Diet After Lent

I'm proud to say that my husband and I have survived 46 days of no flour and no added sugar during Lent. I'm very glad we stuck with the diet during the time span, and we plan to continue our healthier lifestyle. And why not? The meals we ate during Lent were wholesome and never lacked taste. Plus, we felt good about what we were eating and had more energy which we carried throughout the day.

The experience was eye opening. Through the dietary restrictions, I learned a lot about what I feed my family and what is in the food we eat. I experimented with many new ingredients and found nutritious alternatives to products we ate on a regular basis. I now feel confident that I will continue to be more conscience about what I cook and eat. It really makes me feel good that I am able to cook healthy delicious meals using fresh, whole ingredients and feed my family well.

Although now I am free to eat whatever I please, I don't plan to dive back into the cookie jar. I feel so much better after eating a healthier diet and upping my exercise plan, and I want to continue the feelings of good health. However, I am happy I don't have to be so restrictive about what I buy at the grocery store. For example, sliced turkey deli meats with less than 1 gram of sugar and cereals like raisin bran with very little added sugar are perfectly acceptable in my book. What is important to me is eating food that is as minimally processed as possible, made with fewer ingredients, and less controversial additives and preservatives. I want to eat food that is homemade or as close to homemade as possible and less cheaply made products from factories. To be a more conscience eater is a lot more effort, but I'm prepared to take on the extra work because it's worth it to me and my family to live a healthier life.

New poll up at Curious Cloud: When it comes to what you eat, is price or nutritional value more important to you?

Technology And A Healthy Lifestyle

As I continue my culinary adventure on a no sugar, no flour diet, I have found many helpful resources on the web and iPhone apps that will help me achieve my dietary goals throughout the rest of Lent and stay on track for a healthier lifestyle after the Season of Lent has passed.

My number one pick for iPhone apps is Fooducate. This apps allows you to use the iPhone camera to scan barcodes on food products, and rates the product with a letter grade value of healthiness with a thorough breakdown of what is in the product. The app also provides healthier alternatives to scanned items and a comparison tool which comes in handy when trying to choose between food products at the supermarket. There is a social aspect to the app that lets you like or not like products, add tidbits, and share the information your learned on Facebook and Twitter. I really like this app, but I must warn you the first day I downloaded the app, I scanned all the food in my house. It's very addictive, but the information provided by Foodicate is valuable for anyone who wants to learn more about what they're eating or find healthier alternatives.

My top recipe search site is Foodily. This site aggregates recipes from all over the web and presents them side by side for comparison. You can specify ingredients to exclude from search results making this site a must for anyone with dietary restrictions or on a special diet. The interface is very clean and simple to follow. Foodily includes social aspects that allow you share recipes with your friends on Facebook and Twitter. You can also log in using Facebook Connect to save recipes and plan menus. I highly recommend Foodily to anyone who uses the web to search for recipes. It will save you time and make finding the perfect recipe much easier.

As someone who is striving for a healthier lifestyle, I believe the use of technology is essential for my success. I'm curious what recipe sites or iPhone apps you are using, and is there any other tools or resources you find valuable for eating and living a healthy lifestyle?

UPDATE: Poll Results 3/15/11 - 3/22/11

Does technology play an important role in maintaining a healthy lifestyle?
75% Yes
25% Somewhat
00% No
00% Meh

Giving Up Sugar And Flour For Lent

The season of Lent is upon us, and not that I am an actively church going person, I am spiritual and see Lent as a time to practice control and self-discipline to better myself through giving up vices. The past few weeks, I have been racking my brain to find just the right vice to abstain from. A few items that came to mind were social networking sites and alcohol. Sure, giving up Twitter and Facebook will have a short-term benefit of added free time to my daily routine, but I feel socialization is important to one's self being. As far as giving up alcohol, I might find some benefit mostly to my wallet as my appreciation for fine wines can sometimes be costly, but I don't drink in excess and I feel there's nothing wrong with a glass of wine or cocktail daily. I want to find something to give up that will have the greatest beneficial impact for my overall being. That's why I have decided to give up sugar and flour for Lent. I'm also proud to say, my husband, Josh (a.k.a Yoshi), has decided to take part in these dietary restrictions as well. This makes me even more excited to stick with it because now the whole household will get the benefit of a healthier lifestyle.

So here's how it will work: No food made with flour. Whole grains are ok as long as they do not contain flour. No food that contains sugar, beet sugar, cane and brown sugar, honey, maple syrup, molasses, high fructose corn syrup or any other misleading name that sugar goes by these days. So no cakes, cookies, pizza, pasta or bread (even whole grain bread).

