I took out the garbage today (that is not the best way to start telling this)…
SPRING IS HERE!!!! (much better) How do I know? There were about 20-25 Robins hanging out around my building today… Being the shutterbug that I am, I ran outside to catch some photos of them. (click on any photo to get a larger image).
I caught (well photographed) them on the ground…
With worms…
In flight…
In the trees….
And to my surprise, the Robins were not the only bird that caught my eye! Walking around with my camera to my eye photographing the Robins I heard “tap tap tita tita tita tap” I immediately followed the sound. By scanning the tress (killing my neck in the process) I was able to find the woodpecker that was the source of the sound.
I did not expect when I woke up this morning that I would be grabbing my camera and getting some great pictures. I I did not expect to see not only the Robins that drew me out of the house, but also the cutest woodpecker I’ve ever seen. I’m not normally very impulsive, I normally just make a plan for my day and stick to it… But I am always amazed, when I do act on my impulsis how much fun I have. Spring is here!!!
Type “Social Networking Sites” into wikipedia and you’ll find a whole list of different sites… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_social_networking_websites
I belong to three of these although I only really am active on two. Facebook, LinkedIn & Twitter.
The basic idea here is that you can connect to people… Anywhere. Share notes with friends, let everyone know what you’re up too. You create a profile that has as little or as much information about you that you want, and you have the option of making that profile public or private. The main differences being…. Public: anyone can read your profile and see you wall, Private: people can find you by searching and see your name and the area you live in but you have to approve them before they can see your profile or wall. My profile is private. I don’t want just anyone being able to get all up in my business. Once you’ve made some friends… You have the option of talking to them in private messages or on their public wall (just be warned that EVERYONE who is a friend with you friend can see the wall, so don’t say anything you don’t want others to know). I broke down and got a Facebook because some people at work wanted to be my “friend”. I created an account and “friended” a select few people but then… Didn’t really touch it much. That is until the Facebook iPhone app was released. It just made it so easy to see what all my friends were up to. Open the app and I can see a list of what all my friends have posted as their status (a sentence or few of… whatever you like, mostly moods and what you are up to), plus all the rest of the facebook stuff through I’ll admit I rarely post on anyone’s wall. It’s one of the few apps I open every single day and allows me to keep in touch with people that I don’t get to see all that often. I’ve even re-connected with a friend that I had when I was 5, as well as people I knew when I was 9, 13, 16…. I’ve had people request to be my friend just because they have my last name, and in theory you can find people with similar interest, though… I don’t really go searching for random friends (that’s just a little too creepy for me). Companies and musicians make sites, and you can sign up to be their fan (I haven’t found much use for this however, I am a fan of Mike Doughty, Jonathan Coulton, Sweeny Todd, Rock Band, Portal and others). I really love Facebook, for no other reason but that I can see what all my friends and family have been doing without them having to remember to tell me (and visa versa).
So this is the network I belong to because… It’s supposed to be good for business networking. I belong so that if and when I need to continue on from my current job I have an easy way of getting in touch with the people I’ve met there who aren’t on Facebook. But really… Aside from visiting the site to take the picture above. I haven’t opened it in months. But I belong!
Something I just started using last night, but I’m kind of hooked. It’s kind of like the status updates on Facebook and… Nothing else. The main draw here is that on top of people that you choose to follow (you don’t friend people on Twitter, you follow them, like a stalker, only… NICER???) you can also read the “TWEETS” of random people that you would have otherwise never seen. Celebrities, companies and Websites also Tweet, but unlike on Facebook where you can become a fan and then have to visit their page to see their thoughts, twitter just requires you to open it up and see what their doing. People you may know that I’m currently following on Twitter include: Rainn Wilson (from The Office), Adam Savage (from Myth Busters), Penn Jillete (Bullshit/Penn & Teller), Ira Glass (This American Life on NPR). Unlike Facebook, it’s not uncommon for normal people to Tweet 20 times a day, using it as an update for everything (where as on Facebook it seems to me that the average person updates their status 1-3 times a day). Twitter also has an iPhone app that allows you to Tweet and look at others Tweets, and really the only flaw is that it doesn’t allow you to add someone to your list of people you follow (you hear that Twitter? Add the function and you’ll be perfect! We all want perfection right???).
Side Note: While I was writing this post I realized that I don’t know how to be an adult without the internet (and yes, I Tweeted that). Yet again I am so glad that I was born during the time that I was. E-mail connected us faster, Facebook and Twitter have made that easier. Google is my quick source to find information and I use it to find everything from recipies to cheap flights. I love being around as these programs and sites are made. Being in the middle of this technology revolution. The economy may suck right now, our contry is at war, yet I still feel lucky to be in the midst of all of this. Do you think there are people that are born in every time period that feel like that? I hope so.So. I’ve been talking about buying a new car since…. Nearly two years ago, and really thought I would buy one last summer. I ended up not getting one before this winter because I figured that my car (my lovely 1998 Ford Escort that was my Daddy’s but I bought it when I started going to school) could make it through another winter. Well it has, though not completely un-harmed because I was in an accident and my bumper was cracked a little (though I got a nice chunk of change for it and you can hardly tell). But… I think the odds of it making it through next winter without some major issues are not very good.
