I'm so addicted to email, Facebook and Twitter, I have to hide it from my wife - Telegraph
As I write this, someone is sending a sheep my way via Farm Town on Facebook, I have been invited to join two Mafia's and someone I don't know in Australia is asking to be my friend so I can join her Sorority.
Hold on...be right back...
Sorry, thought I had a response to my tweet but it was just my Blackberry notifying me I had email from some Nigerian prince's nephew.
I love Twitter. I used to love Facebook because I was able to talk to a bunch of people from high school. Now I am inundated with Mafia, Pirates, Farm Town and hug requests that I can't bear to log in there anymore. I am still addicted to Twitter and don't see that passion fading anytime soon at least until the Mafia bots swarm there too.
I have been yelled at by my seven year old daughter because I tweet at the dinner table. When on vacation, I used the time at rest stops to catch up with the hundred or so postings of people I follow and posted a few new ones of my own.
Wait just a moment....
Sorry, @ThatKevinSmith & @cyborgturkey are too funny to not read and my honey, @EthanRayne just got home...
Where was I? Oh yeah...my Twitter addiction...
Of course, it's not just Twitter. I also check my email compulsively. I got a Blackberry just so I could check my email compulsively. I rarely use it as a phone. In fact when it does ring, I stare at it blankly wondering what the hell is going on.
I need to cut back on my Twitter, just as I need to cut back on my World of Warcraft game time. Without Twitter though, there are a host of people I never would have met. I wouldn't have met the man of my dreams, wouldn't have met my adopted Twitter brother or met the host of other people I now consider friends, though we have not met in person.
I have local friends of course. I have my Rollerderby sisters, my co-workers and my other friends that I probably don't talk to half as much as I should because life has just gotten too damn busy. I love my Twitter family and am happy to be a part of that community. I just need to learn when to NOT check my messages or tweet...
Like now...
~M~
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
My name is Michele and I am a recovering Twilight fan
Yes, I got hooked on Twilight. I was suckered into reading the whole bloody series by someone who said "Hey you like books? You'll love this one!" I too was drawn into the series as a vampire fanatic & Buffy devotee (hence why I have found the Buffy vs Edward clip so therapeutic) which is my explanation for my devotion for this series.
Was Twilight a good book? Yes. Were New Moon & Eclipse good follow ups? Yes. Did Breaking Dawn jump the shark? Oh dear lord, absolutely! I watched the Twilight movie about two dozen times and debated with my co-workers as to who was cooler, Edward or Jacob. I even got other people to read the series like a good drug dealer. (C'mon, try it. You'll like it and you can quit anytime!)
Then, I inoculated myself with REAL vampires. I watched every episode of Buffy and Angel (that's another obsession but one I am not ready to let go of) and fawned over Spike and Angel...OK, mostly Spike...and began to see Twilight for what it really is. Bella is the weakest female heroine I have run across in a long time, Edward is an obsessive stalker and Jacob is an egotistical prick. And for some reason, there is this whole sub-plot involving no sex outside of marriage...
Of course, Spike and Angel were both with stalker tendencies and not entirely stable (Angel got all nasty when he did the nasty; Spike had sex with a robot he had built to look like Buffy) but Buffy didn't immediately fawn over either of them. She also didn't surrender all of her life and power to them. She was, in her words, cookie dough and both Spike and Angel would have to wait until she was done baking. Bella immediately turned over everything to Edward. She was prepared to give up her humanity, her life, her friends and family to be with this guy who was very dangerous, wanted to kill her and snuck into her room every night to watch her sleep.
If this is how young girls are seeing relationships, this is dangerous ground. Edward may have had some romantic qualities and who wouldn't want to spend all of eternity with their one true love but overall, he's creepy and dangerous. Girls shouldn't look to him as the epitome of a real man, they should see him as what they don't want in a boyfriend and life long companion.
In the meantime, I may watch New Moon if only for the effects. I will probably watch Eclipse and Breaking Dawn as well. Then I will head home and pop in a Buffy episode and see how a strong woman really behaves.
Was Twilight a good book? Yes. Were New Moon & Eclipse good follow ups? Yes. Did Breaking Dawn jump the shark? Oh dear lord, absolutely! I watched the Twilight movie about two dozen times and debated with my co-workers as to who was cooler, Edward or Jacob. I even got other people to read the series like a good drug dealer. (C'mon, try it. You'll like it and you can quit anytime!)
