Trying to Stay Away From *IT*, But...

...I couldn't resist the pull of Twitter... and then the trending topics.

As always, it was a bad, bad idea to click the trending topics.  It truly makes you fear for our future.


One random woman (among many of the fawning):  "He looks every inch a President!!"

Yes, looks are all-important.  So long as he looks "presidential", we're in good shape.

(For the record, I don't recall hearing anyone deny that he looks "every inch a President".  The problem is that his looks seem to be almost all that so many voters care about.  His physical appearance and the big "D" by his name.  But whatever.  We're in for another four years of this utter crap, so at this point I might as well shut up.)


And apparently he's addressing climate change in his inaugural speech.

To quote the Twitterverse:  "YES!!  Finally!  Thank you, O Glorious One!"

(Well, ok, maybe that last bit was a mild exaggeration.  They didn't tweet that; it's just what they were thinking.)


...But I thought that the rise of the oceans had begun to slow, planet began to heal, etc., etc. way back in 2008, when he won the primaries... So confusing...

Baffled Again

Sweden was a trending topic on Twitter, so I had to check it out (of course).  Turns out it's trending in relation to some new development in the Assange case.  It's baffling how many defenders that guy has-- and how obsessed they are.  People really can become obsessed with anything, can't they?

For Posterity

Read this morning (on Twitter) that "government to receive archive of every tweet ever sent".  I didn't bother to click the link to read the full story, but when have I ever let a piffling little detail like that stop me from reacting/commenting?


First reaction:  Well, that's creepy...

Second reaction:  *thinking back over what I tweeted, back when I actually tweeted, wondering if there was anything incriminating or otherwise potentially damning in the eyes of The Government...*

Third reaction:  Of course, this isn't really news, is it?  I thought we already knew that the Library of Congress was going to archive all tweets (or something like that...).  Also, I'm writing a blog.  On the Internet.  If "They" are interested, they already have access to plenty of information about me.  (I don't actually believe they are that interested, at the moment.  Just to show that I have no delusions of grandeur.)

Fourth reaction:  Wow. If they're keeping these tweets "for posterity", everyone in the future will know exactly how stupid, spoiled, and disgusting so many of our contemporaries are.  (Were?  Whatever.)  There'll be no denying it, now...

Attack of the Online Acquaintance Body Snatchers

(I don't write much, here, anymore, though I'm still slightly more active on the reading, photography, and crochet blogs.  [Too many blogs.]  But that's ok.  This blog doesn't cost me anything to keep open, and I like having a place to post when the mood does strike me.)

I just had the weird and unpleasant-- but not unusual-- experience of realizing how different some people are from myself.  I mean, I know (surprisingly enough) that many people have vastly different opinions from my own, but (possibly because I don't interact face-to-face with a variety of them on a daily basis) I tend to... well, not forget it, exactly... but at least sometimes not devote a lot of thought to it.  Maybe it's more accurate to say that I begin to think that I can always immediately tell like-minded people from the rest. 

If I'm not always aware of where people in my "real life" stand on big issues, I'm even less familiar with my Internet acquaintances' stances.  Maybe it's just that with most people I interact with/"follow" (on social networking sites, blogs, etc.) online, I'm rarely confronted with their opinions on serious topics.  They chat about hobbies and pets.  I post photos of crochet projects and autumn leaves.  When we interact, it's usually about very light stuff, and it's always friendly.

And then I read a tweet or something that throws me for a loop.   

Oh.  I didn't know CraftyGal465 was one of them.  It's a shock when CrochetPumpkin23, that sweet-seeming person who makes doggy sweaters and donates preemie hats to the local hospital starts tossing around terms like "teabaggers".  When ArtsyFartsyL@dy refers to a relative as "god-loving" like it's a bad thing, I'm slightly stunned.

It's a little like finding out your casual friendly acquaintance has been body-snatched by the pod people.  Surprise!  These people think your beliefs are stupid!  Hey, look!  They're pointing and laughing at people like you!  If they knew what you believe in-- politically, spiritually-- they'd think you an imbecile!

