It is almost as if I must stay connected for fear of missing out on what my friends are doing, or missing something that is happening in the world around me.  I can turn it all off when I need to. When I am at work and I am busy I forget about social media and get the tasks at hand completed.  It is almost a welcome relief to turn off the noise. 

I read online, where someone proclaimed 2011 as the year of social media.  I also read where “experts”, have determined that Facebook is harmful to the well being of my children, and that I should not allow them to use that service.  I must be a bad parent because both of my children have been on Facebook for years.  In our household broadband Internet connectivity is a necessity and not just a want.  Katy and I both attend online classes for two different universities and as an I.T. professional I need to have access to VPN and the work network so I can do support work and pay the bills.  I could lose cable television tomorrow and I would not shed  a tear.  Losing the Internet connection would cause problems. 

I feel like Katy and I are fairly tech savvy, and we are aware of the dangers of being connected to the Net.  I told Katy the other day that I wish that Justin and Kristina were not so addicted to Facebook, but then I look in the mirror and realize, that they must get it from me.  Maybe it is a genetic code thing?  One of the positives of my children being online so much is that they are sitting at home where I know they are safe.  What would they be doing without Internet connectivity?

Maybe they would be out in the world hanging with their friends, and having even more opportunity to get into other kinds of trouble.  I believe that our teenagers socialize just as much online as their adult parents.  I am not sure where the shift happened.  At some point society withdrew within itself and now it is safer to talk to strangers around the globe instead of talking to the neighbor next door.

In the midst of the constant social media noise I find myself looking for a balance that will help me to be socially active online, but enable me to turn the noise off, and find an inner peace and tranquility. When I get home from work I force myself to leave the iPad and laptop off so I can sit down and watch the idiot box and eat supper.  Again, I am always having to be entertained with some sort of visual stimulation.  Maybe I am on to something here. 

How much visual stimulation is too much?  The other day when I was in Dallas Texas, I ran out of minutes on ATT broadband service for the iPad.  I found myself with a cup of coffee in hand and walked outside to get some air.  When I walked to the front yard there was a cool breeze blowing through the trees.  I sat down in a lawn chair and the coffee cup in my hand.  It was nice to disconnect and just sit there enjoying the sounds of nature and the cool breeze.

Do you struggle with being connected to social media and e-mail?  How do you disconnect from it all, and find peace and tranquility?  Do you think we need to start a support group for those of us that are too connected?  How would you advertise that support group?  How much is too much?  

Share this:

Ask me if I feel like a mental midget next to my “brainiac”wife.  I do not have a degree yet, and she is working on her second Masters degree.  Like I said, she has worked hard to get where she is today.  When she successfully passes the state board exam, she will be allowed to teach Special Education classes in South Carolina.  We are hoping that this will fulfill her dream of being a full time teacher, working with children with special needs,but will also bring in some extra income to our budget. 

The trip was relatively uneventful until we got to mile marker 125 when I-26 West bound came to a halt.  It took us 90 minutes to make it to mile marker 122 and then we crept in to Columbia doing about 45 mph. 

Once we got into Columbia and traffic was at a crawl it gave me the opportunity to whip out the iPad and fire up MotionX GPS software.  I searched for the address for Days Inn and it gave me two choices.  Thinking I had the correct address I chose the first one and clicked the navigate button.  We were off to the races, which took us to a very nice private community that had two streets with the exact same street address, and no Days Inn.  Katy looked at me when we turned into the gated community, and told me that she thought the GPS was taking us for a spin.  Come to find out Katy was right and I did not search for the location correctly.  I stopped and searched for the Days Inn first and then verified the address.  I was supposed to be in West Columbia, not Columbia.  It is nice to have a technology tool but it is equally important to know how to use it. 

When I woke up this morning I logged on to Wyndham Rewards website and booked a room for the night at Days Inn.  I chose this hotel because it has free Wi-Fi, an exercise room and pool.  While I was checking in I inquired about the pool and I was told that the pool is out of order.  They found a leak in the pool and had to drain it.  The pool is buried in the ground and is made of concrete. If the thing is buried in the ground and it springs a leak how do they know?  I guess the water comes to the top?  My hopes for some swimming vaporized right along with the water that is no longer there.

