Okay, they say tonight the moon is a perigee moon- that means a full moon that looks bigger and brighter than the average full moon.
I looked out the window and checked. Yup, bigger and brighter! And beautiful as always.
Of course, the wackos ( why are there always wackos? ) are out there saying that this big moon will bring devastating tidal waves to coastal cities. Not even remotely true. As we've certainly seen in recent years, you don't need the moon involved to have major natural disasters...
People have always gazed up at the moon in wonder. The enduring myth (sometimes I'm not so sure it's a myth after all!) is that the full moon affects people's behavior. And then there's the modern day the-moon-landings-were-all-a-hoax myth, conterbalanced by the we-went-to-the-moon-and-some-moon-humans-came-back-with-the-astronauts myth. Although just what those moon humans were supposedly using for air up there I haven't a clue. Just goes to show, give some folks some disjointed unconnected pieces of information, and they'll make up whatever they have to to connect the dots and create a story that makes sense to them. I guess the human brain just isn't made to deal with coincidences.
And while I was gazing out the window at the lovely full moon, I found myself humming that "Friday" song to myself! Maybe this giant moon really is working on me.
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Saturday, March 19, 2011
Thursday, March 17, 2011
How To Read Ebooks On Your Cell Phone If It Doesn't Have An Ereader
Whew! How's that for a long title?
Actually, I've been trying to figure this out since I got my LG Rumor Touch last fall. Great phone, but limited apps, and no ereader. Now I'm not the sort of gal who walks around reading War and Peace on her cell phone, but it's nice to have a little something with you when you're in a doctor's waiting room or getting your oil changed and all they have to read is the July 2007 issue of People. So I did some fishing around online about how to do this, and this is what I found. (Note: You must have a phone that can access the internet to do this.)
1. Find a site from which you can download ebooks in the EPUB (electronic publishing) format to your computer. http://www.epubbooks.com/ is my favorite; there's tons of classic literature on this site that you can download for free!
2. Select and download your books-make note of the file names so you can find them easily on your computer.
3. Go to http://bookworm.oreilly.com/ and set up an account.
4. Upload your epub ebooks to your Bookworm account, then logout.
5. Using your cell phone, log onto m.bookworm.oreilly.com (the mobile version of the site). Sign in.
6. Ta-da! There's your list of books. Click on the book you want to read, and click "next" in the lower right hand corner till you get to the text.
It really is pretty simple, and you'll end up with a list of great books to read anytime, anywhere-and you won't even have to use up and memory on your phone. Enjoy! :)
Actually, I've been trying to figure this out since I got my LG Rumor Touch last fall. Great phone, but limited apps, and no ereader. Now I'm not the sort of gal who walks around reading War and Peace on her cell phone, but it's nice to have a little something with you when you're in a doctor's waiting room or getting your oil changed and all they have to read is the July 2007 issue of People. So I did some fishing around online about how to do this, and this is what I found. (Note: You must have a phone that can access the internet to do this.)
1. Find a site from which you can download ebooks in the EPUB (electronic publishing) format to your computer. http://www.epubbooks.com/ is my favorite; there's tons of classic literature on this site that you can download for free!
2. Select and download your books-make note of the file names so you can find them easily on your computer.
3. Go to http://bookworm.oreilly.com/ and set up an account.
4. Upload your epub ebooks to your Bookworm account, then logout.
5. Using your cell phone, log onto m.bookworm.oreilly.com (the mobile version of the site). Sign in.
6. Ta-da! There's your list of books. Click on the book you want to read, and click "next" in the lower right hand corner till you get to the text.
It really is pretty simple, and you'll end up with a list of great books to read anytime, anywhere-and you won't even have to use up and memory on your phone. Enjoy! :)
Monday, March 14, 2011
OMG! It's Just So Totally Awful!
It came out of nowhere, and conquered the internet. You know what I mean; Rebecca Black's "Friday" video. Never heard of her yesterday, she's everywhere today. Ah, the power of the web!
Turns out this inescapable little video is a product of one Ark Music Factory, an LA record label that seems intent on producing an army of Justin Biebers and Miley Cyruses to unleash on us all. Judging from the "Friday" video, they ain't even close.
