So Many Blogs, Too Little Time

Since I started blogging almost 6 months ago I've heard words like "syndication," "feeds," "atom," and "aggregators," thrown around, as well as acronyms like "XML," and "RSS," not knowing fully what they meant. Even when I read definitions of them it didn't sink in 100%. I wasn't really sure about "podcasting" either. What's a pod, and how do you cast it?

I'm now proud to say a big chunk of my ignorance is gone. Although I still have lots to learn, I'm now a believer and user of these tools to help plug in to blogs, vlogs, and podcasts much easier than visiting each site separately. Instead of me going to them, they now come to me. It's like having my own TV or radio station where I can just change the channel to whatever I want to watch/read/listen to. Whether through iTunes, which I started using first, or NetNewsWire, which I'm using now, or FireANT, which I plan on using for videos once I upgrade my OS, I can subscribe to any blog and be regularly updated on whatever's new without having to visit 50 different sites. Now I can keep up with my blogger friends that much easier, and with whatever's happening in the blogosphere without all the back-and-forth.

I owe my knowledge in no small part to the videobloggers who are on a mission to let the world know about all this stuff. A few of them actually created FireANT, including my new vlogger bud, Jay Dedman, who I mentioned in an earlier post.

I've been having a lot of fun subscribing to new blogs and scrolling through them everyday. My blog life's definitely gotten a lot easier because of it, although I really haven't saved much time.

Blogger For Hire

Met with the videobloggers again last night at the Apple Store. Just like last time, I got to hang out with them afterwards. We went to a different restaurant this time where I was "forced" to break my diet ever so slightly. (I had a tuna melt and a salad. The cheese being a definite no-no.) And, just like last time, I had a great time.

I got a chance to share my good news about what my buddy Allaix and I had been working on all day. We created a logo for a church to be used on blog site I'll be putting together. A minister he knows is building a church and will be needing a website. I've seen a lot of business/organizational sites that have blogs built into them, so we figured that would work very well in this case. Everyone was really psyched that I'd actually be paid to do this. I'm pretty excited myself. I'll be even more excited when I see the first check!

The reason I feel safe to share this is because I had the opportunity to meet the minister yesterday and see the church in its raw state. He's a very positive, forward-thinking man who's totally committed to what he's doing, and wants to reach as many people as possible with his message. Also, he and Allaix seem to have a mutual respect for each other.

The vloggers feel like I should be capturing the building process on video. I agree, but I figure, one thing at a time—I only just met the man. (Anxious bunch, those vloggers are.) I'm sure I'll have plenty of opportunities to do that once we get things going. In the meantime, I've got my work cut out for me.

3 Blogs and Counting

I've set up a new blog for my God's Love volunteer group. It's been fun, but time consuming. We had a regular website that I set up on Verizon for free (a little history), but I decided to convert it to a blog using TypePad which I have to pay for. Money notwithstanding, I really like the way it's shaping up. I could have done it on Blogger, but I really like the photo album feature TypePad has, and the overall look and feel just worked better for me. They also have password protection, which keeps the site private. I was concerned it would be too much of a pain for everyone, but no one's complained so far.


Because this is a blog primarily for non-bloggers, I had to explain the basics of a blog and why I chose the format. For our purpose, I just figured a blog would be a great way to maintain the connection within the group, especially through comments. And the ability to have everything archived would be great for new people to see what we've been up to. It's already starting to catch on. Case in point: One of our Thursday night volunteers moved to Israel about 2 weeks ago. She was able to comment to the blog and let us know how she was doing. She could have sent me an email, and I could have relayed the message, but this way she was able to post her comments directly so the whole group could see them. That's the whole point.

I'm sure more people will get the hang of it as we go along, but I'm just glad I got the site back up. Now I've got 3 blogs to attend to, and there's no sign of stopping.

Last Supper (okay…it was lunch)

We're getting ready to wrap up here and I just wanted to report about my last meal here at the Tarrytown House. Today was rather tame, actually. I didn't do breakfast in the dining room, instead choosing to eat my Chinese food leftovers from the other night. (FYI: Vegetables keep pretty well if you put them on ice. And the little coffee pot they have in the room makes a great little hot pot for reheating.)

Since I won't be here for dinner, lunch was indeed my last meal. They had a Southwest theme going, so it was paella, tacos, and chicken mole (all of which I passed on). Instead, I went for the salads. They had lots to choose from; I had the black bean and corn, and shrimp with cilantro, along with mixed greens. I also had succotash (I typically don't like okra, but I can deal with it in there).

