The Biggest Wuss

Okay, maybe not the biggest…

I'd lost power two days ago because of Irma, and the way I'd spoken about it, bearing in mind there are other people who'd had it worse or who go through worse, it was almost a tragedy. One could interpret my words that way, at any rate.

Realizing that, I'd felt like a wuss. I'd felt like, me having grown up mostly in the United States, having accustomed myself to the conveniences of coming home and having a relatively set routine with relatively no interruptions, I was not adapting well (even though I suppose I somewhat was; my sister had told me not to be hard on myself).

I'd made a Facebook post about marveling that I'd still had some hot water though the power had gone out. The next day I didn't have that fortune. I'd gone to bed early because there was very little to do, and I was conserving my phone's power. I didn't have my podcasts. I had little light to read the few books I'd elected to keep after purging my collection.

I'd felt like the type of American person Jamaicans scorn as being soft and inflexible. I didn't/don't want to be that person. I don't want people thinking I don't or couldn't measure up.

The power returned yesterday, and so continues my life of relative comfort. #firstworldproblems

Cultural Parallels

Today at work one of my Jamaican co-workers did something I've seen many Jamaicans do: point at something with her lips.

As I'd posted it on Facebook a few of my friends made me remember that this is not Jamaica-only. I've seen other Caribbeans do it too (although, mostly Dominicans). I do recall seeing Filipinos do it too.

Nothing in this world is entirely unique; it may just be we've not discovered the other one of it. I used to think my name was pretty unique, but then it's not an uncommon name in India. It's still fairly uncommon, but not as rare as one might think.

Jupiter Jones in Jupiter Ascending was the exact genetic replica of the Abraxas matriarch. It was something that would happen eventually, but they'd no idea when it would be until they'd found her. They say individual snowflakes are unique and one-of-a-kind, but the finite atoms on this Earth will produce duplicates eventually.

I'd say, melodramatically, that nothing is special. I'll say that in my head, and say outright that everything can happen again.

Developments

I was on Facebook looking at the "On This Day" feature, and one of the posts included a comment my sister had made asking about the name of a song I'd put in the background of a collage video I'd posted today seven years ago.

My response at the time was I'd no idea because I'd gotten it from an iPod that, maddeningly and aggravatingly, didn't have the name or artist of the song in its IME. Somewhere along the line years later I'd discovered it, but it wasn't until today I'd realized anyone else was actually looking for this information.

So, I'd written my sister via Facebook Messenger and informed her. Since she's probably at Bible Study, I probably won't get a response until later.

Still, though, going from a child who'd not grown up with a computer nor watching television, to someone who has a pretty powerful and versatile computer in a holster at his hip; who comes home and sits in front of a computer that has access to (more or less) more than a lifetime's worth of information, video, images, and music; who can turn on a *networked* television and watch entire movies at a whim... This is something.

It's exciting being in the intermediate generation who saw these things come into daily life and who put them into daily use, as well as a little frustrating sometimes being the in the generation who has to coach the previous generation who's still trying, in some cases, to figure out how to turn these contraptions on.

It's another mention of the hilarity at how in high school I'd written journal entries of how I didn't think I'd ever be able to make electronic journal entries, or how I'd never get a phone with a camera because I already have a perfectly good camera.

How things develop...

Mashable: Instagram just announced two new types of Stories so you can watch forever

Instagram just announced two new types of Stories so you can watch forever
Get ready to see a lot more Instagram Stories. Read the full story | Shared from Apple News

#RASP - Rant Around Several Paragraphs #4: Facebook Feeds

I have a like/hate relationship with Facebook.

I like it because it helps me keep tabs on my friends, brothers, and geographically distant family. It helps me to get to know people I don't see fairly regularly a little better.

On this point, my hate comes out as well: Facebook likes to cater my feed to those with whom I've had relatively frequent or recent contact on Facebook or Messenger. This angers me.

I want to get to know all my friends, and to know what's going on in their heads or hearts. Biasing my feed to only those with whom I actually click a like or something occludes the posts of those who don't post very often. Facebook does this intentionally, of course, because they want your eyeballs, thumbs, and ears on Facebook (and hopefully some of your money, too) 24/7, if they can help it.
Enticing, one, therefore, to stay on there with things they know you'll continue to like and see out makes it worth their while to a have the feeds display that way.

I want, though, to see everyone's stuff. I want the "Most Recent" feed to be something I can default to. I want, when the Facebook app updates, to have the "Sound Off" on the feed option remain off!

I remember the good old days of "The Facebook" with virtual flinging of sheep and various little apps that included national flags of one's heritage, and when one could really connect with one's schoolmates. Then they'd rolled out neighborhoods, and I'd reluctantly had to have Miami as my secondary to FIU. That's still an option in Facebook, actually, a grandfathered thing.

As they've grown more commercial, more ubiquitous, and people are using Facebook for things that had fallen to other places to fill (Messenger for WhatsApp, even though WhatsApp is now a Facebook property anyway; Marketplace for Craig's List; Jobs for pretty much any job board; Memories for TimeHop or just going over one's feed nostalgically; Reviews for Yelp). It's gotten insane. I was on reddit the other day and someone was complaining about the Facebook app size, and all I had to say was, in more creative wording, think about how Facebook has become more than just a social network.

It's become a life draw for some people,

I just want to be able to have "Most Recent" be default so I can know what's going on in all my friends' lives and not just whomever Facebook determines is "worth" my time.

