Domestic Psychology

I still need professional media

// December 5th, 2008 // 2 Comments » // media, politics, technology

I don’t need newspapers. I do need the people-formerly-known-as-newspaper-writers. I need an online news source that gathers only the truth from rumors on blogs and provides an honest and accurate explanation of local news. I need someone to explain the what if we do and what if we don’t of proposed political amendments. More than anything else, I need to be able to *trust the professional media source.

I don’t need newspaper blogs that dangle raw meat in front of angry people because any hit is a good hit. Leave the carnival of crazy to blogs and have the dignity to be above it if you are a professional media source. I don’t need every news article link spamming me on Twitter. Twitter is a conversation and that means you are listening and interacting. If you have zero followers or only post links to your own site, you are missing out on what makes Twitter special. I have a feed reader to show me new articles as they are published. If you are doing real investigative journalism, e-mail the updates to subscribers.

I need to be able to access all my information via computers and cell phones. It’s portable, immediate and constantly updated. I don’t need a pile of newsprint. My dogs are already housebroken.

*I trust Newscoma. Wherever she goes, I will follow.

I like my bubble

// December 3rd, 2008 // 9 Comments » // holidays, media, people, politics, relatives, technology

As Thanksgiving dinner digested and the children wandered off until they heard the word dessert, newspapers became one of our many topics of conversation. My mother expressed displeasure in the local paper’s recent changes and my father scoffed at my suggestion that he was the last generation to rely on newspapers. Actually, he laughed at me in that condescending way that makes my skin crawl. “Most people don’t live in an isolated computer bubble.” He proceeded to defend his belief that newspapers are the primary news source for “regular” people. I promptly asked him when he first heard about the tragedy in Mumbai. He made a cranky remark about that area of the world and my mother’s eyes glazed over as she went to her happy place to avoid participation in this discussion. I pointlessly tried to talk about the immediate Mumbai conversations taking place over Twitter. Conversations about cases of almonds and dried fruit. Links to pictures of raw, harsh destruction. Flickr immediately upgrading someone’s account for free so that they could continue posting pictures. Pictures of clean-cut boys younger than my children with assault weapons in their hands. My words rang on deaf ears. Any doubts I may have had about the bubble that I live in were completely erased by the fact that I recognize that this world is very small and we are all too connected to deceive ourselves that we are any distance from any other country. I prefer my bubble of awareness to their bubble of, whatever you want to call it. The bubble of people who think computers are only for chain letters, memes, games and porn?

flabbergasted

// November 4th, 2008 // 5 Comments » // politics, technology, teenagers, TN

“But WHY are you supporting Obama? My parents said he ___.” “My parents said they didn’t know what the Charter Amendments were, so they just voted no.”

Half a dozen 15 to 17 year-old girls stayed here last night. They grilled me about politics. They were armed with misinformation but eager to discuss issues, ideas and opinions. Some of the things that they accepted as fact were ridiculously false. Teenagers may be plugged in, but there isn’t a lot of fact checking on MySpace and FaceBook. “Every time we ask our parents or teachers for an explanation they tell us they’re too busy.” These girls who will be voting in the next four years WANTED to talk politics. What about the facts they are overhearing from their parents? Are they getting all of their information from rumors and gossip? Were we all running on misinformation before we became engaged on the Internet? Is this level of disengagement from truth only in TN? During discussions about schools in TN, I hear over and over again that “It was good enuf fer me” and I have listened to this year’s campaigns insult intelligence. How long are we going to be the state that embraces a culture of the uneducated?

BlogHer DC Sponsors

// October 23rd, 2008 // 4 Comments » // blogging, blogher, shops, technology

In my previous life, I orchestrated an annual event at the zoo in May. The sponsors and exhibitors would give up a Saturday to the event. I always felt like they deserved more thanks than they were given since without them, the event would have been hollow. Instead of anything close to adequate praise, they had to put up with crazy, like the year an exhibitor brought miniature beach balls. Someone went all over the zoo, tossing the inflatable balls into every open animal pen. The zoo employees had to scramble to rescue the animals from the choking hazard and the beach ball exhibitor got scolded over and over again for not doing their TPS cover sheet bringing something dangerous to animals. I had to change the exhibitor contract from “no balloons” to “no inflatables” after that incident. The point of this long and winding explanation is that I always try to give some extra love to the under-appreciated people who contribute to events. So, I want to give a shout out to BlogHer sponsors:

Bill Me Later – This is exactly what it sounds like. Instead of having to enter your credit card information over and over again, you just enter it once at Bill Me Later and the charges from other online stores are all sent to one site. They were handing out nylon shopping bags that folded up into a teeny pouch. I stuck it into the glove box of the car for shopping at the drug store.

