Tropophilia

Happy Monday. I’ll be on the road most of this week, so I apologize in advance for light posting (though maybe Jarred will pick up the slack…..ahem). Here are a few items that caught my attention recently:

• When you hear the word “scuppie” what do you think of? For me, I remember the schools of scup–a small whitefish, delicious fried–I caught with my grandmother as a kid. Apparently, at least a few people are trying to bring “scuppie” into the nation’s vocabulary of social labels much like “hippie” or “yuppie.” What does scuppie mean?

“Scuppie – a ‘Socially Conscious Upwardly-mobile Person.’

1. A person who desires all the best life can offer and strives for those goals in a socially conscious manner.

2. One who is dedicated to the pursuit of peace, happiness and cash (not necessarily in that order).

3. Someone ‘green’ — i.e. one who understands the love of money does not preclude the love of nature…and vice-versa.”

• I this this report from Deloitte about employee preferences is spot-on: I’d much rather accept a lower salary with plenty of perks like flexible working hours, more vacation time, and free food than a higher salary without those benefits. Turns out most folks would agree (at least when faced with a hypothetical offer).

• Expect a blog post this week where I take a deeper look into this column, by the authors of Freakonomics, about prize philanthropy and alternative giving that promises a financial return to donors.

• A bit late, but this techPresident piece on Obama’s Million Donors: Why They’re Important is well worth the read regardless of your political persuasion or preferred candidate. Money quote:

“Obama’s million-plus individual donors should be seen as marking two significant changes in American politics. First, we’re living through a major upsurge in public participation in politics–and the Internet is a big engine of that surge. Second, a candidate with a million-plus individual donors–90% of whom at this point have given something like $100 on average–has the potential to more independent of monied interests than any in the past. It’s too soon to say if Obama will live up to that potential–indeed, it’s too soon to say if he will be the Democratic nominee–but whatever happens I suspect that a year from now we’ll look back on this day and note that it marked an inflection point in how technology is changing politics.”

• In case you’re planning your travel around gadget obsession, social networking addiction, or general dorkdom (and, let’s face it, with a bit more disposable income Jarred and very well might fall into this category), here’s a convenient description of the “Best Geek Hotels in the World.”

• It’s really not fair to make fun of children passing through that awkward phase known as “Middle School,” but these 41 Hilarious Science Fair Experiments had me laughing out loud. As Fake Steve said, “Ever wonder what those crazy kids at Google are doing with their 20% free time?”

That’s all for now; check back all week for new material. If you’re interested in writing a guest post for Tropophilia, we’d love to have your input. See this page for instructions on submitting a guest post and please contact us with any questions. It can be long or short, serious or sarcastic, and on any topic related to change.