jasonenglish1.com

I’d like to encourage more discussion here on the site. Of course that means I’ll need to write entries worth discussing. So far, these first two sentences don’t lend themselves to dialogue. But if you’re ever inspired to comment, speak up.

On a related note, I’ve recently tightened my spam filter. I’d been getting over 250 spam comments each day. We’re now under an Orange Alert, graduating from “Elevated” to “High.” So while I urge you to make conversation, you must also be warned. If your comments include any of the following words or phrases, they’ll be automatically deleted.

• All things pharmaceutical. No Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, Wellbutrin, Amoxicillin, Quitting Hydrocodone, Phentermine or Tums.
• No “pantspissing,” or videos featuring the practice. Though you can get around this with a hyphen.
• Nothing about Mongolia. A lot of tourism-related spam coming out of Mongolia. Just for that, I’ll never visit.
• And silence your ringtones. I don’t want to hear catchy ringtones out in the world. I certainly don’t want to be offered them here.

Sorry to go all FCC on you.

While we’re talking about conversation, I should mention my inaugural appearance at likemind. My friend Noah started likemind with his friend Piers, an attempt to meet for coffee with like-minded people – people who happen to read about it on their blogs. In just a few short months, it’s grown into a global phenomenon, with sixteen likemind events last Friday. I set the alarm for 6am, hopped on the 7am bus, and was enjoying free coffee with strangers by 8.

I don’t usually attend gatherings like these, and don’t ever do anything so early. But I very much enjoyed myself. What makes it work, I think, is that the group is self-selected. If you’re not going to be engaging, you’re not going to show up. I didn’t notice anyone standing awkwardly by themselves (my biggest fear, besides blindness). If there were, someone swooped in to chat them up. Nobody trying to sell anything, no one acting too cool. Breezy conversation with interesting people is a good way to start the day. I’ll be back next month. You should come.

What wasn’t a good idea were my two large cups of coffee. I need to be more careful. In a typical year, I’ll drink roughly eight cups of coffee. My pecks were quivering well past lunch.

Good thing I had today off.