Members of the flock

[Recent Entries][Archive][Friends][User Info]

Below are the 25 most recent friends journal entries:

November 13th, 2009
02:01 am natalief [Link]	From Twitter 11-12-2009 ( Microbloggings … ) Tweets copied by twittinesis.com (Leave a comment)
November 12th, 2009
08:06 pm stori_lundi [Link]	Waving Good-bye Today I finally got an invite to Google Wave. I had no clue what it was but it is apparently the "hot new thing". So upon activating my invite, I see Google Wave for the first time. It looks a lot like e-mail. I don't get it. I have gmail as well as a couple of other accounts. Poking around the help feature, I find an hour video about GW. An hour? Are you kidding me? If I have to watch an hour video on something, I don't need it. So after puttering around and talking to someone about it, Wave is this new collaborative thing built on the premise of "what if e-mail were invented today with all the collaborative tools available?" You can have a threaded conversation and invite people to your conversation, share pictures, do collaboratives games, create and edit documents together, yadda yadda. Um, okay. I already have tools that do that. Ooh, but now I have them all in one place. So what? Do I use them? Not really. My pictures are on Flickr. My e-mail is mainly through Gmail. I use gmail chat or Google Talk and occasionally use Google Docs. Ah, but the independent video on Youtube proclaims that Wave is better than e-mail. With e-mail, things get forwarded and replied to, and attached, and not replied-to-all, and you end up having this monster e-mail and monster e-mail spawn that no one can understand. Wave will thread your conversation and you can attach documents and people can replay conversations so you have that all in one neat little piece. Instead of one monster big e-mail with a bazillion replies, you now have one big monster Wave with a bazillion replies. But hey, it's threaded so it makes it easier to read, right? You know what I say to that? Learn how to fucking use e-mail!! Cut out the irrelevant bits. Summarize the rest. Don't keep sending attachments back and forth if someone has already gotten them or put them on a shared space where everyone can access them and not clog up your inbox. E-mail is not for cutesy stationary, fancy sigs, colorful fonts, or the tons of other crap that people put in there these days. It is to convey information quickly and efficiently. I learned to send e-mail over 20 years ago with nothing but ASCII text and guess what, IT WORKS. E-mail is a TEXT communication tool, not a vehicle for personal artistic expression, especially at work or a massive file sharing device. (Fancy marketing e-mails excluded.) The more I puttered around in Wave the more pissed off I got and I didn't really know why. Maybe because I was stupidly talking to an ex that I really shouldn't have been talking to in the first place but I was ticked off before he came on the scene and it really wasn't his fault that I was pissed off at Wave. After some thought, I realized I don't NEED another collaborative tool. I'm collaborated out. I don't need to collaborate more efficiently, use more widgets, or play with yet another tool that may or may not be useful in a few years when everyone gets an invite. No, I need a "I don't feel like cooking and am looking for a dinner partner" tool. Or a "who wants to see this movie tonight that isn't at least a 2 hour fight through traffic or far enough away that I'll get home after 9pm" tool. Or a "hey it's a nice day out. Let's go hiking" tool. A "there's got to be someone in my bizarre group of friends that has at least heard of this band or would be willing to to go to this concert with me" tool. And lastly a "I'd like to start teaching my own highland dance class since I went through all the trouble to get my teacher's certification but need a place to teach that doesn't cost an arm and a leg since I don't have room in my house" tool. People need to connect to people - IN PERSON. Yes it's hard when you live in a densely urban area and all your friends are scattered about within a 2 hour radius. It's hard to do the spontaneous "let's do dinner thing" but come on Google, you can link e-mail and chat and video and pictures and games and documents, can't you link real human beings to other real human beings in the real world, not the virtual one? (Leave a comment)
11:53 pm natalief [Link]	For the data- and stats-philes amongst you I have made my Google Docs spreadsheet and graph of IndyWriMo word-count public to view (read-only) if you click this link. / 30,000 words for IndyWriMo crossposted to natalief and natnowrimos Current Location: Horsham, UK Current Mood: awake Tags: indywrimo, writing (Leave a comment)
