TWEET,TWEET, SWEET!

Tweeting

OBSERVATION OF THE DAY!

As a man of the 21st century, I have added another really cool symbol of my hipness. I am a Twitterer. This is microblogging, txt messaging the minutia of what is going on at the moment, as if anybody really cares. U txt 2 friend or fellow Twitterer things like,"Im havin a ham sandwich 4 lunch now.", "Wat a cool chck just passed by.", Im going 2 p now."

There are actually groups of Twitterers who meet every once in a while (Tweetups). Recently in San Diego 75 fellow twitterers got together. They ranged from young stylish young ladies to 50 year old men. That is reason enough for me to join a Tweetup.

From the San Diego Union Tribune:

"Twitter (twitter.com) launched in 2006 to a tiny community of Web-savvy folks. (i.e. people of te 21st century) In April 2007, about 200,000 people had caught on. As of April 2008, 1.2 million people were Twittering from places as far away as Brazil, Myanmar, India and China and throughout North America and South America.

“In the last quarter, Twitter has grown bigger and faster than ever,” said Biz Stone, co-founder of the free site. Some would argue Twitter is a little too popular because it often shuts down from being overloaded with too many users.

A glossary of Twitter terms Failwhale: The cute whale cartoon that pops up on Twitter when the site is overcapacity. Microblogging: Short and frequent updates about what you're doing, the minute you're doing it. Tweet: An update on Twitter. “At the grocery store,” is a tweet. Tweetup: A meeting of Twitter users from a particular area or common interest. San Diego has monthly get-togethers. Twitter: A Web site devoted to microblogs that are 140 characters or fewer.

It may seem frightening to share such personal information with strangers, but Shandon Fowler, once a social media strategist for AOL.com and now an author, called it a generational difference. " (not for a man of the 21st century)

"Jennifer Van Grove, 27, is a San Diego Twitterer. She's a social media consultant and uses the site as a way to meet new clients."

"Social media strategist" and "social media consultant?" HUH?

“Grove said, "I go to a lot of conferences, and instead of exchanging business cards, we exchange Twitter names,” Get a life, Jen!

A glossary
of Twitter terms

Failwhale: The cute whale cartoon that pops up on Twitter when the site is overcapacity.

Microblogging: Short and frequent updates about what you're doing, the minute you're doing it.

Tweet: An update on Twitter. “At the grocery store,” is a tweet.

Tweetup: A meeting of Twitter users from a particular area or common interest. San Diego has monthly get-togethers.

Twitter: A Web site devoted to microblogs that are 140 characters or fewer.

I am amazed when I see the amount of texting is done by my teenage Luis. Texting does not promote good spelling. I have found myself starting to write "U" instead of "you" in an email.

And so I twitter, tweet, text and blog my way into the 21st century.

Have a nice day!

Sammy C

GUEST OBSERVATION!

OBSERVATION OF THE DAY
BY
MARK ARNOLD

So I was watching the all-star game go into extra innings when I saw a
commerical that made me think the economy might not be as bad as we
all think.

The ad was for "Just for Men" hair coloring. For years the commericals
promised to get ride of all your gray hair and restore it to the
youthful color it once was.

My how times have changed. Now Just for Men offers "Touch of Grey". It
now promises to get ride of almost all your gray hair. Everything but
those sexy George Clooney gray hairs, will be restored to it's
youthful color.

As a man of 31 who has a handful of gray hairs, (of which my stylist
promises will looks sexy) I am left to wonder if I will ever look at
my hair and say, I like some gray, but not all if it.

My how technology is amazing. First the new iPhone and now Touch of
Grey.

How does this new wonder product determine which hairs and the sexy
George Clooney gray hairs vs. the  Archie Bunker creepy old man hairs?

If we can afford a product that knows sexy hairs from non sexy hairs,
maybe we can find a solution for rising gas prices and the morgage
crisis.

It makes me sad, but then I think to myself, "at least I'm not bald
like my brother, cause that would just suck."

I don't think they will ever make  "Touch of Male Pattern Baldness"
for that sexy Nic Cage look.

Have a nice day!

Mark P. Arnold, Chip off the old block.

DREAMS CAN COME TRUE AND A LEGEND IS WRITTEN!

Observation of the Day!

