Google+ Review

I've started using Google plus (G+) recently and people have asked what I think. So, for my 365 today I thought I'd do a serious review. 

There are a few features that I really like and want to recommend straight-up: 

1. You can edit posts. Between Apple's autocorrect and midnight posting, this is REALLY handy.

2. You can post something for one "circle" of friends quickly, or choose which circles get the news. So, the people in my friends group get all the good news and my family gets all the boring stuff (no, not really, but you get the point).

3. You can read posts from just one "circle" of friends quickly. If I'm waiting for an important family event, I don't want to scroll through friends' pictures and events to get to it. Facebook used to make this easy and I almost left for good when they changed it.

4. Sparks! Sparks are like news feeds, but they give you news on a particular topic. I use Google reader to get the bulk of my tech news, but I have a spark for web design. It helps me find interesting articles from new sources.

To find out if G+ is ready for you, answer these questions:

Do you already have a Google/gmail account? 

Yes: Sign up. G+ will help you solidify all your Google contacts, Picasa images, chat and so on into one place (in a way Google Wave never did). I've had a Google account for quite a few years and it made G+ more fun and easy. I just dropped all my contacts into circles and was ready to go. Finding people is really easy as well.  

No: There are tools to move your stuff (pictures, videos...) over from other services (Facebook), but it will take some time. You may want to try a gmail account, to see if you like their tools, and go from there.

Do you like chat or video chat? 

Yes: The G+ hangouts and chat are pretty handy, but only if you know people already using the service.

No: You can still post like people do on Facebook or twitter and ignore the chat stuff.

Do you play Facebook games?

Yes: There are no G+ games yet.

No: There are no G+ games yet. Yeah!  Update: There are games, but they are easy to ignore.

Do you have a second account for your "real" Facebook friends? 

Yes: Why not move it to G+? It won't be long before Facebook recommends your alias to your mother anyway.  

No: Sure. That weird name isn't you. (I won't tell.)

Are you a business?

Yes: Google says, 'wait, we have something special in the oven for you.'

No: Awww. You individual, you. ;)

Are most of your friends young/tech savvy? 

Yes: A good portion of your friends are probably already on G+. They have probably started trendy conversations without you. Hurry. 

No: No rush. Everyone you know is on Facebook and still will be for some time. I'm keeping my facebook and G+.

Lastly, are there images you'd like to keep from friends' Facebook pages? 

Yes: You might want to ask for copies. If they switch, they may just ditch 'em all. (think MySpace)

No: Really? 

365 Project

I'm starting a 365 project on May 5th (this week). That means I'm challenging myself to create and post one photograph/video/artwork every day for a year, starting on my birthday.

The idea behind 365 projects is to create a new work every day for a year, pushing creativity even when it's hard. The project also keeps you looking for inspiration all the time, which usually leads to finding it more often. There are several of these projects online - for poetry, photography and even blogging, if you want to try it yourself. The official 365Project.org is a photo version.

If you already follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you should see all of them there as I add them, tagged as #365project.

I've been thinking of doing a 365 project for a long time, but carrying a camera around with me all the time seemed unreasonable (and I just can't seem to blog that often). Now that I have an Apple device (gasp) and smart phone, both with cameras and easy sharing programs, I don't have any excuse. It may not always be polished. Sometimes it'll be dumb. But, in the end, I will have 365 works of art representing a year in my life.

Feel free to comment on them, or give me ideas. I'm sure there will be days when I need it!

A note on love and respect

I know the title of this post seems connected to the recent flimsy-paper-heart day, but it really came from someone asking what I thought of their boyfriend. At the time, I told her as long, 'as he treats you with respect and love, he's OK with me.' I'd probably add now that he should treat others with respect as well, including himself. But that made me think… what is respect? It's fine to sing, "R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me," but if you can't put tangible evidence to it, how can you be sure you've got it?

I think Eliza in My Fair Lady said it best. "the difference between a lady and a flower girl is not how she behaves, but how she is treated. I shall always be a common flower girl to Professor Higgins, because he always treats me like a common flower girl, and always will. But I know that I shall always be a lady to Colonel Pickering, because he always treats me like a lady, and always will." Put simply, if someone treats you with respect, it brings out the best you have to offer. That's why respect is so important.

Theoretically, children should learn respect from how parents and family treat each other. In the world we live in, that's doesn't always happen and the lessons aren't always good. How does anyone learn to respect others if they've never seen it in close courters, or if they don't respect themselves?

Here are some real life examples (in guy form, but they apply to girls as well):

There is not enough respect if…

—He constantly talks badly about his friends behind their backs. It shows a lack of respect for everyone, especially if he is doing it to make himself look good. And, you can bet if he's talking about them, he's talked about you as well.

—He only tells his side of every story. If he can't see anyone's side but his own, he is not showing respect for other people.

