Have been finding lately that Mapquest is more accurate than Google Maps in small midwestern towns. Comparisons show erroneous feature collection like roads drawn where there clearly aren’t any on the satellite image, bizarre routing and mislabeled streets.  Granted, there are many little towns with only one or no streets on StreetView, but it doesn’t explain how Mapquest gets it right.

Google lacks in the local search department, too. When you know my zip code, why give me search results in Chicago Park Ridge, IL first and my location sixth never?

Ok, even if I don’t know how to do (see previous post), I’ll start with what I done did.

Work: Submitted a 30-minute speaking proposal to the Where 2.0 2010 conference. I’ll leave worrying about the slide deck and what I’m going to wear until after it’s accepted.

Movies: After not having watched a feature film since Harry Potter And The Half-Blooded Snape earlier in the summer, my two trans-Atlantic flights afforded me the chance to catch Sunshine Cleaning, Transformers 2, I Love You, Man, The Hangover and Watchmen (twice).  I know watching a bad Michael Bay film is not an accomplishment, but a) insomnia, b) 3D visual effects, and c) giant metal robots making that hella-cool Zing! sound.  Hoping to watch Slumdog Millionaire this weekend with the fam.

Books: Finished Not Enough Indians. Harry Shearer is the king of the simile and this quick, hilarious read made me think of one thing only: Whom will my former neighbor Jennifer Coolidge play when the book is optioned?

Election: What is up with the Casino Economy permeating this country? After having read the arguments of both sides, I have decided to vote No on this issue.  Gambling, especially in the absence of a robust bidding process and with only 30% going to the state for education funds, is not economic recovery.  Instead, it is poison to our population of under- and unemployed who have very little money as it is.  If you don’t believe me, talk to the folks who run Salvation Army, adult literacy and workforce development programs in this area and listen to their stories of people blowing their last $40 at a betting table hoping to make it big.

Anyway, these are Things I’ve Done To Date Worth Noting.

incoherence – lack of cohesion or clarity or organization

It’s not writer’s block, nor is it a lack of material to write on.  With all the travel, new phenomena, innovative discussions at work, and interesting people I’ve met, I can only describe my life and mind as having been enriched over the last few months.  So, why the difficulty in putting this thought and discovery to paper blog post?  Is it because there’s too much?

No, it’s because I don’t know where to start writing engaging, thought-provoking posts.  You know, kick this joint up a notch, so it isn’t merely a repository of geo and political links, blockquotes and videos that are worthless but to me. This wasn’t a problem when I kept a written journal along with the blog, but that has fallen by the wayside since the onset of shoulder aches induced by mousing and keyboarding all day.  Besides, who wants to go from a computer at work to a computer at home where the critters need watching, the lawn needs mowing, and the house needs … housing?  This is also the reason I haven’t yet uploaded pictures from Germany. That pesky real life.

It hasn’t stopped me from being active on Twitter and email (the old reliable proto-blog), where I feel writing is easier and communication rewarded.  Yet, that is placing importance on convenience and quick fixes, when the real object of this blog venture is reverence for the written word, discovery through exposition and communication.  Sarah M Ford sums it up nicely in Are Blogs Obsolete?

Does this mean that blogs are obsolete, as Boutin would have us believe?  That if you have something to say, you’re better off saying it via Twitter, Facebook, or Flickr?  I, as well as many of the commenters at Wired, disagree.  As they rightly point out, you can’t say much in the 140 characters that Twitter allows.  Flickr and Facebook are much richer environments but even they are simply not the same as the long-form writing that blogging allows.

… On a blog, on the other hand, the written word is front and center.  Sure, there may be multimedia support of the written word.  In some posts, the multimedia elements may even take front stage.  But at some point, somewhere, a blog is about communicating and that communication is still best accomplished via language.

All this  means is that I have established there is much to say and say well.  On this blog.  Now, just how does one coherently write about visiting Dachau, female mariachis, the exhuming of Kuwait and Katrina memories, Europe vs. America, and the evolution of civil rights with proper context and discretion?  Yes, w00t, I had an ethereal experience seeing the Flaming Lips in an open-air amphitheater on the most beautiful Ohio evening and they played a set list made of pure awesomeness to which I sang along, but does that constitute an essay?  What do I write on and how do I write it well?  Just Do It doesn’t seem to help because I don’t know how.

It really comes back to this question I’ve been asking of myself a lot lately: I know who I want to be and what I want to do but how do I get there?

Any bright ideas?

• The Sensuous Curmudgeon | Barbara Forrest Exposes Louisiana Creationists
  "Don“t be misled into thinking that Louisiana is a small, hopelessly backward state, and what happens there is of no importance elsewhere. That state is being used as a testing ground for a nationwide theocratic effort to literally undo the Enlightenment. If the creationists“ schemes to reverse the progress of the last ten generations are successful in Louisiana, they“ll be deployed elsewhere. So pay attention."
  (tags: evolution news politics science creationism)