Monthly Archives: January 2008

12 January 2008

360! Again

By Nicki

I know I am not a big blog in the Yahoo! 360 world. I have, though, been blogging since November of 2005. I am not concerned with moving to a universal profile. I am absolutely amazed that people have more than one Yahoo! profile. I have one – it works for 360, it works for email, it works for geocities (it is not the original geocities ID I had when I first started there but that plus a dot geo), it works for groups.

I have watched Yahoo! do changes and integration previously. There was little, if any, contact when Geocities became a Yahoo! product. There was slightly more when egroups moved to Yahoo! groups. I believe that the product development community is trying to have even more information on the 360 closing/new universal profile and social networking starting but they are doing so from a product and, basically, an engineering point of view. They are not doing it from a marketing or public relations point of view.

I have a degree in marketing and public relations. The first big mistake was to say the word “close.” Use any of a number of other words in saying things will be different and you are already on better footing – migration, integration. Even culminate and conclude might go over better. Close has way too much of a finality with it to make anyone reading feel secure in what they post here and in what they want to post in the future.

The main thing for anyone contemplating such a huge change is “people don’t like change,” regardless of what the political parties will tell you. Status quo is much easier in most facets of our lives than change is.

Another contemplation is for the product development team to realize this change – whatever format it may be – will be similar to death for many people. There will be all five stages of grief set out by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross – denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Each 360 user will go through these stages at a different pace. I have seen this happen as I use to moderate a discussion forum that just closed.

Lastly, information is the most important thing that Yahoo! has on its side. By letting all 360 users know what is going on and feeling vested in the change, Yahoo! will have a much easier time in the arena of public opinion.

For those who have not read the various blogs on the 360 change, please see a list below.
Yahoo! 360 Product Blog
Mr E’s Blog
My360MI’s Product Blog
Yes Virginia, 360 is Closing…However…

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11 January 2008

Road Trip #1 for 2008

By Nicki

Tickets

Last Friday and Saturday brought the first road trip of the 2008 year.

My 20 year old daughter attends Niagara University. While university is on break, winter sports continue with little break. Some students don’t even get home for the holiday due to distance. She is a huge hockey fan, as am I, so we got tickets to the Purple Eagles’ games at Cornell which is less than 40 miles from home.

Friday’s trip was uneventful as driving goes. I have made the trip to Cornell many times for many different events so it is an easy drive. The hockey game was also uneventful. Niagara started their freshmen goalie and he took a huge beating. When they finally put in their junior goalie, the score was already 4-0. The final score was 6-0, Cornell.

Seats, on the other hand, were wonderful! To start with, Cornell’s ice rink seats as many as the local county arena where an AHL team plays. We were in front of a goal but at rinkside. We were in row 1.

Saturday’s travel was a different story. We were unsure, as the game was being televised, if we were going to go as here at home it was sleeting and hailing and freezing rain. Off we went anyway. We would have probably had an uneventful trip had it not been for dropping off her twin brother at his girlfriend’s house near Ithaca College. The roads – especially the side one she lives on – up on the hill were icy and there was a bit of slipping and sliding but no accidents.

The game Saturday was like two different teams were playing. With just about three minutes left in the game, the score was tied 3-3. My daughter and I were sure the game was heading for OT. Alas, this was not to happen but it was great hockey although another NU loss, 4-3.

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9 January 2008

Simply Happy

By Nicki

The last few days in Simple Abundance have talked about happiness – our inability to find it within ourself, our inability to get happy ourselves, the source of happiness being outside our control.

More than anything, the January 8th reading, which I just re-read, spoke to me.  I was at a funeral yesterday – a funeral of a young man who died too young but who lived to the fullest while he was here.  While I am sure he was in pain near the end of his life, he didn’t stop living.  He definitely showed those of us who knew him – and there were thousands of us – that happiness was not dependent on a remodeled kitchen as author Sarah Ban Breathnach mentions nor on what is going on around us but it was dependent on a faith in our God or a higher authority and on ourselves and knowing our authentic self.

Then, as this morning awakened, I read about the differing between wants and needs.  When I read this, I always think of children.  They seem to “need” every new gadget they see.  As they become older, their “needs” get more elaborate and expensive.  We, as parents, need to teach children the difference between want and need.  These things are usually wants.  When I think of what I “need” as a woman and as an adult, I realize that there is truly little I need.  But the list of wants could get long.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , | posted in Just my Thoughts, Simple Abundance, Triple Eight Challenge

9 January 2008

Marbling Papers

By Nicki

Combining several things I am doing this year, I am reading a book called Paper Transformed by Julia Andrus. Lesson one is on marbling so off I went.

Marbling ATCs

I used shaving cream – the old fashioned actual cream type. Then, I put drops of dye re-inkers in the shaving cream. I took plastic forks and “marbled” the ink in and then pressed the cardstock into the design.

As the shaving cream got rather thick, I pressed one piece onto another piece. You can almost see which two are the pairs.

