Random Thoughts

2008-03-20T21:52:00.001-05:00

03-15-08_1240.mpeg

I'm Moving ..

2008-02-28T00:04:00.001-06:00

Ok, yet again at jacklhasa's urging, I am signing up somewhere new. This time, it involves moving this blog that I JUST started. Because, apparently, the place that I'm going is WHERE IT IS AT. So .. contact me & give me an email addy & I'll give you the link to the new place.

OBKB?

OBKB.

Night.

Blogged with Flock

Testing ...

2008-02-27T05:28:00.001-06:00

Ok ... so Flock has a handy-dandy tool built into it that allows you to click the feather-pen in their magic toolbar, type up your blog, then publish it.

I'm trying it out ... because this is SO much more convenient than logging into Blogger first, then following various links to get to a fresh blog page.

Lazy? Maybe. But I call it convenience. Now, no matter what page I'm on, what I'm doing on the 'net, or what I'm absorbed in ... I can click on my little feather-pen and blog away. I can even save it as a draft to be edited before it is published. Or preview it to see if my links worked. Or insert an image.

*Devyl is a happy Gyrl*

I keep finding more and more things about Flock that I love!

*clicks Publish to see if she set things up right*

Blogged with Flock

The Wonder of the Internet ...

2008-02-26T23:21:00.007-06:00

Anyone who knows me knows I love brainiacs of any nature. My guy is a super geek dynamics engineer who works on amazing projects out west. My friends are mostly techies. My sister is an education major with a Master's degree - literature being her strongest focus, tho right now she's teaching High School ESOL students. Her new hubby is a software developer. My stepfather is one of those people that is knowledgeable on just about any subject ... and if you ask him something he hasn't studied yet, he'll study it and get back to you on it.

Surrounded by geek ... the way I love it.

My newest experience has led me to a major increase in things I'm following ...

My friend "n8k99* dragged me over to Twitter, where I set up my profile and started chatting with him & added a few personal friends that Twitter let me know were already signed up (yanno, through the "find your friends" client). Before long, n8k99's friends started following him to me, because they wanted to see our whole conversation & not just his side. That led to even more followers (whom I always follow, cuz I think it is silly to have followers you're not following, or vice versa), and more conversation. Before long, a few different people kept mentioning the same websites/programs/ideas, so I started looking stuff up and following all kinds of links. One of my Twitter buds, jacklhasa, has been most helpful in guiding me around and helping me install and/or figure out various things, despite being a busy writer. So, Thanks, jacklhasa!

Now, in the last few days I have subscribed & signed up to several different services. I've already emailed some of you or grabbed you in chat to drag you along with me, because I get excited about sharing new things. But I figured I'd put them here too, and you can follow wherever you want.

Basically, I looked for an excuse to blog, so that I learn to make a habit of it. :)

These are not going to be listed in the same order I started using them, because I basically got into everything in the last 5 or so days. So a timeline isn't that important (at least, that's what I'm telling myself!).

The "social network" is apparently the new wave online. Several of the places I have found myself lately (including Twitter) are focused on this concept.

Last.fm (my profile) I know many of you have probably heard of Last.fm before ... but have you signed up & tried it out? I didn't sign up before, and now I wish I had, especially since I just plug my account info into my music player (Exaile) and it sends the updates to Last.fm for me (meaning, I don't have to dl anything from Last.fm to utilize the service). I don't know if that works for non-Linux users. But you should all be using Linux anyway. :D

Xoost - (my profile): The social network search tool. It searches in Google, and Yahoo, and several other popular search engines. But it enables you to share your searches & your favorite findings. It seems pretty incredible, and I hope to become more of a part of it in the near future. So far, I have only dabbled. BTW, the guy that started Xoost found me through his Twitter account.

While we're talking about sharing information, lets talk about Digg. (My Profile.) I'm sure you've seen the "Digg this" tags on news & information websites. Here's what Digg has to say about themselves:

What is Digg?