What is ok: Healthy foods such as vegetables including starchy vegetables like potatoes, fruit, beans and legumes, nuts and seeds, soy, eggs, dairy including cheese and no sugar added yogurt, lean meats, fish and shellfish, whole grains, rice, tortilla chips and corn tortillas made from corn (not corn flour). I can still have my daily espresso without sugar of course, but I use Truvia anyway. My daily glass of red wine will still be allowed. Sugar and flour free desserts are fine and even a small amount of over 70% dark chocolate to help satisfy the sweet tooth.

With the help of the wonderful Whole Foods iPhone app, I have prepared a menu for this week of tasty no sugar, no flour meals. I will admit, grocery shopping was a struggle as I did not realize how many foods have sugar added to them. Things that were on my list that I had to find substitutes for or eliminate were ham and bacon because they are cured in sugar; however I easily substituted them with turkey sausage. Also, Yakult is a no-no because it is high in sugar, for which I replaced with unsweetened Kefir so I could continue taking my daily probiotic drink.

So I'm set for Lent which starts on Wednesday. I'm already cooking no sugar, no flour meals just because I don't want to bring any foods that were no allowed on the diet into the house. Meanwhile, Josh and I are finishing off any leftover sugary foods before Lent. Basically, Our Mardi Gras will be spent indulging on bacon and Girl Scout cookies before giving them a fond farewell for the next 46 days.

I know dietary restrictions are tough, but I am focused and remind myself this will teach me how to look for hidden sugars in foods and to find new recipes that don't depend on ingredients containing flour. This is a beneficial and healthy change, and after Lent is over, we can slowly add restricted foods back into our diet. (I vote bacon first!)

I plan to blog throughout Lent and post updates on new recipes I find and any struggles with food temptation along the way. I'm curious how long my readers think Josh and I can be successful, so I have put up a poll for each of us at Curious Cloud. Also, please share if you plan to give up anything during Lent.

UPDATE: Poll Results 3/7/11 - 3/14/11

How long will Keri last on a no sugar, no flour diet?
00% 1 week
12% 2 weeks
00% 1 month
87% Entire 46 days

How long will Josh last on a no sugar, no flour diet?
14% 1 week
14% 2 weeks
00% 1 month
71% Entire 46 days

Does the Machine Define the Power User?

10 years ago, I'm designing away on a PowerMac G4, and I never would consider using anything less. Today, my workstation is compacted into a smaller and cheaper iMac, and it's more than able to get the job done. Not to mention, my iPhone is quickly becoming my primary computer for all my daily tasks. This made me wonder if I'm losing my power user status, or maybe this is just the way the industry is going. Are smaller machines becoming the norm even for the power user? Share you thoughts.

UPDATE: Poll Results 9/10/10 - 9/17/10

Do you consider yourself a power user?
83% Yes
16% No
00% What's a power user?
00% Meh

Your Location Is Lame!

There is an ever growing popularity in location-based social networking sites like Brightkite, Foursquare, and Gowalla that allow users to tell their friends where they are. Twitter has even joined in on the fun and added geolocation, and there was an announcement today that Facebook would be unveiling location features next month.

These services can be useful for a variety of reasons such as sharing a bad experience at a local business or posting a photo of a beautifully plated entree at a nice restaurant. However, in my opinion, it seems what was a well intended means of dispensing useful information attached to a specific location has made a turn for the worse. The quality of content created has decreased as the popularity of location-based sites increases. Not to mention, most users sync their check-ins on Twitter and Facebook for an endless loop of annoyance.

Here is my list of the 3 most annoying people using location services:

1. Mayor Of Lame Locations. This type of user has no business using location services as they never go anywhere cool. They repetitively check into places like the gym everyday. You stick to your workout regimen, and while I commend you for it, I don't care when and where you work out. Other lame locations include fast food restaurants and the dentist office. Just stop abusing location services and your friends with your lameness.

2. Check-in Whore. This is the person who goes to a place for only 5 minutes just so he or she can tell the world they where there and then moves on to the next place so they can check in there too. They may also travel just so they can check-in at new locations trying to prove to the world how exciting their life is. Well guess what, it's not exciting; it's annoying. Thanks for flooding my Twitter homepage & Facebook news feed with dozens of locations a day and not inviting me to any of them.

3. TMI Locations. No location is too sacred for these users to keep private. They have no regard for the safety of themselves or their family. They have no issues posting their home address or the exact location of the elementary school they just checked into to post they were dropping their son or daughter off. Are you crazy? Please, use a little common sense and think before broadcasting your location to the world.

As more and more social networks jump on the location-based bandwagon, I'm curious what direction users will take it. Will something useful develop from the content or is location check-ins just going to be another thing I block in my Facebook news feed?

