With the awesomeness of If This, Then That, I can combine Google Reader with Tumblr and get something approximating oldschool GReader sharing back.
Basically, I wrote a recipe on IFTTT that looks for posts with a certain tag. It scrapes their contents and makes tumblr posts of them here (thus the 'dead drop' in the title). Then anyone who's interested in what I have to share can subscribe to this tumblog's RSS and get it directly in GReader.
My opinions are my own.
Thomas Disch: neil in the good omens game, is there a way to escape the dungeon without using the wizard's key?
Neil Gaiman: ah! a very good question!
Clive Barker: what? that's a terrible question
Gaiman: ah but there are NO bad questions, clive
Gaiman: curiosity is the rain that waters the seed of knowledge
Debbie Dadey: um excuse me sir neil gaiman but in Good Omens S2E42 aziraphale is shown performing the musubi dachi stance, but everyone knows that angels don't know karate
Dadey:[pushing glasses up nose] i sure hope someone was fired for THAT blunder
Gaiman: ah! a fine observation, thank you for sharing!
Gaiman: so great to communicate with astute readers!
Gaiman: [putting gold star sticker on Dadey's forehead] i'm giving you a gold star for that
Gaiman: in fact
Gaiman: you all get gold stars!
Koontz: oo! i want a gold star
Gaiman: [putting gold star sticker on Koontz's forehead] and so you shall!
King: incredible! nothing flusters him!
Poe: he's unflappable
King: like the world's most patient kindergarten teacher
Barker: no way, i don't buy it
Barker: nobody's THAT patient
Barker: i bet i could get him to snap
Poe: clive
Barker: hey neil i've got a question
Gaiman: yes?
Barker: actually
Barker:this is more of a comment than a question
Gaiman: [sweating, veins in neck pulsing] ah yes, go on
Poe: clive that's going too far
Neil Gaiman: you see dean
Gaiman: you can see anything, do anything
Gaiman: BE anything
Gaiman: without ever leaving home!
Dean Koontz: wowwww
Gaiman: all you have to do is use your super power
Koontz: my super power??
Gaiman: yes
Gaiman: it's called
Gaiman: IMAGINATION!!
Ray Bradbury: it was many years yonder when the open spaces were open and the blue skies were blue, and soda pop cost just a nickel and if you didn't have a nickel a smile would do, when you could see marshmallow dragons and candy corn castles in the clouds and you could do it all with the power of
Dean Koontz: oh yeah imagination, i already know that
Bradbury: and- what
Koontz: yeah, neil gaiman told me
Bradbury:
Ray Bradbury: listen neil i hear you've been going around extolling the power of imagination
Neil Gaiman: ah imagination! the poor man's wealth, the prisoner's release-
Bradbury: zip it bud
Bradbury: there's ONE dream weaver in this town and that's me
Bradbury: the limitless vista of a child's imagination ain't big enough for the both of us!!!
Bradbury: i have more child-like whimsy in my little finger, gaiman!
Bradbury: and i will use it to paint a rainbow of nostalgic vibes that will have you crying!
Bradbury: come at me, neil!! i'll make your childhood fuckin' magical!
Gaiman: wonderful, brilliant! just an excellent threat
Gaiman: the craftsmanship of it was sublime, you should be very proud, ray
Bradbury:
Bradbury: are you
Bradbury: are you being sarcastic?
Poe: i don't think he knows how
Bradbury: you're so genuine, i can't stay mad at you
Gaiman: perhaps, ray, there is room in the world of imagination for the both of us
Gaiman: in fact, maybe there's room for ALL who seek to fly on the wings of a shared dream!
I feel like a good shorthand for a lot of economics arguments is "if you want people to work minimum wage jobs in your city, you need to allow minimum wage apartments for them to live in."
"These jobs are just for teenagers on the weekends." Okay, so you'll use minimum wage services only on the weekends and after school. No McDonald's or Starbucks on your lunch break.
"They can get a roommate." For a one bedroom? A roommate for a one bedroom? Or a studio? Do you have a roommate to get a middle-wage apartment for your middle-wage job? No? Why should they?
"They can live farther from city center and just commute." Are there ways for them to commute that don't equate to that rent? Living in an outer borough might work in NYC, where public transport is a flat rate, but a city in Texas requires a car. Does the money saved in rent equal the money spent on the car loan, the insurance, the gas? Remember, if you want people to take the bus or a bike, the bus needs to be reliable and the bike lanes survivable.
If you want minimum wage workers to be around for you to rely on, then those minimum wage workers need a place to stay.
You either raise the minimum wage, or you drop the rent. There's only so long you can keep rents high and wages low before your workforce leaves for cheaper pastures.
"Nobody wants to work anymore" doesn't hold water if the reason nobody applies is because the commute is impossible at the wage you provide.