In other news, grad school is over for the summer, work is hectic, and I’m writing this from my iPhone 4g. Signal is so far…good.

More posts hopefully to come.

I call this one… “The Doodle Noodle”.

My new line of stick-figure “super” heroes.  This is P.O. man.  He’s not happy with you.

Super Slug!!!

Twitter replaced him. :(  Poor bugger.

…and, the rest really shouldn’t see the light of day.  I’m not sure these should have even seen the light of day.

I never claimed to be normal.

I also would like to blame my dad for these urges to draw – he was an illustrator/photographer.

Cheers.

Happy Thanksgiving, any who read this blog.  We have a lot to be thankful for!

So, today was apparently the day the XBOX Live Update Preview went, well, live.  Huzzah!

Since I was the only one in our household willing to actually click through the screens on the XBOX to find our serial number, I was able to sign up to be part of the preview.  Once I signed up, I promptly forgot about it thanks to real life and Netflix.  Oh, that and a fun mini-vacation down to San Clemente.

Anyways, I am now one of the proud members of the XBOX Live community who can use Facebook, Twitter, Last.fm (what’s that?), and Zune-thing on my (ahem, “our”) XBOX.  Fun stuff so far, but I don’t think I’ll be migrating over to the XBOX completely anytime soon for the following reasons:

1. I’m just not on the XBOX as much as I used to be, and I really don’t want to leave a game just to tweet or update my status.
2. I had to dig out my keypad and re-attach it to my controller.
3. If I am on the XBOX, I’m using Netflix or playing DDR.  I dare anyone to try typing a status update from a DDR dance pad…dare…

Here’s a breakdown of my opinions on each item so far:

Facebook

Very pretty UI.  Very pretty!  Scrolling through the different options is fun and truly makes stalking…erm…keeping up with friends easier.  Plus, quickly scrolling through status updates on a large-screen TV is rather satisfying in a lazy way.  I have a feeling people will enjoy this integration.

If your friends are also on XBOX Live, I think you can share game info, compare stats, etc.  Isn’t that what logging in to xbox.com is for?  Well, I guess you can do this through Facebook now, too.

I won’t be using this one often.  I try to avoid the masses on Facebook as it is.  I am weak, however, I confess…

Twitter

Now this is the most fun addition for me.  I love Twitter!  I think it’s one of the best social networking-ish tools out there today.  And I love the UI design for the XBOX!  Look at that cute Twitter birdy! *le sigh*

As much as I love Twitter, I won’t be using it  as much on the XBOX, even though there are some things I like about the XBOX version, such as:

1. Twitter’s “Remember Me” option actually works on the XBOX.
2. Tweets are easy to read and scroll through.
3. My avatar is pretty entertaining.
4. I like the Twitter bird…and the moving clouds.

Why I wouldn’t use it:

1. I have to type with the controller or a keypad.  Why would I do that when my laptop is usually right next to me?
2. I’d have to leave a game/movie to tweet.  I might as well pick up my cell phone and tweet while playing…or utilize the aforementioned laptop.
3. I can’t click on URLs and see the cool sites, photos, videos, etc. my contacts are sharing.

So, fun stuff, but not quite enough to keep me glued to my console.  I mean, “our” console…

Last.fm

I have no idea what last.fm is, but if you use it, you can now use it on the XBOX.  Yay for you!

And finally…

Zune (Video)

Alas, I thought this was going to be a full-out Zune integration.  I have a Zune and an amazing Zune Pass subscription, and I was hoping this would usher in the marriage of my Zune Pass and my XBOX.  It was not to be.

The XBOX now integrates with Zune Video, as in…you can now purchase full movies, rent movies, etc. that can then play on your Zune HD, your computer, or your XBOX.  As fun as that is, I won’t be using this feature because of…

Netflix

Netflix integrates seamlessly with the XBOX.  I can stream movies from my Instant Queue and browse new additions at no extra cost to my monthly Netflix subscription.  So, Zune Video?  You’re not for me.  Sorry.

All in all, the additions seem pretty fun.  It’ll be interesting to see what else is rolled out.

In the meantime, I better get back to grading, studying, and longing for the release of Mass Effect 2.

P.S. – I was just enlightened as to what Last.fm is.  I’ll still be using my Zune Pass and/or Pandora.

Q: Do you believe that the cup is half empty or half full?

A:  Personally, I’m wondering what you’re doing with my cup, but to answer your question, I generally believe the cup/glass is very full.  The question is – what’s in it?

Anyways, it was fun being able to splash around in the water.  It was just the two of us, so that made it extra fun.  I felt like a kid again.  Okay, so I’m not terribly ancient or anything, but there’s something terribly fun about being the only people in the pool and being able to splash around/swim around/try to take the other person down without actually hurting them, etc.  We might need to get some pool noodles or something to add to the excitement.

It was also fun to be able to spend some time alone doing something fun with my husband.  There’s something especially fun and romantic about having a pool to yourselves.  We swapped hilarious swim stories from when we were younger, discussed the finer points of why swimming was a great workout compared with other options, raced each other (pathetically, but give us a summer…we’ll be so fast…), and got tons of water up our noses.

