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3D-Me PleaseOctober 22

‘Tis the season as they say. No, not THAT season - I mean it’s Fall. Along with Fall comes the realization that many of my clothes from last year are worn out and need to be replaced. Next comes the ultimate chore – clothes shopping. I hate shopping. No, I mean I REALLY hate clothes shopping.

Men have no idea what it’s like trying to figure out what size each item is (which varies by store, as well as season, not to mention what is “in”), they have the pleasure of just dealing with measurements. I know I wear a variety of sizes between not only the number size, but then the style, and let’s not forget height. The definition of Petite by clothing manufactures is shorter than 5’3.” That’s just great for me because I am 5’3” which means a good part of the time Petite clothing is too short for me and “regular” sizes are too long. Next there is the option between Misses, Women’s, and Juniors. So you see, the variables expand at an exponential rate, and all I want to do is get what I need and move on, not try on six different versions of one item.

Is this just a normal rant? NO! You may have noticed before that I tag some blog entries with “Feature Requests” and that’s what this is semi-rant is about. I would love to see the following…

I would like to go into a local store and have myself scanned. Think of it as an x-ray, or perhaps something along t

Baby Boomers, Car Insurance, Geeks & GamersOctober 4

Aging issues and discussions are often avoided as they are seen as depressing, perhaps rude (who wants to acknowledge they are aging?) and just not very fun to talk about. Recently my family was facing some “end-of-life” decisions as my grandmother’s health declined at such a rapid pace that the entire family was discussing how to handle “things.” She said her goodbye’s and requested that all of her medications be stopped, her IV discontinued, and just wanted to be let go. Of course being my grandmother (of incredibly strong will), that didn’t really stop anything at all and she is doing quite well now, months later, and will be around for years to come. That aside, it brought up a lot of delicate discussions. Hard to believe since this woman is nearing 90…

When do we discuss aging? If we don’t discuss it in the early years along with proactive, preventative measures, what can we possibly discuss in our elder years other than reactive? I remember my grandfather put up an enormous fight over giving up his car keys, and later was seen driving his motor scooter down the street with a flash light tied the front… But again, I digress.

Is anything being done to improve “quality of life” of the elder community BEFORE they get to a stage where “matters need to be discussed?”

I came across some news this past week about a program that is being piloted to allow older drivers reduced car insurance.

Join the Evil League of Evil – Apply Now!September 27

Tired of your day job? Not enough credit for the heroic work you accomplish? No need to wait for a mid-life crisis! Bad Horse is here for you and just what you need to spice things up a bit.

Take a chance. Be brave. Be evil. Apply to the Evil League of Evil and don’t tell your co-workers! This is your chance to take a stand against the oppression of Heroes and everything they represent.

Need to refresh your memory (or catch up on what all this Evil speak is about)? You can view Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog for free on Hulu.

Once you apply, you are welcome to add a link to your video application in the comments of this post. Techafina will be proud to help promote your application!

Remember… “make the Bad Horse gleeful, or he’ll make you his mare!”

How to Properly Celebrate Talk Like a Pirate DaySeptember 15

Thousands of people are under the misconception that the Holiday Season begins with  Halloween. Of course, those same people may be baffled when their family, friends, and colleagues color their speech with odd sayings on September 19th every year.

Today, I’m going to set the record straight regarding the REAL kickoff to the Holiday Season, as well as make sure YOU are ready to celebrate like true pirates!

To begin with the beginning, a history lesson is in order. If you have never heard of Talk Like a Pirate Day, the quick back story is this: two dudes slipped into pirate lingo one day and decided there was a need for worldwide holiday to enjoy such endeavors. Thus, a new holiday was born (all with a little a help from Dave Barry). If you’d the more detailed version, feel free to take a moment and learn how it all began. Of course, come back here to learn how to properly celebrate this auspicious holiday!

Now, how to celebrate! Be sure you are up to speed on all your pirate lingo. At the very least throw around an Arr or Avast and absolutely an Amatey! And don’t forget about Heave Ho, Jolly Roger (the pirate’s flag) and  Shiver

10 Resources to Improve Your BloggingSeptember 12

There are many reasons people start a blog; to share information, teach, have a voice in the community, provide a sounding board for feedback, journal, you name it – the reasons are endless.

Regardless of WHY you blog, one very important underlying goal that you may not be aware of, is to continue to improve as a blogger. That need is there every time you check your traffic statistics, ask for feedback to a particular post, or consider changing the elements that are present on your blog. In the back of your mind you are wondering if change is good, will it help bring readers, anger loyal readers, deter people from staying long enough to read, or worse yet – will it prevent comments.

It’s important to stay in touch with the vibe of the blogging community, know what people are looking for in a blog, and, how to deliver it.

To stay in the blogging loop, I subscribe to more sites than I can possibly keep up with, but that works to remind me that my goal is never-ending. So instead of a Weekly Review of on goings around the ‘Net from this past week, here are some of the tools from my blogging toolbox.

1. Daily Blog Tips - http://www.dailyblogtips.com/
2. Copyblogger - http://www.copyblogger.com/