Hi-tech brings families together

An interesting article appeared on the BBC website. I could not help agreeing. There is a perception that hi tech or computerized activities are solitary. They can be of course, but it does feel that we are coming full circle.

Before the technological media took a hold, families ate together, worked and lived close. Radio came along and families listened together. The same thing with TV. Again the perception is that this took something away from family communication etc, but sharing an activity can create a feeling of togetherness.

When I was a kid growing up in the 1960's, we used to watch TV as a family, we shared a telephone and would chat to callers before passing the handset on. We have of course moved towards solitary viewing, and mobile telephone have allow kids to have exclusive access to their friends with parents sometimes having little contact.

Perhaps, because humans are primarily social beings, the circle is now being completed, in using these mediums to return to closer links with family and friends, but when necessary this is by phone and connecting using online social networking sites such as Facebook. It has been interesting to watch this spreading quite rapidly from students to people now in retirement. When I joined Facebook about 18 months ago, I was in a minority in my age group, but I am now finding a larger and larger pool of computer literate friends online.

Fascinating really isn't it?

BBC: Hi-tech brings families together

Twittering - been doing it all my life

Now twitter, this is more up my street! I tend to talk all the time, filling all gaps with a fair amount of whitter, so as you can imagine twitter is for me.

Like all new gadgets, it takes a while for it to filter through to friends and family, so when I signed up on the 5th September, I was searching frantically for someone to follow, or to follow me.

Ah phew, husband to the rescue, although that just gives him another way to ask if dinner is ready yet!

Still it is now catching on with friends and my followers are increasing. This may have something to do with the fact that I let slip that Stephen Fry no less is following me! I don't need to tell everyone that he is following me because I follow him do I?

The ability to feed Twitter updates to my Facebook, Plaxo, this blog, updating my status from my iPhone while sitting on a bus, train, beach, cafe, park, son's activities all really appeal to me. I have lost count of the the number of times over the years I have meant to write down all the funny things that kids say to me, well now I twitter it!

Take a look to the right of the page and you will see my twitters for the day. Follow me at: www.twitter.com/KarenAtLongNeck

Opted out for a while

Well I started this blog, over a month ago, my intention was to write about my thoughts as I go about the activities of my home based mail order business and to mention the odd things that happen to make me laugh and cry bringing up my two boys. However the global financial markets rather overtook all my thoughts. I am not an economist so decided not to comment any further.

All I will say is 'What a horrible mess!' I just hope that we are not back where we were last month in the new year, having spent billions of our own money to bail the banks out. I will not be holding my breath!

Genius!

My blog has been classified as having a readability level of Genius! How did that happen? I guess I now have a lot to live up to.....

Money as Debt

Kevin and I, this morning over breakfast, were discussing the current banking situation. In our lifetime, certainly in our perception, it is extraordinary for banks to be other than safe. We found ourselves asking questions we did not have the answer to, and it made me realize that so many of us do not really understand fully our banking systems or even realize that we don't.

Shortly after our conversation I found this on a blog that I read and felt that I should share it. It is a 45 minute video so I would understand anyone feeling that they do not have time to watch, but I beg you to find the time. While you may not have asked the questions yourself, be sure that the information in this video will probably surprise.

I wonder if when we talk of the end of the world, what we really mean is the end of the world as we know it. I have often seen the year 2012 predicted as an apocalypse or a new beginning. Is this perhaps a reference to a new world wide monetary system needing to be put in place? Would it take that long? It would certainly lead to a transformation of the world as we know it.

Money as Debt Part 1 of 5



Money as Debt Part 2 of 5



Money as Debt Part 3 of 5



Money as Debt Part 4 of 5



Money as Debt Part 5 of 5



Source: collaboratingwithfate.blogspot.com/2008/09/credit-circulation-coins-collusion.html

What a blow!

Oh dear the times that we live in. My sympathies go to a friend who married last Saturday. I've seen the photos and they clearly had a fabulous time. However they have had to contend with the cancellation of their honeymoon due to the airline bankruptcy. To make matters worse, Ian works for Lehman Bros who also filed for bankruptcy today.

Story at BBC.co.uk

Ian and Lucy Neville, wishing you all the best for the future! With a start like this, let us hope that, it can only get better!

Is My Friend Mad?

This is worth sharing. I cannot say I would have the nerve to leap out of an aeroplane with my faith in only some nylon and a lot of cables, but good on you Kevin Marshall and friends!

Here's hoping that lots of people will sponsor you and your friends, in aid of Centrepoint.

The Chore of Food Shopping

Those who know me well know what a 'computer nerd' I am. Virtually all I am involved in can be linked back to my PC. Well yesterday's chore was to get the weekly food shopping. We have moved house recently and the usual boring task has been made acutely more tiresome now that I find myself using different supermarkets, with different layouts. I never quite got off my PC and went!

I have tried online shopping, comparing the big four, Ocado, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Asda, I am never quite sure I get the best deals, but I hop between them.

Kevin gave me this to look at yesterday, mySupermarket.co.uk, and it does address a lot of the problems of online shopping. The ability to compare prices across the various stores is really useful, the ability to change shop if one of the others is proving cheaper this week. Further it is possible to make substitutes within each shop on price and health properties!

Yes, this amuses me. Well....I have not placed my first order yet, but have imported my favourites and had a bit of a play. Will be using it soon........

Exploring Facebook Pages

We are still working on the main company website. At present the website has a manual order form. We are writing the new ecommerce section in Zen Cart, but it is taking time. In the meantime we have added a page in Facebook and set up a temporary shop, for the stamps alone.

Facebook as a place to introduce our company is a new venture. I am quite interested to look at the resulting statistics showing how quickly and far and wide our readership becomes.

http://www.new.facebook.com/pages/Long-Neck/10119857031