Category: blogging

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Hyperclicking

Wait until you see where this post goes.

I love Wikipedia but I hate that I start out looking for information about bumblebees and end up reading about the life and times of Queen Elizabeth twenty minutes later.

The same thing is true about the blogosphere. I wanted to catch up on my blog and everyone else’s today. I’ve been working crazy hours this week and haven’t had time to do much posting. I started going through the blogs when I got to Narm’s.

Ironically, I went to Ro k Bottom with Narm last night. Ro k Bottom is Rock Ottom now. (c’mon Marco, you gotta fix that sign and the wiring) Narm’s just as hilarious in person as on his blog. If you haven’t read the Secret blog, spend 5 minutes or less of your life and read it. It’s one of the funniest posts I’ve ever read. I was happy to tell him apparently there is a new scent of Secret out there that smells more manly. My neighbor bought two of them but then pitched them because she didn’t like the smell. He even made me curious to see what the stuff’s all about. I’ll never tell anyone that I actually used the stuff though. See my comment on his page. By the way, if you go to Ro k Bottom, you can’t order a GLBC beer or let’s say a Miller Lite because Ro k Bottom is a brewery. I’m just trying to keep you from embarrassing yourself. I can never spell “embarassing” correctly.

So back to the Wikipedia connection. I was reading Narm’s blog and his comments on one of his posts and I clicked through to Hebrewhero who had a funny retort. I, of course, read his post about going to the dentist. It got me to thinking about my hundreds (I mean hundreds) of trips to the dentist over the years. I apparently had bad mouth of chompers. I love the dentist over a trip to the doctors.

When I was down in South Texas one of the hygienists told me that people gag all of the time at the dentist and that’s the best part. I don’t need to remind you what follows gagging. I was shocked by this revelation. In all of my professional visits (I can claim professional because I went to the dentist so much, I actually have a degree. One of my procedures actually allowed my dentist to buy a hot tub. I’m not joking.)

Starting over…

In all of my professional visits, I can claim I never gagged once… until that dreaded woman told me of the phenomenon. Now, I have to watch my reflex closely when I get x-rays or impressions taken. I mean, did she really have to tell me about that? It’s engrained in my brain now and I think I have to be like the cool people, kind of like Britney Spears following Paris Hilton’s trend of going commando, and start gagging.

She was nice enough to tell me that the secret to avoid the gag is breathing through your nose. I practice that now and rule the day she ever told me such a thing.

See I told you we were going to be all over the place.

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Social Insanity

I have to give credit where credit is due, I was thinking it, Keeping Up Appearance beat me to the punch and wrote about it.

While I was driving around the parking lot (not in circles) at Steelyard Commons after visiting my friendly neighborhood Wal-Mart, I started to think how infrequently I use myspace anymore. Yeah, I already wrote about myspace vs. facebook but this social networking stuff is getting out of hands.

Right now I have:
myspace – I started somewhat for my job then it blossomed into a crazy addiction
facebook – I started because just one of my friends had it, now I have more than 100 friends
plaxo – I started because just one of my friends had it, I can’t tell you the last time I logged on.
linkedin – I started it because I thought it was the professional myspace. I still don’t get its use.
vox – I started it because just one of my friends had it and to comment on a blog.
yahoo360 – I don’t even know if it exists anymore, I don’t even know if I have a page.
twitter – I can’t update my myspace, facebook and twitter status at the same time. People apparently want to know what I’m doing, like “hey, I’m going to Steelyard.”

Of course, there’s my very own social networking site, www.taawd.com. I love my blog and don’t plan on giving it up. Thanks for your readership and your comments. They always make me smile.

I read text messages and get e-mail instantly on my phone. Oh and let’s not forget the fact, I actually have a cell phone so you can CALL me.

I have a Yahoo! e-mail account and always will unless they start charging or shutdown.

I have two gmail accounts. I have a hotmail account that’s surely dead now because I never use it. It always had too much spam for me.

Oh and let’s not forget my work e-mail or phone.

I’ll be using myspace less and less because everyone seems to have migrated to facebook. I think myspace got on the widget bandwagon too late. Now they’re offering putting applications on your page but everyone already has their facebook account set up already.

Facebook has become myspace on steriods and seems to be so much more accepted. One of my co-workers told me this morning he was actually thinking about signing up. I’d never expected it of him to say such a thing.

