It's rant time

Although I can see the benefit to social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook and Ning, I am wary of the effect this type of socializing will have on people, particularly youth who haven’t learned to communicate effectively face-to-face.

Instead, they are communicating in a more artificial environment with people who may or may not be who they say. Even if their “friends” gave their correct name, gender and age, they can still alter their profile to seem like anyone they want. They may not be purposefully deceitful, but they create only personality sketches, mere shells of their actual selves.

And while it can connect people who never would have met before, it doesn’t have the energy and warmth of personal contact. There’s a reason it’s, “Eyes are windows to the soul,” and not “Boot up Windows, get online and find your soul mate.”

Additionally, limiting your contact to only those with similar interests, worldviews will continue to narrow. It seems that more and more that is a huge problem in society.

On the plus side, I love being able to hear music from obscure bands around the world. On MySpace, you can find myriad musical acts offering a free preview of their work. It is nice to be able to hear several songs of an artist (online, or of course from the library) before you dish out cash hoping more than one or two songs are worth a darn.

OK, I’m done venting. I almost sounded like a grumpy old man there for a minute. (“Those dang kids with their M-Pods and their IP3s, playing their X-Stations and PS-Boxes! Their nothing but a bunch of punks! Text-messaging punks!”)

I'm Glad It's Not Frowning

This has nothing to do with 23 Things. I just thought it was cool.

Here's a picture I stole from my brother's blog that he writes as the outdoors reporter for the Bradenton (Fla.) Herald. Not bad work for just a few sea gulls...

Thanks a lot, Things 10-12!

For Things 10-12, we were asked to visit three different websites.

Here are my thoughts on each:

LinkedIn.com: This is a networking site that enables you to connect with former classmates, but it has a distinct pro-college bias, as you could not search by high school. You could only search for colleges and universities. Like I need to feel worse about my lack of formal education. Looking at my paycheck this week was enough. Thanks a lot, LinkedIn! (Oh, sorry. Obviously I’m not bitter.)

LibraryThing.com: Through this site you can post your own recommendations on books. You can also find out what others with similar tastes are reading. It seems there’s not many people that listed both “The Anarchists’ Cookbook” and “Walter the Farting Dog.” In fact no one else shares my exact taste in books. Like I need to feel worse about by lack of like-minded peers. Looking at my empty e-mail inbox was enough. Thanks a lot, LibraryThing! (Still not bitter.)

Rollyo.com: When I was younger, “Roll your own” meant something completely different. While my lawyer advises me to not mention what it used to signify, it now means narrowing your Internet searches to a smaller list of trusted websites. Like I need to feel further distanced from my carefree youth. Looking at my crow’s feet in the mirror this morning was enough. Yo, Rollyo! Thanks a lot! (OK, maybe I’m just a little bitter....)

Oh, and my lawyer would also like me to mention that my recommended reading for LibraryThing, particularly the "cookbook," were made up in hopes of a cheap laugh. (I can't afford an expensive laugh.) I actually suggest “Confederacy of Dunces,” “What is the What” and “Lies My Teacher Told Me.”

Bring on Lucky Thing 13! Surely it won’t be as depressing as Things 10-12…

Number Nine.... Number Nine... Number Nine....

Number nine...

Number nine...

Number nine...

Number nine...

Oh, it seems Thing 9 doesn't have anything to do with "Revolution No. 9" from The Beatles' White Album. (Only 9/23rds of the way there!)

It is great that there are free services such as Bloglines. Many of these free sites are plastered with advertisements.

I don't recall seeing any ads on Bloglines, and am in fact going through commercialization withdrawals. I need quick fix….

Ahhh, that’s better.

My Winter Home

Here is a picture of me posing in front of my wintering quarters in Florida.

Or perhaps it is me on vacation, visiting my brother (Nicholas of the Walter Clan) in Florida for his birthday last August.

Maybe I just pasted my ugly mug onto a glossy pic that came in a cheap frame I bought.

You decide (and vote in Aught Eight)!

Ooops. I forgot politics weren't allowed in the blogosphere. My bad.

Flickrific

As I clicked a link to go to a photo website entitled “Flickr,” I expected to see my screen full of candles ablaze and perhaps a misspelling or eight. I was surprised to come across a site that not only utilized near-perfect spelling, but also had pictures of much more than just lit wicks.

However, a search for “candles” turned up 310,983 results. A more refined search for “lit wicks” resulted in 173 picture matches. There are also 520 pictures related to “misspellings.” Amusingly, there are also 49 postings of pictures of “mispellings,” which itself is an error. So those visiting Flickr in search of candle flame or typos will certainly not be disappointed.

As I delved deeper, my curiosity was piqued when I came across the term “mash-ups.” A long time lover of mashed potatoes, I was hoping to come across a great new recipe (perhaps involving cheddar ranch dressing or maybe crab meat).

I then remembered hearing the term used before: not in reference to smashed tubers, but to combining two different pieces of music into a single entity.

For example, the world-famous Danger Mouse (…wait, you’ve seriously never heard of him? Gnarls Barkley? The Gorillaz? The Good, The Bad and The Queen? The upcoming Black Keys album?) blended music from Jay-Z’s “Black Album” with The Beatles’ “White Album” (oh, you’ve’ heard of them?) to create, you guessed it, “The Grey Album.” Someone else has taken Jay-Z’s “American Gangster” album, mashed it with the “Godfather” soundtrack, resulting in… wait for it…. “American Godfather.”

So imagine my surprise when I found that these mash-ups had nothing to do with music…. But maybe they can. Why not combine music with a picture? Say “Shotgun” by Junior Walker and the All Stars and a portrait of our prestigious Vice President? I shall look into this, but please don’t tell the Secret Service.

Anyway, I discovered so much more that I want to… Wait, there’s someone at the door. Say, that’s a nice-looking black suit, but it seems a little dark for sunglasses. I wonder what sIFL4t m4W###############……..///////////////////////////////////

THERE IS NOTHING TO SEE HERE. PLEASE DISCONTINUE READING!

"sound" check

Test, test... 1... 2.... 3. Check check. Can you hear me in the back? No? Good. That’s what you get for buying cheap tickets.

This is my initial blog for Pikes Peak Library District's “23 Things” program, which I hope will enlighten me in the ways of the web. (OK, I just want the free MP3 player.)

Although I have written professionally in the past, don't expect anything interesting in my web logs, OK? Low expectations are my only chance to impress you, so set that bar really low, subterranean even. I can lend you a shovel if you need it, but I’m out of bars so please provide your own.

Anyway, I’m just warming up (la, la, la, la, la, la, laaaaaa…*cough*), so check back later and I may actually have something to say. (But probably not… low bar, remember?)

Peace out my peeps,

J-Dubya

P.S. – This is a post script.