More importantly, we got to be together. 

..and in less than a week, we’re going to have all the time in the world to do whatever we want for 2 whole weeks.

Yes, swimming will be included.

Prune juice.  Celery.  A candle.  And an old, angry woman with a vengeance.  After that, a massive explosion.  That’s what I remembered from a film I saw a long, long time ago.

Oh, and a boy named Diane. 

And a hit-man with a spear-shaped violin case.

Before the Scary Movie(s) and Epic Movie(s) and many other “movie” spoof, there was Airplane!, Hot Shots!, and apparently, Jane’ Austen’s Mafia!

(I would like to take a moment to state that Jim Abrahams is obsessed with exclamation points…!)

I had watched all/part of this movie on cable television in a small village in the Philippines when I was much younger, but I could not remember the movie’s name.  All  I had were scenes…scenes so funny that they had been permanently imprinted into my brain.

Years went by, the Internet was invented and rolled out to the masses, and in a fit of boredom, I entered “mafia, mafia spoof, mafia comedy” into Google.  There it was – Jane Austen’s Mafia!  Jane Austen has been a busy lady after her death…books, movies, etc.

Neflix graciously allowed me to watch this movie again after 10 long years, and it’s still as good as it was in that small village in the Philippines.  Where else can you watch gamblers in casinos playing Go Fish, Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, and “Last Red Cent” slot machines?  Spagetti en mass?  “Run, florist, run!”?  And most importantly – old, angry women with a vengeance?

If you’re looking for some hilarious takes on some famous movies of the 90s, then go see Mafia!  What have you got to lose?

A few days ago, however, the water was sparkling blue (Clean? Dyed, perhaps?  Just kidding) and various water fowl were floating/walking around.  That’s when I spotted them:

I’m not sure if it was a family of Canadian geese with a random female duck tagging along or whether it was the duck who had the Canadian geese following her and her ducklings (baby geese?).  Either way, they all stayed close to each other and eyed us suspiciously.  I couldn’t blame them.  Most living beings eye us suspiciously… ;)

They may look a bit strange now, but they’ll grow up to be some good looking birds someday, whatever they may be.  Maybe next time, I’ll bring them some food.  Then, maybe, we could be friends…maybe.  If these are baby geese, they’ll grow up to be good looking…and greedy…and snappy.  Kind of like when children grow into adults, huh?  Just kidding…maybe.

Have a great weekend!

1. Google Apps for Domains
2. Ease of use
3. Google Labs

If you have ever e-mailed me, you know my address is through my domain (cgthomas.com).  Their Apps for Domains allows me to add new accounts, manage accounts, great groups, set and customize start pages, run a calendar, use Google Docs, etc. – basically everything a normal Gmail user can do except on my own domain.  It’s beautiful…and convenient.

It is also amazingly easy to use.  You could go into Google Apps and figure out what’s going on pretty quickly.  I’ve seen my (un)fair share of control panels and user interfaces over the years, and Google has given me something I actually don’t mind staring at for hours on end if I have to.  As amazing as their Apps are and as easy as they are to use, I would still say that Google Labs has revolutionized my e-mail world.  When I discovered them, I think I actually cried…just a little bit…but there were tears of happiness somewhere in there.

Google Labs is sort of like a toy box where you can pick as many fun toys as you want (or deem useful).  If you use Gmail, there’s a little green beaker-looking icon in the top, right-hand corner.  Click it and be ready to have your world made just a little bit brighter.

Some Lab features I have seriously appreciated:

• Pictures in Chat – yes, this may seem a bit silly to you, but I like being able to see the picture of the person I am chatting with.  Granted, that sometimes means chatting with Tacky the Penguin or the Anonymous Green Person icon, but at least I can see a visual representation of the person on the other end.
• Custom Label Colors– I love color.  I am a visual person.  Colors=good.  And now, Gmail gives me a lot of fun colors to choose from to make my labels absolutely stunning!
• Multiple Inboxes – Oh, my, word.  If you do not use Gmail, get someone to give you an account just so you can use this amazing feature.  Imagine this – your main inbox on one side…and a bunch of other inboxes within your inbox on the other!  And you select them!  It has really helped me keep track of e-mails from grad school, professional organizations, and other business endeavors I’m involved in.
• Undo Send – I can think of several academic institutions who wished they had this tool on their e-mail.  I wished I had this tool a couple years ago to save me from situations others have had.  Well, I have the tool now.  What it basically does is hold an e-mail message you just “sent” for 5 seconds before sending it on to your intended recipient, allowing you to decide within those 5 seconds whether or not that e-mail should really be on its way.  While, like this author, I wish I had more like 5-10 minutes to think about an e-mail I just “sent”…or maybe a double confirmation button…this is still a good feature to pause e-mails that might not have the attachment you thought you put there (Gmail has a lab feature for that, too!) or add another thought, etc.

Yes, I like Google.  No, I do not think they are the devil.  We can discuss that at a later time because right now, I’m going to go check my e-mail…