The thing I like most about baseball is its history. Our National past time has been played well over a hundred years. Fenway Park was built in 1912 and Wrigley field was opened in 1914, and they are still the homes of the Red Sox and the Cubs. Baseball is a game of statistics. Sooner or later everything comes almost full circle. However, there is always room for something to happen in a game that has never happened before. This not only happens to fans, but to the players who play everyday.

Baseball is full of legends, characters and stories. Last night at the exhibition of home run hitting the day before the 2008 All Star game, another legend was born in a place where legends are born.

I was not going to watch the show, but there was nothing else on. My opinion before the show was that the event was over-hyped and frankly boring. I was thinking about surfing, when Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers stood at the plate to take his cuts. I knew he was the RBI leader with 95. I decided to watch. On the mound was an old (71) pitcher, Claybon Counsil,Josh's Legion Ball batting practice pitcher in North Carolina. Counsil had only been in Yankee Stadium once before. Would you believe that the game he witnessed was Don Larson's perfect no-hitter in the World Series.

Hamilton proceeded bash out thirteen home runs in a row, and then went on to finish with a record setting twenty-eight, Even the sound of the ball off the bat was different because they all caught the absolute sweet spot of the bat. His home runs were not fence skimmers, they were long and towering. It was the greatest exhibition on home run hitting in this format that anyone has ever witnessed. That was the story of the evening, but the real story was Josh's life.

Josh Hamilton was a number one overall draft choice, He was a complete five tool player. He received a $4 million dollar signing bonus and started a quick climb to the major leagues. He got side tracked with an extreme addiction to drugs and alcohol. His arms carry the rock star like tattoos., most of which were applied when he was high on heroin. Today he is ashamed of them. He was suspended from baseball. Hamilton went to rehab eight times before he began the long journey to recovery and along the way became a devout Christian. I am not much for professional athletes praising the lord after a game, but Josh's testimony was real. The Lord gave Josh Hamilton the ability to get back his life, and through his own efforts made it back to the game he loved. He was finally re-instated and after the long layoff from the game his superstar skills returned and he was back in the big leagues.

Then there was the "dream". When he was still suspended he had a dream that he was in Yankee Stadium and hitting in the Home Run Derby. At that time it was strictly one of those crazy dreams. Last night it came true. What a story.

The finals were between Justin Morneau of the Twins and Hamilton. The slate is wiped clean for the finals. Josh lost his rhythm and ironically did not win the Derby. But for sure it was his night, and it will always be his Derby. Another legend is born in the place where so many baseball stories originated, Yankee Stadium in the last All Star event to be staged at the grand old ball park.

Have a nice day and enjoy the game!

Sam

SONG OF THE WEEK!

Beach boys-Surfin USA

Ah! Summer~

ISN'T IT GREAT?

SAMMY

SMALL OBSERVATIONS!

Tidbits

These are little things I observed on our trip to Michigan.

A motorcycle with a man and wife in their fifties riding along the highway. The bike had training wheels. I hope they don’t stop at a biker bar.

Weird Wax Museum. I have no idea what you would see, but it was also the home of the “Mystery Spot”.

Sign advertising Pasties in the UP. Easy fellows. They are Polish ravioli.

Sign on small business, Honest Injun’ Trading Trap! Not exactly politically correct, but honest Injun.

Snowmobile Museum. I didn’t know they were old enough to have a museum.

A village named Germfask. Couldn’t find a translation, just thought it was an interesting name.

And finally for the guys. A sign on I-94 by Gary, Indiana advertising a “Gentleman’s Club”.

The Cruisin’ Chubby!

Have a nice day!

Sammy

IT AIN'T ALL PEACHES AND CREAM!

Observation of the Day!

This week I found out how hard it is to be a man of the 21st century. It’s not all “peaches and cream”. The first problem I encountered as a traveling man of the 21st century is that you have a lot of wires to pack. Rechargers for the computer, the cell phone, the digital camera battery, the Bluetooth, and the IPOD, and don't forget the digital camera download and the IPOD playlist editing cables. I stuff them all in my duffel bag, and when I get them out they are a tangled mess, leading to 21st century frustration. How in the hell do they get so mixed up?

As you all know, we have been in Michigan for a week. We started in the Detroit area and moved a little north to Lakeside Lake, then to Five Lakes a little farther north, and finally we started home over the Mackinaw Bridge and the Upper Peninsula. We went further north into the Upper Peninsula to visit with Doe’s brother for a couple of hours before we started the final leg of the trip. That’s where the trouble started.

