Category Archives: Gadgets

I downloaded the new software after playing with my coworker’s new iphone. It isn’t the same as getting a new and shiny one, but it is close enough. For the most part, it looks pretty nifty. They allow for more apps, voice recorder, etc… However, I am getting really annoyed at how the WordPress app is not allowing me to upload pictures to my server.

REALLY ANNOYING! It’s been my application of choice, being the lazy blogger that I am.

After reading an entry about customizing twitter layouts at Viget Labs, I thought she made a good point about why people want to personalize their page.

I wanted it to tell people where else they could find me. I’m not a marketer trying to get 1,000 followers so I can spam them with crap and get more site traffic… I just want the small group I do have to be able to follow me elsewhere…

Whether you just add a tiled background or delve deeper and get super creative with it, customizing your Twitter background makes you look more legit. So as more and more spammers show up on Twitter, it makes sense to spend a few minutes distinguishing yourself from the crowd.

Which is a very good point. Twitter has tons of spammers now, so I thought “why not?”

Like I mentioned yesterday, my 12″ powerbook doesn’t allow for much room on the screen. This gets in the way of any customization the article described. Look at how this looks:

AND this is after maximizing the browser. The article’s author’s twitter page also appears broken on my screen. I do realize that other people have larger screens. Still, it doesn’t look very good to me. I’ll reserve judgment until I see it at work.

Anyway, I have way too many twitter accounts. I haven’t figured out exactly what I want it all to do. I have the same issue with domain names – I buy too many than I know what to do with. I think I have the bag lady hoarding instincts.

In other news, my boss twitters and I recently added him. I’ve been reluctant, because his twitter account is more related to our job than mine. Oh well. It’s all good. He’s the marketing guru at our job and is really getting into the social networking phenomena.

My boss was flexing his marketing muscles with another co-worker and they were both talking about popping up in google searches. I try to stay on the d/l on the interwebs. I mention this and they thought I was being overly paranoid. I specifically made it so that this page wouldn’t come up when my name was googled. If you know me in real life, you probably know about this site. However, I don’t want just anyone to be able to stalk me around here. There are some things I am wary of, not because I have anything really big to hide, but because there are a lot of little things on the periphery when you have been blogging for around 10 years.

In addition, this guy HogWild is “following” me and I finally went over to his twitter account to see who he was. He has a comic strip that is pretty hilarious.

I couldn’t sleep. It is 5am and I cannot sleep. I was just thinking, and of course this thinking leads to finances.

I have a job, but my finances are less than ideal. In short, I feel that I am living above my means when considering how much I am saving. Of course for the first few paychecks, I did splurge after having months of semi-good behavior.

I dislike living the high-life paycheck to paycheck. Also, working in the asset protection and building environment, I would eventually like to have some assets to invest.

I wasn’t cushy by any means before I quit my last job, but I did have the provisions for a few months of self-sufficiency, a few thousand squirreled away. However, I did do something awfully stupid and went on vacation during the summer.

Times like this, when I am up at almost the crack of dawn, I like to read livejournal debt blogs to experience a little bit of Schadenfreude. Of course, it isn’t all kittens and bubbles. I actually did not know how dangerous Student Loans can be when defaulted. Everyone seems to say, “student loans are better than any other loans,” but that isn’t the case. Mortgages, at least are not negative loans, but student loans when they are defaulted are scary creatures, perhaps just as scary as Credit Cards.

Anyway, I’ve started to use mint.com to track my student loans, credit cards, checking, savings, and stocks. After everything factored in, my net worth is in the negatives… ha ha ha… I will say that this is because of my lack of savings and my student loans. They actually track all my spending out of my checking and organizes them depending on the institution. You can set up budgets and see how much you actually spend on bars, food, shopping, and paying bills.

In other news, I don’t know my credit score. I have seen my report, but I CANNOT find a single source that offers it one time for free (unless I sign up for something with a credit card, which seems a bit counter intuitive). I think legally they are only required to show you your report and not your credit score, huh?

I finally received my new digital camera in the mail today.

(preparing the piano.. aka “did I leave my panties here last night?”)

Why does it seem like whenever I get an electronic device on the internet, it is bulky and huge. You know, like that brick of a phone I used to lug around.

It’s quite sensitive with tons of auto controls of every possible situation, museums (no flash, sound, etc..), snow, parties, bukkake parties… the works. I dislike that it doesn’t have many manual controls.

It’s funny. I remember with my Pentax camera, it was love at first sight. the canon Elph that I had before was quite comfortable in my hands, also. This one is taking some time. I like shooting at ISO 400 on manual for the most part. Otherwise, I haven’t found the equivalent of messing with the white balance, like I liked doing with my last one. (My poor old digital camera is held together by scotch tape. Every time I recharge the batteries, I replace the tape.)

My boyfriend has a Fujifilm camera that is cute enough and compact, but shoots at too high of an ISO. I am not impressed with the auto settings of Fuji cameras.

I need to experiment with ways of capturing indoor light better.

I am trying to incorporate an interesting “photo of the day” here. Keep a look out!