Websites like Facebook and Ikariam might be a serious threat to my tight schedule, but for the most part I find that there is so much about the internet that actually helps me make MORE time for myself and my daughter than ever before.

Not only do I order checks online and avoid another trip the lobby of my bank, but I upload pictures taken on my digital camera and have Christmas cards printed online and sent to the house – therefore avoiding the need to make an appointment at the photo studio and the local print shop. I renew my driver’s license and car registration online and pass on those annoying waits at the DMV. I order most of my textbooks online and not only save what generally amounts to 75%, but also avoid the lines and the college bookstores.

Last year I used Vista Print, the online printing resource, for a fair number of the gifts I gave for Christmas. What I did was design amazing layouts for photo calendars and then uploaded the files, ordered the calendars and sat back and waited for them to be delivered. I did a unique set of designs for each person who received a calendar, and made one for myself to boot. I’m particularly fond of Vita Print’s consistent quality, so I also use them every year to order Christmas postcards.

Plus, Vita Print always offers coupons and codes for free merchandise, which is good for even returning customers. Basically, you can take advantage of their deals as often as you like. For example, right now you can use Checks25 for 25% off checks or PC50 for 50 free oversized postcards (GREAT for Christmas cards).

It feels VERY ironic to look at the headlines on CNN and see that forcasters are telling residents of Galveston, Texas to prepare for hurricane Ike.

Just this evening my daughter I read the book “Hurricanes” by Christy Steele. It’s a children’s book, but it has a gripping chapter about the Galveston hurricane of 1900, which hit 108 years ago today (September 8, 1900). It killed 8,000 people and it is said that people from miles away cold smell the rotting bodies that were floating in the water and wedged into treetops.

Nuns trying to recue children in an orphanage tied themselves with ropes to rows of children and were overtaken by the floodwaters. All of the nuns and the children died – still tied together. It was a harrowing disaster.

Thank God we have the blessing of modern technology now. We can see radar images and Doppler forecasts and have days to prepare for potential disaster – enough time to get people and pets out of danger.

I know social networking is all the rage online now and I have put up my profile over the course of time on a couple of the more popular sites. And, I have chosen my favorite finally – Facebook.

I find MySpace next to useless and glommed up with young kids and too many people looking for weird “encounters” for my taste. I also dislike how it has become basically a site where people promote their businesses.

LinkedIn is very cool as well, but it is primarily for professional networking and that is what I use it for exclusively, so it just doesn’t really fall into the category of “social” networking for me.

FaceBook, though, I love. I don’t go in for the all the “apps”, but I enjoy the simplicity of keeping up with all of my friends on my sign-in page. And, with just a little time invested, I have found quite literally tons of my old friends. It’s been lovely to use.

Going back to school after almost 20 years was a shock to my psyche, but it turns out I absorbed more than I did in college the first time around. I had one class where I was given a “B” and I never did find out why since the professor turned his grades in late and then virtually dropped off the face of the earth. Other than that, I pulled off a 3.9 GPA by getting “A”s in all of my other classes. I sure didn’t do that when I was in college in my late teens and early 20s. I feel like college was actually easier and more worth my while in my 30s.

One thing I have been able to take advantage of this time around that I could not back in the 80s and early 90s is the student pricing on software. Maybe it was available then, but I had an electronic typewriter my first year of college and then finally brought my dad’s little Apple 2c to school. It had all the software it needed and I was the hero of my floor in my dorm, since nobody else had a computer in their room. Laptops for students these days seem like a right of passage.

Anyway, if you look at CostCaptain.com you will see that you can get 100% authentic Microsoft products at quite literally a fraction of a price if you are a student or an educator, school, college, or library. Just provide proof of eligibility and you can get Microsoft Office 2007 Professional for $149.99 while the Microsoft site has it listed at $499.95. That’s amazing.

