Picasa Web Albums

A very interesting site, indeed, with a lot of good pictures, but many more not so good. It always amazes me the lack of editing some people do before they post their pictures on-line There are so many tools available to them through a large number of photo software programs that would allow them to enhance their photos, direct the focus to the main element in the picture, penetrate the dark shadows, delete the blurry, deep-six the extraneous, and so on, and so on - and yet, for some reason, people do not take advantage of these capabilities. And so you usually have to sort through a large number of rocks before you find a diamond.

I also find it interesting that anyone who wants to can go in and e-mail one of these photo's to anyone else. There were definitely some pictures in the Kuaui Honeymoon album that I was looking at that I would not want e-mailed to strangers if they had been my photos.

The sole tag on the photo I sent was "Hawaii". I doubt that I will continue to use this application. I am not terribly interested in stanger's photos. But you never can tell, and it is nice to know how to access the Albums.

Actually I had never heard of Picasa before. My friends and I usually upload our photos to the Kodak Gallery on-line, which allows us to view and purchase copies of each other's photos if we wish, but the access to these photos is limited to the people that have been approved by the person who uploaded the photos. That concept is much more comfortable to my way of thinking.

Long Lost Nephew

I actually joined Facebook a few months ago. It was just to see what all the hype was about more than anything else. I had heard the buzz. "You should see what so- and-so has posted on Facebook." Or "Go and check out so-and-so's Facebook photos." Or "Did you know Bo has a Facebook account?" Now how could I resist THAT one?

So I signed up for Facebook, checked it out once or twice and decided that it was pretty much a monumental waste of time and promptly forgot about it. Until I got the e-mail. Our of the blue I received a terse note that said: "Could you be my aunt?" Indeed I could, and I was! My nephew, whom I had not heard from or seen in 26 years, and who had long ago emigrated to Australia, had tracked me down through Facebook. To say I was amazed, overwhelmed, thrilled, delighted would be putting it mildly. It was an awesome event and we have been busy catching up ever since.

So Facebook has its merits. It can bring with it unexpected miraculous gifts. But at the same time, I think it has definite drawbacks. Because 'My friends' on Facebook are mainly 'My Family', and anyone I approve of as a 'Friend' on Facebook has access to my friends (i,e, my family) as well, that makes me nervous. Thus I am very cautious about expanding my network.

But I definitely will continue to use Facebook. After all, there's no telling what other surprises are waiting for me out in cyberspace.

Delicious? Maybe ...

...not sure. Seems like a lot of work to find things I am looking for when the Google-Search engine does an adequate job for me and is a lot faster. Of course, I don't spend a lot of time surfing the web on a regular basis. But maybe on a snowy January afternoon, when the options are shovelling the driveway or checking out the websites other people have found interesting by using the Delicious Tags, it might have some appeal - if it were accompanied by a glass of red wine.

I bookmarked: The Internet Movie Data Base Web page (IMDB); Joe Barkson's World Wide Recipes; How to Buy a Used Car; and Fresh Blueberries.

The tags I used were: Movies; Cars; Recipes; Cooking; Snowies

Will I continue to use Delicious? Not sure really. Probably not. Although the ability to find a favourite Web page when you are on vacation and can't remember the URL does have it's appeal - So then again, maybe.

Bo Bice

I first became a fan of Southern Rocker Bo Bice when he was a contestant on Season 4 of American Idol. There was just something totally appealing about this sweet, long-haired guitar-playing man, and although he didn't win the contest, coming in a close second, he left the show with a large number of hard-core, extremely loyal fans, who have not only followed his career with dedication, but have forged lasting friendships with each other, as they travel to various cities to hear Bo perform.

Many of his performances are posted on U-Tube providing a way for his fans to keep abreast of what is happening in Bo-land even when they cannot be at the concerts in person.

'American Blood' is a song Bo wrote wrote in support of the troops overseas - he later travelled to Afghanistan to perform it for them in person. This link is to a pictorial tribute to the American soldiers and a full-band performance of his song



And this link is an acoustic version of the same song - just Bo and his guitar and a whole lot of heart.




You tube is totally awesome. It allows you to check out almost anything you hear about on the news or to listen to any artist's performance you might have missed. It also allows everyday people their 15 minutes of fame with a modicum of effort. I can't imagine not using it.

Why I signed up for Betty Blogger Summer School

I have a 14-year old grandson. Our relationship is not as close as I would like it to be due to the fact that Lucas lives in the United States and I don't get to see him nearly as often as would be my preference. In fact I sort of think of myself as the Christmas and Birthday grandma, only arriving on special occasions and always with gifts in hand.

However, recently it seems to me that not only is he far away from me physically, but he is also starting to talk a foreign language. He twitters and tweets in his own space, which he wants to make "My Space" as well. He social networks through Facebook and he tries to play tag with me on-line. He blogs about his favourite Web pages, hides behind his avitar, is constantly streaming something or other and his spelling is rudimentary but extremely creative thanks to the shorthand required by incessant texting. Truthfully, it is like my son and daughter-in-law adopted a child from a foreign country and I simply cannot communicate with him. So I decided to enlist the aid of Betty Blogger to help put me on the same page as Lucas - even if it is a Webpage - so that I can reconnect with the son of my son.

Letters of Security

Is it just me or does anyone else have a heck of time trying to recreate those letters of security you are asked to type before you can enter certain websites. The instructions seem so clear - type the letters you see in the box above. Yah! Right! The letters are fuzzy, run together, are excessively skewed, spell no word known to English-speaking man and are NEVER what you think you are seeing in the box above. It invariably takes me at least four different tries and sometimes more, before the gatekeeper deems I have suffered enough and allows me onto the page. And that is only when I am absolutely determined that I MUST be there. Often I just throw in the towel, admit I will never grasp the correct letters and go look for a more hospitable website.