How and why I Twitter: part 1

By kate on December 2nd, 2007

I resisted Twitter for a long time because I couldn’t understand the appeal. It was only after I sort of backed into it that I fell in love. This is the three-part story of how that happened, why I love it, and some of the behind-the-scenes mechanics of how I configured it all.

It started with Facebook. When my previous employer launched a partnership with Facebook, I and everyone else in the company jumped into Facebook to see what all the fuss was about. This gave me an instantly large network of friends there, and that made Facebook stick. I enjoyed checking the news feed to see what everyone was doing, and who they were befriending. Eventually, I realized that my favorite part of Facebook is the status updates. If you’re not familiar with Facebook, the status update is a short field that you can edit that begins with your name (for example, “Kate is looking forward to soccer tonight”). It’s not just used literally for announcing your status, but for any short message you’d like to convey.

Then a few of my former colleagues became disenchanted with Facebook and began using Twitter instead. (Twitter is a website based around sharing only such short status updates.) I realized I also had some non-Facebook friends who had been Twittering all along. So, I began using Twitter as well to interact with those people. At first, I used Facebook as an entry point, but Twitter slowly won me over. Now, I read and write status updates through Twitter and they get sent to Facebook automatically (more on the details of that later).

Twitters and Facebook status updates are almost the same thing. But Twitter offers the ability to directly respond to someone else, either publicly or privately. And that simple extra feature is enough to make me prefer Twitter.

At first, I tried to update my status (in Facebook) once a day so it wouldn’t seem stale. Once I got in the habit of updating, I updated probably 2-3 times per day on average. After moving to Twitter, my frequency picked up a bit because I’d sometimes respond to other twitters as well as posting my own. Now that I’m fully addicted, I’m still not broadcasting everything. I range from 3-5 twitters on most days, less when I’m sitting around the house, and more when I’m out and about.

Checking Twitter is another story. I probably do that at least four times an hour. Why? Come back tomorrow for part 2 of this series.

Filed under: meta, relationships, technology | 1 Comment »

The mindset that makes smart kids fail

By kate on December 1st, 2007

I just read this fascinating article (long, but worthwhile) about what makes smart kids successful and what doesn’t:

The Secret to Raising Smart Kids
Hint: Don’t tell your kids that they are. More than three decades of research shows that a focus on effort�-�not on intelligence or ability�-�is key to success in school and in life.

The results of the research really ring true for me. I was a smart kid, and for a long time was able to skate easily by on my intelligence. I was much slower to learn the value of hard work and effort (when it comes to mental challenges). Even through college, I was able to complete most of my coursework successfully without really breaking a sweat, so it was a hard trap to get out of. It wasn’t until I entered the work force that I began learning this life lesson. I would have been much better off had I learned it as a kid.

I’m planning to apply this idea to raising Ruby, and hopefully I can keep her out of the “fixed mind-set” that I fell into.

Filed under: learning | 2 Comments »

Accordions rock

By kate on November 23rd, 2007

I was recently having a conversation with a friend, who insisted he had never heard any good accordion music. I was shocked and spent a recent afternoon throwing together a mix CD. Here is the track listing:

Mission to an Alien Planet�~�Awesome
Home for a Rest�~�Spirit of the West
The Old Black Rum� ~ �Great Big Sea
The Mariner’s Revenge� ~ �The Decemberists
Sons and Daughters� ~ �The Decemberists
Over the Rails� ~ �Circus Contraption Band
Hot Coals� ~ �Circus Contraption Band
Alligator Stomp� ~ �Clifton Chenier
Particle Man� ~ �They Might Be Giants
Neighborhood #2 (Laika)� ~ �The Arcade Fire
Jesus Doesn’t Want Me For A Sunbeam� ~ �Nirvana
Lucky Ball & Chain� ~ They Might Be Giants
Don Loope� ~ Nortec Collective
‘Cause Cheap Is How I Feel� ~ �Cowboy Junkies
If I Had A Million Dollars� ~ �Barenaked Ladies
And If Venice Is Sinking�~ �Spirit of the West

Filed under: music | 1 Comment »

The marriage lasted longer than the ring

By kate on November 21st, 2007

Steve and I have been married about five and a half years. In that time, our relationship has gotten better and stronger. Unfortunately, I can no longer say the same about my wedding ring!

What you see above is the condition of my wedding ring as of this morning, when I noticed an entire chunk was missing. This was on top of the three (of eight) diamonds that had fallen out in the past month. The ring is made of platinum, supposedly one of the strongest precious metals, so I’m not sure what to think.

My wedding ring, of course, has great sentimental value for me. We designed them together and have matching ones. I have never taken it off except when absolutely necessary (during pregnancy). For it to suddenly disintegrate feels very strange and impossible.

I’m angry enough to say that we got our rings custom-made from Britton Jewelry in Vancouver. They have not yet had a chance to respond, although I certainly will be paying them a visit the next time we go north.

In the meantime, I’m wearing my engagement ring instead, a beautiful ring designed by Steve. Regrettably, it was made by the same jeweler. I’m hoping that it doesn’t have the same structural flaws.

Filed under: humor, life, luck, relationships | 1 Comment »

Learning about time

By kate on November 19th, 2007

Click here for a post I wrote on Ruby’s blog about a project I created to teach Ruby about the days of the week.

Filed under: handiwork, life, parenting | 1 Comment »

A punishment I can enjoy

By kate on November 19th, 2007

When Ruby is being punished, I almost always go for the timeout. But sometimes, a timeout just isn’t possible – in the car, for example. It took me a while to figure out something I could punish her with in the car (for such misdeeds as not listening when I tell her to come and get in the car, or being noisy when someone’s on the phone).

But as Ruby got more and more interested in listening to music, I realized that was the solution. If I want to promise a reward, I can tell her I’ll put on her favorite CD. If I need to punish her in the car, I can threaten to put on NPR (“talking” as Ruby calls it).

It’s a great system because I enjoy the car ride either way, and the punishment doesn’t slow us down when we’re on our way somewhere.