I’d be curious to find out which cell phone of the thousands of models out there is the one that has the longest battery time with the least drain on said battery. My cell phone is several years old and still works very well. I see no reason to sign another 2-year contract with my provider simply to get a free cell phone when the one I have works fine. However, if I could find a cell phone with a superhero battery performance, I might be compelled to sign that soul-leaching contract.

I like being a free agent. I like knowing that my cell phone plan is SO good that my own carrier hates that I have it and is desperate to move me to a current plan.

I used to have trouble with cell phone reception. That was in my last two homes and I think it had everything to do with the tower reception in my neighborhoods. My reception is fine where I live now and I did not have to resort to silly stunts like my old neighbors did (like buying a cell phone repeater).

It’s just the battery issue. Of course, if my daughter had not found those two little video clips I have on my phone of her when she was two, maybe my battery would last longer. As it stands, she is running it down by playing the clips over and over.

I’ve been pricing laptops lately, so this contest caught my eye immediately.

Charter Communications is running a Charter Laptop-a-Day Giveaway promotion right now where if you order any service online, you will instantly be entered to win one of 30 HP Compaq Presario C770US laptops. They are valued at over $600 each and have all the bells and whistles, like built-in WiFi and Ethernet, a DVD burner, and 160 GB hard drive. That makes my old laptop look like a relic.

Plus, all online Charter orders right now earn you a Shell gas card valued up to $100. We can all use a little free gas, don’t you think?

Charter’s High-Speed® Internet is a steal at $19.99/month with their Back to School Bonus pricing. Can you believe there are still some people out there paying that much for dial-up? It’s time to move into the digital age, people. And, the free gas card is like gold in our current economy. I can’t think of a better time to jump on the high-speed train.

What a deal. Now, if only I could win two of those 30 laptops! I want to get my hands on a laptop for my daughter and I really want to replace my old laptop. A girl can dream, right?

I’ll admit that beyond the most common texting terms, I am clueless as to what the texting generation is saying to one another. So, as a follow-up to the post I recently wrote about kids getting cell phones, here is a handy texting terms translations chart I found online. It does not include the more sexual or crude terms.

•911 – Emergency, call me.
•999 – Emergency, call me.
•2DAY – Today.
•2MORO – Tomorrow.
•2NITE – Tonight.
•AAMOF – As a matter of fact.
•AFAIC – As far as I’m concerned.
•AFAIK – As far as I know.
•AFK – Away from keyboard.
•ASAP – As soon as possible.
•ATB – All the best.
•ATK – At the keyboard.
•ATM – At the moment.
•AWHFY – Are we having fun yet?

•B – Be.
•B4 – Before.
•B4N – Bye for now.
•BAK – Back at keyboard.
•BB4N – Bye Bye for now.
•BBIAB – Be back in a bit.
•BBL – Be back later.
•BBS – Be back soon.
•BCNU – Be seeing you.
•BF – Boyfriend.
•BHL8 – Be home late.
•BION – Believe it or not.
•BRT – Be right there.
•BTW – By the way.

•C – See.
•CM – Call me.
•CU – See you
•CUBL8R – Call you back later.
•CYR BRO – Call your brother.
•CYR MA – Call your mother.
•CYR PA – Call your father.
•CYR SIS – Call your sister.
•DK – Don’t know.
•D8 – Date.
•EOL – End of lecture.

•FAQ – Frequently asked question.
•FC – Fingers crossed.
•FWIW – For what it’s worth.
•FYI – For your information.
•F2F – Face to face.
•F2T – Free to talk.
•G1 – Good one.
•G2G – Got to go.
•GAL – Get a life.
•GMTA – Great minds think alike.
•GR8 – Great.
•GUDLUK – Good luck.