UPDATE: Poll Results 3/9/10 - 3/16/10

Does it annoy you when friends sync location-based sites to Twitter & Facebook?
25% Yes
25% No
50% Meh

Who Makes The Dish Taste Best?

I brought some ceviche I made last night for lunch today. As I plated my colorful combo of citrus marinated seafood and chopped vegetables, a coworker walked into the break room and said, "I'm interested in what white girl ceviche tastes like. You make it different, right?"

To which I replied, "I didn't know there was right or wrong way to make ceviche."

To the best of my knowledge, there are many highly acclaimed chefs that create dishes with influences from different ethnic backgrounds than their own. Do you believe ethnic background plays a role in making a meal taste more authentic or does it really not matter?

UPDATE: Poll Results 3/2/10 - 3/9/10

Do you have preconceived notions about how the food will taste when you see who the chef is?
66% Yes
33% No
00% Meh

Do You Use Your Real Name Online?

Recently I've been debating over using my real name over a pseudonym on social networks and my blogs. I see a 50/50 split between people who do one or the other. When I Google around on this subject, privacy, stalking, and hurting your chances of getting employment are reasons sited for not using your real name online. Advantages for displaying your full name include branding yourself and helping others relate to you on a more personal level.

I also have a family to look out for, and I wouldn't want to put them at risk just because I put too much information on the web, but I'm not sure something as simple as a name can put me or my family in danger. I feel we are more likely to run into bad guys in real life than dealing with some cyber stalker.

At first, I was uncomfortable with entering my full name on social networks because I didn't want anything to show up in Google search results if someone Googled my name, but I found out I can't hide from people who want to know information about me. For under $40 you can get all the dirt on anyone through various sites, and I was surprised just how much information was available for free, including: my age, my maiden name, people I'm related too, current city and past cities I've lived in including the zip codes. All of which could set me up for identity theft easier than anything I've ever posted on Twitter.

My conclusion: If I'm going to be part of the social world wide web, I might as well use my real name and make sure I maintain a positive value attached to that name. If someone Googles me, they can see all the greatness I have contributed through quality tweets such as:

@digitalAngel I could go for sushi or a bologna sandwich.

I'm curious, do you use your real name online or a pseudonym? Do you believe there are any implications of publicly displaying your full name, and if so, what are they?

UPDATE: Poll Results 2/23/10 - 3/2/10

What is your online name comfort level?
42% Full name
00% First name only
00% Pseudonym
57% Depends on the site

Facebook's Privacy Strip Tease

Facebook is pushing its users to make their profile information public, and as with any change the popular site makes, there is a lot of controversy surrounding it. As a member of numerous social networking sites, some public and some private, I have mixed feelings surrounding my privacy settings on Facebook.

First, to begin with the all too over-used comparison between Facebook and Twitter. On Twitter, I know my updates are public, therefore I don't post all my business there, and I don't use my full name on my profile because I don't want my tweets to showing up in Google search results above my portfolio site when I do a vanity search. Facebook on the other hand, advertises itself as a place to share your life with your family and friends. Maybe some people use the term "friend" more loosely, but to me, a friend is someone I would want to hang out with in real life, hence 95% of my Facebook friends are people I know outside of the interwebs. The privacy of Facebook allows me to post more intimate details of my life, as well as photos of my son to those I am comfortable showing that information to. Twitter and Facebook serve two different purposes for me and they do it well just the way they are.

I understand that Facebook is a free service that has the right to make changes to their site and policies as they please, but if they continue to knock down the walled garden, there is a lot of personal data I will have to delete and status updates and photos I will no longer be able to post, making it useless for how I want to use my account. And yes, I understand that Facebook has update by update privacy control, but those controls are not available on the iPhone app which is my main way of using the service.

Twitter provides simplicity. You sign up and can start tweeting away instantly. Facebook is the PC of the social networking world. You sign up, and have to spend some time setting up privacy settings for each section of your profile and creating friend lists to control who can see various parts of your profile before you ever post your first update.

My biggest problem with Facebook's privacy strip tease is: What are their plans for any publicly shared information? Will all my updates and photos eventually show up in Google search results attached to my full name? Will my profile picture be used in an advertisement on another friend's page? I would be more open to making more of my profile public if Facebook would be more open with me.

UPDATE: Poll Results 1/12/10 - 1/19/10

Is public the new social norm?
20% Yes
60% No
20% Meh

Updates Via Facebook iPhone App May Not Be Private.

As social networking gains in popularity so does concerns about privacy. One of the most widely adopted sites, Facebook, offers a lot of customization when it comes to who sees what on a member's profile. Recently, Facebook gave users the option to open up their profiles and allow any section to be visible by everyone on internet. They also added a publisher control so users could modify who is able and not able to see content published on their profiles.