Silly, I know, but there it is...

There's a certain illusion of familiarity in so many Internet-based relationships.  It's probably better that way, for most of them.  You know what they say about politics, religion, and money.   (Says the person who frequently expresses political opinions on this blog.)

Just to Say...

This is just to say that I am (nobly ;o)) fighting the urge to copy, paste, and reply to some of the nonsense I've read on Twitter this morning regarding Obama's speech last night and the general debt limit increase... and taxes... and how you are evil and selfish and Just Plain Bad if you don't want to pay more taxes... and how apparently the rich aren't paying their "fair share" (which is probably impossible for them ever to do to the satisfaction of everyone else).  According to some, if you are rich, you should be paying more taxes than poor people.  (What a novel idea.)  Thing is, I thought the rich already were (and are) paying more in taxes than the poor... This is puzzling, because I keep hearing something about how the top 1% of taxpayers earn 20% of all income, yet pay nearly 40% of all taxes.  And then you have 51% of wage earners who pay no federal income taxes at all!  It certainly seems like the rich would already be paying (much) more than the poor...  I must just not be smart enuff to figger out how all them newfangled math'matics and percentigers work.  Or sumthin'.

*sigh*
Replying to such nonsense here wouldn't do any real good, of course, because the people who wrote those things won't ever see this, and even if they did, I seriously doubt I could ever get through to them.  Yet I'm too non-confrontational (and cognizant of the fact that it wouldn't do a thing except maybe make me angry and sick and jittery) to reply directly to them.  Oh well.  Such is life.  Class warfare is easy.  Rich people are BAD people (so why does everyone want more moolah?)! Why trouble our pretty little heads about anything of more substance?

The News of the Day, Twitter-Style

(A format of blog-post you've come to know and love, I'm sure.)

"JAPAN NOW ADMITS: IT'S CHERNOBYL..."
 Awful.  

"Feral chickens roam wild in N.O. since Katrina..."
Picture them... bands of wild chickens terrorizing the citizens of New Orleans.  (Actually, it sounds like they're mostly just being annoyingly loud in the early morning hours.) 

"Wisc. man finds live missile in bathroom wall..."
Wha...?

"CHOCOLATE MILK UNDER FIRE..."
Well, of course. Chocolate milk is the root of all evil, as you know.
I seem to remember drinking chocolate milk with my lunch a lot as a child.  I was still "skinny". Today, I never drink chocolate milk.  I drink unflavored 1% milk (because Donald doesn't like skim milk).  Am I that skinny now?  Hmpf.  No, I am not.  Clearly, chocolate milk keeps you fit and trim. 

"Couric Blames Local CBS Affiliates for Poor Ratings..." 
Ugh.  Just ugh.  I've never understood her so-called appeal.

"Sex workers scared as serial killer stalks Long Island..."
 Well, maybe they should consider a change in career.  I mean, I'm not saying they should expect people to try to murder them, but come on.  They have to know it's not exactly a safe "job", even under the best circumstances.  It's like saying that drug dealers are worried about their safety.  Yes?  And?

"Thermal Cameras On Boston Streets Can Show Activity Inside Homes..."
Weird.  According to the story, the point was the show heat loss in city homes, but I guess there's some fear that the cameras might be a little too powerful.  What's the point of of showing heat loss, anyway?  People should already know that they need to properly insulate their homes.  Is someone trying to guilt-trip people into using less electricity/heating?  (That really irks me, btw.)

"Egypt army sets new limits on free speech..."
Limited free speech?  Oxymoron time!

"Indonesian clinic touts smoking as cancer cure..."
 Well, it's about time someone recognized the healing properties of smoking.

"Girls robbed of $150 at lemonade stand..."
$150?  Where were these girls selling lemonade, and for what price?!  (And why were they keeping $150 at the stand instead of putting it somewhere for safe keeping?)  Oh yeah, and what a downright mean thing to do. (Apparently they were raising money for a young, disabled cousin, so it's even worse than your average stealing-from-youths story.)