Digg is a place for people to discover and share content from anywhere on the web. From the biggest online destinations to the most obscure blog, Digg surfaces the best stuff as voted on by our users. You won’t find editors at Digg — we’re here to provide a place where people can collectively determine the value of content and we’re changing the way people consume information online.

Read the rest of what they have to say here. I've been meaning to get around to a Digg account for a long time, and finally signed up the other day, after I started following searches on Xoost.

Flock - the social web browser. I wasn't sure about getting this, because I didn't really think it would benefit me. I was wrong.
Here's what they have to say about themselves:

Flock is a consumer Internet business which has developed a free, next generation web browser. The web, and the way people engage online, has evolved dramatically over the past decade. But web browsers - the application that fundamentally enables online experiences and services across ones' connected life - have not kept pace.

Flock is focused on fundamentally evolving the browser, bringing a refreshing new approach to how people use and participate on the web and simplifying social and web-based applications by bringing them one step closer to the user and integrating them directly into the browser.

When using Flock, people can easily discover, access, create and share videos, photos, blogs, feeds and comments across social communities, media providers, and popular websites.

Not only does it make it easier to keep track of my current memberships, but it made it easier to sign up for a couple of things I'd wanted to sign up for anyway, because they're built right into the browser's tools. Woot! Which leads me to ...

Flickr - Photo sharing website. Here's Flickr's Wiki entry to explain more. One of the things that encouraged me to go ahead and sign up for Flickr (despite already having a few Photobucket accounts) is that there is an upload tool located within my Flock browser!! (My Flickr profile.)

While I'm thinking of multiple accounts, I should mention Gmail. Email the better way. Their tagline: less spam, mobile access, more space. I can attest to two of the three ... I haven't needed the mobile access yet. I love the ease of using gmail. I love having an "archive" option. I love putting tags on things instead of filing them in folders. I love the search option. And I love the way it collates your emails so that if you send out an email and receive 50 replies from 50 people (or even one person), they all stack within the same subject, instead of cluttering up your box. Lovely. Beautiful. Wonderful. If you want an invite, lemme know. I don't even think you need one anymore though. Just go, sign up. :)

Let's see ... what else was there? I can't seem to think of anything else, tho I swear there was more. If I come across anymore 'welcome' emails, I'll add to the list. For now, follow & enjoy.

And, Beav, if you don't start following me on Twitter, I'm gonna withhold hugs for at LEAST a week! Dammit.

The Moment of Truth & miscellaneous other new gameshows ...

2008-02-25T20:44:00.001-06:00

Edit: So ... she gets all the way through some really TOUGH questions ... and then f's it up on "Do you think you're a good person?" SERIOUSLY? If you don't think so, say it. You already told your parents you don't think they're really proud of you, and that's a MUCH harder thing to do. Lost 100k cuz you don't know yourself. How crappy.

Original post:

Do any of you watch game shows?

I honestly would be missing out on a lot if it weren't for my roommates and their affinity for game shows. I usually wouldn't watch them on my own, but because they love them, I have been getting into them over the last year.

The first ones we watched were Deal or No Deal and .... hmmm ... some other one I don't remember. Those, I could give up easily (we obviously have given the one up). I like DoND, but not enough to watch it so often in a week. Once a week would be ok, but then you end up missing half of someone's game at some point. Annoying not to know how it started or how it ended.

Now we're also watching Don't Forget the Lyrics, 1 vs 100, American Gladiators, Amne$ia, My Dad is Better than Your Dad, and the Moment of Truth.

Tonight, in the previews for "Moment of Truth," they are advertising how the woman playing "ruined her marriage" and kept secrets about her dad from her mom, etc etc etc. Can it really be possible that she would do such a thing? Reveal an affair during a game show? Keep secrets about her dad that would hurt her mom and reveal THAT on a game show? Seriously? Wouldn't the answer to those questions be "NO"???? I mean ... why would you enter a game show called "Moment of Truth" and reveal scandalous things on national TV? Jeez.

