-own-adventure' (TM) style books, and I'd always try to hold my last page, in case things didn't turn out the way I'd hoped. But of course, I have to make a string of decisions and hold multiple pages to have a safe path back. I've often thought of that as a bad sign, showing my inability to make decisions and stick to them. But now I wonder if maybe it has some positive effects. I do have the tendency to hedge my bets, to cover my ass. I try to think of as many possible outcomes and interpretations before I do or say anything.

Of course, that brings me back to the fact that that behaviour has really hurt me when trying to find a romantic partner. I go a bit overboard, especially when the emotions are running high, and get too invested. So I plan out the conversations and choose the ones I want to have based on the scenario I've imagine. Sometimes I wish I weren't so thoughtful and careful.