Tech Tip: Twitter for Dummies?

I broke down and signed up for Twitter not too long ago and figured between updating my gmail and facebook statuses, I would Never be able to extend my humor and creativity into Twitter.
I was wrong (so I think).

Twitter is another social networking option that allows people to "tweet" in 140 characters or less what they're doing at the moment.

There is a follow me button in the column of this website and to date, I am following more people than are following me. This doesn't bother me in the slightest.

I've added and deleted the customery celebrities as their "tweets" have amused or disinterested me. One of the funniest is Michael Ian Black. After you add me, add him. Here is a recent "tweet" of his:
"During a crisis, drawing a conclusion is helpful. Drawing a cartoon mouse is not."

Besides going to the main Twitter page, there are a ton of free applications to allow for easier "tweeting" from your computer, blackberry or iPhone. I have Twittergadget in my igoogle, Twitterberry on my blackberry and Tweetdeck on my laptop at home.

I found a site that lists by category all of the various Twitter-related applications and what they do. To give the author credit and to not bog my blog down, you can see them here.

Tweet, tweet...

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Bathed in Satisfaction

Back in August, I entered our bathroom remodel into a DIY contest with the local paper to try to win the $500 prize.
We didn't win.
Again.

I had entered our master bathroom remodel as well a few years ago.

However, they did run our story in The Virginian-Pilot a few weeks ago.
Again.
Here is the first story of our master bathroom remodel.

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Hanna Heading Towards Virginia Beach

Tropical Storm Hanna is heading our way.

Of course there are many recommended ways to prepare for a hurricane. Having lived in Virginia Beach for ten years and suffering through Hurricanes Bonnie in 1998 and Isabelle in 2003, here is my list of things to do before the storm strikes:

1. Buy beer and ice. If the power goes out, which it ultimately will, you won't care so much with a nice buzz.
2. Buy gas. If power is still out after several days, you will need gas for your vehicle to get out of town or to fill the generator to keep the fridge running and thus beer cold.
3. Have friends gather together to suffer in the heat together. After a hurricane, the heat and humidity is dire and with no A/C, it's terrible. Having friends around (who bring their own cold beer) is a good distraction.
4. Be prepared to eat whatever is defrosting first. One year, we grilled pork, steaks, hamburger, chicken and sausages and then made a great gumbo with the leftovers.
5. Have batteries for your flashlight. You never realize how fast it gets dark until you're trying to read a book by candlelight at 7:45 p.m. It's always an easy way to realize that it's not ten steps from the bed to the bathroom but nine. Bam, the doorframe hurts when you hit it in the dark.
6. Utilize the car charger for your cell phone. This is time when I celebrate the fact that I downloaded spider solitaire on my blackberry so if push comes to shove, I can at least play a game while I hold my beer and sweat in the heat.
7. Try to remember that no matter how bad it seems at your house, some sucker had their house blown away or flooded. It's just not that bad, really.

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Freshmen in College---What do they know?

I have seen this list a few times over the years. Basically, a small school in the midwest compiles a list of things that entering freshman have never experienced in their lifetime or have never not known. As the class of 2012 begins college this month (the majority born in 1990), here are a few highlights of the Mindset List.

1. Caller ID has always been available on phones.


2. Coke and Pepsi have always used recycled plastic bottles.


3. Soft drink refills have always been free.


4. WWW has never stood for World Wide Wrestling.


5. Students have always been "Rocking the Vote.”


6. Films have never been X rated, only NC-17.


7. There has always been Pearl Jam.


8. They have never known life without Seinfeld references from a show about “nothing.”


9. The Tonight Show has always been hosted by Jay Leno and started at 11:35 EST.


10. Pee-Wee has never been in his playhouse during the day.

I feel old now so maybe I should send a text message to feel hip. ha!

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Cheers to You, Virginia Beach!

Virginia Beach has made it to a top twenty list again. According to Forbes, Va. Beach residents like to drink more than every other metropolitan city in the U.S. after 11 others listed before us. Coming in at number 12, between Pittsburgh and Portland, almost 60% of Virginia Beach residents have had at least one drink in the last 30 days.

I wonder if Va. Beach bars will start offering better happy hour specials now and employing more taxi cabs..... I'm not holding my breath. It's a good thing we have Betty at home. Cheers!

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To Sunbathe or Not Sunbathe?

I love the sun. I like it to be up before me in the a.m. and I like to watch it go down in the evening. I love to be outside when it's warm and soak up the sun's rays. As I learned on Spring Break '98 in Key West, "fat looks better tan; so take your clothes off!"
Although I have gotten better at wearing sunscreen, my body has responded to this sun exposure by giving me more and more freckles. What used to be so prominent on my face as a child has slowly worked their way down my body. I embrace them and guess what, I'm preventing Cancer!

What? But sun exposure gives you skin cancer! Not exactly!

I had a physical yesterday and after going over the family health history and how cancer runs rampant, I was told by Dr. Holt, Vitamin D doses daily can help prevent cancer.
For those of you who are a little behind, our bodies create Vitamin D with exposure to the sun Without sunscreen.
Yankees living in northern states and across the border into Canada don't get as much sun exposure as those in the South and are thus more prone to cancer.
So, I will be swinging by the old drugstore this weekend and purchasing my Vitamin D pills before putting on sunscreen and expanding my freckle count.
Someone requested a picture of the new 'do. Here it is and notice all those freckles?



A friend gave me a sign recently that said, "A face without freckles is like a sky without stars."

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Hulu?

I am a Gen X'r that reads the paper everyday. I know, it's hard to believe but I have been reading the paper daily for at least 15 years. I learn lots of things by reading it...
For example, I know what the weather is supposed to be like; my horoscope (because I love being a pisces); which celebrities are celebrating birthdays, Dear Abby; during football season I read about the best school ever, Virginia Tech. On Saturdays, I like the Home section (we were featured last summer, look here) because I like to see how much homes cost in my neighborhood.
In the last week I learned two new things. One, there is a website that allows users to watch television programs and movies for Free on their computers with "limited commerical interruption" at http://www.hulu.com/. I recently cruised through the entire first season of 30 Rock using Netflix on demand but the second season isn't out on DVD yet. Not on http://www.hulu.com/ ... it's available!
The second thing I learned is that people apparantly like to confess their secrets to strangers. There is a popular blog (http://www.postsecret.com/) and four published books of people writing their biggest secret on a postcard and mailing to a man in Maryland. Some are quite funny but others are sad. I think I know who may have wrote a few of them.....
Here's a sample:

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