On my Facebook profile, everything was set to either "Friends of Friends" or "Only Friends" except anything that had to do with promoting my blog. The website was visible by everyone who visited my profile as well as any announcements about new blog entries. My default publisher control setting was set to "Only Friends" and I selectively choose when something was supposed to be publicly available. Personal status updates that had nothing to do with my site had a tiny lock icon under the post indicating only friends were allowed to see it.

After I upgraded to the Facebook 3.0 iPhone app, I noticed that status updates via the app did not have the tiny lock under the post. At first, I figured these updates would follow my default publisher control setting and would only be viewable by friends. Eventually, my curiosity got the better of me and I created a dummy account to see what my Facebook profile looked like to non-friends. To my surprise, every update made via the iPhone app was visible on my wall and did not follow my privacy settings. Since there are no privacy controls on the Facebook iPhone app, the most logical thing would be for any update to follow the default publisher control setting unless given the option to choose otherwise.

After my discovery, I felt my only option was to lock down my Facebook profile and make all my status updates visible by only friends until Facebook allows me to have more control over who sees posts made via my iPhone. I conclude with a word of caution for those using the Facebook iPhone app: If your profile privacy is set to "Everyone" yet you want to selectively control which updates are visible on your wall by non-friends, just keep in mind any updates made on the iPhone offer no privacy control and are all public.

UPDATE: 9/8/09 - According to TechCrunch, Facebook has resolved this bug with a server-side fix, although I have not tested it myself. The article also addresses other privacy bugs on the Facebook iPhone app.

UPDATE: Poll Results 9/2/09 - 9/9/09

How open is your Facebook profile?
00% Open to everyone
40% Visible to friends only
60% Customized privacy
00% I don't use Facebook

My Love-Hate Relationship With iTMS

iTunes Music Store, why can't I quit you? Since the beginning, I have had a love-hate relationship with you and your ways. I put up with paying the price you ask in exchange for ease of use and the ability to quickly find and download tracks I want. Your seamless functionality with my iPhone makes me forget that you sometimes only carry partial albums of the electronic music I love so deeply. I tolerate your lower audio quality and DRM in exchange for your music recommendations and guilt-free listening enjoyment knowing that did not jip my favorite artists out of a few bucks.

With all your good qualities like the App Store, movies, and podcasts how can a girl not be satisfied? Well, dear iTMS, let me tell you why you're in the dog house. I paid for a collection of children's music for my son and when I tried to burn a MP3 CD of the songs to play in my car, you denied me. You jumped up and down in the bottom of my screen and alerted me the tracks I purchased from you could not be burned to an MP3 CD. How dare you!

Yes, I know I could burn a bunch of individual audio CDs of the music, but have you ever had to listen to the same 10 children's songs in the car over and over again? It is torture! A second option is to take the time to burn audio CDs and reimport the music as MP3s and then burn them yet again to a single MP3 CD. Exhausting! Furthermore, explain to me why it is easier to illegally download music and burn a MP3 CD in less steps than music I legitimately paid for using your service? Why are you making me jump through hoops? Even if you're business model is to sell iPods and iPhones, I'm curious why your top priority would not be making me and your many other loyal customers happy.

I've given you my support and my hard earned money, but you spit in my face and tell me I cannot do what I want with the music I purchase from you. But alas, I cannot quit you because I am entangled in your evil web of hardware and software that I cannot live without, so for now, our love-hate relationship will go on.

UPDATE: I forgot to mention the children's music was purchased before iTMS went DRM-free, and of course I can update the music in my library at a cost. I checked and DRM-free tunes can be converted to MP3, and I assume they can be burned to MP3 CD. However, I don't feel I should have to pay extra money to convert songs I paid for in the first place.

UPDATE: Poll Results 8/7/09 - 8/14/09

Do you love or hate the iTunes Music Store?
50% Love it!
25% Hate it!
25% It's ok.
00% I've had better.

Twitter Attacked To Silence One Or Silence All?

Yesterday, many social networking and blogging sites, including Twitter and facebook, were brought to their knees because of a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack. According to CNet, the cyber attack was implemented by Russian hackers to silence an outspoken pro-Georgian blogger who goes by the name "Cyxymu."

I have never even heard about Cyxymu or his blog until today, therefor I have my doubts that an individual with little influence in the rest of the world would be the target of an attack this momentous. Number one, a DDoS attack would only cripple a site for a short period of time, so if the hackers' intention was to single out this blogger and silence him, it wasn't very effective. Number two, the attack brought so much media attention, Cyxymu will gain numerous more followers and supporters now making the scheme counter-productive on the hackers' part.

