frustration Friday

I've spent a lot of Frustration Fridays being rather non ranty and morose.  Indeed, I'm sorry to disappoint my readers used to some fire and brimstone, or at least sparks and interesting rocks that smell funny.

But I do want to add a rather positive rant, and that is the fact that, in the technical and media wonderland I'm getting tired of having too many cool things to enjoy.

Oh I don't want it to end, seriously.  I love having games from decades ago, new comics, old books, and fascinating gizmos to play with.  It's just by now I'm overwhelmed with cool things.

I have Pocket Legends on my Android Phone, a lovely and fun and easy MMO that cries for attention.  I've got DLC on my XBox to play.  I've got eBooks to look at, books to read, new websites to check out . . .  and that's while I'm still diving headfirst into the marvels of mobile.

Then there's the services.  Netflix ensures that I can do an Invader Zim marathon.  I've got newsfeeds keeping me informed of everything.  I'm in touch all over the world with Social Media.

Congratulations world, you've created an ever-expanding geek dream and it's overwhelming me.

Oh, and don't stop,  Keep it coming.

– Steven Savage

As I'm writing this, there are battles in congress over unemployment benefits – and people who have maxed our their use of unemployment benefits.  There are people whose job prospects are dimming or stagnant.

There are people in short, who are hurting, more people who will be hurting, and at some point someone's going to have to do something.  Or in short, we're going to need some kind of society-wide solution to the horrible problems people are facing economically.

In fact, I think we probably will (if only to forestall unrest, or because the media finally does its job, or something).  But what I am frustrated about is that I think any solution won't be so much "enough" but one that will fix as many problems as possible while also sweeping others under the rug – or forgetting about them.

I'm concerned any future solutions will leave a new underclass/underemployed class that many of us won't notice or see because, well . . . so much else got solved.  So many of us will see an economic recovery, or an unemployment extenuation, or a kind of training bill, or some combination that helps us – but we won't notice how many people won't get helped.  We'll probably be to thrilled that we're OK.

That's a serious concern of mine, that future solutions to the economic mess will miss a lot of people – and a lot of us will miss those people because our own situations get solved.

Let's try to remember.  They're our fellows.  They're the people we know.  Also, if there are a variety of people who are not helped out of their economic issues, that may yet drag us down further.

Yeah I know, another not very ranty Frustration Friday.

– Steven Savage