—The guy asks your opinion, says that's a good idea, and then goes out and does the opposite. If he didn't like the idea, he should have been respectfully honest.

—He expects you to respect his space and home, but treats yours like a hotel.

—He hears a firm "no" and continues to push your buttons … for any reason… ever.

There is respect and love if… he shares the load equally. It's hard to imagine rough times when you are starting out, but when economic crisis or the loss of a child happens, you need to know you won't be crying alone. It starts with being able to share - not just his day, but his dreams, fears and hopes. Then when you share with him, does he listen and remember? This isn't flowers for your birthday type memory. When you are afraid, or hurt, does he remember the deeper cause or root of your fear and sooth it? Or, does he simply tell you to 'buck up'?

Also, when you are sad or sick, he shouldn't flee the scene. He should be able to stay and hold you while you sniffle. When he's sick or sad, he should let you hold him, so you can sniffle together. I think this is one reason couples should be together for a while before getting married. If you've never shared bad times together, it's hard to say how either person will react. I know a man who lost his wife to another man, because when they lost a child he was not able to be emotionally there for her. This could also be seen as courage rather than respect, but what is courage if not respect for one's self and others?

If I could boil it down and bring it back to the Eliza quote... If you feel like you are a better person (not just a happier person) when you are with them and afterwards, that is the natural response to love and respect.

For more on this topic, my husband and I can recommend Love and Respect by Emerson Eggerichs. The book focuses on love as a girl thing and respect as a guy thing (and is a lot longer than my post) but is a great read for any couple.

Saga of the Wedding Ring

Long ago (a few years), I was about to get married. To my surprise, we had no wedding rings and it was a few days before the wedding. After a quick shopping trip, we found something that worked for the wedding, knowing we would get something later. A relative gave me something that matched better, so I used that for a long time. The gift ring started to give me a rash and I recently gave up wearing it. My husband bought me a wedding ring for Christmas, but because of the saga I got it early. :) And now, you see the ring I'll always wear!

A Halloween Tale

I wrote this based on a dream I had after too much Italian food, a fever, and Halloween decorations. An interesting combination...

It was not a dark and stormy night. The evening was gorgeous, full of laughing, music, and food so good it was like a full orchestra and choir singing the halleluiah chorus in our gullets. As we returned to the flat we were laughing about a joke friends had told. As we turned the corner into the living room, we were beautiful. My dress was gorgeous, with a 1920’s flair, and my husband was in his best suit. We were walking on air. The corpse we met there was wearing a suit as well. He was all dressed up with nowhere to go, lying face down on our living room carpet.

Heads, dead or no, do not generally lay face down in carpet. They roll to the side. This one had been smashed in from the front, so that it stayed face down, though the carpet seemed clean in the dim light. It was one of those great carpets that never showed anything but wear.

Of course, we called the police. Told them we hadn’t touched anything, and we hadn’t. We hadn’t even needed to check his pulse. The stench made it clear he was long gone. We also hadn’t looked through his pockets, or even rolled him over to see who he was. I’d like to think we thought it would be messy, or too disgusting to live with for the rest of our lives, but really we just didn’t want to know. He was rude enough to be dead on our floor. If he was someone we knew, surely, there would be more trouble to come and we'd deal with it then.

But we did know the dead guy. At least, I did, and he had a long evolved back story. To keep it short, he’d been a lover, then a friend, then the only enemy I’ve ever known. I caught a glimpse of what was left of the face as they took away the remains and thought about being sick. He was an old romance, long dead in more ways than one. The policeman said he’d died hours ago, possibly days, and asked questions about mob connections and whether this might be a hit. I said it couldn’t have been a mob hit. It was too late for Christmas and I hadn’t even asked for anything. He didn’t think that was too funny.

I told him, "Why anyone would bring someone long dead and forgotten into my living room I couldn’t say." Perhaps one of his friends from the old neighborhood caught up with him? His dealings were usually of the under-the-table type when I knew him, though he’d always sworn to straighten up. He knew some people that could make your hair stand on end without trying.

The last glimpse I got of him was gruesome and will always stick with me. Luckily, it hasn’t stuck to the carpet and no one has come round to check. We’ve had to find another coffee table, and he’s just not the same.

If you missed the webinar...

If you missed my Photoshop CS5 webinar, you can still catch the recording free at this address: http://uom.na5.acrobat.com/p17248167/. There were some problems with sound at the beginning, but we worked those out pretty quickly. We're still figuring out this whole webinar thing! :)

Free Photoshop Webinar (Oct. 12th)

I’m doing a Photoshop webinar tomorrow (Tuesday) from noon to 1pm. I’ll be covering some fun stuff in CS5. Learn how to make images like the one you see here as well as other tips and tricks. Anyone can sign up, even if you are not with the University of Missouri. Go Here: http://doit.missouri.edu/training/webinar.html, and click on the blue “here” link under the schedule around noon tomorrow.