Bubbles are cute and thrilling AND THEY END 

There's an undertone of excitement in the speculation around the net that a new tech bubble is rising. I've found myself feeling a little caught up in the buzz, even though, like millions of others, the other bubble was not so kind to me or my job or my now-laughable IRA balance.

Bubble is such a usable word. It's cute. It lends itself so well to wordplay, especially descriptions of the bubble popping or bursting, which is the whole trouble: a bubble by definition is fleeting, so why do we want one? The frenzy associated with big peaks on graphs results in very little benefit for ordinary folks. Aren't the only winners in that game investors and players in the stock market and a few entrepreneurs?

It does make business news more fun, because who doesn't like at least the idea of a wild ride?

But maybe we shouldn't feed the buzz with giddiness that implies by omission that a rollercoaster ride is a completely positive experience -- or that it's the only mode of transportation to the state of Prosperity. Maybe it would serve everybody better to turn the conversation to growth with longer-term stability in tech business. Or at least try to talk about permanent vitality along with the manic bubble babble.

Stretching yourself 

I like Norm Augustinus -- the writing and the podcasts, though I have to say the podcasts I can only handle for three or four minutes at a go. I even think the "you know" stuff is funny but I can't take it for long. I listened to his halloween costume piece and thought about the time my older son was in first or second grade. I asked him what he wanted to be for halloween and he said "The Sears Tower." Well, OK, I thought, I'll give it a try. It didn't turn out half bad, at least other kids recognized what it was supposed to be without any clues or prompting. I think I've lost some of that willingness to try things I think I don't know how to do.