04:19 pm evcelt [Link]	Gives Me Hope http://www.givesmehope.com/ Warning... addictive... it held me enthralled for well after my lunch hour, and I got choked up for a lot of it... Current Mood: hopeful Current Music: "Fish Below the Ice", Shriekback (1 comment \| Leave a comment)
04:00 pm dmlaenker [Link]	4:00! Time for Twits. ( On this day, Daniel M. Laenker spewed forth: ) (Leave a comment)
03:17 pm acroyear70 [Link]	what is killing the "record shop" is the same thing that killed the shops in the mall (fye being the only one left, a merger of ALL of the others over the years, and itself is dying) - labels and distributors giving non-traditional stores a significant discount to the point that the traditional stores look like ripoffs. (in America, the stores were WalMart and Target, plus amazon; in the UK, it's been grocery stores it seems). On An Overgrown Path: Another UK record store closes every 2.7 days: To reach the widest audience, Sony BMG market X Factor contestants through the supermarkets rather than through more traditional outlets. Its CDs will always be in a prominent position in store, often next to the till. To secure these positions Sony BMG will have offered the stores substantial discounts, which are not made available to independent stores who, therefore, cannot match the price offered in supermarkets. Even more damaging is the impact this has on the reputation of independent stores. If CDs are £4 more expensive in independent stores, customers are likely to perceive that they are being ripped off and so, in the future, their first port of call for buying music is increasingly likely to be the supermarket instead of the independent shop. in short, cheaply produced crap music from the reality tv phenom, sitting side by side with the same tabloids that same target audience reads. no wonder nobody makes real music anymore... Tags: music, society (2 comments \| Leave a comment)
02:37 pm aramintamd [Link]	Why am I not employed in Insurance; Let me show you it.... I went yesterday and updated my resume on Monster.com in a lame attempt at forestalling the certain (and ugly) bite car repairs are going to take out of my savings. Monster.com doesn't require much for tweaking purposes. Since then, I've gotten two calls and an email asking me to sell insurance to my own age group. After all, Boomers are ripe for this, correct? Here's a sample of the kind of offer I'm getting. And notice, I suck at this sort of thing, so I've declined both offers. The other was from a well-known company with a duck for a mascot. Note that I fell for (and sat through) a similar pitch for these sorts of sales some number of years ago, when I was last looking for work. I declined then, too... Dear [AramintaMD] After reviewing your resume, we'd like to invite you to apply for our sales management training program at [Sleazy] Life and Casualty Company. We're recruiting both entry-level and experienced sales professionals with: · Proven leadership capabilities · Strong communication and interpersonal skills · Interest in joining the fast-growing baby boomer/senior insurance market · Drive for rapid advancement into an insurance sales management position · Desire to earn a six-figure salary with the freedom of an entrepreneurial lifestyle · Ambition, competitive mind-set and strong work ethic · Commitment to making a difference in people's lives everyday Established in 1879, [Sleazy] is one of the only companies in the country devoted exclusively to the financial security needs of seniors. We offer a broad portfolio of health and life insurance and retirement savings products through our nationwide network of more than 160 branch offices. And with the Baby Boom generation approaching retirement, both our company and our industry are experiencing dramatic growth. If selected, you'll receive: · Unlimited income potential (associate managers earn $60K to $100K; top managers earn upwards of $200K) · Competitive commissions and compensation package · Opportunity to earn quarterly bonuses and exciting sales incentive trips · Formal training in our nationally-recognized [Sleazy] Learning Network program · Access to [Sleazy's] lead generation and sales technology programs · Freedom to be your own boss, but with the support of large corporation To learn more or schedule an appointment with a recruiter, please reply to this email or click the self-register link below: [redacted] So, really, is this all I'm good for? It's completely disheartening. I'm sure I could be worth more than this, but maybe I'm wrong and this is all I have to hope for. Commission sales, slave wages. Might as well go back to working retail again. Ugh! Tags: rant, work (10 comments \| Leave a comment)