•IAE – In any event.
•IBK – Idiot behind keyboard.
•IC – I see.
•ICQ – I seek you.
•IDK – I don’t know.
•ILU – I love you.
•IML8 – I’m late.
•IMTNG – In meeting.
•IOW – In other words.
•IOU – I owe you.
•IRL – In real life.
•IYSS – If you say so.
•JAM – Just a minute.
•JTLYK – Just to let you know.
•J4F – Just for fun.
•KHYF – Know how you feel.
•KWIM – Know what I mean?

•L8R – Later.
•LDR – Long distance relationship.
•LMHO – Laughing my head off.
•LOL – Laugh out loud.
•LTNS – Long time no see.
•LTNT – Long time, no type/text.
•LUV – Love.
•LYLAS – Love you like a sister.

•M8 – Mate.
•MEGO – My eyes glaze over.
•MTE — My thoughts exactly.
•MTFBWY – May the force be with you.
•MYOB – Mind your own business.
•NETHNG – Anything.
•NMHO – In my humble opinion.
•NO1 – No one.
•NP – No problem.
•NRN – NO reply necessary.
•NTW – Not to worry.

•OIC – Oh, I see.
•OMG – Oh my God.
•OTOH – On the other hand.
•OTT — Over the top.
•PCM – Please call me.
•PITB – Pain in the butt.
•PLS – Please.
•PLZ4GVME – Please forgive me.
•PRL – Parents are listening.
•PRT – Party.
•PUKS – Pick up kids.
•QT – Cutie.
•R – Are.
•RGDS – Regards.
•RNGL8 – Running late.
•RLR – Earlier.
•ROTFL – Rolling on the floor laughing.
•RTM – Read the manual.
•RUCMNG – Are you coming?
•RUOK – Are you OK?

•SK8 – Skate.
•SK8R – Skater.
•SPK – Speak.
•SUM1 – Someone.
•SWIM – See what I mean?
•SYS – See you soon.
•TAFN – That’s all for now.
•THNQ – Thank you.
•THX – Thanks.
•TMB – Text me back.
•TTFN – Ta ta for now.
•TUL – Talk to you later.
•TTTT – To tell the truth.
•TTYL – Talk to you later.
•TVM – Thanks very much.

•U – You.
•UI! – You idiot
•UOK – You OK?
•U2 – You too.
•U4E – Yours forever.
•UR – Your
•W — With
•WAN2 – Want to?
•WB – Welcome back.
•WE – Whatever
•WKEND – Weekend
•WOA – Work of art.
•WOT – What?
•WRU – Where are you?
•WTH – What the Heck
•WTG – Way to go!
•WUF — Where are you from?
•W8 – Wait.
•W84ME – Wait for me.
•XLNT – Excellent
•XOXO – Hugs and kisses.
•YKWIM – You know what I mean?

What is the right age to get a cell phone for your child?

That’s a question that will have 100 different answers if you ask 100 different parents.

I was faced with the first glimmer of reality in this issue Tuesday night as my sister and her husband presentd my nephew with a brand new cell phone for his 7th birthday. Seven. The kid is seven.

I held my breath, feeling what was coming at me next. I was right. My daughter, five-and-a-half, turned and asked me when is SHE getting a phone.

Ouch.

I had hoped that question would comes a few more years down the road. I am not a big fan of giving a young child a cell phone. I do eventually want her to have one of those basic units that can call out to a limited array of numbers and maybe even one with a way to block texting and internet. I have not actually given it all that much though, aside from hoping I would be able to deal with it later.

In the wake of all the local stories about back-to-school in the local papers is a whole lot of coverage about cell phones and kids. The stories talk about six and seven year old kids getting phones, kids texting all day, and the fact the cellular companies are spending more advertising money than ever before to target young children.

My dreams of getting Gigi a “kid” phone with like three buttons died when I saw a statistic that said 10% of 8-year-olds have a cell phone, by age 12 that statistic is 50%, and at the age of 15 a full 84% of kids have their own phone. The phones they what are BlackBerries, Apple iPhones and phones with full-size QWERTY keyboards and social networking software.