The only reason we decided to stay is because the free Wi-Fi does work and we are very close to the testing site.  We figure we can endure no pool for one night.  I went by the exercise room and found out that it has one stationary bike and one treadmill.  If more than two people decide to use the equipment someone will have to draw a straw.  From the looks of the equipment I bet that it has not been used in quite some time. 

Have you ever checked in to a hotel and then when you get to the room you find yourself going HMMMMMMM…. ?

Share this:

While we were eating Katy told me “there must be an app for that” on your iPad.  When we stopped at the Murphy’s gas station in Columbia we saw an advertisement for their Murphy’s gas station locator app for iPad.  I think that is what reminded Katy to tell me this.  I downloaded an app called MotionX GPS for iPad.  The price for the app is 2.99 and there are several other apps on the iTunes store that cost 40.00 and 50.00 as well.  I figured I would try the 2.99 app first and see if I like it.  I downloaded it and after about 10 min of fiddling with it I was tracking our way to the Wingate by Wyndham hotel without a problem. 

This is the GPS location screen that gives you the address, latitude, longitude and your GPS strength levels.

This screen is a Map screen that shows you your location with a yellow triangle with headlights shining out in front of your location. 

If you are a former Boy Scout and you know how to use a compass this app has one for you.  It works nicely too.

This screen shows you step by step instructions both visually and by voice commands.  When we arrived at our destination the female voice did not announce “you have arrived at your destination” with as much vigor as some GPS devices do.  I think they need to put  a little more emotion and excitement into those voices.  LOL.

Share this:

This story comes to you from the Internet Patrol and should be an eye opener for parents. If you are the parent of a teenager there is a good chance that they are much more computer literate than you are. Check your home computer or the computer that your children use and see if they have a “torrents” client loaded. If they do that means that they are probably are downloading “pirated” software or videos. Up until today I had never heard of PTHC and I am glad that Anne at the Internet Patrol brought it to our attention. I printed this out and handed it to both of my teenagers and warned them about searching for that query for any reason on our home computers.

Share this:

I became helplessly addicted to Stumbledupon last night thanks to one of my IRC buddies and this is one of many resources that I “stumbled upon” last night. This is pretty nice if you ask me.

Share this:

I have been a part of the Google Wave beta every since last year and I am glad that Google is finally rolling out the changes that are outlined in the article above. I still believe that Google Wave is a long way from something that the masses will be able to use productively on a daily basis. I think it is a good tool for collaboration among people who are in different cities or a different part of the world. I guess the thing that sets Google Wave apart from the other products is that you can collaborate in real time while others are adding or changing the content of a wave. Other than that feature I really do not see a compelling reason to use that vs other products that are already tried and true.

Share this:

I have to tell you that I do not believe that there are many alternatives to the iPad. I am not an Apple fan boy but I can tell you that their products are solid and their customer service is stellar from what I have heard over the last 10 years. Yes, you pay for the Apple name but the hardware works. Katy and I have been contemplating an iPad and we might even wind up getting one this year. I see that the 3G model is now out which is nice. I probably would not NEED 3G but I can see where that would be nice to have. I can also see some practical uses for the iPad where it is not so practical to lug around a 3 or 4lb laptop.

Share this:

I must admit that I am just as guilty as the next mobile/smart phone user. I have a habit of texting and taking pictures with my crackberry while I am in the car driving down the road. Most of the time I am just reading incoming e-mails because it is a work crackberry and someone is always hollering for my assistance with a technology problem. Nevertheless I do need to get better with NOT doing this because I know that I am increasing my chances of having a smash em up bang bang incident. Several months ago while I was in Mt Pleasant I almost took out a car parts delivery driver who was making a right turn into an auto part store. One moment I was looking at him making a right turn and thought, oh he is turning I have a few seconds to look at my crackberry. I looked up and had one millisecond to swerve to the right and just miss the back end of this small pickup truck who was slowly turning into the driveway. I have no idea what happened but I barely missed him. That sort of got my attention so when I am in heavy traffic I absolutely do not pay attention to my crackberry.

Share this:

10 Simple Google Search Tricks – NYTimes.com.

Share this: