Its a New Year – duhh

…..Deep breath……Yea, its been since July since Ive blogged – buuuuuuut

One of my New Years Resolutions was to resurrect this blog with at least one new post a week. For starters, I do have alot to say, but since I am left without a physical voice at least half the year, this is where Im forced to ‘say’ it.

So, here are my scattered thoughts on wrapping up 2014 and looking forward to 2015.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS?

Anyway, as of today (January 4, 2015) I am 669 days smoke free because I switched to ecigs. My health has somewhat improved….I havent had to use the rescue inhaler for quite some time.

Obviously vaping isnt going to improve actual chronic conditions….and the act of quitting combustable tobacco takes time to actually show improvement – and there is reducing your mg of nicotine (Ive gone from 24 mg to 0-3 mg).

Ive increased how much water I drink and only drink a cup of hot green tea a day (I used to be able to down a pot of coffee plus drink sodas all day).

I also spent my Christmas week completely news free. Granted that wasnt exactly a New Years resolution but it was something I needed to do for my own sanity. I believe that may turn into a tradition -depending on the severity of what is going on in the world, of course.

I cleaned up alot of my social media feeds. This covers removing people I dont speak to, inactive accounts, and just otherwise negative folks. I have also kept my exposure to these social networks to a minimum, which actually has made my life alot more peaceful.

REALIZATIONS

2015 was also the year I found out who my real friends are and just how fake others have been.

See-when you have a chronic illness, and your health deteriorates, and you cant travel or even get out of your house – you dont expect your friends to ‘trade’ you in for another person who can do those things. Real friends just dont abandon you like that…..they just dont leave you hang. And they certainly dont just stop talking to you. So goodbye to those people.

CHANGE?

At the end of last year, I asked people to send me suggestions of things that I might have missed…..(music videos, youtube channels, podcasts, Netflix shows/movies) So, everyday in 2015, I will be stepping outside my ‘comfort zone’ to watch things I would have otherwise missed. I also suggest you do the same. Its already been eye opening as to what I have missed simply because it wasnt in my radar.

This is also going to be a year of personal change. Because of my illness, Ive been very inactive this year. I wont go into the details in this post as to what has been going on, but its been difficult to go more than 10 minutes from my home without huge issues. I will be setting a weekly goal to ‘move my body’ so I get in some resemblence of normalcy back in my life.

A continuing goal of mine is to reduce the clutter. This includes clothing you wont ever wear again, papers you wont need, and other belongings that you just dont love/need/want. I personally donate what I can, recycling what I can and tossing the rest.

LETS WRAP THIS UP NOW, SHALL WE?

I have other goals for this year, but those will be mentioned in other posts where they will make a little more sense. But thanks for reading and I hope you stick around for 2015!

 

Why the Outrage?

As someone who maintains an active social media presence, there is something that is absolutely making me scratch my head in wonder…..

and that is…..All the outrage at facebook over privacy.

If you are around computers as much as I am, you have probably been online at least a decade….(some of us a couple) In that time, have you ever:

• commented on a blog
• posted on a forum / message board
• ever had an AOL webpage or account
• chatted on any type of Instant Messenger
• chatted in a chat room / chatted using IRC clients
• chatted via yahoo chat room hosted online
• have a Classmates / Reunion website profile
• sold items on ebay / craigslist
• posted on freecycle type site
• posted a comment on an online newspaper article
• had a youtube account
• had a hulu / netflix account
• had a blog / tumbler account
• had a flicker / photo sharing account
• had a myspace / facebook account
• had a twitter / friendfeed account
• had a linkedin profile
• have a skype account

Im sure you get the drift by now – so I will stop.

Im sure most of us have been told that if you are going to post or say something, make sure its something you are fine with the entire world knowing. This is the exact rule of what goes on the internet. If you dont want people knowing it, dont post it.

With every profile / account you make, the more information about you the internet knows.

So if you dont want the world knowing that you watch Rocky Horror Picture Show and do the Time Warp at the drop of a hat, dont put it out there. Unfortunately (for my friends) they know this information first hand…..

So, before you go deleting your facebook account (which-by the way-doesnt solve your internet privacy woes) think about how much of you is on the internet already. If you get real, you will realize why I scratch my head now.

Now……..do you still want to delete your facebook account?

 

Giving In….

Well, I had to give in and give up blogger. They discontinued FTP and well, I know with wordpress this is a premium service, but at least its doable.

Im in the process in migrating my old posts from blogger that way all my posts are in one place….and I will eventually be FTPing once again and hosting my blog on my site…but first things first.

Wish me luck 🙂

 

The History of the Internet (video)

 

The First Router

So, I was born in 1971 but if I was born in the 1960s I would have soooo wanted to be part of this geeky project….

On Labor Day 1969, the first router was born. It connected UCLA and Stanford University and was amazingly fast at 50 kps – well….fast for back then anyway.

So by watching the video, we now know that the first router was the size of a refrigerator while most routers these days are about the size as a cordless telephone base….oh, how the times change. Arent you glad that you dont have to have something like this in your office? (Even tho the geek in me wishes I did have this piece of internet history in my home)

It amazes me how many people just dont understand how far we have truly come in the world of technology until they see something like this. So…watch!

 

Facebook memorializes those who have passed

If you click on the title, you will be able to read the AP article regarding Facebook memorializing those who have passed.

And here is my take: I think Facebook as well as other sites, have really stepped up to the plate. For those of us who are irked when we see those “Friend Suggestions” it is hard for some when they show those who have recently passed.

To have a page memorialized, you must contact facebook and send them obituary – as well as other information to insure your not just messing around or playing a joke on someone.

As someone who has lost 3 friends who were also linked thru myspace, facebook and twitter – I can say this is absolutely wonderful news.

 

How I Use Twitter

Apologies for not blogging in almost a month! Ive been sick.

Twitter has received a great deal of attention in the media lately, and it comes as no surprise to those who use it. Many of my friends do not see the value in this service.

In my opinion, any type of social networking site is what YOU make of it-and this includes twitter. If you dont want to associate with someone, you dont follow them-and if you dont want someone following you–you block them from seeing your updates. Its that simple.

You can use twitter many ways.

Here are ways I use twitter
1 RSS feed (for news-twitter has actually replaced my newsreader)
2 Local information (school closings, traffic, local news)
3 Keep up with “celebrities” (political, bands, actors)
4 Streamline my real social networking sites (In correlation to #3-I can then delete them from myspace and facebook, allowing me to only use those for those I know in real life)
5 Follow bloggers

I receive LOCAL school, traffic, and news tweets via my cell phone. My suggestion is to keep mobile updates to a minimum.

So, do you use twitter? If so-what do you use it for?
If you have not yet jumped on the bandwagon, why not?

 

Just a little waste of time-myspace

After going to Mass this morning….I basically decided not to do anything constructive today. Instead, I did something constructive on my myspace….Dont laugh, I do have a myspace.

If you are a responsible person, you can keep up with those you know. While I was editing my little place on the net, Frank decided he wanted one as well.

Anyway, if you get a chance, check out our myspace’s:
www.myspace.com/sheilafaulstich
www.myspace.com/franksigwald

It’s rather neat to see other people go through the process of creating their space. If you have a myspace account, friend me.