These were done in ATC (Artist Trading Cards) size – 2.5″ by 3.5″. I have a project in mind!

Marbling Doorhangers

The second marbling was also done with a predetermined project in mind.  I used precut door hangers that I have had on hand for years.  They are from Stampin’ Up! and are glossy.  I used shaving cream and dye reinkers again (Stampin’ Up! colors – Marvelous Magenta, Pink Passion – or is it Passion Pink and Pretty in Pink).  I am putting fun
foam hearts around the top where there is no marbling and stamping or decorating, not sure exactly yet, with Valentine items.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Art, Triple Eight Challenge

5 January 2008

Gratitude and Dress Rehearsals

By Nicki

Yesterday, I spent the day trying to get everything done I needed done so as to spend the evening with my daughter.  It seemed like I was spinning wheels going nowhere until we left for her college’s hockey game.

As I read yesterday’s entry from SBB, I noticed that she gives us first definitions.  These are always tricky as she is creating a synergy – new buzz word from work – so that the combination of the words simple and abundance creating more together than the sum of their individual parts. 

The talk about happiness I am taking with a new light also.  The other book I am reading right this moment is The Art of Happiness by his Holiness the Dalai Lama and a Western psychiatrist – I believe his name is Howard but don’t have the book handy at the moment.  I am reading what SBB has to say about happiness and authentic awakening and what the Dalai Lama has to say and they are meshing quite well.

We also get our first introduction to gratitude on January 3rd.  The bigger push to creating a grateful life will come later in the month when we start a gratitude journal.  If you are truly interested in more on gratitude, Deborah Norville has a book out about it.

I always find the January 4th post about life not being a dress rehearsal a favorite.  I realize that many times we think it is.  We work but do not prosper.  We have family but do not have time for them.  These are all part of the dress rehearsal of life.  Life is NOT a dress rehearsal.  You need to live your life.  While you may not want to cook every night – or even every other night, it makes for a better life for your family in so many ways.  While you may laugh at putting makeup on to go to the grocery for a few minutes, trust me when I say it is worth it in more ways than one. 

You can create the setting for your life.  You need to look at your life like a book.  You have control over so many of the items that it takes to make a best seller – characters, setting, and the plot.  You just need to be yourself and be sure of the story you are weaving.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , | posted in Simple Abundance

3 January 2008

A New Side to My Geekdom

By Nicki

Yes, I admit, willingly, to my children that I am a geek.  I graduated fourth in my class from a high school class of just over 400.  I graduated from a major university with a 3.4 while tutoring for the athletic department, volunteering through the Catholic church on campus and having pledged a national sorority and living the Greek life.

I have discovered a new side, a new slant to my geekdom.  I am living in upstate New York yet I am glued to – even channel surfing the 24 hour news channels – the news that is covering the Iowa caucuses.  I am finding it absolutely riveting that people are gathering in groups from 50 to 500 to decide in a very public manner who they are voting for to help their party decide on a presidential nominee.

My first thrill of the day came with a reporter earlier in the day actually explaining how Iowa caucuses.  I didn’t know that the Republican and the Democratic parties did it differently up until today.  I live in a state where, even if you switched your party affiliation back in December, the switch would not have taken effect for the February primary.  In Iowa, you could change your party affiliation today as you went in and it would be effective.

My next thrill was when I found a feed on CNN that is showing a caucus in someone’s living room.  There were 49 people in this home similar in size to mine.  These people were moving around the room from area for one candidate to another.  It was truly moving.

I heard Bill Bennett state that regardless of how strange the Iowa caucuses are we should think of it this way – Kenya was having riots and killings over an election; Pakistan killed a politician.  Here in the US, we are doing two of the most intimate things we can do – voting and inviting others into our homes. 

 I also heard Jack Cafferty say that he thought Iowa could decide if for us all.  It is evident that the Iowans take more time in this process than the rest of us.  They truly meet the candidates.  They spend time in caucuses.  We, at least in NY, show up and complain about having to wait in line – which basically means that people participating.

What a great night!

1 comment   |  tags: , , , | posted in Just my Thoughts, Politics

3 January 2008

Baby, It’s Cold Outside …

By Nicki

0375.jpgThe first real cold snap is hitting upstate NY right now. It actually started last night. You could feel it. So, when I had to crawl outside this morning to get child #5 to physical therapy by 7 am, it was 1F. Thankfully, the car was parked in such a manner that I didn’t get hit with any wind. I let the car warm up – well, at least run a bit – and headed out to go to PT with my son. The windchill was close to -15F.

I am finding as I get older that cold matters a bit more to me. I love winter. I should say that I love some parts of winter. I am enamoured with snow and with slightly colder weather. I don’t mind the short days and actually love as we climb out of short days into longer ones. I dislike extreme cold – which is what today has been. Unfortunately, it was absolutely beautiful out, albeit cold. The sun shone all day. There was ne’er a cloud in the sky.

