So as I read it when he says he's a nobody in Silicon Valley, it doesn't mean he doesn't know that that's a lot of money anywhere else. It's just not a lot where he lives.

But the thing that gets me is that he can't be that hardworking and intelligent and that dumb. Maybe not a lot in his division at work, in his neighborhood. But even in Silicon Valley there are neighborhoods where the grade school teachers, the janitors, the folks who pump your gas and bag your groceries and their families all live. They may all be crammed into East Palo Alto or some other grim city, but they're still in Silicon Valley and they're at least surviving on astronomically less than what he makes.

I mean, what does he think, it's all done by house elves?

But there's a millionaire sitting ten feet away from me right now and he's a nobody. Because there are a half dozen richer people on this office floor. It's not a secret.

Do you think he's a nobody? Or do you think the richer people do?

but what does he mean by a nobody? It's a weird subjective term. In terms of being known? - money doesn't = that.

In terms of what counts to him? In terms of value to the community/world?

Do you see him as dissatisfied, bon? Are you similarly dissatisfied? What I get from him on that front isn't anything I've ever gotten from you.

First question, I guess I thought he was half-joking, but one's reaction to his quote depends on whether or not he was serious. No, I'm not dissatisfied now, but if I owned a house or had kids, maybe I would be. And I will probably radically shift my earnings when Bob gets a faculty job. I may quit for awhile, I don't know.

ION, Fred Phelps Is Coming

Somebody is going to shoot that man, someday. And his moronic spawn will then call him a martyr. Hm, a downside.

t legal disclaimer: Of course, Connie does not advocate the cold-blooded murder of any sentient being. Any proof that Fred Phelps is/is not sentient can be sent to the profile address. Just saying

If they do, we can protest the funeral, right?

If they do, we can protest the funeral, right?

I don't know what would make me feel like a nobody, I guess. And that's where my eyeroll comes in. Money, property, love, children...lacking any of those wouldn't make me feel like a nobody. Only lacking self respect would. I just don't get the word that way. Maybe he defines it differently from the way I do.

I guess that's the nub of why I don't see you and him as the same, but if you do hinge self respect on money then it's my misread.

Do you think he's a nobody? Or do you think the richer people do?

Of course it depends on the definition of nobody, but I think in Mahattan he's not really something special. You'd probably have to go back to the article to see what the definition of nobody is-- is he richer than his friends? Does he get better service at restaurants? Can he retire early and send his kids to college? Does he get called every day from his alma mater? Special service from his bank/broker?

One of my interviewers this morning quoted my book at me: "The internet is just a reflection of the first world society that created it."

Or something like that.

And then he asked, "what does that mean?"

And I said, "well, to have the internet, you have to have electricity, a computer, basic shelter, lots of leisure time..you know, these aren't always readily available in the third world. So the net is just showing you what's going on all around you behind closed doors."

All the first world talk reminded me.