Studies show that parents do try to maintain some sense of control when they give out a phone, though. A good number of children start out with pre-paid phones so that parents can control the costs. About one-fifth of parents say they attach the achievement of a particular grade-point-average to the privilege of having a cell phone.

I’ve gone over in my head the fact that a cell phone can be a safety for my daughter. It is a good feeling to know she can call me when she needs to, just like I carry a cell phone to know I can make a call from the car if I break down on the road. I think about how much easier it would be to get in touch with her when she is at her dad’s house.

On the other hand, I did just fine in school without a phone. I used a pay-phone if I needed to call home. My teachers did not have phones in their classrooms, but these days all of the teachers do. If there really is an emergency at school, there are many ways for my child and the teachers to get in touch with me aside from my daughter having a cell phone. At the age of not-yet-six, I do not plan on her being out on her own outside of school anyway.

I don’t need to spend any time going into how the Nintendo Wii is all the rage right now. People on my neighborhood association’s e-mail list still post excitedly if they find one in stock around here.

The new games coming out for the game system are impressive, both in number and in quality. When it comes down to it, there is just nothing else quite like a Wii. It is the first generation of home video games systems to actually take into consideration that we need to get up off our rear ends and move!

SuperVillain Studios has developed a new adventure in cooking game for the Wii called Order Up! It’s more than just a simple cooking game in the tradition of classic cooking games like Diner Dash, the Order Up! Game has been designed to play on the strengths of the Wii, which means that you’ll get to use the motion sensing technology to simulate real cooking, with real tools like knives, wooden spoons, tongs, and ladles. Get ready to perfect your slicing technique, baby!

Click this link to watch the Order Up! Trailer.

Order Up! Is rated E for everyone.

There are a lot of reasons to be thankful that we live in an age of computers. I still remember some of the first computers. When I was a kid, my dad was on the team that designed some of the initial mainframe systems for the U.S. Patent Office and he would take us to see the rooms filled with roaring, whirling computers, each as big as cars or trucks, sucking up reels of tape and processing punch cards. I can remember the smell even.

Now anyone can run a full business from your home, from a tiny computer, and without the need to even download the software to your computer. For example, Siterra is a fully hosted (meaning you access it remotely rather than downloading software) Asset Lifecycle Management system that gives you all the tools you need for planning, site selection, project management, maintenance and lease administration of sites and assets for property portfolios. Your productivity is streamlined , leaving time for you to do the things you need to do.

Years ago, a company would have to contact a programmer to get access to a software system as specialized and customizable as Siterra.

I am reading with blessed out awe this article on CNN’s website about the Global Catastrophic Risk Conference being held at Oxford University in Britain. One of the topics will be “unintended consequences of new technologies, such as superintelligent machines that, if ill-conceived, might cause the demise of Homo sapiens.”

I might not live to see the day that human will be more robotic than human, but if you listen to the theories in this article, it could be possible that my daughter will live to see it.

My awe lies mostly in the medical breakthroughs that are being attempted: nanobots that can go in and cure diabetes, cancer, and even enable a body to go without breathing for a half an hour. The idea is astounding and exiting – thrilling and at the same time a little frightening.

Scientists point out that the use of technology will change faster than most of us can imagine; that it is not a matter of hundreds of years before these things are a reality, but rather 8 or maybe 20 years. The use of technology and electronics operates at an exponential growth rate.

Most interesting is Dr. Ray Kurzweil’s idea of Singularity –”the culmination of the merger of our biological thinking and existence with our technology, resulting in a world that is still human but that transcends our biological roots.”

It sounds like an interesting read. I plan on picking up a copy — The Age of Spiritual Machines: When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence.

One of the coolest things about going back to school is that I can buy software at “education” pricing. Back when I was in college the first time, most people did not even own computers, little less worry about installing a whole bunch of expensive software.

