Now I could start this post with a sweeping generalisation along the lines of 'what is it about men...' blah, blah, blah and then go off on one in the usual way that I do.  However, in this case, I'd like to begin with the statement: What is it about some men...

What is it about some men, who are very knowledgeable and savvy about the internet and computing in general, but regard social networking sites with the same regard that they'd give a highly irradiated glowing lump of Plutonium?  I can only really speak about Facebook and Twitter, as those are the only ones I'm clued up about, but I have noticed that even though we all know that Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus; some men are from a different part of Mars than others.  

In the early years of computing, it really was dominated by men.  Let's face it, if you were in there at the beginning of home computing, ( if you weren't, it was the early 1980's), life was really too short to spend hours listening to a cassette tape endlessly scream odd stuff at you as you waited for some pathetic bit of software to take forty seven attempts to load.  It didn't grab me, I wasn't interested and was very happy to let 'men' deal with all these 'deeply technical things,' and marvel at the sheer mind-bogglingness of 64K RAM.  I was finally forced in front of a computer in 1989 when I had procrastinated long enough and there was no excuse and no escape.  

Now, things have really changed.  Gone are the grey beardy-weirdies from computer (I dare say you'll still find some), but in its place there is a new breed of computer operator, and it's female.  While the early years of computer were dominated by men, I would stick my neck out and say that since the advent of social networking, women have finally found something that interests them... Connecting with other people.

Us girls, we do love to chat don't we!  I absolutely LOVE that I can end up reading a thread on Facebook that people from all around the world have contributed to.  Call me silly, but that really gives me a thrill.  I LOVE that when I'm getting up, Heather's off to bed, Alex is halfway through his day and Gaylene is finishing a day that Heather hasn't started yet - but we can still all join in the same conversation, wherever we are and whenever.

Yes, I know there are many downsides to Facebook - kids joining endless bloody groups, that's one.  What the HELL is the point of all that 'such and such joined the group " I really LOL'ed at this picture of Cheryl Cole when she fell on her arse" ' stuff.  Can I join a group against all that tripe, please?  But as a means of keeping in touch with friends, I think it's hard to beat - and that's what I want it for.

So I really find it odd when some men recoil in horror from having anything to do with a medium where, if you're sensible you can have so much fun.  You absolutely don't have to post the colour of your underwear or give Facebook your inside leg measurements.  But if you want to, post it by all means and we'll all post our own (and most likely the hilarious photographs of us all trying to take our inside leg measurements).

I've been kicking about on the internet for most of the last ten years now and apart from the occasional troll, I've had nothing but good experiences with the people who I've got to 'know'.  I suppose that's me though, I"m a social creature, I like to feel connected to someone.  I don't need to be in the same room as them, but just to know that they are currently laughing their backsides off at something I said gives me a warm glow inside.  Of course, that could be the heartburn...

I'm trying to encourage Simon onto Facebook more.  He's always struggled with friendships, being southern and banned as he was from leaving the house until the age of eighteen, (well not really, but not allowed to go to places where oiks might be... or even worse... girls).   I arrived in his life complete with a cohort of friends, some of whom that I'd known since being in utero, as it were; whereas he has drifted through life barely amassing one or two.  Facebook is ideal really for the socially challenged.  Suddenly, you have all this information about people that you never needed to know and never wanted to ask.  

But he doesn't 'get it', he doesn't see the point of it and views it all as if it were the proverbial glowing lump of Plutonium.  In parting with personal information about himself, I got the impression that he was confusing Facebook with MI5 and that any second Richard Armitage would burst through the door and arrest him.

If Richard Armitage is reading this, feel free to do that any time...  ;-)

But yet, this suspicion about social networking is not universal with all males, just some of them.  Take popfiend  for instance, he virtually runs Livejournal and is equally active on Facebook, so how he finds the time to work I don't know, but he's not afraid of sharing a bit of himself and the CIA haven't been beating a path to his door.  fitzjameshorse , speedingslug , technophobe1975 , all frequent bloggers and the world has not imploded around them for being involved in social networking.

So come on men, because if you don't join in and engage with this brave new world of sharing your inside leg measurements with the rest of the population you're going to be left behind and ultimately trampled on by those who can and will shout their inside leg measurements from the rooftops and crowded portals of Facebook, or Myspace, or Bebo, or Twitter,  or Linkedin, or whatever comes along next.

And after all that, Lasagneman comes along and posts, asking him if wants to go out for a beer and suddenly the two hours of trying to explain the raison d'etre of Facebook is suddenly clarified as it being the means of organising beer nights... and he finally gets it.