I must say I do feel sorry for the young girl singer, Rebecca Black. One is not able to tell from this video if the kid can really even sing; the whole song is a monotone, autotuned drone. Imagine being a teenager and having articles written about your first single like "Is The Worst Video Ever Made?". She'll probably hide under her bed for the next six months.
And a note to whoever wrote this little ditty- it needs more words! You can't make a decent song by repeating the same few inane phrases over and over. And think about what you're saying! She can't decide where to sit in the car? Such insight, such depth of feeling.
Haven't seen it? Here it is. And I warn you, as awful as it is, it's one of those things that once it's in your head, it'll NEVER leave!
Turns out this inescapable little video is a product of one Ark Music Factory, an LA record label that seems intent on producing an army of Justin Biebers and Miley Cyruses to unleash on us all. Judging from the "Friday" video, they ain't even close.
I must say I do feel sorry for the young girl singer, Rebecca Black. One is not able to tell from this video if the kid can really even sing; the whole song is a monotone, autotuned drone. Imagine being a teenager and having articles written about your first single like "Is The Worst Video Ever Made?". She'll probably hide under her bed for the next six months.
And a note to whoever wrote this little ditty- it needs more words! You can't make a decent song by repeating the same few inane phrases over and over. And think about what you're saying! She can't decide where to sit in the car? Such insight, such depth of feeling.
Haven't seen it? Here it is. And I warn you, as awful as it is, it's one of those things that once it's in your head, it'll NEVER leave!
Friday, March 11, 2011
Land Of The Rising Sun
As I write, the sun is rising on Japan on the first day after the earthquake/tsunami.
After a day of watching videos of the destruction, the pictures that are now appearing of the damage left behind are still hard to comprehend. Mountains of rubble everywhere; where would you even start with putting things back together? How will they be able to hunt for survivors? And what happens if that nuclear plant goes kaboom? If I feel this helpless here in the States, how much worse it must be for the Japanese people.
Makes you wonder too, what if it happened here? We certainly have enough fault lines here; a huge earthquake could happen along any of them. Now, Americans never hesitate to run in to help when their neighbors are in trouble (New Orleans notwithstanding), but we tend not to plan our infastructure with disaster in mind. We buy insurance and hope for the best. The best isn't always what you get...
I'm sure in the days to come we'll all be seeing much more of the unfolding horror story that is occuring in the ancient island nation of Japan. It's going to take the best efforts of the Japanese (and I'm sure some help from its allies) to rebuild and restore. Thoughts and prayers are with them.
After a day of watching videos of the destruction, the pictures that are now appearing of the damage left behind are still hard to comprehend. Mountains of rubble everywhere; where would you even start with putting things back together? How will they be able to hunt for survivors? And what happens if that nuclear plant goes kaboom? If I feel this helpless here in the States, how much worse it must be for the Japanese people.
Makes you wonder too, what if it happened here? We certainly have enough fault lines here; a huge earthquake could happen along any of them. Now, Americans never hesitate to run in to help when their neighbors are in trouble (New Orleans notwithstanding), but we tend not to plan our infastructure with disaster in mind. We buy insurance and hope for the best. The best isn't always what you get...
I'm sure in the days to come we'll all be seeing much more of the unfolding horror story that is occuring in the ancient island nation of Japan. It's going to take the best efforts of the Japanese (and I'm sure some help from its allies) to rebuild and restore. Thoughts and prayers are with them.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Adieu Borders
Today I made what may be my last trip to our local Borders store--it's one of the branches that the chain is closing down this month. You know, it's just too weird to go in that store and not smell coffee brewing. I'll miss Borders-we also have a prospering Barnes and Nobles in our area, but Borders was always the more cozy and laid back of the two. I suppose it's not too surprising that Borders is closing, with the rise of online booksellers and mp3 downloading, but I can't help thinking that the chain gave up on our branch too soon. Things actually started going downhill for our Borders when the big-as-a-barn B&N store opened-it was as if the folks at Borders headquarters gave up the battle right away. It was at that point that the Borders store started looking a little shabby and didn't carry quite the selection of merchandise it originally did. And as they carried less and less variety, B&N picked up more & more of the business...so goodbye Borders.
