Where A News Junkie Goes During Social Media Blackout

I'm a fan of sites that automatically refresh. It means I don't have to worry I missed something because I hadn't refreshed in the last 5 seconds.

This social media break is going to kill me. Well, it was until I got to today: Monday. Today is the day I get my first Skimm since Friday. 

I signed up for the free service earlier this year and have found it's an easy way to keep up with non-local news. Granted, I only receive one email a day but it's enough since it preps me for what to expect after I finish consuming it along with my first cuppa caffeine.

If you want to check it out for yourself, use this link as they've teamed up with FEED who will donate a meal to a child for every click through.

Autumn Break

I'm on day 2 of no Facebook and Twitter. I will admit I'm feeling a little twitchy. I figured at least I could blog given how many times I've picked up my cell and stared at it in frustration.

Why am I off social media? I needed a break from the endless negativity that ratcheted up after the elections. I also needed a break from news in general. Aside from social media being a time suck, I also found it affecting my mood and productivity.

I figured a two and a half week break would be a good timeframe since I'm also on vacation from work. I'm still looking at Instagram and have the ability to tweet my blog posts on Twitter courtesy of a Chrome app that allows me to tweet from the address line. Gone, but not for good!

Selling Bridges and The Like...

No new jokes-on-you this year, but if you want to know all the fun I've had in the past on this date, check out posts from the following years. The 2008 post really got some people going while my parents thought we were actually moving after they read the 2011 post:

2015
2011
2008
2003

Carpool Karoke

My latest obsession/spirit animal is James Corden and his Carpool Karaoke sketches. Here's the latest one with Sia:

If it wasn't for YouTube, I'd never get to see this kind of fun stuff that comes out of Late Night TV. My night owl tendencies I had as a baby went dormant at some point and 10pm is my bedtime lately.

Bloggery (a repost)

I wrote this on another site:

Perhaps I'm too old for the reveal-all-confessional type of blogging but reading claw marks lately makes me want to start blogging again to at least expand upon the thoughts I wouldn't otherwise write out in a Facebook post or vague tweet.
 A couple of years ago, I took the month of February off from Facebook under the premise that the time I wasn't wasting on Facebook could be channeled into other things. I blogged quite a bit, I read a few books, got out a little, and generally tried to avoid looking at anything on there. It wasn't perfect, by far. A fair amount of friends still use Facebook to communicate about social events and general happenings, so I was out of the loop on all of that, thus defeating part of my goal to be in better touch with hanging out with them. Weird how that shit works.
 Ultimately, I think I want more conversation. The introvert in me loves social media because it allows me form a complete thought and reply to what I'm reading. In the early days, blogging allowed me to write long essays of my thoughts. Now? I share links and a couple lines of dialogue. It's not much different than my in-person interactions. The obvious problem is whether anyone actually wants to listen or read and if they have to patience to even interact in a thoughtful way in response. Maybe I don't give people enough credit.
 So going back around to my first paragraph, I would like to blog more but I just don't know if I can. I don't have anonymity on my current blog. This post is friends-only public. I don't necessarily enjoy the idea of having to start a new blog from scratch to try to have a certain kind of anonymity but there are a lot of things I wouldn't necessarily feel comfortable talking about on my current blog. I don't need to jeopardize my job or relationships. Not that I am doing horrible things or plan to say horrible things, but when you live in a small city you do have to be careful who you target if you want to spout off about something. Self-censorship is a real, daily occupation.

My best friend had this to say when I debated about whether to just post from here or start a new blog and ohmygodwhatifIoffendanyone,

"you're a big girl now
 a real, grown-up woman with her own thoughts and opinions
 you're going to be 40 this year, for crying out loud"

So that's that. Stay tuned...

28 Days Later

Here I am at the end of 28 days away from Facebook. What have I been up to?

Books I've Read:
Morrissey: Autobiography (UK Edition)
Why Can't I Be You - Allie Larkin
Eleanor & Park - Rainbow Rowell
Summer In A Glass: The Coming of Age of Winemaking in the Finger Lakes - Evan Dawson

Movies I've Seen:
The Monuments Men
The Way Way Back

Blog Entries I've Written = 29

Pounds Lost = 2

Exercise Classes Attended = 8 (guessing at this since I only started recording on Feb 18th)

Nights Spent Snuggling on the Coach with Sammy & McKinley while watching many episodes of Poirot on Netflix = Too numerous to count

Outings Out Into the Cold to See Friends Socially That Weren't Connected to Work/Boards/Organizational Events = 3

Phone Calls to Parents = Three. One 2-hour call and one 1.5-hour call and one 40-minute call.