02:26 pm badmagic [Link]	Even more Vampire Mafia Wars! Bloods: greymaiden wants to go after the Cosa Nosferatu. When kilmata and lizkayl veto that idea, she infects her robohos with vampire-dissolving nanites, and sends petrona and kilmata are taking over the Cosa Nosferatu's protection racket. Preparing for retalliation, lizkayl readies a hideout for the gang. Cosa Nosferatu: kellfire and adarkmind are hiring soldiers and equipping them with charmed vampire-killing bullets, purchased from the Crypts by kmusser. rislyn and voltbang are not interested in hiring soldiers, but prefer to mesmerize mortals into service. The only money they have coming in is from their legitimate cover businesses, run by jsbowden, and kmusser sold their reserve stocks of merseine0613's artificial blood to the Crypts, so they don't have much in the way of blood or money, but they're prepared for war. Crypts: Their class action suit against predatory lenders has resulted in a judgment against the most predatory of all: Black Lagoon Realty! The suit immediately goes into appeal, but could wipe out Black Lagoon if the judgement goes against them. stori_lundi tries to interest the Bloods in a financial deal, but no one on the other side is interested. Gangsters from the Black Lagoon: the financial team of artnouveauho, hatefuleping, xiphias, and sidhne continues to manufacture and sell financial instruments of arcane complexity. The profits are impressive, although selki traded a good chunk of that cash to the Crypts to arm the Innsmouth Mob with vampire-killing bullets. ednoria has made contact with the powers of the deep, who offer to serve her in exchange for blood. Hmm, maybe Black Lagoon needs blood after all. Strega Nostra: No one knows why motivational speakers do better in tough economic times, but they do. The judicious use of a lttle magic means american_arcane's audiences are bigger than those for "Rich Dad, Poor Dad." Meanwhile, greyhawkfh and en_ki are summoning demons, and jazzfish appears before the Lords of Hell! There, he argues that the Cosa Nosferatu have gotten too comfortable, and have done nothing to push Earth into Hell. dorei, representing the Cosa Nosferatu, argues they've done more than the Strega Nostra. Besides, vampires may be part demon, but not doing what you're told is a old tradition in Hell. Mafia From Outer Space: squishydish devises a method for removing blood mostly harmlessly from extras tchwrtr's films and the clients of starfyrone's escort service. scifantasy, easy_living, and nikhedonia are preparing an enormous lwsuit, but against who? The Galactic Council has caught up with the Mafia From Outer Space, and accuse them of violation of the Prime Directive, but netpositve points them to even worse deeds being done in another sector of space. Poll #1484527 Vampire Mafia Wars, part IV Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 28 What are you going to do now? View Answers Anything that makes us some money. 4 (14.8%) Spend that money to hire more soldiers. 0 (0.0%) Spend that money to buy blood. 0 (0.0%) Spend more time in the lab, where it's safe. 1 (3.7%) Conduct more magic rituals. 1 (3.7%) Summon/build more soldiers (costs magic/lab time) 1 (3.7%) Get a hideout ready, just in case. 6 (22.2%) Teach the Bloods a lesson about getting uppity. 1 (3.7%) The Crypts have plenty of blood and money, and only lawsuits in the way of defences. They're looking mighty tasty... 8 (29.6%) Take out the Cosa Nosferatu before they can attack us! 0 (0.0%) Testify before the Court of Hell against the Cosa Nosferatu. 2 (7.4%) Testify before the Court of Hell against the Strega Nostra. 1 (3.7%) Join in the class action suit against the Gangsters from the Black Lagoon 0 (0.0%) Attack the Mafia From Outer Space, before they drop a meteor on us! 0 (0.0%) Narc out our enemies to the cops. 2 (7.4%) Do something else. 0 (0.0%) If you're new, who's your gang? View Answers Bloods 0 (0.0%) Crypts 0 (0.0%) Cosa Nosferatu 0 (0.0%) Strega Nostra 0 (0.0%) Gangster from the Black Lagoon 1 (33.3%) Mafia from Outer Space 2 (66.7%) (9 comments \| Leave a comment)
02:05 pm acroyear70 [Link]	in the "dear ..." vein... Dear Rhode Island Governor Carcieri: I'm going to fondly quote your fellow Republican, former Vice President Dick Cheney: Go fuck yourself. signed, an actual caring human being Tags: humor, politics, rant, society (1 comment \| Leave a comment)