Dessert, as usual, got me again. This time it was tiramisu, which I can never pass on. It's one of my favorite desserts, and I have to try it everywhere I go. It did not disappoint. Then there were these chocolate squares. I thought they may have been fudge, but they were ganache. Dark chocolate ganache. I could have eaten 10 of them, but I only had one. Not so bad.

Well, that's it for my food odyssey. Maybe my sweet tooth won't get the better of me next time around.

Wrong Plate, Wrong Time

I had quite the deja vu moment this evening. To explain, let me go back.

I arrived at the conference center last night around 7. Having been here before, I knew that dinner was served until 9, so I was in plenty of time. After checking in and dropping my bags off in the room, I headed straight to the dining room.

Fancy place that this is, a waiter greeted me at the door and asked who I'm here with, so I tell him the name of the company and he directs me to the buffet. I start filling my plate with all kinds of salads and a nice piece of fish, and was quite proud of myself for staying away from the pasta. He then comes back and says that my group isn't scheduled to be served until the next day (today), but that I could eat anyway.

Just as I'm getting ready to find a seat, the manager comes over and tells me the same thing the waiter did. The difference is, he refused to let me stay. I couldn't believe it! All day I was looking forward to this and he pulls the rug right out from under me. All I could do is put the plate down and leave. I tried to play it off, but I was quite embarrassed and angry. They'd rather throw that food in the garbage than let me eat it. Unreal!

Thank God for Chinese takeout, or I'd have gone to bed one hungry ass! (Is there anyplace they don't deliver?)

Cut to this evening. It's about 6:30 and I return to the scene of the crime. There was no buffet like last night, and there was no one in the dining room. I did see a buffet and tables set up on the patio outside, so I asked a waiter if everything had moved out there. He said yes, so I went out and got in line. By the time I filled my plate and was at the bar table for drinks, a man came over and told me it was a private party. I couldn't believe this was happening! It was deja vu all over again. Fortunately, they let me keep my food this time. I was then directed to where I should have been in the first place.

To keep things consistent, I overstuffed myself once again. This time it was the creme brulee that got me. After I get home, I'll have to be sugar-free for the rest of the month to make up for these two days. Until then, tomorrow's another day.

Sweetness Is My Weakness

I'm sitting here stuffed to the gills with forbidden food. Actually, only the dessert was forbidden, but off limits nonetheless.

I'm away with my corporate gig again. We're at one of those conference centers, and this place has the best food. I knew coming here that I would only stick to the diet but so much. I'm just not strong enough yet to be in a room full of everything I love and not indulge.

Although I'm basically off dairy, I had an omelet made to order this morning (I did pass on the coffee and toast). I also had hashbrowns (they called them "breakfast potatoes." FANCY.) For lunch, I had a plate full of mixed greens salad and mahi mahi, which was yummy. Then for the dessert. First, there was the "cheesecake pie," which was a cheesecake in a pie shell with a chocolate covering. Couldn't resist that. The thing just called to me from across the room! (It was actually a toss-up between that and the chocolate mousse.) Then I had a slice of flan. I could have done without it, but I was curious (you just can't get good flan everywhere).

Even though I know I set myself back today, I feel only a modicum of guilt. I figure, I have the rest of my life to do the right thing. Life's just too short to suffer needlessly! I know as I go along I'll become more indifferent to sweets, but for now I'll just take it one dessert at a time.

I'll be here through tomorrow, so I'll be doing a little more damage before I go home. Stay tuned.

It's Time To Act

Like everyone else, I've been watching the accounts of Hurricane Katrina on the news as well as the blogs. People have had a lot to say on the subject, not much of it good. I agree that the way the situation was initially handled by the government was inexcusable. Better could have, and should have been done. These "refugees," as they have been referred, aren't some Third World escapees seeking asylum in this country. They are AMERICANS! And they should have been treated better.

AP Photo/Karl Merton Ferron

As much as I don't want to take it there, it's hard not to whip out the race card on this one. In light of how quickly the government responded to other recent tragedies, both here and abroad, it's not hard to wonder what took them so long here. It's just painfully, and sickeningly, obvious.

Photo by Susan Poag

Others have expressed their ire over this much more eloquently than I can, so I won't belabor the point. (See Crystal's blog, and a clip of Kanye West I swiped off of Ryanne's blog.) All I'll say is that it is about the people first. It's on us now as fellow Americans, and particularly African Americans, to take care of our brothers and sisters down there. It's about doing what we can with whatever we can to help them get their lives back. This is our family, people. Enough talk. Let's dry our tears, roll up our sleeves, and work together to fix this mess.