*headdesk*

29" BTW

Tags : comment, facebook
I'm feeling : amused

 Right then, I have to break the land speed record in posting an LJ entry before I have to whizz DD around to her singing lesson.

Life continues to be completely hectic.  Tuesday was Tuesday and as you know I HATE Tuesday's because it's an endless run around from one thing to another.  Anyway, that's over; but today was a run around from all the things that happened on Tuesday night that needed sorting out this morning.

DD has come home with her costume for her Rock Challenge performance next month, and I nearly had a mini heart attack looking at it.  If last year's was an 'oh my goodness how do I do that?', then this year's is a definite  'woah, hang on a minute I'm not Donatella Versace!'  Still, it WILL get done, it HAS to get done, although a great deal of head scratching will be involved.

News on the 'nice things on the telly' front.  Ashes to Ashes starts on Friday 2nd April.  Doctor Who starts on Saturday 3rd April.  Thank you very much BBC, that's sorted Easter weekend out nicely!

Out of time, gotta go.  More later.  Have things to say...

Tags : daily life
I'm feeling : happy

It's gearing up to 'give us your vote time' here in the UK.  Unlike you poor sods in the USA who have to endure months, nay years of some candidate hawking themselves across the country in the name of getting elected; we have a mere six weeks of official campaigning for our General Elections. Of course, that doesn't mean to say that the unofficial campaigning hasn't been going on since the clock struck midnight on New Year's Eve.  We've had all the tears and the 'candid' interviews and the 'oh what a coincidence that's happened just before an election' moments, in order to get all the preening out of the way before they fire the starting gun for the official campaign.  The election HAS to happen in May, so depending on which day in May it's going to be, that starting gun is going off any day now.  


So, before the gun does go off, what are the options and what do I know about the main political parties to be able to make an informed choice at the ballot box come May the whenever.



Incumbent Party for the last twelve years: Labour
Colour: Mostly red with a splodge of blue and a smidgeon of yellow

Led by Gordon Brown for the last three years,  this is a rare picture of him smiling.  He doesn't do a lot of that these days mostly because he's trying to stop the United Kingdom going to hell in a handcart.  A cart that most people think he was busy making while he was Chancellor of the Exchequer (the money man) for the ten years previously. 

Of course the name Gordon is rather unfortunate.  I've spent the last twelve years adding 'texture like sun' to any mention of his name, as The Stranglers track 'Golden Brown' trips off the tongue very easily.  And then there was that punk record in the late 1970's which had the line 'Gordon is a Moron'.  Quite.

Unique Labour policies:  *shrugs shoulders* Are they still against nuclear weapons?  We've still got them though.  I thought they'd have been in a skip by the end of May 1997 as I think they spend the entire 1980's campaigning against anything nuclear.  But they got into power and we still have Trident and we still have nuclear power stations.  What do Labour stand for? Well traditionally it was the Working man's party.  All socialism and equality.  These days I really have no clue what they stand for, other than they seem to end up with their kids in the poshest schools around and not in the local comprehensive like the rest of us.  

Chances of him being re-elected: Not looking good.  Unlike the last Labour Government (1979, Winter of discontent and all that) Gordon hasn't done anything terribly bad; he just hasn't done anything terribly wonderful either.  It all still feels a bit 'Meh'.



Conservative:
Colour: Mostly blue with a dash of red and a teaspoon of yellow

The last Conservative government started well with an Iron Lady determined to sort out the country after Jim Callaghan ballsed it up, moved into a virtual dictatorship when power went to her head and ended a bit sad and bedraggled after she resigned and the nicest man in politics took over the job and his MP's all went on a complete sleaze-fest.  The Conservative party have spent the last twelve years licking their wounds and rebuilding themselves, and this time they think they've got the man to trounce Gordon at the polls this spring.  Step forward Supercam.  David Cameron. Posh person, went to Eton *yawn*.
Now it's at this point I have to admit that today my Mother has delurked and come out as a Cameron Fangirl.  T'is true *sob and I'm getting some counselling for that as soon as I can stop throwing up.  How could she!  I will have to disown her of course ;-) ;-)

The Conservative party stand for money and lots of it.  Traditionally the party of 'I'm alright Jack' they are the party of the landed gentry, the self made millionaires and after Margaret Thatcher sold off all the Council houses in the 1980's; the party of home ownership.  Unique Policies: *shrugs shoulders*  Privatising stuff?  What they stand for:  If you're rich you're worth it.  If you're not we couldn't care less.