This whole scenario just doesn't add up to me. Either the hackers who launched this attack were amateurs, or the attack was not focused on silencing one person but to temporarily silence us all. Many attacks like this have no motivation other than to prove it can be done.

I'm curious what your feeling are on the DDoS attacks yesterday. Could it be politically motivated or just random? Are we making too big of a deal about social media being shut down for a few hours? Please share you thoughts.

My iPhone 3GS Diary

On June 19, I paced the halls at work and had a constant eye on the front door as I waited for UPS to deliver my new iPhone 3GS. Around 10:00 AM, I saw that beautiful brown truck pull into in the parking lot, and I ran to greet the driver. When he handed me a single flat envelope, I said, "That's not my iPhone." The driver told me that he didn't have any more deliveries at my address, but someone at the business next door was getting one, and he was the only truck scheduled to stop there for the day. My beaming smile faded from my face.

The driver went outside to check the iPhone designated to go next door just to make sure, then he returned and handed the box to me after he saw it was addressed to my name. Apparently, when my job relocated to a new building a few months ago, everyone was given the wrong address, and no one thought to later inform all the employees of this oversight. But it didn't matter, I had my iPhone in hand.

I ran back to my office to unbox my new most prized gadget. I took the iPhone out of the box and carefully removed the screen protective cover. In awe, I held the phone in my hand, but what was this? I rubbed my finger along to narrow sides around the case. It was not smooth like my vintage 2G iPhone. Where the silver met the plastic back (in my case black), there was a raised, slightly sharp edge. This did not set right with me. In fact, the new iPhone felt cheap. This was supposed to be a day of joy, but I was starting to regret my $299 purchase. I LOVED my 2G iPhone. I was even a little teary-eyed about replacing the original iPhone with the 3GS. That thing was a tank and had been so good to me, and here was this cheaply put-together device mocking me.

I thought, maybe I was just being overly picky and tried to accept the new iPhone. I went home from work and plugged the iPhone into my iMac to activate it and set it up. However, I couldn't stop rubbing my fingers along the edge. I could feel it as I held the phone in my palm, and my disappointment had not diminished. When my husband got home, I asked him to take a look at my 3GS, and he agreed it didn't look or feel right.

Feeling justified in my complaint, I decided to call Apple support. After a ten minute hold time, I got on the line with an agent. I explained the problem and was quickly informed it was a factory defect and to take my iPhone 3GS to the nearest Apple Store for an exchange. The agent scheduled me an appointment at the Genius Bar for Sunday. I let out a sigh of relief knowing in a couple of days my iPhone woes would be woos.

On (Father's Day) Sunday, I went on a field trip to the Apple Store with high hopes of leaving with a perfect iPhone 3GS. I waited for over a half hour only to kindly be told that they can't swap out my iPhone because they do not have any replacement units in the stock yet for online orders, and I would need to call Apple support again to have a new unit mailed to me. My smile faded again. What a waste of time! Plus, I lost a valuable jump start on the shipping process.

On Monday, I called Apple support again and got another friendly agent who arranged my iPhone replacement by mail. The new phone would be shipped overnight priority and he waved the $29 fee. The only catch was I had to provide a credit card number so Apple could secure they would get an iPhone (or the cost of an iPhone) back, and a hold for the non-subsidized price of $699 was placed on my card. That was enough to make me gulp but not enough to keep me from getting a perfect iPhone.

The next day and a half was painful as a waited for my replacement iPhone. I never bonded with defective one and I couldn't wait to finally have my iPhone. Plus, I was tired of babying the thing because if anything happened to it, I would be stuck with it.

Then finally, my delivery showed up while I was at work on Wednesday, June 24. I immediately did the unboxing, and was thrilled to run my fingers along the silky smooth edges of my new iPhone 3GS. It was beautiful and love at first sight. As soon as I got home, I synced my new iPhone, put on my Mindbender Gelaskin, and prepared the defective phone to ship back to Apple.

As I played with my perfect 3GS, I knew this was the beginning of a beautiful relationship. I was loving it! That was until yesterday (July 2) when I discovered a scratch on the screen. A tiny millimeter hairline scratch at the bottom of the screen. I couldn't believe it! I was so careful with my iPhone. It stayed in my pocket all alone. I've never dropped it. I even lined its assigned cup holder in my car with tissues to make sure my iPhone stayed safe and secure.

