Is Facebook working for you and your 702 friends?

Twice now in the last 3 weeks, I have noticed that some friends of mine on Facebook had missed wall posts that I and others had posted, of more or less an important nature. I also noticed that both of these people have 500+ "friends" on Facebook.

Pondering the meaning of the words "social networking," I wonder how either of these people - who seem to be relying on Facebook for the "networking" more than the "social" - are finding Facebook works for them.

I admit that part of my dismay is based on the fact that neither of these people - who are indeed what I would consider friends - have commented on the fact that my mother was rushed to the hospital and came very close to death over last weekend (we were advised to gather the grandchildren for their final goodbyes.)

One of them, a woman, sent me a series of texts yesterday morning that clearly showed she had no clue. She was making some banal inquiries as to where I was living now and about the status of my relationship with Mr. Y.

Yo, yo, where have you been, woman?

So ... I really have to wonder what benefit one can get from a Facebook with probably a few hundred status updates/hour whizzing by.

I sometimes find it hard to keep up with the status updates from my 198 or so "friends," but I do make the effort, every day.

Spreading yourself too thin seems to be the norm these days ... both of these people are looking for jobs and are not having a huge amount of success. I wonder if one or more of the Facebook posts they missed could have been about the job they could have secured?

It happens. I know I posted about at least one job, passing along information sent to me ... anyway, here's hoping everyone is warm, dry and reasonably happy.

And now on to the beach ...

Yikes!

Even I did not think the Plum Island Foundation/Newbury would be so bold as to proceed with beach scraping sans the proper permits.

But, as Councillor Tom Jones always says, it's better to beg for forgiveness than to ask permission. And probably nothing will happen, punishment-wise, to the perps.

Just a few weeks ago, I was talking to someone whose parent owns a large home perched on the dune in Newbury. I was trying to make excuses for them - "but they probably did not know the environmental impact on having a house on the dune," or words to that effect.

"No, they knew," was his response.

Ah.

I was not quite sure if he was trying to say his parent did not care, or that he was defending the parent against the perceived label of ignorance. Whatever.


Read more here.

Time to get real and move on

From my new perspective, here in Gloucester (where you have to pay to park everywhere that's a public spot, by the way), I find this whole paid parking debate kind of ... "namby pamby."

Just last week, Gloucester imposed a new law in the city:

Adopted by a council vote of 7-1, the new ordinance language is designed to "regulate the practice of shuffling cars from one metered space to the next throughout the workday."

A ban on the practice has been imposed within the downtown area from Main and Spring Streets to Tally's Corner, at Main and Washington Street.

The new ordinance language declares: "Once a meter expires, it shall be unlawful to park the car in another metered space within the area" on any day except Sundays and holidays between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.

I've been in downtown Gloucester a few times now, and I don't find coughing up a couple of quarters to park to be too much for me to handle.

I think that this (Newburyport) City Council needs to be a bit more decisive and stop the endless meetings, information sessions and whatnot on every issue. There are plenty of opportunities for people to voice their opinions during the regular process for implementing plans and passing laws.

And you do NOT get to park for free in Gloucester, with a resident permit, except at the beach.

Life's a bitch, ain't it?