Sadly, for me I have a bit of a dilemma.  I can't stand this lot. David Cameron makes me ill and I'm absolutely positive they can't fix this mess of a country.  However, I do have a good local MP and I'm inclined to vote for her, but she's 'one of them'....  That's right, two heads and a forked tail.

Chances of being elected:  High.  There is every chance this bloke could be the next Prime Minister of Britainshire. *weep*


Liberal Democrat:
Colour: Mostly yellow with a side order of red and a pinch of blue

Ah the Lib Dems... Well, what can we say here, other than not a right lot.  Led by Nick Clegg, who you might assume is the rather charming son of Norman Clegg from Last of the Summer Wine, (and more importantly the voice of Wallace in the Wallace and Grommit films); but no, nothing as cool as that.  A quick glance at that great oracle that has replaced the Encyclopedia Britannica as the standard global reference work (yes, that's right... Wikipedia), tells me that Nick is actually the son of posh people who apparently once did important things in Russia.  Another posh person *yawn*

It's sad but there's an awful lot of wasted potential here.  There's not much you can do to elbow Moron and SuperCam juggernauts out of the way.  The trouble with British politics today is that as my jokey colour coding indicates, there isn't a right lot to choose between the three of them and they all seem to spend their time nicking policy ideas from one another.

Unique Policies: well they were the party that wanted to legalise cannabis, but I think that idea went up in smoke  What do they stand for: *shrugs shoulders*  no idea these days.


Chances of being elected:  Snowball in hell.  


As you can see... their respective PR offices have a lot to do to tell me what the heck they stand for.

Right, I'm off to get some counselling over my Mother's David Cameron fangirling.


Tags : british politics
I'm feeling : amused

Hands up, who hasn't stood outside their own house on Google Street view?  Well I technically *can't*, as we have a drive in the way, but I've stood as close as I can.

It's just been activated in the UK, and it's keeping us occupied for hours and providing many a giggle.  So now, at my finger tips I can give you a short, illustrated tour of my life...

 

Tags : geography, home
I'm feeling : happy
I'm hearing : The Stranglers - Strange Little Girl | Powered by Last.fm

So I decided that I needed to go and do something to cheer myself up. veronica_milvus gave me a metaphorical kick in the pants and told me to stop whining. This is good advice.

So I did what women always do to cheer themselves up: I went shopping... For a domain name.

So as from now you can set your bookmarks to http://www.racheljlewis.com and this blog will, like magic load in your browser window. :D

Do I get extra brownie points for:

1) doing it all by my own self
and
2) getting my default picture to come up in the browser bar

YAY! Go Me! Woop etc etc...

Tags : livejournal
I'm feeling : accomplished

I did sit down to write a blog this afternoon, but I'm actually not in a very positive frame of mind right now and I don't want to bore you with all my rubbish.  I'm ok, things are generally fine, I'm just... snarky.

I hope you're all ok.  I am so busy right now that spending any leisure time on the computer has been nigh on impossible.  I can post 140 characters on Twitter and respond to some threads on Facebook - that's about the extent of it.

Right now, I just wish the next four weeks would hurry up and get themselves over with.

You know, after forty years of kicking about on this planet, I really should have got used to disappointment and that nagging feeling that should I disappear tomorrow I don't think anyone would notice.  I really do think that I'm here to make up the numbers.

As I said... not a positive frame of mind right now.  I best leave it there and go find something that will cheer me up.

I'm feeling : disappointed

Somehow I missed the fact that Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote a sequel to Phantom of the Opera. Here's an article: Phantom Sequel a "Shadow of the Original". Apparently, the sequel takes place ten years later, and the phantom is now haunting... wait for it... the fairgrounds at Coney Island.

Seriously? I mean, SERIOUSLY? This isn't a Saturday Night Live spoof?

My favorite comment is by a reviewer from the New York Times, who said, "If you don't know the first Phantom, you will be very confused; if you do know the first Phantom, you will also be very confused."

Also, doesn't the phantom DIE at the end of Phantom of the Opera? Maybe it's like Jurassic Park, where Ian Malcolm dies in the book but not in the movie. And even if the phantom survived the loss of Christine, what's he doing on Coney Island? And how did he get there? Am I thinking too hard about this?

Please excuse me while I go search the interwebs to find the answers to my questions.