Replication

I'm not a Snapchat user. I'd tried it for all of three seconds and I thought it was silly, so I'd deleted the app (though I still, technically, have the account).

So, when Instagram brought Stories to their network, I was fine with it because it didn't duplicate functions, I could still use Instagram, and it was something of added value (most of the time). It still didn't have as many bells and whistles as Snapchat does, from what I've gleaned, but it's been relatively okay.

And the. Facebook Messenger came out with a stories interface (calling it "My Day"). And then WhatsApp. And now the main Facebook app itself!

 

Facebook just can't quit!

I understand there may be people who use only one of the four apps (though more than likely it's at least two). If you're in iOS and want to use the Messenger feature of Facebook, I believe they're still forcing you to use Messenger (though sideline reading just now, I've just discovered one can actually use it on its own, and that it's an Android thing, too) if you want to chat with your Facebook friends.

As a person who has all four apps, though, it's just plain annoying! I just want one, ubiquitous app! I remember I'd felt kind of fuming when Google decided they were going to spur Photos and Hangouts out of Google+. So, I have a bunch of apps when I used to have just one go-to app.

I don't like it.

Water Consumption

I tried drinking water as a regular part of my day for the first half of this week.

And it sucked...

First, I should note that I don't really subscribe to fads or trends. I tend to avoid them, so popular things, things "everyone is going to see", and the like, I tend to not do. This isn't necessarily out of spite or being contrarian (though I sometimes, briefly, play mock-contrarian for fun), but because I want to do things because I'd discovered a worthwhile of doing it beyond needing to have a commonality with my fellow humans.

Yes, it is a little lonely. I often think about the things I watch, read, and do, that the only place I can find that there are others who wish to share it with me is online on reddit, Twitter, or Facebook. And occasionally Google+. I suppose there are advantages to doing that, most notably tailoring the timetable of comment and response to one's own schedule (within reason).

I say all this to go on to that the "Water Fad" thing that one should drink eight glasses of water a day has never been one that I'd taken to heart. Simultaneously, I'd somehow always felt I needed to drink more water than I have done.

Generally, my water consumption happens between my odd few daily cups of tea, my less-often, when-I-feel-like-it cup of coffee or a coffee drink, the infrequent adult beverage (often at home and often wine or sake), and the food I eat. This has suited me fine, for the most part. I do have chapped lips some of the time, and I have very, very, very infrequent constipation (though I do have regular, daily bowel movements 99% of the time). Taking this in, there shouldn't be a problem with my water consumption as it has been.

Still, I'd felt I needed to drink more. More I'd started. I've had this 60-ounce bottle I'd bought in a dollar store Target [* I'd just remembered the true origins] a long time ago that I'd occasionally rotated in using since I have a few water bottles I'd inherited or bought over the years. The other bottles I have are:

• a 32-ounce bottle I'd bought because the one I usually used when I travel started leaking when on its side
• the aforementioned 26-ounce bottle one of my employers had given me and all the other employees in an effort to cut back on the budget for throw-away cups
• a 16-ounce bottle my brother had given me that he'd gotten as a give-away

So, I have four. I believe in rotating everything so they have an equal chance of use (and prolonging the life, theoretically, of the entire set). In this week's rotation, I happened to be using the most capacious bottles I have, and I'd upped my water intake. Usually with the larger bottles, I drink from them occasionally and often end up carrying the majority of the water with me on the car ride home. It then sits at home sometimes until the next day when I take it with me to work, or sometimes I'll occasionally drink from it in the evening or throw the rest into my kettle. With the 26-ounce one, I'll generally get through about three-quarters, and the 16-ounce sometimes I'll finish.

This week, I had two servings of the 32-ounce on Monday and Tuesday, and almost two servings of the 60-ounce on Wednesday. And it killed me. I was going to the restroom pretty much hourly, and it was really annoying. I suppose I shouldn't have gone whole hog, and it's not something I'd premeditated. I didn't purpose to drink that much water, but I just started drinking and drinking and drinking. Thinking about how much water mathematically I'd imbibed already those three days, it amazes me.

No wonder on Wednesday on the drive home (and where I had to hustle up the stairs and run to my bathroom with "urgency"), I'd decided I would have no more of that. I would drink as I do normally.

Today, I didn't bring any water bottle. I just had my pretty standard-sized, vintage Busch Gardens  plastic mug, from which I had a mocha, a cup of green tea, and two servings of three-quarters hot and one-quarter cold (net reasonably warm) water.

And I wasn't rushing to the bathroom like a person who'd overdosed on laxatives.

So, only as much water as I feel like and no more. I suppose, like most things human, I had to experiment with it to know.

Beautiful Handwriting, Lettering and Calligraphy

Monday Inspiration Smashing Magazine

It's all about the handwriting... I know that I was one of those wonderful people who, between second and fourth grades, utterly failed at forming letters in the precise ways the handwriting guides had requested. This has, for the most part, been overcome though my letters are very closely written. When I have sufficient pressure, without smudging or smearing, and when it's perfectly aligned, my handwriting's damn gorgeous.

I think I want to start a little Facebook project about handwriting now...

Though it probably won't be for the timid.

Sex offenders face website bans

BBC NEWS UK : "Sex offenders' e-mail addresses are to be passed to social networking sites like Facebook and Bebo to prevent them contacting children."