So, if you really want to get in touch with me, I’ve opened up some of the options, it’s only that now, I’m thinking about closing some of them down,

Whew!

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“We’re Semi Famous…”

A couple of Cleveland bloggers hung out last night at Bar Cento in Ohio City.

Allison from Confessions of a Cohabitant arrived on time and was waiting for the rest of us. Allison, one thing you should know about me, I’m prompt but you know what a day I had yesterday so I had to finish up some of the “chores” of being a friend. ‘Nuff said.

Mel from Life, Liberty and Pursuit Of Your Boyfriend and I arrived next. Alexa, from Cleveland’s A Plum arrived moments later. She set the whole thing up in the first place. We missed Narm from White-Collar Redneck for dinner but we got to meet up with him for the impromtu Blogger after-party. Narm, thanks for understanding the Case joke. For the record, I’m a Case IH guy, not a big John Deere fan. I may even spring for a Massey Ferguson first.

We ate, and boy, did we eat. The Chef & his Widow took care of us throughout the night. Everest, what a cool name, was our server and I believe he took away a nice tip for his great service. Bar Cento has some great food. We had pizza topped with eggs, fries with flavored mayonnaise, green beans with cherry tomatoes, pizza topped with blue cheese and a lot more. For dessert, ice cream scoops and a great berry and cream dish. Both were great. Have I shown enough love.

I can’t forget to mention that the Plain Dealer’s Friday section’s photographers were out. Of course, they saw this good-looking table of people and wanted to take a picture of us. Alexa asked how we could make sure it got in an upcoming edition. I quickly added that “We are semi-famous people so you’ll want to make sure it got included.” I think I embarrassed Allison a little bit (err, a lot). I mean come on though. Mel’s like one of the most social people in Cleveland, check out her blog and how many times she’s been published. Alexa’s blog readership is off the charts. Allison knows tons of people. I’m don’t have any of the aforementioned traits, my looks have to carry me. Oh, wait, you won’t get very far with that. Chef Jonathan was around so we had the PD people take one of all of us. His inclusion all but guarantees us a spot in the paper. So keep your eyes peeled…

After we left we went to the Federated Knitting Mills Building which has been converted into residences for a little blogger post-dinner get-together. Narm was there with his girl and we got to meet Allison’s BF. After reading Allison’s About Me section again, I totally feel for her BF because it seems like he’s the clean freak I am. I can’t deal with left open cabinets, open drawers or toilet paper going the wrong way. Clothes on the floor are okay, we all have busy lives. What can I say, I’m neat, not cute.

Alexa organized this meet-up. By the way, Alexa got the official “you’re out of control” compliment from me. She’s crazy (but in a good way). We all agreed to do it more often and even have an occassional get together during the week. I vote for both. They are all good people. Make sure to give them some hits on their pages. They make me laugh.

(i believe i beat everyone else to the punch and i wasn’t even trying. i don’t have the pictures however so you’ll have to click to other people’s sites to find them.)

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Blog Blockage

I want to blog something today but I can’t decide what topic I want to post. I’ve taken several laxatives and eaten several bowls of raisin bran. I think the problem will work its way out naturally.

I could talk about going to the eye doctor today. It was one of the fastest exams I ever had. The doc got the prescription correct. My vision hasn’t changed in a year and a half. The strange part, my eyes are the exact same prescription. The interesting part of the story lies in the fact the doctor talked to me about my job for about 20 minutes then said we should do lunch. No plans were made.

I could talk about what an awesome friend Kevin is. He gave me a bike. He’s taking me to the Browns game tomorrow night and asks very little in return. I have to provide a couch for his accommodations.

I could talk about picking up “Family Guy” seasons 4 and 5 on DVD. I could talk about how late to the party I was in becoming an absolute fan of the show. There are so many pop culture references in the show I can’t even deal with it. The show makes me laugh out loud.

I could talk about how screwed up the lights are on West 25th street and why getting them in some sort of sequence could save time and gas for Ohio City dwellers.

I could talk about this new online game that I’m playing that consumes about 10-20 minutes of my day and I don’t even know what I’m supposed to do. It’s called Travian. Please let me know if you’re playing.

I could talk about Friday night when a bunch of Cleveland bloggers are getting together to do dinner.

I could talk about the last funny line I heard on Family Guy involving uselessness, Debbie Gibson and her Playboy spread.

