"So what's it gonna take? Silver shadow believer..." -Shiny Toy Guns

Friday, May 23, 2008

I Love My Reader

Google has given us so many wonderful gifts. This beautiful site I am blogging on being one of them. The big G is in my opinion, the best search engine ever. I mean really, how could they get any better? They have and continue to do so. With advanced ways of finding valuable information like news and blog content, and their special additives like the toolbar, the reader, iGoogle, and media updates- did I mention that reader?
The reader was suggested to me by a brilliant friend of mine. I was complaining about how there are too many Web sites and blogs for me to keep up with, and that I didn't have time for all of it. He told me that my profession insisted upon me staying "in the know" and suggested I get the reader. I am forever thankful; research is my life and vital to the constantly changing field I have chosen.
So what does it do? Well it collects sites that you frequent; actually an aggregator, it collects RSS feeds. No longer scrambling to try to remember them all on my own or subscribing via email (so annoying), my reader takes care of it all. Every time there is a new post up, it is added to a list for me to read. It counts what it collects as new, so you know exactly how much you need to read. The counter clears as you go through them. It's simply connected to my gmail account and makes things so much easier. Well what about your "favorites" folder you ask? No- not the same thing. The reader only keeps track of sites constantly updated, like blogs or journals- sites with "posts." It's basically, AWESOME. I have one for home and work articles now; usually with 100-200 new things to read daily. It lists it all for me, making it quite simple to pull the information I find valuable. There are many other sites and applications that will do the same thing, but I love my reader. It is truly an ingenious tool for people who are constantly on the Net in need of organization. It has many other cool features as well, like the ability to share with your friends, and even share things on your blog (which I may set up for here soon). My reader is in many ways, my electronic research assistant. If you are the ultimate multitasker, with too many things to keep up with, the reader could be just what the Dr. ordered.

Friday, May 16, 2008

What's in the cage?

I live in a small town, with little going on. It's growing, but is still pretty dinky. I've lived here long enough to get to know the norms; the permanent fixtures of this place. More than likely, it takes approximately 10-15 minutes to get across town (with no traffic), your cell phone won't work on Bodega Ave. once you get over the hill, there are five 7-11's (which is a lot for a town this size), it smells like cow plop from time to time, it is a rare occurrence when you don't need a sweatshirt at night (no matter the season), and you will run into the mystery walker at least once.
It's hard to wonder about much here, when everything is so simple. Yet, I do. There is a man who walks up and down McDowell- only on McDowell. He is always dressed the same, white shorts, Adidas jacket, sunglasses, carrying what looks like a cat cage in one hand, and a duffel bag in the other. He's clean cut and for the most part looks sane. But, what is his story? Where is he going? And what's in that cage?
I always said that if I became a journalist, I would want to interview him. There are many theories behind this mystery walker. I've heard that he's homeless, he's crazy, that he's a cat lover, that it's not even a cat in there- it's a bird, and so on. You name it- every one's got their ideas about him. I just want to ask, "what's in the cage, dude? Where did you get that Adidas vintage classic? And do your legs ever get cold in those shorts?" One of these days, I hope to pull over when I see him walking down McDowell and simply say, "Excuse me sir, but I have some questions and so does the rest of this nosey ass town." See how I did that? I am interested, the town- nosey. Well if curiosity killed the cat, jumping out of my car and interrogating someone probably isn't the greatest idea I've ever had. Speaking of cats, what's in that damn cage?