"'IDOL' RESULTS CONTRIVED?"
NOOOOOOOOOOO!  ...My faith in everything has been shaken.

"Vegas woman dies after backroom cosmetic surgery; Botched buttocks enhancement..."
Again?  (There was a similar story, one of the other days I did a "news on Twitter" post.)  I still don't see why anyone would even want to undergo this procedure.

"UN proposal would give 'Mother Earth' same rights as humans..."
Cuckoo!

All the News That's Fit to Tweet

...because everyone knows that Twitter is the best source for news.
...Right?

Prince William slips off for secret stag weekend...

No comment.  Actually, I don't see why anyone would care.

President Obama speaks on Libya tonight from the National Defense University in Washington.

Yay.  I'll plan my entire evening around this.  Maybe even figure out how to use the VCR again so I can have a copy to watch over and over again until the tape breaks.  (Because we are the Flintstones, living in 2010 without a DVR.  TiVo?  What's that?)

SOROS GROUP PLOTS 'GUERILLA WAR', 'SABOTAGE' ON FOXNEWS...

That sounds about right.  Yeah, that's pretty much what you'd expect from a Soros-led group.  Ah, I see; it's Media Matters.  Long have they held a cherished spot in my conservative heart!  ...But is this really "news", at this point?  ...I see.  Now even the founder is admitting the whole "guerilla war" and "sabotage" thing, apparently.  Well, that's nice.

Poisonous Egyptian cobra escapes Bronx Zoo...

It wasn't a pregnant female was it?

In Which I React to More News Tweets

"Scientists create animals that are part-human."

Yeah, I'm sure that will end well.

It's probably not (yet) quite as bad as it sounds--  as usual--  but still...
You think any of those scientists saw Splice?

"FBI's Next Generation ID system launched: Fingerprint, iris, VOICE, tattoos, palms, face..."

 ...Wait.  So you mean all those old "futuristic" movies in which someone sneaks past security with just a pair of "borrowed" eyes, possibly a spare thumb, were pure hokum??  

Also, I gather that we're supposed to be surprised that they apparently have such effective voice recognition.  But somehow... I'm just not.

Incidentally, that story reminds me of this one ("The Government Wants To Buy Software To Fake Online Grassroots Social Media Campaigns"), which I only heard about yesterday, through Donald. I haven't read much about it, but my first reaction is that it's creepy:

"HBGary Federal wanted to create software that could make it easy for staffers to create and maintain a massive number of fake online social network personas, allowing them to control virtual armies of totally fake people, whose only mission is to spy on others and spew paid-for propaganda. But, what's even more amazing is that not only did the emails reveal HBGary Federal employees talking about building a platform for letting people more easily manage an army of fake personas, but that the US government put out a request for exactly that kind of software last June, with its request for 'Persona Management Software.'"

Like so many things, it could have uses for good, but what about when it falls into the wrong hands?  People are so easily swayed by popular opinion/peer pressure. When a fake "popular opinion" starts popping up everywhere, will they bother to think critically about it, or will they just go with the flow?  (That's a real tough one, huh?)

"Libya War Cost Headed for the Billions..."
"'Gold Bug' Gaddafi can afford mercenaries for months, perhaps"
"Portugal braces for govt collapse amid debt crisis..."
"Nuclear Plant Contaminates Sea After Damage to Fuel Rods..."
 (...and so on...)

You can always count on the news to cheer you right up!

 "First Calls for Obama to be Stripped of Nobel Peace Prize..."

Well, he never should've received it to begin with, but honestly, who cares one way or the other, at this point?  History will still be history, regardless of their silly little prize.  (Even Donald, a Swede, scoffs at the Peace Prize.  How much of this is due to the fact that it alone of the Nobel prizes is awarded by the Norwegians instead of the Swedes, I leave you to decide... ;o))

"Man shows up for DWI hearing -- with an open can of beer!"

That is so pathetic that I can't even make a joke of it. 

