Vote Today!

It's Election Day. Please vote. No matter who you vote for or whether you live in a swing state, your vote matters.

That is all.

Donate via Text Message to Help Japan

 Note (03/12): Because this is an actionable item, this post will stay at the top of the blog for a week.

I'm sure you all know about the situation in Japan right now. Here are a few quick and easy ways to help:

Text "REDCROSS" to 90999 -- donates $10 to Red Cross efforts
Text "TSUNAMI" to 50555 -- donates $10 to Convoy of Hope efforts
Text "JAPAN" or "QUAKE" to 80888 -- donates $10 to Salvation Army efforts

Petition to Save New York Public Libraries

Note (05/28): Because this is an actionable item, I'm keeping it at the top of the blog for the next week or two.

Edit (06/01): Quit Facebook Day having ended, this post returns to the top for a few more days.

Edit (06/03): My sincere thanks to anyone who petitioned, for your support for literacy in New York.

New York City is facing (more) budget cuts. The city government is considering cutting funding for the public library system. Considering the state of education in New York (and in the country at large), squeezing public libraries is not the best way to save money -- the societal cost is just too great.

Please sign this e-petition to reject budget cuts for, and closure of, public libraries in New York (even if you're not a New Yorker):

http://dontclosethebook.nypl.org/action?hpfeature=1

Spread the word.

This means a lot to me, personally, as well. I'm a lifelong, incurable bibliophile, and I would hate to see libraries close in my home city. My thanks to my dear friend Weily for bringing this to my attention, and also to everyone who petitions.

Today is Quit Facebook Day

I am interrupting the "e-petitions at the top of the blog" run to blog about this one-day internet event/phenomenon. Today is Quit Facebook Day, which is exactly what it sounds like: quit Facebook today! The official website is here:

http://www.quitfacebookday.com

There are several good reasons to quit (or, in my case, to never have started in the first place). My list boils down to these few points:
1. Privacy
2. Productivity
3. Content Ownership
4. Meaningful Friendships

The first has already been addressed on this blog (and is covered on the website), and the second is self-evident. The third is a serious, often overlooked concern: anything you post on Facebook becomes the property of Facebook (as opposed to on other sites, where all content remains the property of the author). That's the equivalent of giving up first publication rights to anything you post, ever. You never know when you might need it.

The fourth is a personal philosophy: I would rather have a few fast friends than many superficial friends. Facebook appears to encourage rampant and unsustainable befriending of casual acquaintances, and the setting of perverse numerical goals, neither of which are conducive to meaningful relationships. I'm the type of person who enjoys long conversations and equally long letters (or, nowadays, e-mails). With most of my friends, I can be away from them, without much contact, for months, and pick up right where we left off. One-line status updates just don't appeal to me.

Petition to Stop Off-Shore Oil Drilling

Note (05/17): Because this is an actionable item, I'm keeping it at the top of the blog for the next week or two.

Edit (05/27): Thank you, dear readers, for your support for environmental conscientiousness.

In light of the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and in the interests of biodiversity in American and international waters, please sign this e-petition to reject off-shore drilling. (It'll take 30 seconds, max.) Environment California is a legitimate group; I've done my homework, never fear.

http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/action/oceans/gulf-oil-spill-disaster2?id4=ES

And of course, spread the word.

Thanks. It means a lot to me.