The anticipation is killing me……and I’m worried that the frenzy to own an iPhone will be so bad that I might not get one in the first wave of deliveries……of course everyone I know is telling me I’m an idiot (I prefer the term “blonde” thank you very much) for wanting to get one as soon as they come out. I’m told the “smart” geeks will be waiting for v. 2 to see if there are bugs that get fixed or price drops, capacity increases, etc………yeah, yeah, whatever……I’ll tell you why I want one so badly, nay why I simply must have one……there are two reasons:

1. I just can’t text message very fast on my Razr. Don’t get me wrong - I love my Razr - but I’ve tried and tried and just can’t seem to master the dexterity it takes to text message quickly on it. With the little touch-screen keyboard the iPhone will have, I’m sure I can fire off text messages a fast as my niece, who is almost a pro at it.

2. I have a thing for gadgets. To me, gadgets are like what drugs are to a junkie - I just can’t resist a cool new gadget. It’s a form of geek-aholism and I don’t want to be cured.

So there it is………stay tuned ‘cuz I’m sure I’ll be writing all about it as soon as I have it in my hands!

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I’m a slow reader. By that I don’t mean that I read the words slowly, I mean that it takes me a while to get around to reading magazines I subscribe to. I only mention this to explain why I’m only just now commenting on an article that appeared in the May 21 issue of Newsweek (in the My Turn column featuring reader-contributed articles). This particular article made me stop and spend a bit of time thinking ( I love when an article does that!).

Titled “Love on a Shoestring”, and written by Mary Beth Baptiste, the gist of it was concerning her recent, and extremely inexpensive, wedding which she and her now-husband accomplished for the grand sum of $150. I found it to be both moving and inspirational. But in addition to being moved and inspired, I was also shocked by a statistic she quoted, that the average amount spent on a wedding in the US now is more than $27,000. Yes, that’s not a typo or misprint - nearly $30,000 for a single-day event. Mary Beth went on to put into perspective how much good that money could do for many underprivileged communities, or families coping with disasters such as floods or hurricanes, as well as comparing that figure (annualized) to the GNP of several small countries. What an eye-opener!

Although she didn’t mention it, I couldn’t help but think also about the fact that the national divorce rate in our country is still hovering around the 50% mark - so it becomes even more appalling to think that anyone would spend such a huge amount on a wedding for a marriage that, the odds say, is just as likely to fail as succeed. And that figure doesn’t take into account what the bridal couple’s family and friends spend on gifts - which averages another $20,000 per wedding.

What has our society become that somehow it seems okay to spend such a colossal sum of money a dress and a party? It takes my breath away to think how much good that amount of money could do - there are thousands of worthy charities in our country that are dedicated to such humanitarian causes as ending hunger and homelessness, curing various diseases, caring for children or elderly folks who have no one to care for them, saving our planet and various animals that we share it with, the list goes on and on.

I hope that the article gets attention so that anyone contemplating getting married can think about this and consider whether or not they really need an over-the-top celebration and just exactly what that will accomplish - will it guarantee a long and happy marriage? I doubt it. If just a fraction of the nearly 2.3 million (yes million) couples getting married this year opt for a smaller ceremony and donate a chuck of what they don’t spend to their favorite charity - and / or if they ask that donations be made in lieu of gifts, just think how many millions or even billions of dollars could be raised to make this world a better place. It might even make for a better start to a marriage.

Although my longtime sweetheart (going on 12 years together) and I don’t feel any particularly pressing need to get a paid-for piece of paper to cement our relationship (we are as committed to each other as all of the married couples we know), we have discussed the subject a few times over the years, and I have no doubt now at all that should we decide to take the plunge, we will follow Mary Beth’s example.

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It seems fitting that one of my first posts should be a rant - I’m an opinionated person so you’ll be seeing more rants from me. Probably a lot of them.

Spoiler Alert: This rant may reveal details of last night’s Lost TV Show episode, so if you haven’t seen it yet and don’t want to know what happened, quit reading now. Yes quit right now.

I’m a big fan of ABC’s “Lost” TV show, but last night’s 3rd season finale left me frustrated and upset - I’m ready to join the ranks of those who have given up in disgust and quit watching out of sheer frustration over ABC’s refusal to wrap up confusing plot lines and answer some lingering questions - some going all the way back to the first season! What makes it even more maddening is that all season long the producers have been promising “answers” and claimed that a lot would be “explained” by the end of the season. HA! Not only did they NOT answer any questions but they’ve raised even more! Read the rest of this entry »

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Over the last couple of years I’ve set up many of my friends and family members with their own blogs (using WordPress because of it’s simplicity - even the non-geeks can be successful bloggers using it), but hadn’t any interest in doing my own Blog because I’m an introvert - and an extreme one at that. Most introverts find it difficult to believe that anyone really cares about our thoughts or opinions, so why bother sharing them? But a friend recently made a comment that made me change my mind…….allow me to elaborate……

Like most Geeks (and I use that term very affectionately), I am often called upon to provide Tech Support, primarily to my non-geek family, friends, and friends-of-friends. Seems that when those who are not very computer savvy find out that I am “good with computers”, they generally always ask if I can “help them out with a problem they are having”……I’m sure all you geeks who may be reading this are nodding your heads with empathy……and if you want to know WHY I take the time to help them, read my “About” Page…..back to the comment my friend made….

SO when this friend recently asked for help with her Outlook program, I quickly pulled up a Word Doc I had created for someone else who also had just that problem, and printed it off for her. She commented that there were probably other people with the same problem who would benefit from that document - and that if they could find it, they wouldn’t have to ask a friend to help them, or worse, suffer with the problem.

Which made me think - over the years I have acquired quite an arsenal of advice, tips, tricks, and fixes (like most geeks). I’ve tried all kinds of software and hardware, and have opinions on what people should use or skip, and what they should do (or not do) with their computers. So if putting that “out there” for others to find can help out just ONE other fellow geek who would then be spared that “tech support” call, it’s worth it.

So here I am in my own little corner of the internet. My site is brand new, but I hope you’ll come back to visit as I continue to add content. Drop me a line if you have suggestions or feedback!

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