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I’m probably only intermittently girly.  Yeah, skirts.  Wear ‘em most of the time if the weather isn’t extremely cold.  My hair is about waist length.  But high heels?  Not my thing.   Jewelry – mostly quite understated.  Makeup?  Same/same.  I wear it, but I go for understated.  My “look” tends to be best described as well-put-together.  However, it is a specifically-chosen look, so that pushes the image back over to “girly” a bit, doesn’t it?

My fingernails are fairly short, but I don’t bite them, so I do have a bit of a nail.  Other than keeping them clean and neat, I don’t often wear nail polish.  Rather, I’ll go through a six week period of doing so, then put away the manicure stuff for awhile.

I think, however, I may have found a look that I’d be content with as a constant thing – the French manicure.    This is the real thing, not the dramatically artificially-colored fingernail tips.  I think the look can be cute as hell, but it doesn’t match the way I dress.  No, I mean the subtle French Manicure with white tips, and a nail bed color that is close to your real nail bed color, maybe only better – rosier, deeper, less yellow, whatever.

I love this look because it’s neat and pulled-together without being too dramatically obvious.   It looks good with a broomstick skirt or a suit, and you don’t have to have really long nails to pull it off.  It also has the advantage of not showing wear at the tips very much[1] – unlike darker nail polish.  So I think this is something that’ll last a great deal longer for me.

Now this pic is of my hand, and yes, I did this myself.  It also took about ten tries to get the process down to the point where it wasn’t sloppy!  So this is something that takes practice and isn’t something I can free-hand[2] even with a pen, or would do at the spur of the moment.

[2] Scotch tape makes a fine polish guide, just sayin’.

I got an android phone a couple of months ago.  I was enjoying it and all, but it was after I downloaded the Audible App that I started moving to use it as my mobile media device.

I used my iPod as a sleep aid and productivity tool.  When I can’t sleep, I’ll put an audiobook on for a certain amount of time (usually 15 minutes will do it), and listen to a story until I fall asleep.  It keeps me from ruminating on useless crap and allows me to do the truly productive thing at night – SLEEP!

So, no music/audiobook player was going to make Noël-san happy unless it had a feature where it’d turn off after a few minutes.  Well, whatdoyaknow? The Audible app has exactly that!

However, not all of my audiobooks are from Audible.  I have the Harry Potter books, MP3s I’ve ripped from CDs from the library – you name it.  So, what’s an audio/bibliophile to do?

Well, there is the Sleep Timer, a free app developed by Patrick Boos.  This will integrate with your music player to turn off your music (and other functions on your android-based phone, if you want to)  after a specified length of time.

However, that didn’t solve another problem.  I have an extensive music collection that I’d organized into smart playlists on iTunes.  Now, for all that Apple gets under my fingernails from time to time, I do like the organization features of the iTunes media player.  Was I screwed for using those playlists on my phone?

Nope!  Now, iSyncr is not a free app, but at $2.99, I’m not going to sweat the price for one paid app.  This will load whatever playlists you select onto your phone.  They play just fine through the default music app preloaded in Android.  What it won’t do is play DRM protected music you bought from iTunes.  I know there’s a kludge for that, but I don’t know exactly what it is, and I don’t buy a lot of music through iTunes, anyway.

This means that my iPod is completely replaced, because I also use a music player with a sleep timer for another function.  It’s a serious productivity tool and procrastination avoider for me.  When faced with a large, overwhelming task, I often will put on a music player with a fifteen minute sleep timer, promising myself I can stop when the music stops.  By that time I’m usually into the task enough to finish it, but even if I’m not, do you know how much you can get done in several fifteen minute sessions of hyperfocus?

Speaking of which, got some writin’ that needs attending to…

Audible	iSyncr	Sleep Timer

Steel Beach was one of my favorite novels for awhile.  The basic plot revolved around an entertainment reporter who specialized in scandal and juicy stories.  People read them on “pads” that were more or less tablet computing as we know it.  One subscribed to a dedicated service — both the service and the device were referred to as pads.

It’s kinda cool that he noodled about how electronic publishing might pan out.  But I find it interesting that he still postulated it as a one-way street.  The professionals hired to do it produced, the public consumed.

Back in the dark ages of the 1990s, few people only consumed material online.  Most people did a fair amount of producing as well, be it a My Pet Goldfish webpage (and a single page it was!), or participating in discussion groups.  Even with the explosion of online media and millions more people participating social media does encourage discussion, at least.  While the percentage of people producing actual content is getting lower, it’s still pretty impressive.

However, with tablet computing being pushed, I do wonder if we’re going to fall back to a mostly-consumption mentality.  I hope not.  Some writers and thinkers seem to think that the archetecture of participation will endure, but I have to wonder how much so, especially with devices that make production more and more difficult.

I’m curious what other people think.

I was reading the Israel Derangement Syndrome II article and got to thinking.  I don’t often speak up publicly about my feelings about US-Israeli relations, mostly because I feel like the minute I open my mouth, I’m gonna get slapped with an anti-Semitic label before I get to outline how I feel.  I encourage you to read the article before you go on with reading what I have to say, as he does comment rather succinctly on some things.

