Google Reader is Almost Gone and Other Technology Ramblings

So I've finally settled on using Feedly as a replacement even though it's not quite as comfortable to me as Google Reader was/is. I think it will get the very basic job done and I am now forcing myself to use it instead of Google Reader. How are you guys faring? Any tips or tricks? Or are you just quitting altogether?

I also need to figure out what to do about the BBAW site. Continuing to host it as is is not really a problem for the moment, but part of me wonders if I should just retire it. Is there any reason to keep it up and running? Is it still helpful to have some of those great essays of the past up as well as the awards winners?

And, I really need a new Twitter background page. Does anyone have a recommended designer? I'm not looking for anything particularly fancy, it's just all the information is now irrelevant on mine and the woman who made it for me quit doing design work. I can't afford to pay the hundred dollars or so I see charged at the few sites I have visited. I could use a matching header, though. This kind of stuff is what makes me feel like quitting the internet!

In a funny story, though, when I watch TV I usually have my phone with me and I look up stuff constantly. Like who a familiar actor is or something that gets referenced that I don't know, the precise meaning of a word used, etc. Anyway, I was reading today and you know how in books they never tell you everything and keep some things mysteries to be revealed throughout the book. But lol, I kept getting the urge to grab my phone and look up the answers to my questions. It was like this subconscious urge...I'M NOT USED TO NOT BEING ABLE TO FIND THE ANSWERS OKAY? I kept laughing about it though because the story is totally fiction, even if it's being reported in the book as a worldwide event. (so it's not spoilers that I wanted exactly, it's hard to explain)

Have a great week, everyone!

About the Economy

In many ways, I'm like a little kid, I don't really like going to bed all that much, though I love sleeping.

So last night, just when I was about to go to bed, I decided to read an article about the economy. Well, the basic idea was that the world is about to collapse, and now's the time to get yourself to a farm and learn how to survive, baby! I have these creepy moments in life where I think this is all about to happen...call them some glimpses of spiritual vision...where I realize just how much we rely and depend upon the temporal. (I'm not saying I'm psychic or anything like that, I'm saying I have moments when I think I can see more clearly through to the heart of life--past all the clutter that normally clouds my vision. I hope you know what I'm talking about)

So, I do think it could happen. That the economy would collapse and so would technology and we will be plunged back into some sort of dark age. I've enjoyed this fictional series by Terri Blackstock about this happening. Of course, in the books, the family conveniently lives by a lake. Guess where I live? The desert! I have no idea how to survive! I completely rely upon technology for so many things, that I'm sure if this were to happen, I'd be one of the first to die off.

I do wonder what would happen if something like that happened...where we lost electricity or something like that. I think it would be terrifying, and yes I think it would be best to live on a farm near a lake.

Whenever I read tales of survival I always wonder if I have that in me...do I have it in me to survive something very very hard? Does this country? Our constant instant gratification and lack of practical skills makes me think the answer is no. In the past, yes, but now? No.

So I had to hunt down a bunch of articles on the economy to see what was up last night and then spend some time worrying because even though it doesn't help at all, I'm amazingly good at it. I don't understand economics, but I do understand reaping what you sow.

Thoughts?

They're Called Tapes, You Know

I was a little surprised by how many of you still use tapes and VHS! Naturally, I use tape recorders EVERY SINGLE DAY of my job, and actually have to teach my adult students how to use them. But I don't think it's because they are out of date, I've also taught my students how to use their cell phones. Ahem.

I would be interested in knowing if it's cassette tapes or VHS you still use and what you use them for. I really don't use either now that I have a car with a CD player (ok, that just happened in October, but still) and only a DVD player. However, I have The Glass Menagerie starring John Malkovich (it's a STUNNING adaptation and I HATE the fact that it's not available on DVD) on VHS along with a few "home movies" that I would eventually like to convert to DVD. Has anyone been through this process? Are there any movies that you have on VHS you wish were available on DVD? Have you jumped on the Blu-ray bandwagon yet?