As I walked into the grocery store today, I was greeted with the usual music piped in over the loudspeakers that permeate the sonic space of the store. Someone long ago decided that people like to hear music when they shop. And not just any music, but a specific brand of upbeat music that apparently makes you want to shop and buy more things. I deduce, mostly through the power of observation, that “selling more stuff” is the only reason every store in the world seems to do this. Wait – that’s not exactly true. Every store that purports to care about the customer experience does this. And the grocery store is no different.

As I type this, both washed and unwashed masses of people crowd around the steps of our state capitol building, eager to catch a glimpse of their transient idols, the players of the Denver Broncos. If you haven’t heard, the Denver Broncos made it all the way to the last American Football game of the year and had more points at the end of the game than the other team, so they now have a parade thrown in their honor and get to shut down the local economy for half a day.

The story you’re telling me is almost certainly not interesting. And I have very little of interest I want to share with you, so let’s lie about things.

Source: Lie, Steal and Stop Listening to NPR, Tracy Letts on How to Live a Creative Life | Chicago Ideas Blog

Dealerships will be the undoing of traditional car companies.

https://www.reddit.com/r/teslamotors/comments/41k8cl/automakers_still_have_a_lot_to_learn_from_tesla/

Sometimes, when I find myself using Facebook, I say to myself, “what am I doing with my life?” And that quickly snaps me out of it.

But Reddit is different.

iOS is looking old, isn’t it? I mean, as far as I know, it doesn’t have widgets, it forces you to keep certain apps on the home screen (Android lets you remove them, even if they must stay installed), and it’s just a bit too cartoony for my taste.

To each his own, but to me, iOS is getting a bit long in the tooth.

More like The Lost Poem. How have I not read this until now?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKkfYH2l_hcA viral 2011 poem about cynicism and optimism. Read to the end, then read in reverse starting from “There is hope” and continuing upward

Source: Jonathan Reed – The Lost Generation | Genius

I almost made this a Facebook comment in reply to an FF’s (Facebook Friend’s, i.e., not a traditional friend’s) post regarding this day’s most publicized shooting.

He essentially asked America when its tipping point was.

I was about to ask, “When will we start hearing about all of the mass shootings that were prevented through compassion or mental health treatment or just listening to someone or other nonviolent means of communication? I guess those stories don’t make money.”