Was the oleophobic coating on the screen to blame? I stuck by my decision to not degrade the picture quality by using a screen protectant film, as I discussed in my blog: Do iPhones Need Screen Protectors? The post included a link to a video of an iPhone endurance test that showed how scratch resistant the iPhone 3G screen was. Not to mention, I used my 2G iPhone for two years and never got a scratch on it. So how was it possible that I got a scratch on my iPhone 3GS screen in less than two weeks of ownership? The only physical difference was the addition of the oleophobic coating.

The scratch was extremely minor and was not even visible when using the phone, so eventually I will get over it. The first scratch on any new device is always the hardest. However, this minor imperfection made me wonder if I should buy a screen protector. I'm waiting for someone to do scratch test on the 3GS to confirm if it's more prone the scratches or not.

My first two weeks with the iPhone 3GS have been a roller coaster of emotion, but in the end, I'm happy with my new phone. I'm curious about other iPhone owners' experiences. Has it been painless or eventful? And has anyone else noticed any scratches already on their 3GS and would you recommend using a screen protective film?

UPDATE: Poll Results 7/4/09 - 7/11/09

Which iPhone(s) do you own?
66% 2G (Original)
50% 3G
66% 3GS
16% No iPhone

Does your iPhone wear protection?
00% Screen protector only
14% Case only
00% Case & screen protector
14% Skin or sticker
42% No protection needed
28% No iPhone

What About The Children?

The state of California is in a financial mess, and numerous cuts have to be made to save the state money. Sadly last month, Los Angeles Unified School District, and other school districts around the state, announced they were cutting summer programs. Many parents depend upon summer programs for child care while they are at work. My son is not old enough to attend public school yet, but he does go to daycare. I was told by the daycare owner that her phone is ringing non-stop with parents desperately searching for an alternative to the no longer active summer programs. Unfortunately, she is unable to take on the extra load of children.

We live in a society where, in most cases, both parents have to work. Daycares and nannies are expensive. My husband and I shell out well over $10,000 a year on child care for our son. Not unlike many other parents, we have no family members close enough to help watch our son when needed. These cutbacks on summer programs will cause a major strain on many parents, as well as, set back students who use summer school to get ahead.

To me, education cuts do not seem like the answer. Even if slashing the summer programs saves California hundreds of thousands of dollars, how much will we be sacrificing in our future? A good education is the key to ensuring better, higher paying jobs for our children which in turn means more money collected by the state in the form of taxes. I am deeply concerned about what shape the education program will be like in the next couple of years once my son is attending public school.

I'm curious, what your thoughts are on cuts in education in California or where you live? Do you feel it is a mistake or can compromises be made?

UPDATE: Poll Results 6/9/09 - 6/16/09

Should summer programs be cut to save your state money?
85% No, education is important
14% No, childcare is expensive
00% Yes, if the state is in debt
00% Summer school sucks anyway
00% Meh

Places I Would Not Want To Be During An Earthquake.

Since two minor earthquakes have rattled Los Angeles so far this week, it's made me think more about earthquake safety and preparedness. It's also reminded me of all the places I would not want to be during a major earthquake. I put together my list of top 10 places I would not want to be in an earthquake:

10. The little-bitty bathroom stall at work - Guaranteed concussion from hitting my head on the walls of this small space.

9. The tattoo shop - This could leave a permanent reminder of the big quake.

8. At the dentist - Dental work and earthquakes don't mix.

7. At The Aquarium Of The Pacific - I don't know how strong that glass really is.

6. The Lamps Plus store - A place that sells nothing but lighting fixtures is no place to be during an earthquake.

5. Walking on or standing under a glass stair case - They have these in some Apple Stores and as much as I love being in the Apple Store, I would not want to be on or under the glass stair case.

4. Costco - At first I thought Costco would be the ideal place to be after a natural disaster because of all the supplies you would have at my disposal, but a place with high shelves full of heavy items is not where I want to be if the ground is shaking.

3. In the shower - Besides slipping and falling, there's the problem of not being clothed which could be potentially embarrassing.

2. Elevator - Aside from the fear of being trapped in a small enclosed space for an unknown amount of time, I always contemplate what would happen if you had to go to the bathroom.

1. The BART Transbay Tube - Riding the train through an underwater tube during a major earthquake? No thanks.

I'm curious, what is the top places you would not want to be during an earthquake?

UPDATE: Poll Results 5/20/09 - 5/27/09

What natural hazard are you scared of most?
00% Earthquake
20% Volcanic eruption
00% Flood
00% Tsunami
00% Blizzard
00% Drought
00% Tornado
20% Hurricane
00% Fire
20% Disease Epidemic
20% Supernova
00% Other
20% Meh

Is Facebook A Place For Tweets?

It was brought to my attention that Facebook friends might not appreciate you allowing Twitter to update your Facebook status if you are a heavy tweeter. This news concerned me because I would never want to annoy my friends and be thought of as a post whore.