"Report: Majority Of Newspapers Now Purchased By Kidnappers To Prove Date"

 Oops.  That one's from The Onion.  ;o)

In Which I React to News Tweets

"2045:  The Year 'Man Becomes Immortal'"
(It was also followed by link.  Assume the same of all of these.)

Um, yeah, sure.  Come on, people.  In the 1950s, some thought men would be flying to work on personal jet packs by the year 2000!  Do you really think a measly 35 years will lead us to immortality?  I can't believe that physical immortality is possible, ever.  Besides, what would become of the world if no-one ever died and children continued being born?  In addition to somehow achieving immortality, they'd also have to ramp up space travel, find other inhabitable planets, and somehow convince/force people to move there.

Next I click the link and read a little of it...

And, oh, this is about "the Singularity" (which I'll confess, I've never really completely understood-- something about humanity being linked with a computer so that the person's mind will "live" forever).  Basically, the article's about how computers are becoming faster and faster, to the point that (inevitably?) they will be capable of artificial human-level intelligence-- then super-human intelligence.  It's at this part of the story that I think, "Well, let's just hope they're wrong.  I'd like to still be alive, come 2045, but I don't really want to see that sort of thing, thanks all the same."  Call me medieval, but I just don't like the idea.  What?  Is that a common, narrow-minded, non-visionary response?  Meh, whatever.

Anyway, thinking about the Singularity depresses me.  So let's move on to another tweet...


"Update:  Bottom Implant Op Kills Hip-Hop Girl."

First, I'm sorry for the girl and the loss her friends and family have suffered.

But second, why in the world would anyone want a "bottom" implant???
I mean, unless your own, natural, God-given bottom has been damaged somehow and requires reconstructive surgery, why not just leave well enough alone?  Then again, I feel the same way about breast implants.  (The bottom still wins out for weirdness, though.) 


"Study Links Diet Soda to Heightened Stroke Risk."

Well, at least until next month, when they will discover that diet soda actually prevents strokes.

Seriously, though, I would say that I'm glad I find diet sodas gross and switched to drinking just plain tap water when I last swore off the old sugar water (which was over a year ago, by the way)... but then I'd be reminded that there are probably all kinds of crappy, life-threatening chemicals in my drinking water!


"Lib media reporting fake Palin interview-- as real..."

So what else is new?

Look, she's not perfect, but I do get a kick out of how passionately so many liberals dislike her-- which is demonstrated so well by their over-eagerness to pounce on anything negative about her, whether or not it happens to be true.


"Professor Surgically Embeds 'Third Eye' Camera in Head."

Yes, I remember reading about this guy before.  It was gross then, and it's gross now (in addition to possibly being a foreshadowing of the coming Age of the Cyborg). 


"Scientists build thinking cap; zaps brain to make more creative."

LOL!


"Get ready for higher food prices."

Yay.


...And on that happy note, goodbye!
(At least it's Thursday, the third-best day of the week.)

More Dead Birds?

Ok, I'll admit that it seems a little weird that these groups of dead birds and things keep popping up, over a matter of days... But is this really happening any more often than it ever has in the past?  Don't these kinds of thing just happen, from time to time?  (I don't know-- maybe not quite this frequently...)

I searched Twitter for "birds" and got just what I deserved for doing so-- nonsense.  (Nonsense is what you get 99.9% of the time when you search Twitter or click on a trending subject.)

For example:

"What is GOING on?  Do birds know something WE, Humans, should??"

(Um... You mean you didn't get the message to die for no discernible reason and fall from the sky?  You might want to check your in-box more often.)

"omg why are all these fish and birds dieing.  Thinking 2012.  Wtf."

(Check the calendar.  It's only 2011.)

"I DNT EVN BELIEVE IN 2012 BUT THEY GOT ME F***D UP IF THEY THINK IMA BELIEVE FIREWORKS KILLD ALL THEM BIRDS.. & WUT ABT TH FISH?!"