I could stop typing and let the blockage work it’s way out on its own,

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2008 Blog Awards (aka taawdy’s)

I’m just back from a very long day at work. I thought I’d get out of work at 10:30am like I normally do but the FBI and IRS worked together to change that.

Agents from both agencies raided business, homes and Cuyahoga County offices. My stakeout location was the Cuyahoga County Engineer’s office on the Superior Viaduct. Luckily, it’s very close to my home. I got to eat at Ponte Vecchio Ristorante Italiano for the first time. It wasn’t bad. I’ll be surprised if this post makes sense because I’m tired but I want to put something up on the blog.

More importantly, I got a blog award from my friend from the north, Trooper Thorn from Dogs and Jeans. I’m honored and I didn’t even prepare a speech for this occasion. I never thought I would even win given the competition, everyone out there is so talented. I would like to thank God… my parents… and everyone I forgot to mention.

At any rate, with this award comes a little work.

1. Put the logo on your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who awarded it to you.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Add links to these blogs on your blog.
5. Leave a message for your nominee on their blog.

Here are my honorees:

1.) Trooper Thorn: He gave me the award so I’m sending one back to him. Here are his picks for his original awards.

2.) Mom2Amara: She’s been my friend/blog buddy for the longest so she gets an award. She gets right to the point, she knows what she wants, look out family, she’s talking about you! You go girl.

3.) Life, Liberty & The Pursuit Of Your Boyfriend: Her blog is edgy. Make sure to visit her site on Tuesdays. It’s a special day. She’s even more awesome than her blog and can I tell you she’s a load of fun.

4.) Tivo Changed My Life & Bruce2Go: This husband & wife blogging combo introduced me to the world of blogging years ago now. They’re currently studying in Europe but just browse their blogs and you’ll see it appears as if they’re having more fun than cramming for tests.

5.) Cleveland’s A Plum: Her blog lists her as just blogging for more than a year but already she’s getting a ton more comments (Listen up everyone!!!) than I get. I know I have readers but I’ll take some of your witty comments. If you don’t have an ID, sign-up. Anyhow, she’s all about Cleveland. That gets an award in my book!

6.) These Days Of A Busy Mom: She’s my favorite Aussie gal. I love getting her perspective from the “Land Down Under”. I count on her comments every now and then. She always also has some fresh sounding music on her blog.

7.) Manager Mom: My other favorite mom blogger. I get the humorous view of life as a working mom. She’s got a knack for photoshopping with Windows Paint. Check out her pictures, you can hardly see where the pictures are merged together. Worth the read, every post!

8.) Newshutr’s Views: Want to know what life’s like being a TV videographer/photojournalist/cameraman working the Cleveland streets during the overnights. Well, you don’t have to wonder any longer. Check out the antics of covering and bringing you the news.

Want even more?? Check out my blogroll on the left side of the page. They’re all winners but I have to stick to the instructions.

Congratulations to everyone. Happy linking and cross posting!

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Migraines, Meet-Ups & Machine Mayhem

First, I successfully kicked the butt of a migraine. I went into work this morning, suffered through the night with a light sensitive, noise avoiding, low-tolerance head knocking pain. I managed it through the morning newscast but I couldn’t take it anymore so I had to head home. After a few drugs and forced hours of sleep later, I am happy to say it’s gone but I still have that numb feeling going on.

After reading some of my fellow Cleveland bloggers (you can check them out, most are listed on the side of the page) I have to admit a little jealousy that these cool people are meeting up and I haven’t been invited lucky enough to attend one of their little conventions. I hope that will change. Alexa should get the ball rolling for a informal/formal meeting of all of us. It’s just a nomination, no pressure.

Finally, I took a trip to Micro Center yesterday and got a bunch of new components to put together a new computer. I have a lot of good stuff from an old machine, so it wasn’t that expensive. The good news is, it’s fast!! The bad news is, it freezes up and that means slow! There are a bunch of things that may not be correct with the setup. My neighbor, who hooked the thing up for me, is out of town for two days so I’m just going to have to wait until he gets back to get the thing working. Please say a little computer prayer or keep me in your computer thoughts because this sort of thing drives me batty. I’ll obsess about it until the thing works right. I conquered the migraine, I’ll claim victory over it too!

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Looking Who’s Coming To NewsChannel 5

The blogosphere is powerful. Just ask P. Diddy, Puff Daddy or whatever he wants to be called. He alerted the world to his moniker change on his blog.