Commission Videos – Profit bloggers should take a peek at this site. I picked up a calculator for Noah and a notepad/pen/post-its combo for Doug.

Hooked on Phonics – I have never seen Hooked on Phonics anywhere but television commercials. They were giving away free workbooks at BlogHer and as someone who regularly buys workbooks, I have to agree that their books are really good quality. Bright colors, clear instructions and not a lot of pointless repetition. Amy and Evan got workbooks.

Leapfrog – Leapfrog was giving away stuffed animals, so I picked up one for Amy and one for Evan. They had a drawing to give away two of their new handheld games. The new didj is a step up from the Leapster and iQuest with its’ progress reports based on abilities mastered in the educational games. Sarah won a didj and gave it to Amy. Amy is absolutely in love with the didj. I just wish it came with an AC adapter.

LG – This popular booth was promoting their upcoming site for text illiterate parents. I suspect that most of the BlogHers have a pretty good handle on texting, but the site is a good idea for grandparents. “Sarah just sent me a text message and I don’t understand what it means.” LG was handing out laser pens with flash drives. I brought back one for Doug and one for Noah. After they both praised the size of the flash drive, I wished I had gotten one for myself.

PBS – The network which hosts Evan’s beloved Curious George was wisely promoting PBS Engage. Visit the site and collect some new blogs to follow, learn about upcoming live chats and watch videos. I found three new reads there to add to my daily feed. They were also handing out UT orange rubber ducks, so Evan, Amy and Noah got ducks.

Playtex – This incredibly brave crew did video interviews with the over-caffeinated BlogHers, except me, because I have Dr. Girlfriend’s voice. They had baby bottles at their table and I flabbergasted them when I said my five children skipped bottles. Then, I insulted them when I pointed out that they would have trouble convincing moms of product safety as long as it is stamped ‘Made in China’ on the bottom. I’m sorry Playtex. I’m sure your product is awesome. Maybe next year you’ll distribute something different.

Saturn – Who generously provided our transportation from Knoxville to DC and the hybrid VUE which I want to talk about this weekend. They had nylon bags, so Noah got a new bag for toting around airsoft pellets and other boy treasures.

Shine – Shine is a Yahoo site that is like an interactive women’s magazine. They should partner with salons and let women click the site instead of flipping through magazines. The only treasure I kept for myself from BlogHer was the soft, fuzzy Shine slippers. Sarah liked hers so much that she wore them the entire day of BlogHer. She tried to wear them out to dinner that night, but wasn’t stealth enough.

Springpad – A clever online notebook application that I recommend for its’ simplicity. I am trying it out as a holiday planner. So far, it is much better than the multiple lists and scribbles that I have relied on in the past.

If I have forgotten anyone, let me know and I will add them. Their swag made the children almost forgive me for leaving town without them for three days. Almost.

technical issues

// October 2nd, 2008 // No Comments » // technology

I’m having computer issues today. I won’t describe the symptoms, but I have a good idea what is causing some of the problems. One solution would be to install a toaster crumb tray opening on the underside of my keyboard. Another solution would be to move all the dry goods from the cabinet directly over the keyboard. Either way, no post today.