Times have changed, huh? My design software alone represents a small fortune. Add to that having a good, professional version of Microsoft Office products on your computer (which I believe to be completely worth the money) and you’re paying a lot more for software than for some computers or laptops.

CostCaptain.com sells brand new Microsoft software (they are authorized by Microsoft to do so) at special pricing for students, school staff, libraries, and even those who home school. All you have to do is provide authentic documentation of academic eligibility and you are good to go.

Here is an example of the kind of money you can save. CostCaptain sells Microsoft Office 2007 Professional for $169.99. If you buy it right from Microsoft at their standard rate you will pay $499.95. You do the math! The savings are tremendous.

I know I gripe about the cost of gas, and the cost of food, and the fact that our house that we need to sell is worth so much less than we paid for it now that I’m pretty sure we’ll never sell it. But, get this. Technology is coming DOWN in price.

Computers are getting less expensive, and cell phones, and flat panel TVs, and especially high speed internet access. Charter internet is offering high speed internet for just $14.99 a month. I mean, come on! There are some dial up companies still trying to charge more than that.

Plus, they’ve got a 30-day risk-free trial period and they’ll give you a $25 Shell gift card if you sign up online. So, you’re actually getting a break on gas while you’re at it. It’s worth a try.

I think I mentioned that I bought a new digital camera: an Olympus SP-570UZ. I just wanted to give an update about the camera.

Quite simply, I love it.

I had an older Olympus D series camera and loved it as well, but was ready for more megapixels and more zoom and more handling options. The 570UZ has a 20x optical zoom, room for the use of additional professional lenses and filters, the option to use the hot shoe for the flash and the option to go fully manual.

As of yet, I have just used it as a point and shoot. It’s comfortable in the hand, quick on the mark and super easy to navigate around the menus and such. It helps that I am already intimate with the typical Olympus buttons and symbols. I had to get used to a whole new type of data card. I used to use a Smart Media card and reader. Once I struggled through the difference between SD cards, micro sd cards, Xd cards (both M and H types) then I was ready to go.

The camera is what I consider to be just one step below a digital SLR. I am not ready to invest the time into learning to use an SLR right now, but once I am I can go fully manual on this. It’s lacking some of the finer, more sensitive imaging components you will get in a fully SLR cameras, but you’ll hardly notice.

I want to share with you a panoramic shot I took in Harpers Ferry, WV. In the picture you can see Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia as well as both the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers. I’m also including a pretty cool picture I took through glass, using a flash, or Abraham Lincoln’s life mask.

Most people know that as of February 17, 2009 all television stations n the United States that have been broadcasting over the air using an analog signal must convert over to a digital signal. That means that if your television has been picking up stations over the air using rooftop antennas and rabbit ears, you will probably cease to be able to see anything after that date.

A solution that does not involve subscribing to an expensive cable company is to simply buy a digital converter to receive programming. The converter box plugs into your television and you can find them at stores like RadioShack, Best Buy and Circuit City for about $50 to $80.

However, there are households where even an expenditure of $50 is a burden. Some of my readers might laugh at that notion, but a friend of mine from my daughter’s preschool is in just such a situation. That is why the U.S. government developed the Digital-to-Analog Converter Box Coupon Program.

Any U.S. household is eligible for two coupons, worth $40 each. You can use it to purchase up to two digital-to-analog converter boxes. You can apply for your coupon online, but make sure you use it as soon as you get it, since the coupons expire in 90 days.

Some boxes have more features than others, like an “analog pass-through” which allows reception for low-power stations, like some of the local stations that broadcast religious shows or public service programs. Also, if your television is older, you may find that the digital signal is still lacking. That can be remedies by purchasing a television with HDTV, or the less expensive EDTV or SDTV.

However, if you bought your TV after March 1, 2007, you’re probably OK, since U.S. law dictated that all television reception devices made in or imported into the country after that date had to have a digital tuner. But, you’ll still need the converter box.