It was really unique in the beginning, the whole bookstore with a coffee shop concept, but I think both chains grew too fast. And now the business model doesn't work as well, with additional competition from the internet. Still, I'd hate to think of the world without physical brick-and-mortar bookstores where you can actually pick up a book and flip through it. E-Readers are nice, but it's just not the same.
Hmmm....maybe somebody should reverse the business model. Instead of a big bookstore with a small coffee shop, a big coffee shop/cafe with a smaller bookstore/ebook dowloading station. Any genius investors out there willing to try? :)
It was really unique in the beginning, the whole bookstore with a coffee shop concept, but I think both chains grew too fast. And now the business model doesn't work as well, with additional competition from the internet. Still, I'd hate to think of the world without physical brick-and-mortar bookstores where you can actually pick up a book and flip through it. E-Readers are nice, but it's just not the same.
Hmmm....maybe somebody should reverse the business model. Instead of a big bookstore with a small coffee shop, a big coffee shop/cafe with a smaller bookstore/ebook dowloading station. Any genius investors out there willing to try? :)
Monday, March 7, 2011
Who Do You Think You Are?
No, I'm not trying to a smarty-pants, I'm talking about the show on NBC. Each week, they follow a celebrity as they research their family tree. Sound boring? It's definately not.
If you've ever done any family tree research (and I have), you soon find out that every family history has twists and turns. The celebrities profilied on Who Do You Think You Are? learn this pretty quickly. Most of them (like most amateur geneaolgists) have some idea where to start- little bits and pieces passed down through the generations. The full story always turns out to be so much richer.
This past week Lionel Richie learned that his great-grandfather,r born a slave, later went on as a free man to found an African-American fraterallnal organization, the Knights of Wise Men, to help others in his community. When you find someone like that in your past, it really is a humbling experience--it's like after all the things your ancestors went through that got you where you are today, you owe it to them to make something of your life.
Sometimes the end result of family history research can be bittersweet, too. The previous week's episode of this show was about Kim Cattrall's search for the grandfather who abandoned his young family 70 years ago. He just up and left one day, and no one had seen or heard from him since, not even his own mother. Turns out he'd just moved to a nearby town and remarried (without ever divorcing his first wife). He made a whole new life for himself and raised another family, seemingly without ever a thought about the first wife and little girls he'd left behind. Tragic, and sad- but in the end, Kim's mother and her sisters got to meet the siblings they'd never known about.
If you're intested in researching your own family tree, this show is definately a must-see. Knowing who and where you come from adds greatly to your own sense of self, and will serve as an inspiration to you in your own life.
If you've ever done any family tree research (and I have), you soon find out that every family history has twists and turns. The celebrities profilied on Who Do You Think You Are? learn this pretty quickly. Most of them (like most amateur geneaolgists) have some idea where to start- little bits and pieces passed down through the generations. The full story always turns out to be so much richer.
This past week Lionel Richie learned that his great-grandfather,r born a slave, later went on as a free man to found an African-American fraterallnal organization, the Knights of Wise Men, to help others in his community. When you find someone like that in your past, it really is a humbling experience--it's like after all the things your ancestors went through that got you where you are today, you owe it to them to make something of your life.
Sometimes the end result of family history research can be bittersweet, too. The previous week's episode of this show was about Kim Cattrall's search for the grandfather who abandoned his young family 70 years ago. He just up and left one day, and no one had seen or heard from him since, not even his own mother. Turns out he'd just moved to a nearby town and remarried (without ever divorcing his first wife). He made a whole new life for himself and raised another family, seemingly without ever a thought about the first wife and little girls he'd left behind. Tragic, and sad- but in the end, Kim's mother and her sisters got to meet the siblings they'd never known about.
If you're intested in researching your own family tree, this show is definately a must-see. Knowing who and where you come from adds greatly to your own sense of self, and will serve as an inspiration to you in your own life.
Revvin' Up The Blog
Here's a note to all my faithful readers and followers (all two of you! :) ). As you may have noticed, I've been workin' on this here blog. In the weeks to come, I'm going to try to post more, and on more interesting subjects than just my babbling. Hope you enjoy!
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