But, I actually want to pull another thread — how we identify ourselves and with what subset of humanity.

I do it.  I’ll identify as a Virginian pretty quickly, even if in the 21^st century, one would think that identifying by nationality would be the important thing.  There’s even some historical precedent.  If Bob Lee hadn’t identified as a Virginian first and an American second, there’s no way in hell the Civil War would have lasted as long as it did.

And that’s kind of the point.  I think we sub-identify too much.  Sure, sure, having your tribe feels good.  I enjoy going to parties full of geeks with similar tastes and viewpoints to my own.  It’s nice not to feel like an alien.  I like going to family gatherings for a similar reason.  The shared experiences, the shared viewpoint and history is a powerfully bonding experience and it satisfies our monkey brains on a deep level.

What I wonder is if it is possible, without some sort of outside reference, to have that sense of identity with being a human being and denizen of the Planet Earth.  I don’t know, really.  Science fiction is loaded with examples of authors postulating that a shared alien enemy will be the driving force to unite human beings.

Me?  I don’t know that I like the idea of being defined in terms of what one is against or what one is not.  The problem is that I wonder if this oppositional behavior and viewpoint is necessary for in-group bonding, and without it, we’re lost in a floating sea of aloneness.

I’d like to think not, but I have to wonder.

I am really liking the weather right now – sunny, warm…  This is such a blissful change from spring last year, I’m really enjoying it a lot.  In fact, I’m outside right now, working and enjoying the sunshine.  I used to work outside on this portable word processor before my son was born.  We had this sakura tree outside our window, and in the late spring, I’d be sitting under it working on a carpet of pink flowers.  There was a mockingbird next door to us that liked to perch on the neighbor’s roof.  Whenever I made a mistake and the spellcheck would beep, the bird would imitate the sound.  It was like I had this little writing buddy.  These days, my cat is my writing buddy, but I don’t take her outside.  She’s strictly an indoor cat.

I’m really considering finding a good outdoor umbrella so I can sit in the shade when it gets really warm and still work outside.  I need to soak up as much sun as possible this summer.  Last summer’s gray and rain did a serious number on me.

I swam my mile this morning, but push myself a lot more than I wanted to.  We got into the gym later than I’d planned, and I had to hurry to make sure that everyone could get to work and school on time while still getting in my mile.  Even so, I’m pretty charged up, so it’s clear I didn’t push stupidly hard.

And speaking of not being stupid, I need to get to work.  Outlines to write, photo sessions to plan and serious butt glue needed to get my writin’ done!

I’m a pretty avid consumer of digital media, as I am sure my Faithful Readers know.  I listen to audiobooks when I’m doing housework, and I often read books in a digital format.  This could get expensive if I were to buy these materials all the time.  While books in electronic format are often cheaper than the dead tree variety, they’re still not free.

I’ve always used public libraries to fill the gap between what I can afford to buy and my admittedly voracious reading habits.  However, I do have a slight preference for electronic media[1].

Living in the boondocks, my local library is probably less wealthy than most.  That doesn’t stop them from offering an electronic collection I can download right to my computer.  They use Overdrive as their media service.  It’s really wonderful.  I started using it when it became possible to transfer audiobooks to iPods.  From what I understand, Apple was pretty reluctant to allow for this[2].  However, I can now listen to audiobooks downloaded from my local library on my iPod, so that’s all good.

But you can also download electronic texts.  The software used won’t transfer to a Kindle, though I expect if one waits for a year or two, that’ll change, just like it did with the iPod.  It will transfer to some other digital book devices.  However, I have a netbook, so as far as portability, I’m all good.

My library limits one to three electronic items checked out at a time.  These items have between a one and two week lending period.  This is a serious limitation, as you can’t manually check an item back in.  For me, that’s a pity, as it only takes two or three hours to read the average novel[3].  So, I have to wait until the lending period is over before I check something else out.  For audiobooks this is not such a big deal.  I might listen for a couple of hours a day while doing housework, cooking or going for walks.  Even so, the average audiobook I listen to is about ten to twelve hours long.  I don’t go through them nearly so fast.

Still, I can only complain so hard, as I’m delighted the service is available.  Yes, I do still read paper books, but I do so enjoy having a small library in my computer, too.

I don’t know how common electronic offerings are, but I’m assuming that since my little town does have the service, it can’t be but so uncommon.  I encourage anyone who uses their local library to check it out and find out.

[2] Which is another point against the company, and is causing me to consider against replacing my iPod with another when the one I own goes to the Digital Player Graveyard.

[3] Something like The Hunt for Red October did take considerably longer.  I’m fast, but let’s be real.

I like my netbook a lot, and really wasn’t getting all that excited about the iPad.  I had a bit of a lightbulb moment when I realized that I wasn’t that excited because if I want an ultraportable wireless device, I want something that’s good for content creation, not something that’s only good for content consumption.