Then, I inoculated myself with REAL vampires. I watched every episode of Buffy and Angel (that's another obsession but one I am not ready to let go of) and fawned over Spike and Angel...OK, mostly Spike...and began to see Twilight for what it really is. Bella is the weakest female heroine I have run across in a long time, Edward is an obsessive stalker and Jacob is an egotistical prick. And for some reason, there is this whole sub-plot involving no sex outside of marriage...
Of course, Spike and Angel were both with stalker tendencies and not entirely stable (Angel got all nasty when he did the nasty; Spike had sex with a robot he had built to look like Buffy) but Buffy didn't immediately fawn over either of them. She also didn't surrender all of her life and power to them. She was, in her words, cookie dough and both Spike and Angel would have to wait until she was done baking. Bella immediately turned over everything to Edward. She was prepared to give up her humanity, her life, her friends and family to be with this guy who was very dangerous, wanted to kill her and snuck into her room every night to watch her sleep.
If this is how young girls are seeing relationships, this is dangerous ground. Edward may have had some romantic qualities and who wouldn't want to spend all of eternity with their one true love but overall, he's creepy and dangerous. Girls shouldn't look to him as the epitome of a real man, they should see him as what they don't want in a boyfriend and life long companion.
In the meantime, I may watch New Moon if only for the effects. I will probably watch Eclipse and Breaking Dawn as well. Then I will head home and pop in a Buffy episode and see how a strong woman really behaves.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Why supermarkets are off their trolleys | Carol Midgley - Times Online
Why supermarkets are off their trolleys Carol Midgley - Times Online
Oh for the love of all that is sacred and holy...what has this world come to? You can't take pictures of your own children at a park because of fears of pedophilia...can't buy alcohol for yourself if your child is with you because you may be buying it for them...lectured on proper pregnancy diet by the supermarket deli clerk...what the hell?
Have we gone so far down the road of needing nanny laws and covenants that it's not just lawmakers telling us what to do now? Is it the extreme paranoia of being sued? Do we really think that the sick & twisted perv pedophile is going to be so brazen (and stupid) as to take their kiddie porn shots to Wal-Mart for developing so that any parent who takes a cute pic of their kids in the bathtub is arrested & their children placed in protective custody?
This article title says it all...but it's not just supermarkets that are off their trolleys...it is the whole world. We are so focused on protecting everyone from themselves that rather than enforce laws already in existence we create new ones that are, essentially, fucking common sense. I know that it's not a good idea to give your child alcohol...however if I want to buy a bottle of wine and my seven year old is with me, does the clerk really believe that I'll be pouring her a glass the second we get out the door so therefore I should not be allowed to buy it? If I'm pregnant, do I really need the deli counter clerk telling me I should not be purchasing the potato salad, ham, roast beef and colby jack cheese but instead lean turkey and fruit salad because it's healthier? Let's not even go into what would happen to said clerk if I were in a delicate condition and such a comment were made...the meat slicer would definitely be involved...but I digress....
I do not need to be regulated into doing the right thing...I had parents who taught me that. I understand not everyone does but people still learn right from wrong. If someone is determined to do the wrong thing, no law on the books would stop them. If it did, our prisons would be empty.
This whole business of a zero tolerance policy has gotten entirely out of hand. All it does is punish good people while doing nothing to deter the criminal and evil elements of society from committing whatever vile acts that they are going to do. We really need to think about where we are going down this road and step forward as a nation, as a world, and say "enough is enough!"
Oh for the love of all that is sacred and holy...what has this world come to? You can't take pictures of your own children at a park because of fears of pedophilia...can't buy alcohol for yourself if your child is with you because you may be buying it for them...lectured on proper pregnancy diet by the supermarket deli clerk...what the hell?
Have we gone so far down the road of needing nanny laws and covenants that it's not just lawmakers telling us what to do now? Is it the extreme paranoia of being sued? Do we really think that the sick & twisted perv pedophile is going to be so brazen (and stupid) as to take their kiddie porn shots to Wal-Mart for developing so that any parent who takes a cute pic of their kids in the bathtub is arrested & their children placed in protective custody?
