Throwing Virtual Tea?

I was just reading an article on Read Write Web about a virtual protest in Turkey. The article discusses a movement in Turkey against political censorship on the internet. I sympathize with the Turkish people and like the idea but I'm afraid it has a few flaws.

First the Good:
An online protest is a neat way for people all around the world to show solidarity with the Turkish people and the quest to end oppression in their country. It is oppression that thee Turks are struggling against. The people of Turkey are fighting against for their rights; not the right to watch a little person kick himself in the head but the right to voice political dissent and know that others feel the same. Just imagine what enterprising young Turks could do with unlimited access to the internet and some good ole journalistic spirit.
In the last year we have seen the importance of an alternative media in this country. A few years ago a blog that no one had heard of came out of nowhere and ended Dan Rather's 24 year tenure behind the CBS Evening News desk. Perhaps the most vivid example (Graphic Content) of the power of social media is the events after the "election" in Iran.

The Not So Good:
The thing that made the Iranian video so powerful is the same thing that makes the Turkish protest um, well, not so powerful. In Iran people were in the streets fighting for what they though was right, in Turkey people are on their moms couch whining about not seeing the head-kick video. Iran: people literally dying in the street, Turkey: men with no pants on weighing the possibilities of internet dating while "protesting."

OK, maybe I'm exaggerating the Turks' position a bit but you get the idea. There is no substitute for crowds marching on the capital, people in the streets. The use of the internet to organize a real march is a great idea. The use of an internet to stage a virtual protest not so much.

The Doldrums, blah.

Well, here we are. The middle of winter in Michigan. Cold, wet, and, in general, miserable. The thaw this week has put a damper on outdoor winter activities without being warm enough to provide for other, more summerlike, hobbies.

(On a side note I saw a guy on a motorcycle on Friday, hardcore!)

My kids are struggling, and I’m not feeling too ambitious myself. It is that time of the year where you are past Christmas vacation and Spring Break seems years away. Every day is the same gray, chilly routine.

What do you do to keep yourself and your kids motivated during the winter doldrums?

Wii The People

The first game console ever owned was a Nintendo Entertainment System and was awesome. Well at the time it was awesome. We had Duck Hunt, Super Mario, and a bunch of the classics. From then on my family was a Nintendo family, no Intellivision, no Sega Genesis, no Dreamcast. We had a NES, a Super Nintendo, two Game boys, and a Nintendo 64. Then I got to high school, discovered girls, and forgot about video games. In college I got a PS2 for Tiger Woods PGA Tour 05 and the Grand Theft Auto series.
Now I’m back with Nintendo in a big way. My wife and I just bought a Wii with the Wii Sports game. One of the things that impressed me the most was the accuracy of the controls. We’ve all pulled the orange trigger of a Nintendo pistol thinking we hit the ducks just to have that condescending little mutt pop up and mock us. I have yet to have a moment like that with the Wii. Nintendo has obviously spent a lot of time and money to nail the motion sensing controls and it paid off big time. My wife and went to three stores before we found the Wii in stock at a Meijer; there was one still on the shelf when we left. The Wii fit is sold out; even at online retailers it is back ordered! I looked it up and found out that Nintendo has sold over 50 million Wii consoles!
Video games have always been the antithesis of exercise. The Wii changes that; it is fun and gets you off the couch, a good thing for just about anyone. The Wii fit even has a personal trainer! If technology can make video games healthy it can just about do anything. So what will technology change next?