Now I’m talking and thinking about buying a car, again. I’ve been seduced by all the pretty cars and considered getting a Dodge Neon, Mazda Miata (someday, just not while I live in the mid-west, but still….someday), I love the look of the Pontiac Sunfire… But after some research and lots of surfing I narrowed my sites on 3 cars. Here are the contenders (in no particular order). For the sake of this post I’ll be comparing the 2005 models of all these cars though I’m open to models +/- a couple of years in either direction.
HONDA – Civic (hatchback)
13.2 gallon fuel tank
four wheel ABS
spacesaver steel rim internal spare
*Safety*
Frontal Impact – 5-stars for both driver and passengerSide Impact – 3-stars for front occupant, 4-stars for rear occupant
Rollover Resistance Rating – 4-stars
FORD – Focus (hatchback)
14 gallon fuel tank
Two disc brakes including two ventilated discs
spacesaver steel rim internal spare
*Safety*
Frontal Impact – 4-stars for both driver and passengerSide Impact – 3-stars for front occupant, 4-stars for rear occupant
Rollover Resistance Rating – 4-stars
VOLKSWAGON – Beetle (cute-awwww)
14.5 gallon fuel tank
four wheel ABS
full size steel rim internal spare
*Safety*
Frontal Impact – 4-stars for both driver and passengerSide Impact – 5-stars for front occupant, 3-stars for rear occupant
Rollover Resistance Rating – 4-stars
I will fully admit that my favorite car by far is the Beetle. I will also admit that the main reason is because it’s cute. But, the full size spare is nice as well… The only thing I’m really worried about is the cost of repairs since it is a VW they’re bound to be expensive (which wouldn’t be such a problem with either of the other cars). Most of the other things to take into consideration are pretty close between all three cars… They all have decent fuel economy and are safe cars (which is why they are my top 3 picks). The Ford Focus doesn’t have the ABS, but neither does my current car and I’ve been driving 6 years without it.
When it comes down to it, the car I get out of these three will probably be the one that I can find at the lowest price, with the least amount of milage and in a color I like (blue, red, yellow, green or orange are the top picks). I like the look of all these cars, and yes, that is the first thing I think about (sorry Dad).
I’ll probably start looking seriously at the end of March, once the worst of the snow is pretty much behind us and it won’t be so terrible to go out in the elements. I’m also considering getting a manual (oooh scary) since I’ve always wanted to learn how to drive one, but then I will probably need to take an extra day off of work so that I can have a long weekend to re-learn how to drive…
I’ll keep you posted. 
I have spent the last 4 1/2 days sick in bed and on the couch with the worst stomach flu I’ve had…. EVER.
So what have I done while lying in bed not able to eat or drink anything?
I’ve been watching food network.
I know right? Here I am stuck in bed leaving only when I have to… well… you know… And I’m watching shows about all the food I can’t have. Food Network Challenges with amazing edible results, Diners Drive-ins and Dives about all the places with food so bad it’s good and so good it’s bad, Alton Brown, Gida (everday italian), Sandra Lee (semi homemade… ugh), Paula Dean (even though I can’t stand her), Rachel Ray (we won’t even go into how much I dislike this woman on a normal day), Marc Summers (unwrapped) and so many other shows… All about food, which for the last 4 1/2 days has caused me nothing but heart ache (well stomach ache).
There is this new show “Ask Aida”. Aida Mollenkamp answers questions as she cooks on her show, questions sent in by viewers (in the form of e-mails, videos, audio…) fed to her by tech guru Noah Starr. Now, honestly, I don’t know why there is a need to have a second person on the show except that they can talk to eachother… But really, a tech guru character… To open up e-mails? They make a good team, Noah is cute and smiles a lot but really? I think they could have thought of something better for him to do than sit infront of a computer and open up the oven every once in awhile. I don’t know, check it out for yourself. http://www.foodnetwork.com/ask-aida/index.html
Anyway, be warned, there are some nasty stomach flus running around out there. Protect yourself!
1. Wash your hands THOROUGHLY before you eat or drink ANYTHING (warm water, soap, sing mary had a little lamb or your abc’s, it’s what we teach the little kids). This is the one that I forget sometimes… Even if you’re just eating a peice of candy, or gum, taking a drink from your water bottle… If you’ve touched anything that someone else has touched, better safe than sorry.
2. Drink orange juice, filled with vitamin C and tastes great
3. Along that same line drink lots of fluids. I don’t do this nearly enough and I’m almost always a little less than hydrated. It made this last fight with the stomach flu even worse I think.
4. Take your vitamins, I know, I know, but it’s good for you.
5. Avoid sick people. Easier said than done… But really sound advice.
And if you do happen to get sick… Try not to torture yourself as I have by watching shows all about the things you can’t have… It’s just… Not good. I don’t know why I do this to myself ( as I write this Giada is on in the background… Will I never learn?)
On a recent trip that Chris and I took to a local mall (yes, I am a mall rat) I found this amazing vending machine.