New Beers/Ciders Imbibed = 7
Southern Tier Brewing - 2XOne
Southern Tier Brewing - Grand Arbor
Otter Creek Brewing - Citra Mantra
Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits - Tongue Buckler
Stella Artois - Cidre
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery - 75 Minute IPA
Lagunitas Brewing Company - A Little Sumpin' Wild Ale

Musical Rehearsals Attended - 2. Will increase exponentially in the next week

Paczkis Consumed Prior to Fat Tuesday - One solitary over-filled, seemingly double-glazed wonder

Tickets Purchased To See Morrissey In Concert at Artpark: - 3. One for me and 2 for my cousin and his friend.

Buffalo Sabres Traded: Two

Facebook-Free Month - A Two-Week Update

As of yesterday, I had gone somewhat Facebook-Free for two weeks. The "somewhat" is a bone of contention for me because I still have to log in to do updates to the work Facebook page. In fact, not even a week into my month-long hiatus I got an email full of pictures from my boss asking if they could be uploaded to the work page.

Logging in means there are glances at the top item in my newsfeed. Other times, clicking on shortened-urls in my Twitter feed that have led me to a Facebook post or image. Then there is the dilemma whether to allow 3rd-party apps, like FourSquare or Untappd, to send my update to just Twitter or to both that and Facebook. I'd say I definitely cheated when I used Selective Tweets  to send Matt a Valentine's Day wish to Facebook by adding "#fb" at the end of my tweet.

The negative newsfeed was the big reason why I wanted to take a break from Facebook for awhile. While it feels good to not have that sitting in the background constantly, I feel like I am missing out on stuff happening in my friends' lives. My first week away, some high school friends posted quite a set of hilarious (so I'm told) pictures of Friday night fun. One of them even taunted me via Twitter,

"there are pics on FB... You can enjoy them on March 1st ha ha"

Schedules have aligned so that I've had more face time than Face(book) time with some friends lately, but those get-togethers wouldn't have happened if not for the use of Facebook Messenger. Then there are friends who live far away who I wouldn't be able to keep up with if not for the dialogue we maintain on each others Facebook posts because they're not emailing/texting/phone call types. I'm definitely missing those people right now. I even thought about name-dropping them in this post but the list is getting rather long in my head.

This morning I was reading an article online about The Pub, a popular local bar that had a devastating fire last month. In it, it mentioned how pictures were being posted on the establishment's Facebook page of the interior of the bar and of work being done. I sighed, knowing that I wouldn't get to see them for another 2 weeks.

And then I thought, "There's nothing saying I HAVE to stay off Facebook for a month. It's a self-imposed hiatus." Of course, I'm not a fan of quitting a project early. It's one of the reasons why I steadfastly continue growing my hair out even though it's at a length that's driving me nuts. So onward I plow. I suppose it's a good thing that what I miss most about not being on Facebook is how it helps enhance actual relationships I have as opposed to missing the myriad of link bait that fills the newsfeed.

History of Women Moving On

Yesterday I shared the History of Men Moving On. Today is for the ladies. The ones who have been wronged. The ones who will get back up again and sing their heart out in the shower or in the car when any one of these gems comes on their radio/iPod/satellite radio/Pandora/Spotify/etc. etc. etc.

History of Men Moving On

Here's a little something special for the day before Valentine's Day for all those guys whose hearts have been broken

Why Comcast Reportedly Buying Time Warner Cable Isn't Great News

The news has broke that Comcast has reportedly bought Time Warner Cable for $45 Billion. Hat tip to 106.9 Kiss FM for being the first place I heard about this dismal news.

Why isn't great news if you're a Time Warner Cable customer?

First off, you're taking the two largest cable and internet providers in the country and merging them into one. Their service didn't overlap anywhere, but then again there is usually no competition for cable service anywhere that Time Warner or Comcast is located other than going to satellite. On the internet side, the linked article above had this to say:

One likely important factor that would not be as consumer-facing but would still have a huge impact on consumers is the leverage that a combined Comcast/TWC would have with regard to bandwidth. With the recent removal of net neutrality regulations, Internet service providers have the ability to charge whatever they want to — or to block or slow down traffic for — online content providers. 

Also, it doesn't make me feel good that Comcast was also in the news this week for possibly being hacked. 

I do have mild concern in regards to what the deal would do to the Time Warner Cable News outlets. As much as I grumbled in the past about TWC taking over our beloved Cable 8 News back in 2011, I'd still rather have what we were left with than no reporters stationed down in Chautauqua County at all. Plus, I don't know that a merger would mean the end of the stations anyway.

In regards to how this will affect the wallet, I almost have no doubt that consumers would get the shaft in this deal. As it is, broadband costs are higher in the U.S. with much slower internet speed than the rest of the world.

