I finally published another article, for better or for worse. It seems really juvenile and idealistic now that I reread it, but I still think it was an interesting topic. The published version is actually nothing like the original version. I wrote in the style I'd use for a print publication, and it was destined for an online outlet. The differences between the styles are more immense than you'd think! It's kind of analogous to the differences between writing for a newspaper and for broadcast.

But the real reason I'm writing today is to express my fear of and awe for u-Japan. The U stands for ubiquitous, so clearly the Japanese did their English homework when coming up with this name. I remember when a friend on mine made a comment about the iEverything, but this blows Apple out of the water. I wonder what it would be like if I could access the contents of my fridge from work, or to be able to check my e-mail from a tabletop.

The technology, according to my professor, does exist. There are already models of highly interactive web 2.0 and 3.0 editions of the internet in America. The difference between America and Japan is that in Japan the government has invested huge amounts of money into R&D for u-Japan integration and set a deadline of 2020 for full implementation, while the US is using select universities to test web 2.0 and will wait for market forces to grab ahold of it and diffuse it to the country. Anyway, the idea of every aspect of life being infused with internet technology, as Japan is microinnovating, scares me. As awe inspiring as the idea may be, think about all of the security and privacy issues of being connected to every thing, everywhere. I just don't know what to think. I have a hard time conceptualizing it, and the videos on the website don't really help.

By the way, I stepped into a CVS today to buy some plastic cups, and was astounded by what I saw. Tinsel. Stockings. Little suede baby boots. What ever happened to Thanksgiving?? I could be delusional, but I think I remember a time when Christmas decorations didn't come out until after Thanksgiving, and when Thanksgiving decorations were cute and popular.