A couple of days ago I came across this article that had a number of family holiday photos that were awkward, strange and funny. (Please take a look at them and come back.)

I was talking to my friend, Manshu, about them and I said, “you know what, I think I have some somewhat similar photos – I’m going to search for them and post them if I locate them.

When I was a kid my grandmother used to make all of the female family members matching nightgowns and would make us put them on and pose for a photo. That was the one I was hoping to find but it must be in my Mother’s stuff, which is currently stored at my brother’s house.

But fear not, I did locate a couple of gems.

The Photos

1978 – This is me, my cousin and my brother dressed up like elves. I decided we would wear red and green, I made the hats, and it was our job to distribute gifts. I am the only one who looks happy. Where are my pants? And it’s a Polaroid – those must have been the height of technology around 1978.

1996 – Me, my Mom and my brother Dylan. You just gotta love my Vermont “Web” Site shirt, which must have been a gift, the Santa hat, and the Snowman sweater. My brother is allowed to slide because he was only 10 and Christmas is his birthday.

1979 – Me, my Mom, my Dad, and my brother John. This isn’t a Christmas photo but it was around Christmas because we went to visit relatives in Arizona that year and took a trip to Nogales, Mexico, which is a border town. Again, I’m the only one that looks happy. Maybe my Mom is jealous because everyone is wearing has a sombrero but her. But, maybe she didn’t want to mess up her Dorothy Hamill haircut. My daughter asked if it was a real donkey- unfortunately, it is.

It’s fun to laugh at the collection of awkward family photos that we find online but I’m pretty sure we all have something similar. Or maybe it was something about the 70′s and early 80′s ;-)

Post from: (Anti) Social Development

Slightly Awkward Family Photos

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Thanksgiving! One of the things I am thankful for is laughter.

While this is actually a Mr. Bean Christmas video, it’s the best video involving a turkey out there.

Enjoy!

photo credit: cheerytomato

Post from: (Anti) Social Development

Happy Thanksgiving

My daughter is really sweet and funny. I know, I know … I’m sure I sound like a biased parent but everyone tells me the same thing so I’m confident that is just her personality.

Recently she totally cracked me up over a conversation she had with her Dad about some dental work he needed done and how she related part of the conversation to Star Wars.

One thing that you should know is that for better or for worse, Star Wars has been a huge influence in part of our lives. I was married to a Star Wars fanatic.

Some Star Wars background

Well, perhaps more of a collector that an fanatic but Star Wars was released at a pivotal moment in his childhood and has never stopped being an influence. This has nothing to do with why we are no longer married – I collect videogames – and I figure a Star Wars habit is way better than a crack habit ;-)

When I was pregnant we didn’t want to know the gender of the baby so we had names picked out for a boy and a girl. Fortunately, we had a girl because we were going to name a boy Luke Harrison ;-) And, fortunately, he didn’t insist on naming a girl Leia.

And Alex’s first word wasn’t Mama or Dada. It was Boba. Yep, a very strong Star Wars influence.

Teeth

Alex’s Dad had a root canal about a year ago. He started having trouble with his tooth and discovered that there was an infection at the point of the root canal. The dentist said they could re-do the the root canal or completely remove the tooth. The Dad opted to have the tooth removed and the dentist has him involved in a study for a new type of replacement tooth so Marc will get paid rather than having to pay for the procedure.

Anyway, the conversation he had with Alex about his dental work went like this.

• Dad: I have to get one of my teeth pulled out.
• Kid: Is it one of your baby teeth? Will it grow back?
• Dad: No. I have all my adult teeth. It won’t grow back.
• Kid: So, what are you going to do?
• Dad: They are going to replace it with a “fake” tooth.
• Kid: Cool! Just like Luke Skywalker’s hand!!
• Dad: And I signed up for a study so I don’t have to pay to have this done. They are going to pay me $150.
• Kid: Wow! That’s some tooth fairy.

I could not stop laughing when I overheard this conversation and it is still cracking me up. Kids …

photo credit: Kaptain Kobold

Post from: (Anti) Social Development

Of Star Wars and Dental Work

Happy Memorial Day in the US. It’s nice to have a three day weekend and Memorial Day is the unofficial start of Summer.

Of course, it’s also a commemoration for soldiers who have died while in service but I wonder how many people even thing about that when planning their barbecues?

I’ve decided to celebrate the holiday with some patriotism done up Muppet Style.

photo credit: Don Sullivan

Post from: (Anti) Social Development

Happy Muppet Memorial Day

I spent too much of my life being shy and missed out on things that would have been fun because I was too inhibited to give new experiences a chance.

As I’ve grown older, I’ve become less shy and don’t really care so much what other people think. I do wish, however, that I had learned this at a younger age.

Thanks to Betsy I discovered this video a couple of days ago. We could all learn how to let loose and just enjoy ourselves from this older woman who really seems like like electronic music. It’s suprising because we forget that older people were ever young and this woman seems to have retained the wonder and free-sprited feeling of being a child.

What do you think? This video just makes me smile. Are you outgoing or are you more reserved? Do you think being shy can impact your life in a negative way?

photo credit: adwriter

Post from: (Anti) Social Development

Dance Like No One is Watching!!