Now, Stephen Fry wrote a glowing piece on the iPad, admitting he was an Apple fanboy and all that smack.

I was surprised that he was that excited about the thing, to be frank with you.  The man’s an actor, a writer and what have you. He creates a lot more content than I do, just sayin’,  ‘Course, he also makes a lot more money than I do, so dropping $600 on something to view content probably doesn’t seem as absurd as it would for me[1].  If I made as much money as Mr. Fry, possibly I’d own an iPad right now.

But I doubt it.  Even the fact that you can read books on it wouldn’t quite be enough for me. Certainly, I’d own it over a Kindle.   Do I read Kindle-enabled books?  Yep, all the time.  I read ‘em on the PC software on my netbook.  Call me the Alton Brown of technology, but I’m not a big fan of a single-task device unless it’s really cheap or so astoundingly good at doing something I find necessary that I’m willing to own a single-task device.  I mean, even my MP3 player[2] doubles as my alarm clock!

I do think there’s a strong possibility that the demand for something cool for content consumption will kill off the demand for a small cheap computer, though.  And that rather depresses me, as the netbook was the computer I’d been waiting for since I was in my teens.

[2] Yes, it’s an iPod. 2^nd gen Nano, in fact.

I’m having a hard time settling down to write a good trip report on my trip to Disney World, so instead of talking about the rides and stuff, I’m going to make some recommendations for people who are going. (If you have questions about the rides and attractions or wanna talk about ’em, I’m delighted to do so in the comments.  It’s just that I’m having a terrible time organizing my thoughts.  Sorry about that).

Now, from the ages of 3-25, I went to Disney World about every two or three years. So I’ve been there a LOT. I didn’t do any real research on the trip. I know Disney and didn’t need to, right?   Well… if I’d thought, I’d remember that the parks are always a work in progress.  After fifteen years, yes there have been a lot of changes.  First would be that fifteen years ago, I was not using the Internet.

Some things that are useful to the Disney traveler:

1. Fastpass.  Many of the rides and attractions have an option to go to it, get a ticket to go through a fast lane at a later time so you don’t have to waste time waiting in a line longer than a half an hour or so.   Once you have the pass, you have about an hour’s window to use it.  You do kind of have to work this, as you can’t get a second Fastpass until the time for the one you have begins.  You also have to plan ahead with this, because there are a limited number of Fastpasses for each ride available, and they’re usually all gone by four in the afternoon or so.  But if you work it, you can get the pass for the big attraction, do the smaller stuff in the area and then are able to get on the big ride pretty quickly.   You can go online and create a map for yourself of any park with what you want to do marked.  I didn’t find this out until I had no printer available and downloading it to my Palm was too much of a pain in the butt.

2. Dinner Reservations.  Oh yeah, you can make reservations for on-Property restaurants up to two weeks in advance online.  I found that making them the night before worked out okay mostly.  EPCOT’s teppanyaki restaurant books sooner than that.  (But the Japan pavillion has another restaurant and the sushi there is excellent).  I didn’t figure this out until we’d already been to three of the parks.  I suppose I’m a bad geek and just don’t deserve another Disney trip. 🙁

I really recommend an hour or two online at the WDW site for each of the parks you want to visit.

One of the popular things that writers discuss when they decide to Decry The Modern World is how the Internet has made us more isolated and how we don’t have Real Friends.

Really?

How many of you reading this have made a friend on the internet, then travelled more than 500 miles to visit that person?  That’s not real?

Then my family growing up wasn’t a real family!  We traveled to Minnesota from Virginia for my brother to be a ring bearer in a 1^st cousin once removed’s wedding.  We went to Georgia to see a great aunt.   We regularly traveled an hour or two to see (and often help out) cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and so on.

How does this count, yet when I do the same thing to visit friends I’ve met through a computer, there is this idea that these friendships aren’t real friendships?  And don’t get me started on the “blood is thicker than water” canard.  I am lucky enough that I have blood relations that are indeed close and mutually supportive, but I have blood relations that aren’t, too.  It’s about the same range as friendships I’ve made.  It’s more to do with the people involved than the accidents of birth.

What? Face to face time?

I was comparing how often I saw people in person before I was connected to the Internet to now.   You know what?  I interact face to face in a non-business environment about as often as I did.  In fact, I tend to see people socially a bit more now.

Why?

The Internet.  It offers better opportunity for me to meet people that I actually have something in common with!  Sure, I’m cool with helping shovel Mrs. Next Door’s driveway, or driving Senora Across the Street to the grocery store.  But I’m unlikely to be talking politics, science or philosophy with ‘em[1].  So in my case, I have considerably more friends, both in simple quantity and in satisfaction levels, from being able to communicate across distance.

I think people that say the Internet makes them socially isolated might be unskilled in their appropriate use of technology.  We hear about people texting all through face to face social gatherings.  Now, I spent the weekend with some friends of mine who are even geekier than I am.   When we went out to dinner, we talked.  Phones stayed in purses, and there was no texting going on.  We… talked.  Just like people did before the Internet.