01:58 pm acroyear70 [Link]	ok this one's a good one Tags: history, humor, lol, science (Leave a comment)
11:58 am sjo [Link]	Resistance is Futile ( You are about to view content that may only be appropriate for adults. ) Current Location: 20852 Current Mood: curious Tags: meme (12 comments \| Leave a comment)
11:28 am sjo [Link]	Breaking news... not so much ( You are about to view content that may only be appropriate for adults. ) Current Location: 20852 Current Mood: Where are the cabana boys? (1 comment \| Leave a comment)
10:44 am sjo [Link]	Further proof that Roscoe doesn't do his research ( You are about to view content that may only be appropriate for adults. ) Current Location: 20852 Current Mood: my congressman is a dumbass (18 comments \| Leave a comment)
01:58 pm natalief [Link]	If you could have any vanity license plate you wanted, what would it say? N 474 LIE That is my name if the 4s are As and the 7 is a T. Current Location: Horsham, UK Current Mood: creative Tags: plinky (10 comments \| Leave a comment)
12:55 pm natalief [Link]	"New PC to encourage older users" "Every time I learn a new thing to do on my computer I have to write it down so that I can remember it." BBC NEWS \| Technology \| New PC to encourage older users Yay Linux! Current Location: Horsham, UK Current Mood: awake Tags: link (Leave a comment)
07:30 am markbark [Link]	What Happened? <RANT mode=ON> Once upon a time in America it was possible for a NON-College educated Working Class person to: 1. Keep a good job with "benefits" 2. Earn enough to raise a family in relative comfort 3. Have a stay-at-home parent to raise the children 4. Buy and pay off a comfortable home in the suburbs 5. Own and operate a relatively new car 6. Take a REAL vacation every year 7. Send his children to a State University 8. Save enough to retire in comfort and dignity. It was possible for anyone to attend a State University and graduate DEBT FREE if they were willing to work part-time. Those things would be possible TODAY if we had politicians that represented PEOPLE rather than the highest bidder. <RANT mode=OFF> (4 comments \| Leave a comment)
05:29 am dglenn [Link]	QotD ( District Judge Tena Callahan, on the Constitution ) deadjournal scribbld crazylife insanejournal dreamwidth journalfen (Leave a comment)
01:01 am yduras [Link]	Yesterday's News Did I tweet yesterday? I did! 13:36 Dithering about Xmas flights. JetBlue out of JFK is cheaper or the same and more comfy, but it'd be $126 in parking. # 20:27 Well, I am now a DCI/RPGA member. Hurrah? # Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter Current Mood: blank Tags: twitter (Leave a comment)
09:08 pm treyhawk [Link]	Icewolf010's BBDotD Results ( You are about to view content that may not be appropriate for minors. ) Current Mood: sick Tags: birthday (2 comments \| Leave a comment)
02:02 am natalief [Link]	From Twitter 11-11-2009 ( Microbloggings … ) Tweets copied by twittinesis.com (Leave a comment)
November 11th, 2009
05:55 pm evcelt [Link]	Today I give thanks to the veterans, those I know and those I don't... my father and my younger brother, all of my friends who have served in our armed forces... to the UN peacekeepers and the life-savers in the Coast Guard... to everyone who ever took up arms against oppression, or who have stood empty-handed (like that lone student in Tienanmen Square) and faced down tyranny... (Leave a comment)
05:09 pm demongrrrrl [Link]	wonderful world Teh cute!! Current Location: 20904 Current Mood: happy Current Music: "Wonderful World," Louis Armstrong Tags: youtube (2 comments \| Leave a comment)
04:31 pm dmlaenker [Link]	Harry Patch (In Memory Of) I am The only one That got through. The others Died wherever They fell. It was an ambush; They came up from All sides. Give your leaders each a gun And let them fight it out Themselves. I've seen Devils coming up From the ground. I've seen Hell upon This earth. The next will be chemical But they will never learn. (music link to WASTE Inc.) Current Music: Radiohead, "Harry Patch (In Memory Of)" Tags: in memoriam (1 comment \| Leave a comment)
04:00 pm dmlaenker [Link]	4:00! Time for Twits. ( On this day, Daniel M. Laenker spewed forth: ) (Leave a comment)
03:50 pm jacylrin [Link]	Oh, I give up. I joined Facebook. If you don't know my real name and want to do the friend thing, let me know. (13 comments \| Leave a comment)

[<< Previous 25 entries]

Advertisement

Advertisement