Some of you may know that I used to work in tech support. I actually really liked the work but had numerous issues with management.

Before I had a face to face interview I had a phone interview. I was asked questions like, “what web browser do you use?” and “what is a firewall?”. I thought it was odd but must have been their first level screening process.

After watching this video, I think that manager may have actually been onto something with the questions that she asked. Only 8% of those asked “what is a browser” answered correctly.

My friend Rick Castellini from Help Me Rick raised two good points when I showed this video to him.

1. While young people have grown up with the Internet and technology, they don’t seem to be any more tech savvy than us older folks.
2. Google has HUGE name recognition. To many of these people, google is the Internet.

What do you think? Do you think the responses indicate what most people think about browsers, the Internet and search engines? I was surprised but sometimes I find that I live in a sort of tech bubble and assume that what I know is common knowledge.

On a somewhat related note 50% of country music fans polled do not have Internet access at home and don’t want it. Make of that what you will.

photo credit: Jerrold

Post from: (Anti) Social Development

What is a Browser?

Well, I’ve completed my first week of full time freelancing and have learned a couple of things. Some of them are serious, some are obvious, and some are funny (at least to me).

So, here are the top 10 things I learned from my first week of freelancing from home.

1. I know what my cats do all day … absolutely nothing. The photo at the top is a picture of them at the height of their activity level.
2. I need to have my new latop configured prior to the jackhammer starting outside my house so I am ready to work somewhere else. As of this writing, I still haven’t taken care of that.
3. I can watch soccer games that are on during the week! Yay! And they are usually on at my low/sleepy point in the day.
4. It is important to have food in the house that is easy to prepare for a quick meal. I didn’t think this one through ahead of time and was a little lost once I ran out of hummus. I don’t mind cooking in the middle of the day but would rather have something more simple.
5. Since I am home all day there are a lot more dirty dishes. See #4.
6. I am getting a lot more sleep and actually feel well rested for the first time in I don’t know how long. I no longer work all day, take care of my daughter and then work on my site and client’s sites after 8pm. I am getting to bed at a reasonable time and am actually reading before I go to sleep.
7. UPS delivery between 10am-2pm is completely negotiable on their end.
8. I kind of knew this one but didn’t entirely get how much time I would be spending on writing emails and proposals rather than actually working. I need to schedule this better if I’m actually going to earn money. I did, however, take the time to make a couple of templates.
9. It’s important to get outside. Because I’m a homebody to begin with this is hard for me. Fortunately, on most days I have to drop off and pick up my daughter. Since we walk, this forces me to get outside and get some fresh (city) air.
10. I spend less money. I’m not buying coffee, snacks, etc while I’m out. A couple of days I spent nothing.

How about you? For any of you work at home types or freelancers what did you learn when you first started?

Post from: (Anti) Social Development

10 Things I Learned My First Week Freelancing

I love to read and will read anything, if a book that I want to read is available. I would even read a Chilton car manual, which are kind of interesting.

I also have a terrible addiction to magazines but have mostly broken that habit. As the subscriptions expire I will probably only continue to receive The New Yorker (maybe), Bookmarks and maybe Edge. I don’t have time to read them, they aren’t environmentally sound (although I do pass my issues along) and I can get a lot of the same information online.

But, I will not give up my subscription to Bookmarks and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves to read.

This is because it provides outstanding review information and they have awesome customer service.

Bookmarks compiles book reviews from major newspapers and magazines. Every other month they rate the books and provide reviews of the best of the best. It also contains author interviews, a book club profile, and a special section such as Science Fiction or the Civil War. Because of Bookmarks my reading list is even longer than it used to be and I will never read all the books that I want to.

Runaway Mail

Recently a couple of pieces of mail have gone astray. I suppose it could be the mail carrier but I’ve lived here for 7 years and haven’t had a problem. And I know things can happen. One time I ordered some back issues of a Tori Amos fan magazine and realized that a long time had gone by and I hadn’t received them. For some reason, which is unlike me, I didn’t follow up on it. Months later I received the charred remains sealed in plastic with a note from the post office telling me that the mail truck that my stuff had been on had caught fire and this is what was left. Seriously, the post office delivered charred scraps of paper.

I’ve had an invoice from our health insurance not arrive, missed a couple issues of The New Yorker and realized that I had not received Bookmarks since the end of last year. Since it is every other month, it isn’t as noticeable when it is missing.

The health insurance people told me that they’ve had trouble with the billing department, that they didn’t take payments by phone and that payment still had to arrive by the due date or the insurance would be canceled. Nice </sarcasm>

The New Yorker was very polite, extended my subscription by a couple of issues and told me to let them know whether or not the next issue arrived. When it didn’t arrive, I emailed them back, as requested, and got a somewhat nasty response telling me that they WERE being sent and the problem is on my end and that they can’t do anything about it. Really? I’ve been subscribing for years and this is the best they can offer? They did, however, manage to add my email address to their email list, which won’t stop sending me emails. “last chance to order before Mother’s Day”. And then two days later, “last change to order before Mother’s Day.” But I thought my last chance was 2 days ago, and my Mom passed away (thanks SO much for THAT reminder) and I get enough email so please stop bothering me. ;-)

Bookmarks and Customer Service

And then there is Bookmarks. Not only do I love the magazine but the editor Jon Phillips is the greatest. Now, I had an issue go missing way back (well a couple of years ago) when I first subscribed and I contacted them via the contact information on the website. And the editor, Jon Phillips, is the one who replied. He was apologetic, said he would send me the missing issue, and it arrived in a couple of days.

