April 6th, 2006 by Blythe
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I am writing this entry from the banks of the Pegnitz River, at the edge of the Hauptmarkt in the center of Nurnberg. I am gazing at a centuries-old bridge; well, it was centuries-old until it was destroyed sixty or so years ago during the bombing that flattened most of central Nurnberg. It was then rebuilt with reclaimed stone, during the rebirth of a decimated city. Within eyeshot are Tudor buildings, stone statues, and some significant architectural treasures.
I’m also drinking a decaf white chocolate mocha. At Starbucks. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
April 5th, 2006 by Blythe
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Back when I used to go to summer camp (I wish I could still go to summer camp, but that’s a topic for another post), I lived for mail call. My camp was only a week long, so I think my mom actually had to mail stuff to me before I even left home, but she always came through with at least one care package. She would fill it will all kinds of goodies like Pop Tarts and Twizzlers and mini candy bars that she knew were my favorite things. Besides the killer sugar high that I am sure drove my camp counselor up the wall, the package gave me a reminder that someone, somewhere, was thinking of me.
Yesterday, when the parcel delivery guy buzzed my doorbell, I assumed he was contacting me because he wanted me to sign for a neighbor’s package. I couldn’t tell for sure, of course, because I still haven’t learned enough German to speak to people without hand gestures, and he was talking to me through my building’s intercom system. When I met him in the stairwell, he handed over a package addressed to me! Hooray! And when I ripped it open, I found this adorable purse, knitted by my frighteningly talented friend, Sandi. Aren’t you jealous? It’s even personalized. I was also lucky enough to receive a package full of Peeps from my awesome friend Daniela last week. I wish I could post a photo of them, but they are long gone. My mother-in-law came through with some Girl Scout cookies a couple of weeks ago, and my mom has been sending envelopes full of American gossip magazines.
As much as I love the internet, I won’t give up on snail mail. I have the feeling some frosted strawberry Pop Tarts might be on their way.
April 4th, 2006 by Blythe
I’m learning to embrace my inner geek.
Some readers may have sensed The Geek’s presence long ago when I begged for an Atari because the boys in the neighborhood all had them. And my former coworkers got tired of hearing about how every good idea is in search of its own web page. And I did give up cable television in favor of spending our family’s entertainment dollars on high-speed internet service. But I always thought of myself as more of a geek-appreciator.
Don’t get me wrong, I have not suddenly become fluent in twelve programming languages. However, I’ve recently found the time(!) and the bandwidth to do a bunch of exploration into the further reaches of the Web. I guess you could call me an amateur geek. And I’ve found a bunch of groovy stuff I am dying to share.
If you’re geekier than I am (hard to imagine, I know), you already know about this stuff, so just surf on past. If not, here are some of my favorite sites and services that you might not have had the time to learn about yet. They’re all free of charge, useful to geeks and non-geeks alike, and pretty easy to use.
Keep on clickin! (Yeah, that’s the Inner Geek’s motto. Humor her.)
del.icio.us
If you ever use more than one computer – work and home, for example – this one’s for you. It saves all your bookmarks and allows you to easily tag and categorize newly-discovered sites. So, when you are using the computer in your NYC hotel’s business center and can’t remember the url for your favorite Big Apple restaurant review site, just log on to your del.icio.us. For those of us who can’t even remember our own phone numbers (who? me?), let alone some long url, it’s the best thing since speed dial. Also, it has cool sharing capabilities, so you can check out the most popular sites tagged by users, or share your tagged sites with your buddies.
Pandora
When I’m sick of my iTunes shuffle feature (I love those Ricky Gervais podcasts but they really break my rhythm when following a good New Order tune), I head to Pandora. It asks you for your favorite music, then plays a bunch of songs for you that it deems similar. What a great way to get turned on to some new music! And, no downloading or uploading or extra software required.
Flickr
So I’ve already told you about Flickr, and there’s a big link to my Flickr photos on the sidebar. But it’s such a great way to share photos in an interactive way – comments! notes! – and to spend (waste?) time enjoying others’ photos. Click on the “most interesting” link to see the pix that users deemed most, well, interesting.
My Pyramid
I eat popcorn as a meal at least twice a week. With butter. My eating habits aren’t always the best, and I find myself sitting on the couch with my vanilla Coke wondering why I’m both hungry and bloated at the same time. My Pyramid tracker helps me pay attention to whether or not I am getting a vaguely balanced diet, and how it’s stacking up to my physical activity. The site is a little clunky, but I like it because it’s not a “diet” site, it just helps me pay closer attention to what I eat.
Kayak
Another travel site to add to your favorites. The special thing about this one is that it searches a bunch of other travel sites and finds the best deals. It’s the first one I’ve found that doesn’t drive me crazy by popping up too many extra windows or sending me through a maze just to find the fare it allegedly located.
Blogger
Duh. Even if you don’t want to write long boring stories about taking your driver’s test, a blog can be a good way to keep in touch with friends and family, market your business, or, if you’re a writer, keep your resolution to write every day.
I’m always on the lookout for cool new stuff on the web, so if you find a good site you like, send it along (or – better yet – post a comment below). Thanks for supporting your local geek-in-training.
April 3rd, 2006 by Blythe
To: The numerous people who found this blog by Googling “Rock Me Like A Hurricane.”
You Rock. The Scorpions kick a%@. And you can probably find what you’re looking for here. Though if you were the one who searched “rock me mama like a hurricane” you might be looking for something else?
I hope the person who found me by searching “hair band downloads” will let me know if they found some.
And if you are the one who was looking for “David Hasselhoff video with dachshund,” I hope you enjoyed my link. I’m always happy to be of service.