(Again, calendars, people!  ...But yeah, I don't know if I buy the fireworks explanation, either.   (shrug))

[insert obligatory joke-tweet referencing Angry Birds here]

(Ugh.  You don't merit a response.)

"I wish birds of the human variety would drop dead too."

(...Huh?  Unless you mean "birds" as in slang for "women", and even then it still makes no sense, especially considering that the person RTing it is a woman...)

Anyway.
I suggest we carry on with our lives.  And spend less time on Twitter.

All the Tweets That're Fit to Print!

In this age of Twitter and Facebook, instant feedback is king.  Even for the more reluctant (such as myself), it is fascinating (not to mention addictive) to see what people around the world are thinking and saying right now.  (Unfortunately, this knowledge often doesn't do much for your faith in humanity, but that's another matter entirely.)

As always, people are jostling to keep up with the times.  No-one wants to be left behind.  This carries over into the business world, too.  Which is fine.  It's just one more way to keep in touch with customers and let everyone know what you do and how well you do it. 

And then there's the local news. 

I don't know if this is happening everywhere, but I suspect it's a widespread phenomenon.  At least one of our local news channels makes a habit of incorporating into their stories the tweets and Facebook comments of random people who respond to the channel's own tweets and Facebook writings.  This inclusion would seem to indicate that the news writers think these comments are newsworthy.  You might be surprised how rarely this is the case (or then again, maybe you wouldn't be).  Instead, what you get is a telegraphic version of the old "sound off" columns in your average small-town newspaper.  It's pointless.  It's not even news!

Here's a good example of what I'm talking about. There's a story about a benefit concert that's going to take place soon.  The tickets were available for free, and apparently they disappeared within ten minutes of becoming available (only to pop up later for sale on eBay, etc.). 

Part of the story went as follows:

Shortly after posting that the tickets were gone on [news channel]'s Facebook page, several viewers vented their frustrations.

[Random Local Male] commented: "grrrrrrrr I wanted tickets." 

[Random Local Female] added: "Many of us southerners who waited for hours online only to miss out on tickets are extremely pissed...."

Wow, that's some earth-shattering news, right there.  I 'specially liked the "grrrrrrrr" part.  ;o) Why not just write that people were upset that they didn't get a chance at a ticket, only to find them snapped up by people who intend to profit by them?  (Is it even necessary to say that much?  It seems fairly obvious.)

I don't know why this is so particularly irritating to me.  It's not that much different from the silly polls they've been doing for years.  I suppose it's not even worse than when they go out and interview people at random, trying to get "reaction" to this or that story.  But for whatever reason, it just elicits my very best eye roll.

Pointless Babble

Only three rounds of pointless babble this time.

- - - - - - -

1. Does Twitter have a monopoly on "pointless babble"? I think not.

I'm now following The Drudge Report on Twitter-- by far the most prolific entity on my list. One of their tweets the other day was a link to a story about how one study (with a sample of a measly 2,000 tweets, however) determined that 40 percent of tweets are "pointless babble". (Their example of "pointless babble" was something like "I'm eating a sandwich now", by the way.)

Measly sample size aside, I'd say the findings are accurate-- if anything, they may be a little low-- but remarkably unsurprising. Haven't people known all along that Twitter is designed for pointless babble? Or at least that's what I tell myself, since babbling is just about all I do on Twitter-- usually pointlessly.

After reading something like that-- and honestly, even before reading the article-- I think twice before tweeting. This may be difficult to believe, for those of you who either "follow" me on Twitter or read my tweets right here on this blog and see my snoozy observations on weather, how tired I am, or what Trixie happens to be doing at the moment, but I've actually been holding back my most boring tweets. I frequently stop myself in mid-tweet. "Nah. That's just too boring to bother people with" Or-- "I don't want it to sound like all I ever do is grumble, so... (backspace backspace backspace)"...

I wonder how many Twitter users feel this pressure to be interesting-- to stay upbeat (or cool and dark, depending on the personality)-- to censor themselves when they begin to feel that they've been doing too much babbling. (Note that I only insinuated that I feel the pressure to be interesting and upbeat-- not that I actually achieve a high level of interest and cheeriness. Just wanted to make sure that was clear. (g))

As someone who only tweets "on the side" and really prefers a blog for the long haul, my next thought naturally is of the blog. I may curb my tongue (fingers?) on Twitter, but my blog is at least 40% pointless babble, too. I'm going to try to forget I ever thought about that, though, and just keep on blogging away, one tedious entry at a time. The good thing about my blog is that there's no fluctuating "follower" count to avoid noticing every time I log on.

- - - - - - -

2. Trixie may not be destined for print, after all. (Oops.)

I may have spoken too soon about Trixie being in the I Has a Hotdog book. The last e-mail we got on the subject indicated that there's still some chance of the photo not making the cut. (Though they did sound encouraging.) I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

No, this doesn't really matter-- only I'll feel silly for having mentioned it at all, if it doesn't pan out. And it would be fun to see one of our dogs in a Real Book.

- - - - - - -

3. "Island Flyover" is fun.

My current favorite thing on the Wii is the Resort's "Island Flyover" game. It's not a very structured, competitive game, which is probably a big part of why I like it right now. Just between the two three however-many of us there are, I can sometimes be a little too competitive. (No comment necessary, Donald :oP) A non-competitive solo game is a nice break from losing to the meanie computer for the nth time in a row at ping pong table tennis.

For those who don't know, in this game you fly a little plane around the island resort looking for (marked) points of interest and/or popping balloons by shooting them or flying into them. I like games with a little of a treasure hunt in them, and this one is also something where you can just sit back and enjoy the view, too-- particularly once you unlock the sunset and night-time options.

- - - - - - -

The End.

Repper

I'm probably the last person in the world to hear about Repper (or at least the last person who might potentially be interested in it), but just in case I'm not, I highly recommend it, if you want to quickly and easily create a seamless tiled background image.

It's web-based. You don't have to download or install anything to use it. You don't even have to register. You just go to the web page, click "Start Tool Now", and play around until you get something you like. You can use their photos (one of which automatically pops up when you start the tool) or upload your own photo or other image. Move and/or resize the "sampler" square to repeat different parts of the picture. When you get a pattern you like, save it. (There's a brief "how to" video on the home page, if you need help.)

I found this tool when I decided to finally make my own background for my Twitter page. Not only is it simple and fast, but it's also quite a bit of fun.

Today's Tidbits

1. Twitter has eaten my last two tweets! Or at least it looks that way. Maybe they just got temporarily lost in some sort of Internet wormhole, and they'll pop up in the middle of the night. . .

2. Today we've had low humidity. (Low for this area.) However, 90 degrees (F) with 35-40% humidity still feels pretty hot to me!

3. The stamps I ordered (via the orange envelopes that you leave for your mail carrier) yesterday were in our mailbox this afternoon. I think it may be a bit sad that I'm excited to get new stamps. I obviously don't get enough fun mail. . . ;o)

4. I've been putting off making some things "to order", today. I've come to the conclusion that I don't enjoy making custom orders. I'll do them, but I worry that they're not going to come out right, whereas if I'm just making something to list independently, I'm not worried at all. Silly of me, but I imagine it's a common problem. (Maybe?)

5. Yay! Donald has tomorrow off, so today is Our Friday! ;o) (That's Thursday for the rest of you. . . Sorry. (g))

Heat, Twitter, Spaniel-Dog & Punctuation

** ** ** ** ** **

It is sooo hot and humid, lately. Summer's here, with a vengeance. It'll probably be a few months before I spend any truly enjoyable time outside. ;o) I may exaggerate a bit. . .

** ** ** ** ** **

I guess Twitter is another of those places where people try to build up some sort of reputation for themselves. That's the only thing that would explain why random strangers (seemingly with little or nothing in common with me) suddenly decide to "follow" my twitterings-- or why, when I look at their profiles, I see that they're following thousands of other people. (One person is following over a hundred thousand twitterers!)