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2 January 2008

January 2 – Live the Questions

By Nicki

I don’t believe I have ever really thought about what questions may be feared in my life that are holding me back.  I know that I do like to have all the answers before I jump headfirst into something.  In reading about living the questions, it makes me realize that every year, I don’t have this at the start of the year.  The year holds a clear slate to begin again.

 Where will this new year take you?  Where will it take me?  Who knows where we are going now and where we will end in December of 2008?

I think the questions this year, not personally, but for the larger country include a presidential election.  People, mostly the candidates themselves and the pollsters, hope they know the answers.  What they often fail to realize and consider is that the imperfect human may say one thing one week and do another thing the next week.  This will render polls rather insignificant.

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1 January 2008

The Triple 8 Challenge – Reading

By Nicki

booksIf you are interested in participating, please visit the “official” site for details. Below are my entries and partial lists. I will be updating as I can.

Books by Jimmy Carter – CAT 1

   1. Beyond the White House: Waging Peace, Fighting Disease, Building Hope
   2. Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid
   3. Our Endangered Values
   4. Christmas in Plains
   5. An Hour Before Daylight
   6. Always a Reckoning and other Poems
   7. Sources of Strength: Meditations on Scripture for a Living Faith (overlap)
   8. Talking Peace: A Vision for the Next Generation

Penguin Paperbacks – CAT 2

   1. Sun Kissed by Catherine Anderson
   2. The Cat Who Dropped a Bombshell by Lillian Jackson Braun
   3. Sister, Sister by Eric Jerome Dickey
   4. High Heels Are Murder by Elaine Viets
   5. French Fried by Nancy Fairbanks
   6. The Lipstick Chronicles by Kathryn Shay, Fiona Kelly, Vivian Leiber, & Lynn Emery
   7. The Corset Diaries by Katie MacAlister
   8. Hot Dish by Connie Brockway

Self-Improvement/Learning – CAT 3 

   1. Life Makeovers by Cheryl Richardson
   2. Ready for Anything by David Allen
   3. Time Management from the Inside Out by Julie Morgenstern
   4. Get with the Program by Bob Greene
   5. Make the Connection by Bob Greene and Oprah Winfrey
   6. Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach
   7. Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson, MD
   8. The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living by His Holidness the Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler MD
Books about Church/Bible – CAT 4

   1. The Bible
   2. The Catholic Faith Handbook
   3. Sources of Strength by Jimmy Carter (overlap)
   4. They Were Women Like Me: Women of the New Testament in Devotions for Today by Joy Jacobs
   5. Women of the Bible: A One-Year Devotional Study of Women in Scripture
   6. The Confessions of Saint Augustine (overlap)
   7. Prayers Before an Awesome God by David Haas
   8. What Paul Meant by Garry Willis
Books for Creating/Creative Help – CAT 5

   1. Paper Transformed by Julia Andrus
   2. Celebrate Your Creative Self by Mary Todd Beam
   3. The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
Oprah’s Book Club Books – CAT 6

   1. Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts
   2. House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III
   3. The Pilot’s Wife by Anita Shreve
   4. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
   5. The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
   6. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
   7. The Measure of a Man by Sidney Poitier
   8. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kinsolver

Books from College (These books were required reading by my college-aged kids and we still have them.) – CAT 7

   1. The Confessions of Saint Augustine (overlap)
   2. Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi
   3. Escape from Slavery by Francis Bok
   4. The Pact: Three Young Men Make a Promise and Fulfill a Dream by Davis, Jenkins, Hunt, and Frazier Page
   5. Watership Down by Richard Adams

Summer Reads - This category will remain slightly empty until June, most likely.  I spend about $35 on books to read over the summer each year – paperbacks that I think will be good while at the beach, at the pool, out grilling dinner.  Those included already are books I love and re-read every summer.  CAT 8

  1. A Salty Piece of Land by Jimmy Buffet
  2. Sammy’s Hill by Kristen Gore

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in Art, Just my Thoughts, Politics, Religion, Simple Abundance, Triple Eight Challenge

1 January 2008

Menus for January

By Nicki

Okay, so I was very enamoured with hockey this afternoon. I am truly a sports fanantic but of all the sports I can watch, hockey is my favorite.

Anyway, during hockey, I did a quick menu plan for now through the fourteenth of January.

1/1 – Boneless, Skinless chicken in Vidalia Onion vinagrette
1/2 – Turkey Burgers – stuffed with provolone and basil
1/3 – Leftovers – Yes, part of planning is planning to use up leftovers
1/4 – Macaroni and Cheese with Ham
1/5 – Potato Soup
1/6 – Pork Tenderloin
1/7 – Creamy Burrito Casserole ( From The Freezer Chicks)
1/ 8 – Leftovers
1/9 – Chili (not sure what kind but chili of some sort, made in two batches so one batch has no beans for Dan)
1/10 – Lasagna
1/11 – London Broil
1/12 – Boneless, Skinless chicken in Vidalia Onion vinagrette
1/ 13 – Pasta in meat sauce
1/14 – Moroccan Stew

Leave a comment   |  tags: , | posted in Just my Thoughts

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