Matthew Broderick defense

// September 25th, 2008 // 3 Comments » // movies, people, technology, teenagers

I won’t argue that breaking into someone’s e-mail isn’t wrong. I do think that anyone who saw War Games in the theater is a hypocrite if they don’t cut the teen who (allegedly) did this some slack. Matthew Broderick’s character was cool and every kid with a computer wanted to see if they could do any of the things that they saw in that movie. At the end of the movie, he didn’t get arrested. He was a hero. Hackers may have been conceded that computer hacks aren’t all harmless, but it still made it look like fun to try. The teens in hackers got arrested and I’m sure they were in trouble even after they saved the oceans. They just weren’t Mathew Broderick. Ferris Bueller was a timeless hero. “The sportos, the motorheads, geeks, sluts, bloods, waistoids, dweebies, dickheads – they all adore him. They think he’s a righteous dude.” Ferris didn’t just hack the school computers. He broke laws all over the city of Chicago. If anyone else did the things that Ferris did, they AND their parents would be arrested and the blogosphere (yes, I used that word) would crucify them. Matthew Broderick gets away with it. The Matthew Broderick defense should be in legal books as a viable defense for teenage foolishness.

I’m not a CodeStocker

// August 11th, 2008 // 3 Comments » // blogging, knoxblog, local, me, people, technology

Doug spent Friday night and all of Saturday in a community of his geeky peers at CodeStock. He invited me to go to the “after” party on Saturday night. I was so eager to get out of the house that I jumped at the chance. He neglected to mention that most of the CodeStock people were not from Knoxville and didn’t have their significant others or children with them. I have been involved with computers since the 80s. I like to think that I have a basic grasp of the language and culture of this particular tribe even if I am not a member. After you took one year of a new language, did you stomp up to someone who spoke it natively and say something like a caveman? Something like, “Me name Cathy.” You know how you felt when their eyes rolled back in their head and they walked away? That’s what my Saturday night was like. Doug went to check out the poker game (that was being played with Silverlight poker chips) and a CodeStockian walked up to introduce himself. As soon as the question about which session I attended was answered with an “I wasn’t there,” he started talking to me like a childless person speaks to a child. “Do you know what a computer is?” “Well, I co-moderate a group site about local school issues and I’ve been blogging for more than 6 years.” “Aww, that’s so cute.” He patted me on the head and wandered back to his gang of bespectacled thugs. I slithered over to the unlit driveway and hid in the shadows with the cats. Eventually, another outsider joined me and we spoke my native tongue, mental health issues. I felt guilty about keeping her from the others and made a few more attempts to interact with the people who sounded like Charlie Brown’s teacher. “Mwa-mwa-mwa-asp-mwa-mwa.” Epic fail. I didn’t even get good pictures of the evening. I tried using the flash once and they all screamed, “It burns us” as they scurried under the furniture. I quit using the flash, lest it burn their delicate, paste-colored flesh. I think that next year, Doug should attend CodeStock while I find something more my speed. Maybe I’ll sit around with an abacus or something.

when technology fails

// July 29th, 2008 // No Comments » // local, technology

Grandaddy: “I’m stuck on Northshore. Can you look up a way around the roadblock?”
Me: “No. That roadblock took down our Internet.”
Grandaddy: “Don’t you have a map?”
Me: “Ummmm.”

primitive communication

// July 26th, 2008 // 3 Comments » // school, technology

To try and convince me that Tommy really is going away to college, yesterday we attended Freshman Orientation and registered Tommy for classes. The teenagers went one direction and the parents went another. I don’t know what Tommy’s orientation was like, but the parents basically go from one Q&A session to another. Someone from every department would give a 3 minute “everything will be okay” speech and then parents would interrogate the school official. One of our very first speakers bragged about the school’s early warning system that sends out text messages and e-mails when the campus has a crisis of any kind. Since we were sitting in a room with zero Internet access, I looked at my phone. No signal. For the rest of the 8 hour orientation, I was distracted by the bars on my cell phone. I walked in and out of rooms, up and down hallways and stuck my cell phone gripping hand out of windows and doorways. The only time I went above two bars was outside the buildings. WiFi is non-existent on the campus and cell phone coverage is terrible. How much good is their system really going to do anyone? I am leaving my child in the middle of nowhere with archaic technology. Osama bin Laden probably has faster communication in his cave than my son will have in the TN/KY mountains. I don’t care how tiny it is, all Universities need to have wireless options. Did I mention that using Outlook is forbidden on campus? Or that you MUST use Microsoft Office 2007 (no student discount available), but be sure to bring proof that you own that license? Or that P2P is illegal on campus? Also, the campus IT head discourages the use of Macs since they don’t know nothin’ ’bout them Macs. It’s like we’re sending our child to learn dinosaur veterinary medicine on Isla Nublar.