I'm not sure if I'm really a heavy tweeter, but on average I update my status about 18 times a day, not including any extra links or photos I may post on Facebook. My thought were, I like being able to update my status in one place instead or two (or three if you count Brightkite). I don't say anything on Twitter that I wouldn't also say on Facebook, and if I do, I delete that post on Facebook. Also, I figured if a Facebook friend didn't like what I had to say or how much I post, they have the option to hide my updates from their news feed. I posed a question on Facebook to get my friends' opponions on this matter and only got one response saying he didn't mind, so maybe all my friends have blocked my updates. LOL! Anyway, Facebook is trying their hardest to be like Twitter, so isn't it fitting to link your updates between the two sites?

One drawback could be seeing the same updates if you're friends with someone on Twitter and Facebook and they link their updates. I have a handful of friends that fall into this catagory. An easy solution I use to get around this is creating group lists in Facebook that exclude anyone whose updates I already see on Twitter. With some quick and easy tweaks in Facebook, I can't understand why anyone would have to be irritated because of a friend's quantity or quality of updates. Besides, I have plenty of friends who update their Facebook status as much as I do that don't even use Twitter.

So I'm curious, how do you feel about Facebook/Twitter linking? Does it bother you if someone posts a lot whether from Facebook or Twitter?

UPDATE: Poll Results 5/3/09 - 5/10/09

Do you allow Twitter to update your Facebook status?
30% Yes
38% No
15% It's annoying
15% Meh

Is The Workplace A Place For Friends?

I am a very social person and love making new friends. I highly value my friendships and want friends who return the sediment. After becoming a mom, my social activities reduced greatly making it harder to hang out with old friends or meet new cool people. The easiest solution seemed to be making friends with coworkers since that's where I spend the majority of my time these days. But, is the workplace the best place to be making friends? Are coworkers trustworthy enough to be considered friends when you're working in a competitive environment? Or, should work and personal relationships be kept separate?

Personally, I tend to get too comfortable around my coworkers and I say things I probably shouldn't. I think I'm talking to people who are my friends but who actually might be just looking out for their own best interest.

I'm curious, have you ever run into a scenario where workmate friendships turned ugly? Would you recommend making friends at work? Are you friends with coworkers and is it same as the friendships who have outside the company?

UPDATE: Poll Result 4/30/09 - 5/7/09

Do you make friends with coworkers?
28% Close friends
72% Acquaintances
00% No
00% Meh

Why Talk When You Can Text?

Over the past couple of years, I have found myself communicating more through SMS and email and spending less time talking on the phone. Less than 5 years ago, I was struggling to keep from going over my minutes, yet now, I have the lowest amount of minutes possible on my AT&T plan and forking out the extra money for more SMS messages. The only people I still call on a regular basis are my parents.

Reasons for my distaste in talking on the phone include:

1. When someone calls me, the conversation takes place during the best possible time for the caller; however, it may not be the best time for me. I work, I have a toddler, I have my own stuff going on so how can I give the person on the other end of the line the courtesy of all my attention when I'm on the phone if it's not the best time for me?

2. I hate small talk. I like to cut out the extra motions and get right down to business. SMS and email allow me to get right to the point without the small talk.

3. Talking on the phone takes too much time. Sometimes I don't answer the phone because I just don't want to carry on a lengthy conversation at the time. I can check an email or a text message when I have a few seconds to spare and respond back quickly. More often than not, it is quicker to get ahold of me sending a SMS or email rather than calling me.

I say: If someone calls me, they don't really know me very well. I'm curious, what ways to you prefer to communicate? Is the old fashioned phone call dead?

UPDATE: Poll Results 4/18/09 - 4/25/09

How do you prefer to communicate?
16% Phone call
33% Text message
00% Email
16% Face to face
16% Social networking site
16% Meh

(I realized I should have added "Instant message" as a choice in the poll. If that would have been your choice or any other communication tool, please leave it in the comments. Thanks!)

Social Networking Or Social Notworking?

Recently, there has been lot of coverage about a study by the University of Melbourne that states the casual usage of sites like Twitter and Facebook increases productivity at work. The study shows that short breaks allow the mind to rest and thus increase the total concentrate on the days' assignments. While this study makes me feel better about all the times my boss has caught me online, I'm curious what has happened to old fashioned water cooler talk at work?

Would we rather spend our escape from the daily grind catching up on tweets or playing a quick round of Mob Wars instead of having a little face to face conversation with the people we spend 8 hours a day with?

