Friday, February 6, 2009   The outside thermometer tells me it’s 30 degrees but when I step out into the wind, it feels even colder.  It’s nice – and novel – to be able to bundle up inside, thermostat set at 60 degrees, wearing sweats and socks and even my fleece jacket.  This is Florida.  We’re not used to dressing in layers.  Eight months of the year we think less about fashion than we do about “what is the least amount of clothing I can wear this hot, humid day and still be legal and inoffensive?” Continue reading →

My brother and I are working on several projects together, and he does all the technical work for us.  The last few days we’ve been working the bugs out of a new system, and I’m getting some good insights from it.  At first I was having a problem with some design aspects of a page I wanted to send out, like I could not get the image to insert in the file.  Brothermine told me to make a version of the page without an image and that initially sent me into a headspin.  It made me realize I have come to rely so much on images to convey a message. Continue reading →

Thursday February 5, 2009  Parsley?  Who eats parsley? That’s what I used to think until 2001.  After an accident in 2000 that caused some nerve damage in my hands, I began researching what natural foods helped repair nerve damage.  Parsley was high on the list. Continue reading →

Wednesday February 4, 2009      A publicist friend just returned from a trip to India, and she had posted short notes all during the trip at www.twitter.com.  I sent  Kim a message that I adored reading her Twitter posts on her trip; that had she blogged about it, I would have enjoyed that, too.  Always the dilemma as a journalist, isn’t it: shall I experience this experience or record it for everyone else to experience through me? Continue reading →

Wednesday February 4, 2009   I’ve been updating my email list.  For several years, AOL auto-added a lot of addresses, so they are shown without names.  Unless the sender’s name is contained in the email address, or I recognize it, I have no idea who they are.  I had 1000+ of those.  I was really surprised at how many names I did not recognize.  Then I discovered Facebook’s People You May Know feature and, through it, gave names and faces to many of my email addresses.  Thanks, Facebook.

I’m just discovering Facebook
Managing Incoming Information; What Is Facebook For?
Facebook quizzes; every little bit of insight helps
Facebook posts; I’m in charge of what I attract
Facebook friends to the rescue, helping me Excel
If a Friend Asks For $$ In Facebook, Ask A Personal Question
You Want To Be My Friend On Facebook?
How To Stop The Stupid Facebook Posts On Your Wall
The Zen of Farmville on Facebook? WTF?
Are Your Facebook Friends Really Your Friends? Don’t Assume Mine Are Either
What I post on Facebook
Finding childhood buds on Facebook, flashback to age 18
Putting personal details on Facebook and Myspace
Is it ok to break up with someone over Facebook?
Why I like Facebook

Tuesday February 3, 2008  The last many years I’ve gotten used to working behind the scenes with authors and publicists and most of our contact is via email.  Because the majority of the magazine layout process takes place months in advance, I’ve learned to ask months in advance for anything I need from them: author images, book jackets, excerpts.  So as my brother is doing a monster overhaul on a couple of projects, I’ve inadvertently put him under pressure. Continue reading →

Skydiver Survives Fall With Dying Teacher the headline reads.  A few thousand feet from the ground, Daniel Pharr, making his first skydive Saturday, was strapped to his instructor when the other man suffered an apparent heart attack.  “At that point, “Pharr said, “I realized I was just going to have to do what I had to do to get down to the ground and try to help him.”  He made it safely to the ground. Continue reading →

Monday February 2, 2009   I love the movie Groundhog Day.  In it, Bill Murray’s character finds himself reliving February 2nd over and over and over again.  It seems that no matter what he does all day and all night, at 6:00am he will once again awaken to the same day he just had.  He gets into a philosophical discussion with two drunks and asks what would you do if you knew you’d get to live today all over again? Continue reading →

Monday February 2, 2009   Ah – I woke up to a nice drizzly chilly morning.  Into the kitchen for a libation sure to warm me deep into my bones.  Takes just a short while to prepare, then gentle sips followed by a good gulp or two.  Yes!  I feel it move through my system, giving me just what I crave.  I’m talking about pot liquor, made from some fresh greens I got at the market yesterday. Continue reading →

A friend has a service that matches age 50Plus singles and she asked if I’d like to be involved.  I told her I don’t have time, but wished her well in her venture.  She cites that older parties may be set in their ways and mentioned how hard it was for the over 50 crowd to make connections.  I thought, nothing could be farther from the truth.  When we meet someone we really click with, everything is up for negotiation and the only reason that we don’t feel we have as many choices now as we did 10 or 20 years ago is simply that we have chosen to drop of the social scene. Period, end of story.   No mystery there. Continue reading →