First, taxes.
During the Revolutionary War times, the rallying cry was all about "No taxation without representation!" According to Wiki, Boston politician James Otis was the one who uttered the famous "Taxation without representation is tyranny!"
Not to belittle what those guys were going through back then, what with trying to break away from England and getting the tea imported at decent prices all at the same time, but I have to say even with representation, taxes aren't so hot either.
Nevertheless, we pay them because we want to keep our government, which is the greatest in the world despite its obvious flaws (I'm looking at you, electoral college), and it needs to be funded -- although it would be nice to be consulted once in a while on where the money will go (I'm looking at you, Office of Management and Budget) -- and also because if we don't pay, the IRS will eat our asses for breakfast.
And so, on to the other certainty: Death, which, holy crap, people, has hit the world of blogging. This story, from the NY Times, outlines the stress of 24/7 Web work, specifically blogging. A few excerpts:
A growing work force of home-office laborers and entrepreneurs, armed with computers and smartphones and wired to the hilt, are toiling under great physical and emotional stress created by the around-the-clock Internet economy that demands a constant stream of news and comment.
Two weeks ago in North Lauderdale, Fla., funeral services were held for Russell Shaw, a prolific blogger on technology subjects who died at 60 of a heart attack. In December, another tech blogger, Marc Orchant, died at 50 of a massive coronary. A third, Om Malik, 41, survived a heart attack in December.
Other bloggers complain of weight loss or gain, sleep disorders, exhaustion and other maladies born of the nonstop strain of producing for a news and information cycle that is as always-on as the Internet.
Well ok, then. I'll just move from stressing over taxes to stressing over blogging. Which, of course, I am here blogging about. Perhaps we can lobby the government to allow extra deductions for bloggers.
On a funnier note, the awesomeness that is Ken Levine (one of my favorite bloggers) had this to say about it:
Non-bloggers might not appreciate the crushing pressure we’re under to create content. Sure there are other professions that are stress-producing but let’s be realistic. Air traffic controllers get breaks during fog. Fire fighters have days when they’re just washing the truck. There is no rest for bloggers. Every day (or week or month) we must keep feeding the monster. New anecdotes, more advice, fresh tirades, pictures of kitties – it never stops!!!
Amen, brother. And now let us all sing "Amazing Grace."
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1 comment:
Non-bloggers might not appreciate the crushing pressure we’re under to create content. Sure there are other professions that are stress-producing but let’s be realistic. Air traffic controllers get breaks during fog. Fire fighters have days when they’re just washing the truck. There is no rest for bloggers. Every day (or week or month) we must keep feeding the monster. New anecdotes, more advice, fresh tirades, pictures of kitties – it never stops!!!
This is sooo true. LOL But we (your adoring public) love it. :o)
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