Holiday Insanity

I am certainly not an exception. Who am I to think I would escape the frenzied pace at this time of year? It was more frenzied than I could have ever imagined leading up to and through this 2008 holiday season. I alluded to some of this insanity in my last post. Now I’m going to blog about it.

Has it got any sports in it?

Are you kidding? Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles…

Yes, it’s all true, except for the fencing, torture, and revenge.

I’ve Been Tagged Again

Down To Earth Mama has tagged me again, hoping to uncover more of what she calls an enigma. The last time she tagged me, I didn’t bite. This time, I must come through.

“Oh blogger, will you post a photo?”

As you wish.

The punk-ass that she is, she tagged me after I just spent 20 hours on a Greyhound bus!

No, this isn’t the first photo I took. Shooting into a mirror is tricky.  However, this photo is completely unedited except for resizing. I didn’t even fix the white balance or Photoshop out the convenient carrying handle attached to my head.

Here are the rules….

1) Take a picture of yourself right NOW!
2) DON’T change your clothes, DON’T fix your hair… Just take a picture.
3) Post that picture with NO editing.
4) Post these instruction with your picture.
5)Tag 10 8 people to do this..

I don’t want to tag 10 people either. That’s a LOT, unless you’re über-popular like Busy Dad. I see that he’s already been tagged by Joe.

Dad of Divas

Building Camelot

Buddha Belle

Mom is Just a Nickname

Dad’s Workbench

Israeli Mom

Dad Thing

21st Century Parenting

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Where have I been?

It’s a long story worthy of more attention than the time I can give it right now. The past couple months have been pretty crazy here. Renee has posted a quick note on her blog about it.

We lost two cats this year. Portnoy left us in July. James is now chasing the laser pointer in kitty heaven.

I spend a fair amount of time crafting posts. Any spare time and energy I have must be devoted to handling my personal affairs right now. You can still catch up with me on Facebook and Twitter.

I love technology and technology loves me. I’m the guy who walks in the room and the computer refuses to do the thing that made you call tech support in the first place. There are more computers than people in my house. I’ve been online longer than most MySpace users have been alive. You would think I have some sort of crazy smart phone, but I don’t. I use a very basic Samsung M300. It’s the free phone you get when you sign up.

Going Mobile

Can you effectively stay connected to social media with a basic cell phone and a generous (unlimited) text messaging plan? Facebook and Twitter have the functionality, but is it still cool, interesting, fun, and effective on a basic phone with a tiny screen and no QWERTY keypad? I’ve set up mobile access to my Facebook and Twitter accounts. Follow me and find out how effective it is.

Why am I doing this? Being a dad takes a lot of my time. My computer time is limited. I’m looking for the pebbles and the grains of sand to squeeze between the boulders. Using public transit means waiting and sitting. When I don’t feel like listening to music or watching a video podcast, I can send tweets and check in with Facebook.

Facebook Text Messaging Options

Send Text to 32665 (FBOOK)

You don’t even have to type in your friend’s full name to send a message, get profile info, poke, write on their wall. You can type just enough to uniquely identify that person. For example, if I wanted to send a msg to Ernesto Brown, I can just enter “msg ernesto b hey, what’s up brownie?”

You can also set up which notifications go to your phone. Currently, I have messages, pokes, and status updates of a few select friends going to my phone.

Twitter Commands

Send texts to 40404

The offical Twitter Commands can be found in their help pages. Twitter is well-suited for text messaging since your tweets need to be 140 characters or less. You definitely want to fine-tune which events trigger a notification. You will get a LOT of text messages if you don’t pare it down to essential information. I only have direct messages going to my phone for now.

A New Paradigm

Accessing email on my phone is an exercise in frustration, but so far, the mobile versions of Twitter and Facebook have been good to me. If you really need to get in touch with me, sending me messages through Facebook and/or Twitter is, in some cases, more effective than calling, emailing, or instant messaging me.

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Disclosure: I am registered as an Independent and I do not officially endorse any particular candidates or advocate for any issues.

People turned out in record numbers to vote early. There were reports of people waiting in line for 4 or more hours. For the last Presidential election, I chose to vote early and wait in line. This time, I requested an absentee ballot and cast my vote in the comfort of my own home. Having my computer beside me allowed me to make even more informed decisions as I filled out the ballot.

The first time I ever voted, I did so out of a sense of obligation. Now I do it because it really does make a difference. Now that I have children to care for, voting becomes even more important to me.

You may feel like your single vote won’t sway the results, but it’s you and like-minded people turning out who make a difference. At every election, there are local issues on the ballot. There are issues on every ballot at the state, county, congressional district, and city levels. As you drill down further, your vote matters even more.

My name is Elliott Kim and I approve this message.

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