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Wednesday, September 10, 2003
Comments on googling
So a little while ago I posted about the ethics of googling, and received a reply from a friend of mine:
"no, it's not unethical. anything up there is public domain, and likely stems from something intentional. the nice thing about us at our age is that we for the most part aren't being followed by investigative journalists or papparazzi. so no embarrassing stuff should be up there that's too bad...
"oh, and part 2: just don't bring it up. if you find something embarrassing on someone, you have to make sure you know them well enough to bring it up before doing so. always err on the side of caution, I always say...
"feel free to look me up if you want. oh, maybe I should check into this... "
Shortly after that Paul sent me a further email:
"Subject: ok, just tried it
"howdy
"ok, this illustrates the danger of looking people up. I'm not a jazz musician, and I've never remixed nin and nitzer ebb etc.
"nor was I born in 1870.
"but even the stuff that does come up that's accurate is misleading in certain cases. I'm not gay, f'rinstance, even though we seem to have blurred that line in some of the press releases...
"neat-o.
"p :)"
So there we go.
I still feel awkward about googling friends without their knowledge. Is there some sort of "coming out" statement that would be appropriate? "Hi, X. Just to let you know, I was surfing the internet the other day and thinking of you, so I googled you out of curiosity. Guess what came up?" But what if something embarrassing comes up? Should I mention it? Should I deny having seen it? Should I deny having clicked on that particular link? "No, I didn't think that was you..."
Anyway.
A general notice about the Conference on Ancient and Medieval Philosophy to be held at the end of October here at Fordham, down at the Lincoln Centre campus. I just finished proofreading the program, so I can vouch for the niftiness of the contents. Should be fun.
Biking through the Bronx
Paul K (a different Paul K from the one who contributed his thoughts on googling) lent me his bicycle pump and I finally restored my bike to working order on Sunday. Taking advantage of the fantastically beautiful weather that has finally hit us (perfect september weather -- dry, warm in the day and just a little bit cooler in the morning and evening, just enough for a light sweater, absolutely fantastic), I went cycling along Pelham Parkway over to Pelham Bay Park, and up just to the edge of New Rochelle in Westchester (mansions!!). Did you know that Pelham Bay Park is NYC's largest park? (At least, that's what the sign says). And yet it's not famous, like Central Park -- to the best of my knowledge (please chime in if you know anything!) there are no songs about Pelham Bay Park. But it's so lovely....
Just a short bike ride from my neighbourhood, which, while I like it, is dirty and filled with razor wire and broken sidewalks, is this cool and breezy park with trees, bike paths, horse & pony rides, picnic areas -- but, unlike the Botanical Gardens, free to go into and explore. I didn't even make it over to Orchard Beach.
I biked staight through the Park and ended up on Park Rd in Pelham Village. I pretty much figured I wasn't in the Bronx anymore... for one thing, as this fact sheet states, it's pretty white. And filled with really big stone houses. So close to New York. Wow. It was kind of a shock to emerge from the park (given that I went in not far from Co-op City, which isn't the height of poshness) and find this neighbourhood. For instance, I went right past the New York Athletic Club at Travers Island building/grounds/whatever. There were lots of children playing, but not in the street, or in fire hydrants. On "handsomely landscaped" grounds.
It was a little bizarre.
The world is a strange strange place.
I will go back to work now.
jane 10:05 AM [+]
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