I think what I like about my regular tv shows is that while some of the stories may be based on true stories ... most of them are EXTREMELY dramatized versions of the truth, so I can feel comfortable watching them. When I see previews like the ones tonight (we DVR'd it and are getting ready to start the episode now), I get worried that I am going to watch an actual person's life begin to crumble. I don't want to see that! Holy cow, there is enough pain and suffering in this world without bringing it upon ourselves on national TV!

That being said, I love watching Don't Forget the Lyrics and 1vs100. In the words of a very good friend, "They make me happy."

*disclaimer* While the above show bothers me for some reason ... I love reality-type shows like the Bachelor, Beauty & the Geek, and the Biggest Loser, & Big Brother. I don't know why I see these as different ... I guess that is just one more way in which I am not going to make sense!

Your views?

Oscars, anyone?

2008-02-24T19:40:00.000-06:00

Do you watch the Oscars loyally? Are you new to the Oscar-watching world? Do you watch to see what the stars are wearing, then ignore the jokes & awards? Or, do you avoid them altogether?

I used to watch the Oscars to see who showed up, what they were wearing, and how they looked different from the year before. Then, in '97, when I moved to Point Mugu, California, I was dating a guy who invited me up to San Francisco for an Oscar Party.

An Oscar Party? What is that? Well, I was soon to find out. Two of his uncles lived in S.F. One lived in a gorgeous house with his long-term g/f. The guy & I referred to them as D&K. The other uncle is gay and flamboyant and VERYINTOOSCARNIGHT. He, incidentally, was most likely the reason for the Oscar Party. We had wine and food. Games for which participation was MANDATORY, even if you didn't know SQUAT about the Oscars or the film world (me). Guesses had to be made in EACH listed category, whether or not you knew anything about the film world.

Surprisingly, the night was freaking hilariously fun. I enjoyed every minute of it, although I got most everything wrong. The point was participation for me ... everyone else was severely criticized when they made a wrong decision. *Laughs* It was funny watching them get all serious and frowny and angry over a freaking nomination and selection.

I am still not passionate about film or the Oscars. I am far less critical of films than most people, because I figure that I couldn't do the things the actors, directors, writers, composers, and most of the behind-the-scenes-guys/gals do .... so why should I be critical? I'm easily amused, and I enjoy most movies that I watch (though of course as a hopeless romantic I prefer to watch romances & dramas). Very few movies receive a thumbs down from me (I HATED Wrong Turn ... there are more, but that one is always the one I think of).

So anyway. I'm watching the Oscars. I figure it can't hurt me, but I might see some amusing things. Plus, although I am no longer in close contact with A (the guy that introduced me to Oscar World), watching brings forth beautiful memories.

Your thoughts, experiences, and stories welcome!

Satellite Shoot-Down -- Courtesy of the U.S. Navy.

2008-02-23T21:03:00.001-06:00

Necessary evil? Or just target expensive practice?What's your take?(Thanks for the link, Tomnibus)

read more digg story

Another try ...

2008-02-23T20:36:00.000-06:00

I have not been successful in the past at keeping up with a blog. However, blogging is apparently the new wave of communication, because it allows people to keep up with those they care about. I prefer a little bit more personal of a conversation, but I know a lot of busy people who are on the 'net at odd times of the day/night who don't get a lot of personal time for telephone or chat conversations.

I honestly wouldn't have done this if so many of my Twitter buddies hadn't asked me if I had a blog. Have you heard of Twitter by the way? If not, you should: http://twitter.com.

There's no telling how closely I will actually follow along with this blog in terms of updating it. However, I promise to TRY ... and that, my friends, is the best I can do!

Most likely, I'll post random things and make a comment on them, as I generally don't have a WHOLE LOT to talk about otherwise. Those of you who know me know that I keep to myself in RL except for a select few friends. Online, I'm totally opposite: a social butterfly.

Enjoy.