The World...Its Getting Smaller and Smaller

I know over the last 30 years (ok so I'm a little shy of being able to talk about 30 years but it is a good round number) the world has seemed to get smaller and smaller.  I started thinking about this while playing with the Instagram app and viewing pictures from all over the world this morning from my kitchen table while I sipped upon this mornings roasted beans.  The world is always at our finger tips, literally.

  I remember sending post cards when we went on trips to the Gulf of Mexico as a child to friends and family... What do we do now we snap a photo with our phone and send a txt.  It is amazing to think about how communication over the past 20 or 30 years has completely transformed our life, our culture, our world.  I wonder how different are things going to be in the next 30 years?  Can it really change that much, Yes...  It will change and it will be unimaginable.

Though all of this information being within our grasp at the swipe of a finger tip has many positives as with all good their is an opposite evil.  If managed and taken with in context and moderation it is satisfying to our lives.  However one must not forget how to be self reliant and function in the event of failure of such devices and life styles.  We must not loose our grasp on reality while struggling to survive in this virtual world.

As for now I will embrace the options at my finger tips, explore the world from the a front row seat at my kitchen table  and share the view from my own camera lens while I walk through life.


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This is a first post in almost a year, I'm thinking about giving this blog thing a go once again ! Follow me!

Google+

I might be wrong on this but I think G+ is going to blow facebook out of the water once it becomes unrestricted! In just the little I have messed with it I can see it is much simpler, private, and user friendly than facebook. As long as the system does not get overload with Junk like facebook has become I believe it could be "The Next Big Thing" in social networking!

If you have not had a chance to give it a spin let me know I'll send you a invite!

Google+

New Toys

Who doesn't love toys?!?!?!  Since I fully believe in never growing up, I can't help but to love toys.  Problem is my toys keep getting more and more expensive.  However I still find simple things that bring amusement.  Recently we decided to buy a Netflix subscription, yes this is a big step for us since we still have rabbit ears and not cable or dish.  I can say it is well worth the 10.40 per month.  When I do feel like watching TV or a Movie it what I want to watch and not channel surfing to find something on that will do.  Netflix along with Hulu and some of the other streaming websites, who needs cable?  I can project all of them up on the "Big Screen"  or watch them in my office on the computer while I pay bills etc.....  I must say this has been one of the more useful "toys" I have gotten in a while.

I have also been enjoying playing with the new Google Web browser Chrome.  If you have not given Chrome a spin I suggest you do so.  With the Google apps store and all the nifty little add-ons it is providing me with hours of entertainment.  I really like the weatherbug app.  It is a crisp and clean weather app.  This morning out my weatherbug window I watched a couple deer out on Skyline Drive.  Got to love it!

Finally one of the new things I have been playing with is Google voice and Google talk.  Google voice and talk are simply amazing.  You can have a phone number that can ring your cell phone, home phone and computer via Google talk.  One number can reach you any where!  Though I still like just using my cell number for the most part due to mobile to mobile calls are free etc.  I have been really using the Google talk to make calls from my desk.  All calls within the US are free!  I thought it still might sound like I was on a bad speaker phone but with the logitec webcam/mic I have been told it sound crystal clear.  Give it a try its free you got nothing to loose but time!


Those are a couple things that I have been playing with trying to get through the cold of winter!  Soon it will be time to break out the fishing rods, hiking boots and camping gear but until then its netflix, free chrome apps and free phone calls for me!

Beautiful hazy day looking out over the bay!

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry 540-246-9191

The Cold of Winter

The cold of winter is still hanging around.  The snow comes and goes in the valley!  Many are waiting for spring and those kids at heart still cling to the TV for the forecast of snow and then the following morning for school closings

I still consider myself young, and young at heart!  Since being employed with the state and being issued a 4x4 vehicle and a mobile office I don't get snow days.  However earlier this week I was reminded of the excitement of a closing.  As the snow was heavy (ok only 5 inches but that was heavy for this year) on the ground and clinging to the trees I saw the that courts that I was summonsed to appear in that morning  were closed due to weather.  Since court is the least favorite part of my job it was a nice reprieve.  Though simple it was reminiscent of the years of watching closings to put off the inevitable!

ahh it is great to be a kid!

Stay warm till spring has sprung!

Christmas the Old Fashion Way

'Twas the night before Christmas & out on the ranch

The pond was froze over & so was the branch.

The snow was piled up belly-deep to a mule.

The kids were all home on vacation from school,

And happier young folks you never did see-

Just all sprawled around a-watchin' TV.

Then suddenly, some time around 8 o'clock,

There came a surprise that gave them a shock!

The power went off, the TV went dead!

When Grandpa came in from out in the shed

With an armload of wood, the house was all dark.

"Just what I expected," they heard him remark.

"Them power line wires must be down from the snow.

Seems sorter like times on the ranch long ago."

"I'll hunt up some candles," said Mom.  "With their light,

And the fireplace, I reckon we'll make out all right."

The teen-agers all seemed enveloped in gloom.

Then Grandpa came back from a trip to his room,

Uncased his old fiddle & started to play

That old Christmas song about bells on a sleigh.

Mom started to sing, & 1st thing they knew

Both Pop & the kids were all singing it, too.

They sang Christmas carols, they sang "Holy Night,"

Their eyes all a-shine in the ruddy firelight.

They played some charades Mom recalled from her youth,

And Pop read a passage from God's Book of Truth.

They stayed up till midnight-and, would you believe,

The youngsters agreed 'twas a fine Christmas Eve.

Grandpa rose early, some time before dawn;

And when the kids wakened, the power was on..

"The power company sure got the line repaired quick,"

Said Grandpa - & no one suspected his trick.

Last night, for the sake of some old-fashioned fun,

He had pulled the main switch - the old Son-of-a-Gun!

-anonymous

Sweet November!

Sweet November is here!  The colors around us here in the Shenandoah Valley are falling all around and the air is getting cooler. The only down side would be the days are getting shorter!  However it is still a blessing to experience this time of year here in the Valley every year!   Hopefully in my travels this month I will be able to catch some of the breath taking cold mornings, the warmth of the colors and the views from the Mountains as I travel throughout the valley!  I will share those moments here one frame at a time on this blog!

Get out and enjoy November and Life this month!  It is truly something to be Thankful about!