Whoop!  The BBC are taking Doctor Who on tour and shipping Matt Smith and  Karen Gillan out on a big old bus for a pre-series meet and greet with the fans.  Great! Wonderful! I can't think of any better way of raising the profile of the new pairing and generating a bit of a buzz for the new series.  Not that we need much extra buzz around Doctor Who in this house, just tell us when it's on and we'll be there...  We love it!

It is a bit sad that for the last few years the annual death burial and resurrection of Christ has had to play second fiddle to a Timelord, but there we are...  I'm a flawed individual with my priorities in the wrong place.  :-P

And hallelujah! The BBC are not going to the usual places... Oh no!  In their words: "The tour will target hard-to-reach communities relatively underserved by the BBC."    So where are these 'hard to reach' locations going to be...?   Ulverston? Overstrand? St Mawes? or perhaps Thurso?

Er... no.

*splutter*  Sorry, excuse me?  Northampton is a 'hard-to-reach' community?  Really?  Well what's the M1 Motorway doing running right past it then?  Northampton has three motorway junctions to itself, it's hardly a 'blink and you miss it' place.  And Salford, you mean the City of Salford?  That big place, next to Manchester... Has a Cathedral and the Lowry Centre and half the BBC is in the process of moving there? That's equally hard to reach is it?  So the M602 running into the centre of it would be what...?  A dirt track?

Sunderland - just turn right off the A19... hard to miss... big place.
Inverness - Straight up the A9, again, hard to miss, it's a big place
Belfast - That would be the City of Belfast?  HUGE place and the major city in Northern Ireland?

So what you're really saying, dearest twit who wrote this press release, is that you only think these places are hard to reach because they are north of Watford.  'Cause let's be honest, most media types think that anything north of Shepherd's Bush is the Undiscovered Country.  I'm surprised there isn't a 'Here be Dragons' slogan plastered over the northern limits of the London A-Z.

Obviously, Northampton gets a nod because Matt Smith is from there.  Yes, it must have been so hard for him to walk barefoot down that rutted dirt track to civilisation (Watford), and on to the bright lights of old London Town (paved with gold, we know this from the chronicles of Dick Whittington).  So, it's only right and proper that the BBC parade him about to the Northamptonshire peasants so they can all see how well he's done for himself... While, I suppose, they take a break from harvesting their turnips... by hand.  That's what people do in the Shires...  

Yeah... and another thing...  Timings.  He's going to need that TARDIS thing, because the schedule's a bit rushed...

"The first stop is Belfast on 29 March, with the tour winding up in Salford on 31 March."  Does that allow for the Irish Sea being too rough for a crossing, or a tonne of snow dumped on the A9? (not inconceivable at this time of year).  A big HUGE snarl up on the M1 or the M60? (a frequent occurrence), or Matt getting stolen by a bunch of Year 9s from Moulton School (I wouldn't put it past them...).

Anyway, hope they enjoy their whistle stop tour of these 'hard to reach communities'.  Hopefully, by next year that Press Officer might have passed their GCSE in Geography....


Tags : doctor who, news
I'm feeling : amused

I love Sunrise Earth. Today it's an elk reserve in California. It's right on the coast, and it's so beautiful. The blues and greens are so vivid. There are wild daffodils blooming in the grass. It really makes me want spring.

Thanks to everyone who responded to my post about the mommy blogs last week. I still plan to go back and respond to you all, but you had great things to say. Also, I need to post the video that susan402 linked. It is hilarious.

I think part of what's wrong with me lately is this freak winter. Seriously, those of you who live up North where it snows a LOT every winter, I don't know how you stand it. We've had three snowfalls this year and it's more than enough for me. This is the sunny South. We are wimps in the cold.

The elk are grazing on a grassy hill. The ocean is so blue in the background. Oh, look! Irises!

The baby fell backwards twice yesterday and hit her head on the kitchen floor. I called the doctor's office, and the nurse said I needed to monitor her for 24 hours. No solid foods, and I have to check her pupils regularly. It was pretty scary. So I'm home with her today.

I went on Saturday and signed up for our community garage sale. Our neighborhood association prohibits us from having an actual yard sale at our house. The sign-ups were Saturday morning between 9 and 11. I got there about 20 til nine, thinking I'd get a decent place in line. Not so much. There were folks in camp chairs who had obviously been there a while. The parking lot was completely full, and the line was way down the sidewalk. I heard a couple of ladies talking in the line behind me, and one said that her sister comes every year from Alabama just for this garage sale. It sounds like it's quite the event. So hopefully I'll be able to unload a bunch of stuff and make a little money in the process.

Sunrise Earth is over. I guess that means I need to get up and do something.