Thankfully, this is not a done deal yet. The FCC and Justice Department still have to approve the deal.

UPDATE: To give you an idea of how much Comcast is loathed, Doghouse Diaries thinks wishing "A Comcast Monopoly In their region" is great revenge on an enemy.

29 Common Myths About Booze

Thank you Mental Floss for this. I shall never worry about beer before liquor again. Unless it's 2 beers and 2 kinds of liquor. Anyway, just watch...

Stalking Design & DIY

While I might not be the most handy around the house nor have much of a DIY streak in me, I do enjoy reading house/design blogs. I derive great delight in before/after stories, especially when it involves good design overcoming some of the horrific things done to living spaces. Here are the sites I enjoy the most:

Young House Love  - My best friend and I talk about the Petersiks as if we actually know them. In fact, when they announced they were moving my BFF texted me about the news. The Petersiks' enthusiasm for DIY is infectious and it has been fun to be along for the ride as they've moved twice, had a daughter, published a book, and are now expecting a baby boy.

Door Sixteen - Anna Dorfman embodies cool. She's a book cover designer who renovated the Victorian row house she and her husband own in Newburgh, NY and rents an apartment in the Cobblestone part of NYC. She loves Morrissey. Need I say more?

Manhattan Nest - Daniel is a friend/DIY Partner-In-Crime of Anna Dorfman. He initially started his blog about DIY projects he had taken on in the apartment he was renting. Then the guy went rogue and bought a house that needs serious work. He's in the middle of it right now. You have to read this for the sheer spunk this guy has in tackling such a mammoth project. I think he's my hero right now.

Merrypad - I started reading this blog before I knew that the author, Emily, lives in Rochester. Based on several things she's mentioned, I also gather that she grew up in the county I live in now or in Southern Erie County (another prime example of the vortex).

Russet Street Reno - While life (AKA baby) has led to Sara not updating this blog as frequently, she has shared some recent projects that make me hope there will be more to come. Of course, (SPOILER), her family's plans to move to a new house has me hoping we'll be treated to more DIY posts in the months to come.

Hooked On Houses - I honestly didn't know until I started writing this post that the name of this blog's author is Julia! I've been reading this one only for a few months even though it has been published since 2008. Julia posts include houses you've seen in the movies, awesome before/afters, incredible houses for sale, and a myriad of other things that could fall under the "house pr0n" category.

First Time In The Rain

It would be inaccurate to say we had snow fall on us today across Jamestown. It was more of a snow dump with how much fell in a short period of time. It kind of snuck up on us even though the Winter Storm Warning had been announced and was in effect. It caused quite a few headaches for people trying to drive around, keep their driveways and sidewalks clear, or just trying to walk to lunch. It's easy to sneer at the weather and get disgruntled with day after day or cold by February. It's easy to forget the sheer joy of that first snow fall and of waking up to see frost decorating the windows in a intricate patterns.

This video is of a toddler experiencing her first rain fall on her terms. We should all strive to be open to how wonderful nature can be even when it's soaking us, making us cold, or seemingly melting the skin off our bones.
Kayden + Rain from Nicole Byon on Vimeo.

Supressing the Depressing News Feed

Another truth for why I decided to take a break from Facebook is that I've been suffering a bit of depression while reading my feed the last month or more. There is a lot of negativity out there whether it's the same depressing news item posted repeatedly or general ignorance. I can handle news in a radio/tv/print and even news blogs because you know what to anticipate when tuning into those sources whereas with Facebook you can be happily scrolling along, cooing at baby or puppy pictures before being smacked in the face with some new awful truth about how we're destroying earth or how the Republicans hate women.

Unsurprisingly, someone did a study about this and found that Facebook makes us unhappy. Of course, it's not that Facebook is the problem. Psychologist Timothy Wilson had this to say:

"Getting rid of Facebook wouldn’t change the fact that our attention is, more and more frequently, forgetting the path to proper, fulfilling engagement."

One could argue that by using blogging as an alternative to being on Facebook this month that I'm not attacking the real issues of why I'm feeling unhappy, but I'd argue back that at least this is a more engaging use of the Internet versus passively trolling my news feed. Additionally, at the end of the day a blog post I wrote and can readily access is far more fulfilling than a Facebook wall of links with a line or two of text that is near impossible to search.

Gamers & Math Geeks: A Couple Links

The Super Bowl may be over but the football season can live on through games like Madden NFL. One guy made it his mission to break the game. It's hilarious not just because of how lopsided it is but in how much it mirrored the actual Super Bowl this year.

***

Finding love in the 21st Century no longer simply involves hitting the bar or coffee shop scene. There are mind-bending assortment of online dating sites that are as general as can be to targeting specific subsets of the population like farmers or those of Jewish descent. I personally know of at least two couples who made successful matches online that led to marriage and children. This story is about a mathematician who hacked OK Cupid to find true love.