I don't necessarily mind if they "follow" me; I simply don't understand why they do it. They can't actually be reading all those twitters. I can barely keep up with the few people I'm following! ;o)

** ** ** ** ** **

My lovely psycho spaniel-dog decided this morning to go into the jungle behind the shed-- and stay there for a while. (She does try my patience, sometimes.)

I'd just come home from a quick errand. Even though it wasn't yet 10 a.m., it was already hot and steamy, and I figured Molly would want to come inside with me. I called her and soon heard her barking from behind the shed, but she refused to come.

My first thought was, "Oh great. She's found a snake!" That would be bad news at any time, but for her to find one now would be particularly bad timing, as it would be hard for me to get someone to come help quickly, today. (We really need to get a gun appropriate for shooting snakes. . . If I could even manage to get my crazy dog far enough away from the snake for me to try shooting it!)

Anyway, she soon stopped barking-- which made a snake seem unlikely. (She barks herself hoarse at snakes.) So then my pessimistic brain presented me with images of her lying in a stupor after being bitten-- or (even weirder) being constricted by someone's former pet python. (I think the heat was getting to me at that point.)

Peeking through the dense growth, I finally glimpsed her. She seemed fine, from what I could see, so I decided that she was either being obstinate (she has an admirable single-mindedness that is sometimes mistaken for pure stubbornness) or had become tangled in briars and was unwilling to pull herself loose.

After much fruitless finagling (with a squeaky toy and treats), I decided that I'd have to clear a path to reach her. Fortunately, her dominance proven ;o), she came out on her own before I had to get very deep into the jungle. I didn't see the big moment, as I was focused on cutting a path with a machete (or maybe something not quite that extreme), but she wasn't trailing briars, so I'm inclined to think she may have just been stubborn!

That settles it! The jungle behind the shed must be cleared. It hasn't been "pretty" for quite some time, but I honestly didn't realize it was that bad, as I tend to avoid that part of the yard. Things can spring up so fast, this time of year! And with a dog lacking the sense to stay out of jungles, something has to be done. . .

** ** ** ** ** **

I used to have a serious addiction to dashes (--), but now that seems to be overshadowed by my newer over-dependence on parenthetical statements (like this one).

. . . I mention this merely in passing, as I have no serious intentions of cutting back. Hyphens-- and now parentheses (what an odd word!)-- are some of the cheapest luxuries in my life, so I refuse to skimp. ;o) (Emoticons fall into this category, too, as you may have noticed. Only I do feel a bit ashamed of my addition to the smiley, the wink, and the "(g)". . . I fear I'm too far gone to be helped, though.)

** ** ** ** ** **

Tweet tweet. ;o)

After seeing people mention "twitter" a few times, I finally decided to join in. You can find out more at twitter.com, but in short, twitter lets you post brief updates (up to 140 characters per "twitter") on what you're doing. Ideally, you should have a list of friends who are also busily "twittering" away. You keep up with what everyone's doing and can even reply back and forth.

Of course, if you're like me, things are pretty quiet, and you look a little bit pathetic because you have just one person on your list. ;o) Most of the people whom I know read this blog aren't twitterers. As far as I know, they aren't, that is. If you are-- and you don't mind getting my silly updates-- please consider clicking the appropriate link in the column to the right. If you "follow" me, I promise to "follow" you back. (g)

Yes, I could go around adding random people, but I don't want people to think they're being stalked-- and why would I care what some random person is doing? It would be nice if there were some way of searching twitters by subject. You know, so I could find other people with similar interests. The closest search tool I've found so far is Twits Like Me, which generates a list of possible candidates based on what you've been twittering about. (People writing about the same things would go on the list.) It seems potentially useful, but if you're just getting started, like I am, there's not much for the program to go on, so you end up with a very nearly random list. Maybe I should do a little strategic twittering to build up my profile. . . Either that, or I can see that I probably won't be twittering for long. (And that would just be tragic.)