Since I still had Jon’s email address, I emailed him directly this time. I wasn’t sure what would happen – I was still a little gun-shy from my New Yorker experience and I felt bad because this was the 2nd time I was complaining about missing issues.

Jon replied within a couple of hours, was apologetic, annoyed with the post office and genuinely appreciative of my love of the magazine. He also told me that you can request the post office put a watch on certain items in your mail, which I did not know. And even though the problem could have been on my end he located the two missing issues from his stash, mailed them to me and they arrived in a couple of days. Awesome!

This is how customer service should be done. I’ve subscribed to The New Yorker on and off for over 10 years. I’ve subscribed to Bookmarks for maybe two. While I will definitely continue to subscribe to Bookmarks. I may decide I’ve had enough with The New Yorker. I guess I’ll have to see how bad their emails annoy me come Father’s Day ;-) (Yes, I can stop receiving the emails but maybe there will be something useful. What I have a problem with is the frequency of them.)

So, if you love to read or know someone who does, subscribe to Bookmarks. It’s a great compilation of the best book reviews and it has an editor who obviously loves his job and his customers.

I am in no way affiliated with Bookmarks and was not paid to write this article nor was I asked to. But the experience made me think about customer service. And I thought it would be good way to pay back Jon Philips and Bookmarks by maybe sending some new subscribers his way.

Post from: (Anti) Social Development

Bookmarks Magazine: An Example of Awesome Customer Service

Recently I’ve been thinking that not enough attention is given to the entertainment industry and celebrity culture. I’m considering leaving WordPress and starting a celebrity and gossip blog.

I just haven’t been able to decide what to focus on.

These themes do provide inspiration, however, so maybe you guys can help me decide on the focus of my new blog.

David Beckham
Most of you know that I love soccer. I do not, however, like David Beckham. Perhaps I could learn to since he has helped make soccer so awesome in the United States. What would the LA Galaxy and the MLS be without him? Well, probably exactly the same – really, really bad.

Soccer-Football
If the first Beckham theme wasn’t ugly enough, then I have the choice of this one.

Megan Fox
I don’t even know who Megan Fox is but she must be awesome to have an entire theme devoted to her. I could become her biggest fan and start blogging about her.

Audrey Hepburn Stencil
Or, maybe I could focus on dead celebrities. Where’s the Kurt Cobain theme?

Vader Black
I could also start the biggest Star Wars fan site. Hmm … my ex is the biggest Star Wars fan I know so maybe not. I asked my daughter the other day if her Dad’s house was filled with Star Wars stuff. She replied, “Not all of it.”

V for Vendetta
Ok, I actually really liked this movie. But, I think I would run out of things to discuss after a month tops.

Pirates of the Carribean Theme
I do adore Johnny Depp so why not start blogging about my least favorite films of his.

Sponge Bob
I don’t know much of anything about Sponge Bob but I think my kid would be thrilled if I started writing about him and Squidward.

Oh, and Happy April Fools Day. ;-)

photo credit: pbo31

Post from: (Anti) Social Development

Help Me Select a WordPress Theme for Celebrity Blogging

I’ve decided that this week would be all about food here at (Anti) Social Development. And what better way to kick off our celebration then starting with some WordPress plugin name silliness. Fortunately for us, there are a number of plugins that will allow us to share a small WordPress style dinner.

Fine dining? Not so sure. Funny dining? Maybe so.

A WordPress Plugin Dinner

When you sit down and being to sup you can start with something to drink. Perhaps beer, coffee or rootbeer. The specials tonight are fish and you have your choice of babel or big. When dinner is over make sure you wipe the breadcrumbs from you lap (or from your beard). And hopefully you won’t end the meal with indigestion.

Plugins Mentioned

1. WP Sup – This plugin integrates WordPress with Friendfeed so that you new posts appear on Friendfeed almost instantly.
2. Buy Me a Beer or Rootbeer or Coffee WordPress Plugin Widget – A plugin used to encourage readers to donate to your site.
3. Bigfishgames Syndicate – This plugin looks for new releases from Big Fish Games, pulls the data, and creates a new blog post.
4. Babel Fish WordPress Plugin – This will add a BabelFish translator to your site as a sidebar widget.
5. Yoast Breadcrumbs – This adds breadcrumb navigation to your site. Breadcrumbs look like Home > Plugins > WordPress and are links to those sections.
6. Indigestion With this plugin you can create a daily digest from a number of RSS feeds. For example, you could use it to create a post of your shared items in google reader or a daily post of your delicious bookmarks.

photo credit: y_katsuuu

Post from: (Anti) Social Development

Eating and Drinking With WordPress Plugins