This article title says it all...but it's not just supermarkets that are off their trolleys...it is the whole world. We are so focused on protecting everyone from themselves that rather than enforce laws already in existence we create new ones that are, essentially, fucking common sense. I know that it's not a good idea to give your child alcohol...however if I want to buy a bottle of wine and my seven year old is with me, does the clerk really believe that I'll be pouring her a glass the second we get out the door so therefore I should not be allowed to buy it? If I'm pregnant, do I really need the deli counter clerk telling me I should not be purchasing the potato salad, ham, roast beef and colby jack cheese but instead lean turkey and fruit salad because it's healthier? Let's not even go into what would happen to said clerk if I were in a delicate condition and such a comment were made...the meat slicer would definitely be involved...but I digress....
I do not need to be regulated into doing the right thing...I had parents who taught me that. I understand not everyone does but people still learn right from wrong. If someone is determined to do the wrong thing, no law on the books would stop them. If it did, our prisons would be empty.
This whole business of a zero tolerance policy has gotten entirely out of hand. All it does is punish good people while doing nothing to deter the criminal and evil elements of society from committing whatever vile acts that they are going to do. We really need to think about where we are going down this road and step forward as a nation, as a world, and say "enough is enough!"
Friday, October 9, 2009
You know it's Freaky Friday when...
Ok, seriously. Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize? NASA shot the moon to find water? Where the hell have I been for the past 24 hours?
I understand that Obama did not campaign for the NPP. My consternation is not with the POTUS but with the idiots on the Nobel comittee. Seriously? After 11 days Obama is eligible for the Nobel Peace Prize because he what...showed up & wasn't George W Bush? When liberals sit back and say "What the hell?" you know it's nuts.
As to NASA & the moon...well, I can only imagine that this is what they were striving to accomplish. 
Friday, July 31, 2009
Amazon & Kindle-The New Big Brother?
My Kindle ate my homework? - Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
A Michigan teen is suing Amazon for removing his copy of "1984" from his Kindle, causing his electronic references to the book to become useless and causing him to be unable to turn in his homework in a timely manner. Amazon deleted electronic copies of the book during a copyright dispute.
How ironic that the book referenced in this lawsuit is "1984". While I abhor frivolous lawsuits in general, I am interested to see how this one pans out. That a company can just take something back that you purchased in good faith due to an error they made is scary. With our increased reliance on electronic devices, this could potentially become a disturbing trend.
A few questions not answered in this article: Was this teen reimbursed for the cost of the e-book when it was removed? Was he notified that the book would be removed, therefore giving him the opportunity to back up his work? The most obvious question is what kind of monetary value can you place on lost homework? Given that this student was in Advanced Placement classes, this late assignment could have significantly lowered his grade, or even caused him to fail all together if the teacher refused to accept late work. This could lead to lower GPA, inability to get into the school of his choice, lost scholarship or grant opportunities....yes, I could go on but I will save these arguments for the lawyers.
My concern is that a company can reach out into your personal property and take away property that you have paid for. By opening ourselves up to increased electronic monitoring and living our lives in the public eye (Twitter, blogs, YouTube, etc.) I believe that we will see more instances of this type of behavior with regards to electronic material in the future. I have a feeling that this case, if accepted by the federal court, could set a precedent in how companies deal with electronic material in the future.
A Michigan teen is suing Amazon for removing his copy of "1984" from his Kindle, causing his electronic references to the book to become useless and causing him to be unable to turn in his homework in a timely manner. Amazon deleted electronic copies of the book during a copyright dispute.
How ironic that the book referenced in this lawsuit is "1984". While I abhor frivolous lawsuits in general, I am interested to see how this one pans out. That a company can just take something back that you purchased in good faith due to an error they made is scary. With our increased reliance on electronic devices, this could potentially become a disturbing trend.
A few questions not answered in this article: Was this teen reimbursed for the cost of the e-book when it was removed? Was he notified that the book would be removed, therefore giving him the opportunity to back up his work? The most obvious question is what kind of monetary value can you place on lost homework? Given that this student was in Advanced Placement classes, this late assignment could have significantly lowered his grade, or even caused him to fail all together if the teacher refused to accept late work. This could lead to lower GPA, inability to get into the school of his choice, lost scholarship or grant opportunities....yes, I could go on but I will save these arguments for the lawyers.
My concern is that a company can reach out into your personal property and take away property that you have paid for. By opening ourselves up to increased electronic monitoring and living our lives in the public eye (Twitter, blogs, YouTube, etc.) I believe that we will see more instances of this type of behavior with regards to electronic material in the future. I have a feeling that this case, if accepted by the federal court, could set a precedent in how companies deal with electronic material in the future.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)