Politicial bloggers can help sway the country, expose a candidate’s story they didn’t want you to know. Entertainment bloggers do the same thing with new shows, movies, careers and celebrities themselves.

Enter the “mommy blogger”, one of the most famous of them is Heather Armstrong from dooce.com. “Mommy bloggers” are all over the country and all over the world. I’m glad to say I know Mom2Amara personally. Another of them with a good following is here in northern Ohio. OHMommy is coming to talk with NewsChannel 5’s Good Morning Cleveland on Friday. Her blog is located http://www.classychaos.com/. You’ll find her post about her appearance here.

I hope you’ll watch the newscast on Friday and hear her story about being a mom who blogs about raising her kids and her huge following.

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500th Blog Post

I’ve wondered what day it would actually happen but I guess you can mark down May 6, 2008 for this milestone.

I actually started blogging after searching high and low for a way to repair my Toshiba laptop. My screen would flap all over the place and it made it tough to type. When I found the fix on another person’s blog, I decided to start one up so I could help others as well. My CRV Oil Life Reset post gets a lot of hits. Of course, like other things, I get a little obsessed and end up posting 500 entries about my life.

On this cool occasion, I got some good news today from the people at the Ohio Canal Corridor and Jacobs Investments. This weekend during RiverSweep, we are going to clean up the area that many people who live in my building can see. I know we only have three hours and it’s going to take us all of that time to get it done. There are pallets, tires, wires and all sorts of bottle all over the place. I can’t wait for it to look a lot nicer after RiverSweep.

By the way, I’m hoping you’ll think about coming down this Saturday morning and helping out. The information about participating is available by clicking on the link above.

This is my 500th post so I don’t feel forced to keep it to one thought. I’m still typing on that Toshiba laptop that I’ve had for almost five years but my life has changed a lot since that first post. I’m no longer in Texas. I’m no longer in Avon Lake. I’m living downtown Cleveland. A lot of other things have changed that aren’t going to be included at this point on this blog. People who know me know what they are. I’m content now. How couldn’t I be, I’m sitting out on my balcony looking at Cleveland’s skyline with a blue sky as a backdrop. I have a great job, great friends and a great family. I have a dream place to live and I’m healthy. I ask you again, what else could you want? I count my blessings a lot and don’t dwell too much on what I want. If I continue life on this path, I’ll know that I lived a life without taking away many regrets.

Leave me a comment and let me know you’ve stopped by!

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Power Blogging

I purchased a Vizio 42″ HDTV over the Internet. I know some people might think it wasn’t a good buy because of Vizio’s reputation (or the lack thereof). I got it as a refurbish from tigerdirect.com but the picture looks great. Isn’t that the only thing that matters?

I’ve been weary about writing anything about it because I don’t want anything to go wrong with it. So far, it’s been superb. Right now, I’m in side-by-side mode. I’m watching the Indians’ season opener on my left and watching my computer on the right. Both screens even with them being scrunched, look clear. That’s power blogging!

I was impressed with the service and the shipping from tigerdirect.com. By the way, the TV is sold out online as of today.

I’ve run all of the video + audio into the Vizio through HDMI cables and then ran the digital output into my surround sound system. This way I’m able to control the audio and the video from one remote. In other words as we say in the TV business, audio follows video. Now, I have to get the remote situation settled. I’ve gone from 2 essential remotes to 4 of them. I’m not worried because it’s just entering a couple of codes into the remotes. I just don’t know which one I’m going to use yet. It most likely will be the CATV remote.

On the way right now to my place is a Microsoft Media Center multimedia keyboard. It’s wireless and has the mouse (pointer) on board. My friend has one and it works for what you want to use it for. The pointer is a little cumbersome. Because it’s an IR, you have to make sure you’re pointing it at the receiver, think remote control. I can’t wait for it to get here because it will allow me to sit on my couch and surf the Internet. It’s coming from mwave.com. I’ll update what I think of their service as soon as my keyboard arrives.

By the way, the Indians lead 7 to 4 in the bottom of the third inning at Progressive Field. The boys of summer brought back some spring like temperatures. I’m just happy the mounds of snow in the Powerhouse parking lot are melting.

Go Tribe!
p.s., if you’re reading this you’ve likely gotten here by going to www.taawd.com. I’ve moved my blog to my domain. In a couple of days, taawd.blogspot.com should work again. Thanks for checking out my blog!!