Personally, I enjoy chatting it up with coworkers, but in the age of the iPod, it's hard to find anyone who isn't pumping music into their ear at a ridiculous volume and virtually unable to hear the phone on their desk ring much less engage in idle conversation. Therefor, I get my mental break online as do a lot of employees who have a computer and Internet access. This raises another question: What will become of our social skills? Do we lose the ability to strike up conversation without being in front of a screen? Are we more or less social when our main form of communication with our friends is Facebook?

One factor may be more people these days are keeping their personal and business lives separate and not thinking of the workplace as a setting for making new friends. As I do, more people are eating their lunches at their desks and avoiding the break room in order to do personal browsing. While all this social networking may be good for productivity, is it the best thing for us?

UPDATE: Poll Results 4/6/09 - 4/13/09

Do you feel social networking makes you more productive at work?
55% Yes, it helps
11% No, it interferes with work
33% My job restricts sites
00% Meh

How does social networking affect our ability to communicate in real life?
11% Has no effect
22% People are more social
22% People are less social
44% Meh

Facebook's Facelift.

Now that Facebook has switched everyone's profiles over to the new interface, I'm curious how everyone feels about the changes.

As I had mentioned in my previous post, Facebook has implemented these changes to compete with the micro-blogging site Twitter. As a huge fan of Twitter, I see the changes to Facebook as a mild improvement but it's not going to make me dump Twitter and start using Facebook exclusively. Also, I have not heard many positive things from my friends on Facebook. It seems a lot of them are not too happy with these changes, as well as the chatter around the social networking circles has been predominately negative.

As far as I see it, Facebook is competing against a social networking site that most of their members don't care about, otherwise they would already be using sites like Twitter. I think both Facebook and Twitter serve a purpose and meet the needs of different breeds of social networking folks. For instance, Facebook members sign up mostly to keep in touch with close friends and family and find old classmates.

People on Twitter will continue to use Twitter because of what it is, and I highly doubt anyone will start using Facebook more because of these changes. Maybe Facebook should stick to what it's good at and not make such drastic changes that it upsets members who are there to just to communicate with their friends and family.

EDIT: 3/19/09

I'm actually taking back my statement that the changes to Facebook are an improvement. If the only items that showed up in the News Feed were status updates and maybe links, it would be fine. However, I do not care about who gave who a virtual hug or a virtual drink. There is no need to fill my News Feed with every little thing friends do in apps that I have ignored and do not use. I even tried blocking some apps but even that doesn't stop the flood of insignificant posts.

I'm giving Facebook a big FAIL in their attempt to win the social networking war. If you want to find me, I'll be on Twitter!

UPDATE: Poll Results 3/18/09 - 3/35/09

Do you like the new changes to Facebook?
00% Yes, it's an improvement
25% No, but I'll get used to it
25% No, change it back
50% Meh

Why Facebook Can't Compete With Twitter.

Today, Facebook held a press conference to discuss new products and changes to the social networking site. One of the items addressed at the press conference was how Facebook was going to compete with the growing popularity of Twitter. For those unfamiliar with Twitter, it is a social networking and micro-blogging service that allows users to send and receive updates that are 140 character or less. As a huge fan of Twitter, I commend Facebook for trying but good luck competing with Twitter.

Even after reading about the changes Facebook is implementing, I don't think the site's developers get the reason why people like Twitter. It's all about simplicity. People are busy and need a quick way to create an account and start using a site. This is exactly what Twitter offers. New members create an user name and password and they're ready to roll. The only information Twitter asks for is an email address, and the only profile information Twitter asks for is optional and includes: name, location, website, and a short bio. This makes users more comfortable connecting with friends as well as new people beyond their circle of friends.

Facebook is much more complex and has tons of information it asks for in order to connect members with people. Which is fine for connecting only with people they know, but because of all the information on members' profiles on Facebook, many of them will continue to keep their profiles more closed. Then, once members find all their friends on a site like Facebook, the new wears off and they eventually move on to the next new social networking flavor of the month.

The beauty in Twitter's design is it creates a simple way to keep up with friends, meet new interesting people, and follow news stories as they happen all on one page. Although Facebook's new interface looks like a move in the right direction, I don't feel it can compete with Twitter.

Facebook has a banner up on their site saying "Changes to the Home page are coming soon" with a link to preview what the new home page will look like. I'm curious how other Facebook users feel about these changes. And if anyone uses Twitter as well, how does Facebook compare with Twitter? Please share your thoughts.

UPDATE: Poll Results 3/4/09 - 3/11/09

Do you like the new changes to Facebook?
25% Yes
00% No
75% Meh

What is your favorite social networking site?
25% Twitter
37% Facebook
00% Myspace
37% Brightkite
00% Other
00% Meh