Category Archives: Blogging

For whom do you write?

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Sometimes I think of things I’d like to write about, then think “Nah, nobody wants to hear it.”  And then it occurs to me that what I write is for me.  Odd, then, that I only write on a blog where someone else CAN see it.  Not that they do, but they CAN.

That being said, I wanted to post something about Robin Hobb’s wonderful books, Dragon Haven in particular.   A good book is a book that’s interesting and keeps your attention.  An awesome book is one that involves you so completely, you detach from reality for a bit and are emotionally tied to the characters and events contained between its pages.

(Spoilers ahead.)

I was captivated by the events unfolding in the Rain Wilds.  I longed to find the legendary city of Kelsingra, and was very excited when Heeby and Rapscal led the rag-tag party to the edge.  And ultimately disappointed when the last page turned on the doorstep of that mythical place.  Seeing Heeby come flying in to save the day – awesome.  And Sintara (that bitch!) flying? No way!

I’d like to speculate on what may be in that city of legend, it’s nice to think about!  But I haven’t a clue.  I’ve read speculation that Fitz and Tintaglia (characters from earlier books) may have visited there.  Mayhap.  And mayhap I should read those books again and form my own opinion!

But right now I’m focused on “The Passage” in hardcover while I just finished “The Road” in audio format.

Better to give…

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The day was coming. I knew I had to start, the day was coming. So one Wednesday, a payday, I strolled up to an ATM and demanded money. I had to save the only way I knew how; by hoarding cash. It seemed a paltry amount, but I didn’t think the mortgage company would be amused if I drew to much.

So I neatly folded the crisp bills and stuffed them in my pocket. That night, when I got home and had a moment to myself, I pulled out an envelope, slipped the cash inside and hid it. I think it’s safe to tell you now that the appropriately named Stephen King book “Everything’s Eventual” served its purpose.

I continued this pattern, watching the dollars inside that envelope accumulate week after week. Desperately. Slowly. Eventually.

As the envelope grew thicker, it occurred to me I should take this opportunity to open a new checking account in a new bank; one that would be safe from the bill-paying that so depletes our monthly balance. A short-term investment would have been better, but I had neither enough cash nor the required acumen to handle that kind of transaction. Nor the time; exactly how short term is a short term investment anyway?

The time came when I had to make the call. It was either a buy a less expensive item, but not exactly what she wanted, or spend the extra and get her exactly what she wanted.

I saw on their website that they offered a year of no-interest financing. Perfect. I could pay the majority in the first payment, then have time and gentle payments to complete the purchase.

I have to tell you, it was worth it. We gave my daughter the package that night right after we had chocolate cake with whipped chocolate icing. Then she opened the package; her eyes lit up and she broke into a devastating smile and I knew it was all worth it. My daughter got exactly what she wanted; she was surprised and overjoyed. I think both of us grew a little misty over that cake.

I never subscribed to the old adage before, but I learned something that day: ’tis truly better to give then receive.

Facebook is kicking my ass!

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I’m spending way to much time on there, connecting with people I haven’t seen or heard from in a quarter century or more. Viewing their photos, chatting when they are on, looking at their status updates.  But at least I’m not spending money on the meaningless trinkets Facebook makes so easy to buy!

Is there a help group for Facebook addicts?

We Feel Fine

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We Feel Fine

Jonathan Harris has created this amazing web application that visually represents the feelings and thoughts of random bloggers at any given time.  It’s an interactive experience that I find fascinating.

Madness, the first movement, opens with a wildly swarming mass of around 1,500 particles, emanating from the center of the screen and then careening outwards, bouncing off walls and reacting to the behavior of the mouse. Each particle represents a single feeling, posted by a single individual. The color of each particle corresponds to the tone of the feeling inside – happy positive feelings are bright yellow, sad negative feelings are dark blue, angry feelings are bright red, calm feelings are pale green, and so on. The size of each particle represents the length of the sentence contained within. Circular particles are sentences. Rectangular particles contain pictures.

Any particle can be clicked at any time, revealing the sentence and/or photograph inside, along with any information about the sentence’s author. As the particles careen around the screen, they lose speed and eventually freeze as they approach the mouse cursor, allowing them to be captured and clicked. As the particles approach the We Feel Fine heart in the bottom left corner of the screen, they become attracted to the heart and swarm around it, drawing the eye. As the mouse passes over the heart, a menu appears, revealing access to the other five movements of We Feel Fine.

I found this through TED, which I’ve mentioned before.  Do yourself a favor, check out the talks on TED, I feel it’s the right thing to do.