It’s full of everything you could possibly want/need. Things you forgot at home, and things you didn’t know you wanted until you saw them.
Candy and snacks, diapers, sanitary products, halls, juice boxes, hot wheels cars, teddy bears and even pacifiers among other things are all contained within this one vending machine.
Vending machines used to be reserved for drinks, snacks and things found in Women’s bathrooms that I won’t mention by name here. Now it seems that you can buy anything in a machine. I’ve seen machines that vend stamps, small bags, makeup… When we went to florida, there was even a vending machine there that I could have bought tons of iPod products from (iPod Nanos, iPod touches, iTunes gift cards and headphones).
We are truly living in the future. A time where a machine (dare I say… ROBOT) allows you to buy things you want and need without needing to interact with a human.
At the height of this revolution right now I would have to say is redbox. Redbox, allows you to choose your DVD via touch screen (as many as you want) then once you’ve entered your credit card information (so that they can charge you if you don’t return the DVD) vends your movie using a very futuristic (well to me) slot. Rentals are $1 a day and if you keep it for 25 days it’s yours to keep (the max they will charge you is $25). Not bad.
But wait, it gets better… Become a member of this site http://www.insideredbox.com/redbox-codes/. And you’ll find many codes that will allow you to rent the movie for free. Well, it’ll give you $1 off so if you return the movie within 24 hours the movie is free. So when the library is closed and you can’t borrow the movie you want to see this is the perfect solution!
Chris and I have used this service a few times and only once did we have an issue with a DVD being too scratched to watch. We called up customer service and they refunded our money without us needing to PROVE that it was unwatchable. Not bad customer service for a company that for the most part interacts with it’s customers via machines.
I have realized recently that I am truly living in one of the most exciting times for technology. I am living in the era of the nerd and the geek. As a geek/nerd myself, I am very excited. I love that I can sit in my bed with my laptop and type out a blog, as I listen to music that is stored on my desktop in the other room and check my e-mail on my phone. I love that it’s possible to remote into my computer at home from my phone. I love that I don’t have to be plugged into a wall, or even connected to a wireless network in order to download applications to my phone (while we’re thinking about that I love that I can even have applications on my phone, 3D apps at that!).
To quote Judy Dench in the newest spaceship earth “We stand on the brink of a new renaissance”.
I can’t wait to see where else the digital world takes us. Anyone plan on making a machine that can dispense a computer?
A friend is someone who let’s you know when your being too negative, critical, too over the top, but loves you anyway.
Someone who shares some of your intrests and trys things out becase you are interested in them.
A friend does things for you because they know you would do the same for them.
A friend understands when you forget to say thank you right away.
Good friends are hard to come by, I’m lucky enough to have (on top of my other friends) two wonderful families that I feel I can call everyone in them friends. I haven’t told some of you recently, so let me say it now.
Thanks for being in my life. For making me feel special and unique. For letting me be part of the ups and downs.
To my blood family, thanks for truly loving me for who I am and what I’ve become… Not just because you have to. Thank you for all of the hours spent laughing, crying, being with me.
To my second family, thanks for taking me in, for the thoughts we’ve shared and the jokes that no one else will get. For letting me become one of the family, and for wanting me to be…
I hope I can be as good a friend to all of you.
Happy Holidays!
Today is Chris’ Birthday, and at the end of today we will have shared 5 of them together. I’m amazed looking back on these last years how everything has worked out.
Thank you for allowing me to be part of your life. Thank you for…. everything… I love you more than anything and more than you will ever know. I hope this and the days to come bring you lots of joy. Happy Birthday Chris!
I’ll be home as soon as I can.
Today is my Mom’s Birthday, and like most years, it falls during one of the busiest weeks in my life. This week we are in Tech for Beauty and the Beast, and so since I don’t have any time to sleep this week (much less celebrate), I just wanted to post something special for her (quick and short as it my be).
Happy Birthday Mom! Thank you for being supportive of what I do. Thank you for dinners even though I don’t live at home. Thank you for advice when I need it. Thanks, for being my Mom.
Sunday (or some time near in the future if that doesn’t work out), dinner is on me!
I love you very much.
Why didn’t anyone think of this before?
Obama will be giving a weekly address on youtube under the user name ChangeDotGov. This week he released the first of the weekly address’.
Plus he has a new website http://www.change.gov/.
Just one more reason to be hopeful and excited.
I have always felt that that Autumn was short changed. It seems like Summer and Winter last forever, and you can feel and see the changes of Spring for a very long time but Autumn… The leaves start changing, you get maybe a week or two of gorgeous fall colors, then they all start to fall and soon after they lose their colors and become crunchy (although, raking up the leaves and jumping in them remains one of my favorite things to do in the fall).
This year I was lucky enough to capture some of the prettiest of fall colors displayed here for you now… Interestingly enough, I did not go out intending to do this… Instead, I was outside waiting for Chris to come home when I walked to the park that is less than a block from my house… I realized that this would be one of the last good days to take pictures and started shooting… The following pictures were not captured with my SLR or even my tiny cannon, instead, they were captured on my iPhone, and they are some of my favorite pictures of the season.
