I see an End to Free on the horizon as soon as some other (better, cooler, different) marketing vehicle is invented. Anyone who has purchased FB and Google ads realizes that click-through and “customer conversion” rates are abysmal. People are inured to ads and rarely follow those links. IMO: ad-supported frameworks just aren’t sustainable in the long term.

My solution: I’ll be looking for a Bear ETF that I can short Facebook in about a year, maybe two.

/end Cassandra-style prophesy

I definitely feel adult this year, but not old. I finally really have the sense that I know myself: what I do well and where I need help. I am pleased to report that I’m centered, confident and at peace.

Most of all, I’m thankful. Thankful for what’s transpired that got me to where I am. I stand on the shoulders of giants and received all the benefits of the modern age in America. I have known friendship and love and have made some deep, meaningful connections with others. I rarely experience fear, but experience joy and peace regularly.

It is a good life so far. Here’s to the next 38 years and more!

Here’s two photos of the house I’m attempting to purchase. Front yard and back yard.

Camus was known to be a philosopher of the absurd. His work poses interesting paradoxes. Is it possible to destroy everything in your life except for your lust for life? Can an atheist long for salvation and meaning? Is it possible to be authentic and principled, yet estranged from societal norms? To that I would add what seems a logical tangent (given his other notions): is it possible to be happy yet accept the absurdity of an inherently indifferent world?

As I interpret Camus’ work, I find it “works” for me to believe that we live in an an indifferent universe, but make meaning along the way. Meaning is the meat and potatoes of life. It is meaning that sustains and nourishes us. So what is meaning? We make a story about meaning (and call something meaningful) when our actions take care of our concerns, or when we think that a situation forces action.

So the task of life is to create robust stories of meaning: even when that meaning is provisional and ephemeral and across generations and geography. We have to make up our stories of meaning, then believe them, and share with others because we are always betwixt and between (l’envers et l’endroit.) Life really is inherently absurd. We make meaning out of our lives in order to make the world a little less absurd, in order to find the happiness and reject those nihilistic tendencies. Meaning sustains us and we are the master storytellers in our own life.

Back in 1996, when I worked at the White House, I was the writer assigned to compose an official presidential letter (signed by Bill Clinton) to Coretta Scott King. The purpose of the letter was to mark and celebrate the occasion whereby President Clinton signed Congressional Legislation proposing the establishment of a memorial to honor Dr. King.

When I visit DC next time, I’ll definitely make an effort to visit the memorial. I only have a loose connection to it, but personal connections with history are pretty cool.

I wasn’t really expecting to be admitted… but you never know if you don’t try. Perhaps life has other things in mind for me!

So I guess I won’t be rubbing shoulders with Tyra Banks. Oh boy, that made me chuckle!

You see, I now own a big, flashy, gas guzzling high-performance SUV, which gets a miserable 16-18 mpg and requires premium (high octane) gas. My Porsche is a blast to drive. It passes everything on the road… except the gas station.

That said, I don’t have to drive much. I work from home and live in the most walk-able neighborhood I can find in San Diego. The walking score for my building is a whopping 89!

Contrast that with my situation in 2004. At that time, I lived at a house with a walk score of zero, but drove a lovely little fuel-efficient Mini that got 28 mpg.

All things considered, I think that my current situation is preferable. I am positive that my current lifestyle is my lowest level of environmental impact of my life. Cool huh?

I have a few connections to the office of the Presidency.

• I’m directly related to Ulysses S. Grant. I am named after Lura Grant (my great-grandmother,) niece of the President. Notice the family resemblance? I do… specifically my nose. Every time I look at a $50 I see the family schnoz.
• Apparently, I’m also related, through my mother’s lineage to Martha Custis Washington, who had children with her first husband, but not her second (significantly more famous) husband, and first President George Washington. I should note that the family is still accruing proper documentation to prove this . If you’re into Americana, you might also note that any link to the Custis lineage also means that you are related to Robert E. Lee, President of the Confederacy.
• More recently, I worked for President Clinton in 1996-1997. During that time, I had the privilege of roaming the halls of the Old Executive Office Building, part of the White House complex and home to the Executive Offices of the Presidency. My role included writing policy letters as if I were the President. I’m still shocked that I got to do that! Here’s my photo with President Clinton and some photos from my White House experience.
• I also got to drive a press vehicle as a part of the Presidential Motorcade. Here are my photos from that occasion.

Anyway, those are my links to the Presidency. Happy President’s Day.

]]> http://lura.net/blog/2011/02/the-presidents-me.asp/feed 0