There's that saying:  "Dress for the job you want, not the job you have."  I've always felt like that leaves out the middle case:  If I have the job I want (and vice versa), then how should I dress?  We live in weird and modern times (or maybe it's just a function of where I've worked), but my employer has never officially specified a dress code.  They'll say things like "no open-toed shoes" or "no shorts," but that leaves a lot on the table. 

Since I worked at my last job for a while, I became sort of a subject matter expert, so my "work" preceded me in the sense that people understood what I did and what I was capable of.  My attire or physical appearance was completely irrelevant, so I mostly dressed "down" unless I was meeting with customers or whatnot. 

At my new job, I've been dressing "up" because I haven't been there long enough to have a reputation.  I feel like if my "work" doesn't yet have a voice, my outfit probably should. #business

Call it a mid-life crisis or whatever, but I started thinking about other jobs when I turned 40.  Not for any real specific reason, but the thought that went through my head was, "If I could do what I'm currently doing but for a different overall purpose or from a different geographic area, that might be neat." 

So anyway, what this all boiled down to was:  Where do I want to live?  I lived in New Jersey forever and I've seen enough snow for a lifetime, so that rules out anywhere north.  You literally couldn't pay me enough money to live anywhere in the midwest, what with its overarching wet, gray aesthetic and general flatness.  Florida seems cool, except hurricanes.  Plus it'll be underwater in a decade or so.  Texas might be cool, except it doesn't exactly fit my ... vibe (or vice versa).  Utah and Colorado are a little too remote for my comfort.  Arizona is a literal fiery hellscape (which is very nice to visit).  California would be great, but I might not be able to afford a house, plus traffic.  Hawaii would be awesome but I probably wouldn't see any of my friends or family again (mixed feelings). 

What's left is the southeast.  I'm a new resident so this might be a little premature, but the southeast has a lot of good features: 

• longer summers, milder winters
• proximity to major cities (Nashville, Atlanta, etc.)
• access to beaches (4-5 hours away)
• near some mountains (feels like home for me)
• low taxes
• plenty of jobs/industry
• friendly people
• college football

I don't want to speak too soon, but I kinda like it here. #lifestyle

I work at a place with a pretty active public relations department.  There's a heavy social media presence and plenty of company-wide emails celebrating events in the industry.  Most of it is pretty benign, but I can't help but question the difference between public relations and propaganda.  They both seem to be about branding and messaging and creating a story aimed at getting people to believe something about your organization.  It's not reporting or journalism, because it's not free from bias.  It's specifically biased to convince people to believe what you're telling them, not what they think they already know. 

One source says, "Propaganda is a deliberate attempt to persuade people to think and then behave in a manner desired by the source; public relations ... is a related process intended to enhance the relationship between an organization and the public."  The ellipsis actually says public relations is "a branch of propaganda," which I think sums it up nicely.  Another source says, "In the 1920's, propaganda renamed itself 'public relations' and is now an important function of every large business."  So I guess there you have it.  They're essentially the same thing, but the propaganda about public relations made us think they were different. #psychology

I feel like there's a pretty strong delineation between major internet places and what their primary purpose is, so it's always weird to see people wildly breaking my internal, made-up rules. 

• Facebook is for posting pictures of your family vacations, pets, and kids.
• Twitter is for anonymous shitposting.
• Reddit is for connecting with other nerds who share your weird hobbies and opinions.
• Instagram is for posting pictures of your workout, your coffee, or your ass.
• LinkedIn is for following your employer's social media to appear engaged.

What's weird is when people shitpost on Facebook or LinkedIn using their actual names.  Or when people post an entire blog entry on Twitter one sentence at a time.  It's like watching a monkey use a typewriter.  Like, yeah you can do that, but that's absolutely not what it's for. #technology

The Who's Pete Townshend on the stage antics of Jimi Hendrix:

When Jimi went on and started doing the same gimmicks we had done--and they were just gimmicks--I realized I had underestimated Jimi's readiness to play the fool to get attention. He didn't need to do it. We're talking crass, show business nonsense here. My guitar smashing started as a serious art-school concept with a clear manifesto.

The phrase "serious art-school concept with a clear manifesto" has to be the douchiest thing I've ever read. (via Room Full of Mirrors) #entertainment

There's a pervading belief that things made in places like China are low quality and cheap.  This may have been true at some point and is probably still true in certain circumstances, but it can't possibly be completely true anymore.  "Yeah but this little plastic thing I bought at the dollar store broke immediately because it's from China."  Yeah?  And your $1000 iPhone was made down the street from that plastic thing.  A product's national origin doesn't determine its quality. 

Which also begs the question, what is a product's national origin?  Is it where it's manufactured?  Where it's assembled?  Where its corporate headquarters are?  I used to own a Japanese car.  But this specific car was assembled at a giant manufacturing plant in Kentucky.  It was sold at an American car dealership.  Its profits went to the American subsidiary of the Japanese company.  Maybe some of the parts were made overseas.  But then how do you decide how American it is -- by the number of parts made in America, or the size of the parts made in America, or the importance of the parts?  It's a crapshoot.  Everything is from everywhere, which is why "Made in America" or "Made in China" mean relatively little. #business

There's an excessive heat warning where I live (it's summer), and all the recommendations are things that I don't think really need to be stated.  "Drink fluids, stay out of the sun, wear lightweight clothes."  Like, yeah those are all good ideas.  But do we really need Official Advice&tm; about how to not get too hot?  Related:  Unnecessary advice. #health

From On the Media's interview with former Buzzfeed person Ben Smith, concerning the current state of social media:

I think the late social media world gives you this illusion of a debate and of seeing all perspectives, but really what it's doing is it's a machine for elevating the dumbest version of the argument you hate and showing it to you constantly and convincing you that people who you disagree with are just utter morons all the time.

This is fine. #technology

Here's something I recently learned about and find both fascinating and terrifying:

Midazolam is a benzodiazepine with antianxiety and sedative effects. Because of rapid onset and short duration of action, it is commonly used in diagnostic and therapeutic procedures to create anterograde amnesia, which prevents undesirable memory of the procedure that is painful for the patient.

There's a whole class of drugs that have this effect.  I always thought anesthesia drugs just sort of put you to sleep.  I didn't realize they actively prevent your brain from forming new memories. #science

Every few weeks or months, I think I've reached the end of "the things I want to write on the internet."  And then I come up with something else.  This part of me just doesn't seem to want to die. 

And I think I keep coming back to it -- and have kept at it for so long -- because it benefits me.  It helps me clear up mental clutter.  I like to think of it like this:  My brain is like a messy office; papers strewn about, post-it notes stuck on the walls, doodles on the whiteboard.  Blogging is like taking all that random, disordered stuff and putting it in nice neat stacks and filing it away.  Is it all gold?  No.  Does organizing actually accomplish anything?  Maybe, maybe not.  But going through the process feels like cleaning my brain.  I'm able to consolidate some disparate ideas, put together a coherent thing (sometimes), and free up space for more random brain activity.  I'm gonna keep doing it. #psychology