Too Old For Tumblr?

There have been news stories out in recent weeks about studies that are heralding the future demise of Facebook. I asked a few friends with kids where the young ones are now hanging out if Facebook isn't so cool. The answer I've gotten back is Tumblr, Twitter, and Instagram. I actively use Twitter, although not as much as I had been using Facebook. I've avoided even creating an account for Instagram because of major privacy and use concerns. Tumblr was something I wasn't quite as familiar with even though I subscribed to a few Tumblr-based sites. I had even looked into starting up my own Tumblr using the name of this blog as a way to move content from one platform to the next, but couldn't find the interest in following through. It occurred to me that I may have just become too old for Tumblr.

Leave me a comment about where you're contributing content or just hanging out social media-wise these days. If you're brave or don't give a toss, tell me your age too. I'm curious.

Welcome Back, Welcome Back

It feels odd to title this post with a line from the theme song from a show I may have only seen a few times as a kid (Welcome Back, Cotter). That said, it is appropriate. Welcome back to posting, at least for the next month. Welcome back to readers who may be surprised to seeing a post pop up in their RSS feed or in their Twitter feed. Welcome, in general, to any new people checking in to see what I'm up to.

I'm using the short month of February to take a breather from Facebook. I've done media blackouts before but they've never worked because they were very much all or nothing. I'm opting to just take away my personal interaction with Facebook, aside from work responsibilities, for 28 days. I'll still be using Twitter, email, chat, and even Facebook messaging since a few people I converse with like to reach me that way. One of my friends asked if I would be blogging more and I thought,

"Well? Should I? I do like to share links to stories, music videos, silly videos, and other nonsense. I could save all of them for 1 post every day or every other day depending. It's been so long. Would anyone even read it? Would anyone comment?"

The more I thought about, the more it made sense to try. Facebook has been horribly distracting in the sense that I have a stack of books on my coffee table I want to read. I have music for the high school production of "Annie Get Your Gun" to practice. The house needs some love and care. There are exercise classes and even at-home routines I want to do. There is so much life to be lived. Maybe taking a break from Facebook but still sharing via the ol' "In Java.." would be just the trick. And so it goes.

Oh Desktop, How You Scorn Me!

When I came back from my NKOTBSB travels, I was welcomed by my desktop computer not wanting to get past the initial start-up window. I had considered shutting the unit down for the one whole day I'd be gone but forgot in my last minute travel plans. Of course, this means there was a power outage which probably created a surge that did something to the computer. God knows. I'm hoping that Matt will take it to one of our friends this week to see how much damage was done and am currently crossing my fingers that I won't lose anything. At least we did do a full back-up this winter, so the most I'd lose is some stuff from eMusic, last few months of WRFA scripts, and probably some pictures. Not that I wouldn't still be fuming to myself, but that's technology.

In the meantime, I've been using the non-portable laptop. I'm convinced this thing is giving me back aches since I can't seem to get it so it's at an appropriate viewing and typing height. The sucker also outputs a lot of heat which is just dandy when the temperature goes up. Whine, whine. If money were no object, I'm at the point where I'd love to get a high memory/capacity laptop with a big screen so I could clear up my desk at home somewhat. Unfortunately, when you're a homeowner there tends to be other ticket items that get priority, like new gutters.

OK Go's New Video and an Open Letter

Thoroughly enjoy the video below but please also take a moment to read this Open Letter from the Band.

OK Go - This Too Shall Pass from OK Go on Vimeo.

Sun Conspiracy

Actual online conversation between me and my friend, Sabrina:

Me: well, my calendars prolly won't be delivered today I'd bet seeing as UPS had them at 2:34am this morning in Rutherford, NJ LOL

Sabrina: :(
Sabrina: I wonder if UPS took the sun to NJ, too.

Me: No, I think the sun skipped town and country. I think we need to go to Central America

Sabrina: nah...too humid. And too many bugs

Me: most likely answer is that the sun was captured by a drug cartel

Sabrina: ew, bugs
Sabrina: The Republicans have it and are getting ready to blame Obama.

Me: no, no.. the Republicans arranged for a drug cartel to capture it but are going to make it look like Obama's fault because it's a cartel that the USA may have tried to work with to capture bigger cartels in the 1980s

Sabrina: The sun is being obscured by greenhouse gases.

Me: that's too realistic.. I thought we were going for fantastical here
Me: lol

Sabrina: those aren't clouds, it's rust belt smog.

Me: nah.. not enough manufacturing to make that happen anymore

Sabrina: republicans doing one thing and blaming democrats for it isn't realistic?

Me: well, that's why I amended it