The major challenge was that there is no wireless network to accommodate my computer window to the world at the Lakes. There were no obituaries from The Marion Chronicle Tribune, no Minneapolis Star Tribune so I could not yell at the stupidity of Sid Hartman’s column, no San Diego Union Tribune for Nirvana news , no Drudge, no USA Today, no news from my stock portfolio, which is actually a good thing. However, as a man of the 21st century I had my new cell phone with web access, and I was able to get the basic news and scores while I was in lower Michigan. I would survive. However, the wilderness of the UP would change the feeling of security.

The north woods is really the north woods. Friggin’ trees everywhere. Verison may have the largest geographical coverage of any cell phone provider, but it ain’t in the north woods. I was totally isolated, except for my new IPOD that replaced the one I lost. I was without a IPOD for about three weeks. I couldn’t stand it and bought a new and more expensive one. Now I had no cell phone and no computer. Anxiety built. I was now one of those people addicted to the tools of the 21st century. I was one of those people I had made fun off.

Hello, my name is Sam and I’m an addict.

We finally got back to civilization and the cell contact renewed, and I was getting close to home and the comfortof my wi-fi. All is now well in the 21st century.

Have a nice day!

Sammy Carl.

THE FOURTH ON THE FIFTH

Observation of the Day!

There is something about being on or near a body of water that gives you the peaceful feeling of a little Nirvana. Five Lakes in Northern Michigan is not the Pacific Ocean or the Caribbean, but that feeling surrounds me. Jimmy Buffet sings in my ears through my IPOD, providing the background music.

When my brothers and I were kids our family had two cottages at Beaver Dam Lake in Northern Indiana. My grandparents were among the first to build on this lake in the early thirties. There were no beavers at Beaver Dam. The term in Minnesota would be “cabins”, but in Indiana they were “cottages”, and the “docks” of Michigan and Minnesota were “piers” in Indiana.

The cabins were very much the thirties, even though it was the fifties. The core of the cottages was still there, but additions were made, I wouldn’t go as far to say remodeling. Additions were attached periodically to provide more bed space. The additions sagged in places.

There wasn’t indoor plumbing until the fifties, and the icebox was truly an icebox with a chunk of ice cooling the perishables. We didn’t have running water until the fifties. We pumped fresh well water.

We actually had a two-hole outhouse. We always thought the two holes were so people could take a poop and chat. We boys never understood one was for the women and one was for the men. They weren’t marked, so we boys used them both at random, much to the dismay our mother and grandmother. Terry and I used to use the privy as a personal hidden, rather stinky smoking lounge. We stole the Luckies from Uncle Gurne.

The game, when we went to the lake, was to see who could see the lake first as we came over the little hill. I remember sitting under the big tree by the bridge on Saturday nights about seven, waiting for Dad to come up after he closed the store. Sunday was Dad’s only day off.

Beaver Dam Lake was not a Nirvana then, but it surely is now. We loved that childhood.

As I sit in the pontoon tied to the “dock” (I’m in Michigan now), I look at the lake and listen to the King Parrot head. There are no yachts or sailing ships of which Jimmy Buffet sings, but there are the boats of lake tradition moving back and forth across the water. In the Beaver Dam days it was rowboats and rowboats with outboard engines. If you had a ten-horse power outboard you were the fastest on the lake. Now if it’s smaller than a sixty-five hp you got nothin’. Jet skies are all over the place, speeding across and around the lake like Tennessee Walking horses with their tails in the air. There was a fellow on a big jet ski, certainly the fastest on the lake that raced past unendingly. He wore a vest, which I am sure he hated, He had bulging muscles, a shaved head, a real macho, macho man. He was like the guys at Beaver Dam who had ten horses on their tail.

There are speedboats of various sizes pulling big fat decorated phony tires with kids hanging on for dear life. What happened to just pain innertubes that were mostly just idlely floated in?

There was actually an old rowboat of the Beaver Dam era with a small outboard puttering along. Definitely uncool.

And then of course the boat of choice for the older folks, the pontoon. They do have large outboards and can reach enough speed to pull a tube, but nothing is more uncool than a young person driving his grandpa’s pontoon pulling a tube.

Strangely enough there were no water skiers to be seen this day. I guess they have gone the way of the rowboat, replaced by jet skis and fancy tubes.

It was wonderful and peaceful and Nirvana on earth.

Sam