Monthly Archive for October, 2009

Changes around here

It’s a very quiet weekend here at Chez 10K. I’ve got the house to myself and the weather is chilly and wet, so I’m staying in with the dog and trying to clear away some clutter (both on-and offline). I poked around on the blog a bit last night and realized that it’s worked its way into a huge mess over the years. It’s been through several software changes along the way, all of which have left some dead links and screwy formatting in their wake. I’ll be working on cleaning that up this fall. Also, the links down the right side column had become waaaaaay out of date, so I bulldozed most of them away (if I accidentally deleted your site, please let me know — it was not an operation that I conducted with all that much precision).

Staying on top of the blogging is getting to be quite the challenge these days. When I first started with this little project, there really was no social media to speak of (my blog and facebook were actually both founded in 2004). Now there are rss feeds and status updates and tweets and SMS and waves and… well, just wait and there will be something else tomorrow!

Keeping up with it all has been getting way too time-consuming. So, I’ve cut a lot out… or at the very least, I’ve been reworking the proportions — I’m not reading nearly as much about politics lately, but I am still following my favorite food bloggers, and I’ve added a bit of twitter and facebook to the mix, so I’ve had to cut back on reading blogs in general, and so on. And while I love reading the Internet, lately I’m trying to carve out more time for reading actual books. And, of course, this is all supposedly taking place just in my spare time. (Ha! ;-D)

I hope I can keep things going around here with some regularity, but I’m working on finding a new rhythm. I’ve been pretty inconsistent for a while — I don’t think the wind has really filled my sails since the election ended (I’m burned out on that stuff in so many ways), but I’m still playing around with what other subjects I might like to cover. I’m also trying to dope out what goes where* in this social networking world — which tidbits make good tweets, what is better suited for a status update, and when a thought should be fleshed out for a full-fledged post.

I’m still a long way from figuring out those last parts, and am eager to hear how everyone out there is coping with the demands the social networks make on our time. I love being a part of it (I’m in touch and feeling connected with so many people who I used to just hear from at Christmastime) but I don’t want to let it suck away increasing amounts of my free time.

There is also the problem of anonymity vs. simplification. I’d love to put a string of social networking icons down the side of the page and go ahead and let the networks mingle, but my blogging has always been first-name-only, and I don’t feel ready to change that. I’ve never been all that hard-core about it (seriously, with just a bit of sleuthing, you could probably flesh out my ID), but my reason for leaving my last name out of the mix is, I think, still sound: it’s a very uncommon name. And some day, when Emmie is interviewing for her dream job, I don’t want her potential employer to do a pre-interview google search on her name and find a confusing muddle of her great deeds and the crazy rantings of her crackpot mother. Honestly, I don’t mind you knowing who I am.** I just don’t want The Google to know.

As always, thanks for reading and for your comments! Let me know what’s on your mind (or if you think I butchered the links!) — and by all means, let me know how you are coping with all the issues I’ve raised in this post! I need help sorting it all out!

Oh, and Happy Halloween! Have fun tonight!

*One of my pet peeves has become the replication of data from one site to another — i.e. repeating your tweets and/or blog posts on facebook (I do admit to being guilty of this myself on occasion, as I experiment with what goes where). It annoys me to find myself reading the same things over again. And if all you’re doing is importing content from one place to another, why should I bother with your twitter feed and/or blog AND your facebook feed (or more to the point, why are you bothering with them?)?

**If you want to be facebook buddies or whatnot, just shoot me an email!

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1956, Lawrenceburg, TN

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Friday Creature

Can you believe it’s Friday already? As promised, here are more goats. And as always, don’t forget to check the ark! Have a fun, safe and fantastic Halloween weekend!

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Wordless Wednesday


Wordless Wednesday

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Google Voice

I’ve been playing around with this today and it’s like magic!

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This could be the issue that determines whether or not I campaign in 2012…

I’m not sure what the president is thinking, but thankfully, others are on the case (for good reason).

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How many legos can you cram into one post?

I’ve been saving up for this post for a while. You know I loves me some legos. Here they are in every way, shape and form…

the brick testament — the ultimate in all biblical legos!!
cube dudes (lego superheroes)
a functional lego cello
lego jesus
cool, stylish lego creations
classic paintings done with legos (also here)
greatest minifigs
world record tower
lego safe
i lego ny!
lego venice
beijing games in lego
sitcom sets
wonderful lego creations
best business cards ever
bizarre lego sets
pharaoh on the thames
yourself in lego
some kind of weaponized turkey?
guess the lego movie star
video games
obama inauguration
silence of the lambs
box4blox
lego desktops

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Autumn is really here!

Yay! What a beautiful world we live in!

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Friday Creature

This week, I’m going to post the first of several pictures of some goats on my brother’s farm (all taken this past July at the family gathering). That will be my grand finale in the Creatures From My Summer Travels series. As always, the Friday Ark brings you even more in the critter department! Have a great weekend, everyone!

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To the epb…

Dear MyFi,

I’m a blogger. I talk about stuff that’s going on in my life. Instead of blogging for the past six months about how awesome Fi-Speed Internet, FiTV and FiPhone are, I’ve been quiet. And now I’m finally breaking my silence to wonder what the hell is going on at the epb.

I had lunch with a friend on Wednesday. Imagine my surprise when he told me that he got a flyer on his doorknob letting him know that the epb is now hooking up his neighborhood with fiber. Apparently, epb is expanding their service to new areas. But, they’re not done with the first ones yet! I’m still waiting for my fiber, and I think I’ve been left behind.

I live across the street from the epb, in one of the three neighborhoods where fiber was tested before being offered to the public. I didn’t test it because I “wasn’t on the grid” at the time testing took place. But I was assured that I would be one of the first homes hooked up when fiber went public. One of the very first homes.

That was almost two months ago. Testing ended, and in anticipation of getting my fiber, I cut off my Comcast cable TV. Many, many weeks have passed, and I’m happy to report that I don’t really miss the TV all that much when there’s no big story in the news — but is that really a lesson you wanted me to learn? That I can get along without the stuff you’re trying to sell?

I dutifully went to the epb fiber web site and signed up to be notified when my home was finally added to the grid. More weeks have passed. Crickets are still chirping. Entire neighborhoods are being brought into the fold. But my house is still on an island in a big blue sea of “first with fiber” signs…

I’ve been waiting for this for over two years now. Can I get a “finally with fiber” sign?

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