Inbox--100 Words

Inbox.

I wonder when that word came into existence.

Must have been with the advent of email.

I have a love/hate relationship with my inbox.

My personality doesn’t allow me to keep my inbox full.

I know. It is terrible. But, I have to read, respond to, and file my emails quickly.

It’s a curse.

I can’t let them sit there. In bold. Unread. Waiting for action.

It is a sickness.

Recently, I sat next to a person who had 1,700-something unread emails in his inbox.

It was all I could do to keep from helping him clean it out!

Thou Shall Not Text

Chrch sez stop txtn 4 lent.

Or, put another way, the Italian branch of the Roman Catholic Church wants its followers to forswear text messaging, social-networking Web sites, and computer games in the run-up to Easter.

While many Italians traditionally give up fatty foods or, in extremis, alcohol, the appeal to go without some of the trappings of the modern world, including Facebook, iPhones, and computer games, on Fridays—and on other days if possible—is unprecedented.

It appears to stem partly from Pope Benedict XVI’s recent warning to the young not to substitute “virtual friendship” for real human relationships.

The Pontiff warned on his YouTube site in January that “obsessive” use of mobile phones or computers “may isolate individuals from real social interaction while also disrupting the patterns of rest, silence and reflection that are necessary for healthy human development.”

Pope Benedict also has personal experience of the distractions of obsessive texting. President Sarkozy of France, a renowned technophile, came in for withering criticism for checking his mobile phone for text messages during a personal audience with the Pontiff.

The “stop texting for Lent” campaign began in the dioceses of Modena, Bari ,and Pesaro but has now spread to other parts of Italy.

Okay readers, what do you think? Has the Catholic church gone too far? Or, on the other hand, do you think this is a good idea?

Where is the strangest place you’ve seen people texting? Do people text sitting next to you in church? What about while watching a movie? Eating dinner? Where’s the strangest place you’ve texted? Care to share?

Giving and Taking, Mainly Taking

What Microsoft giveth, Microsoft can taketh away.

Microsoft says some of the 1,400 employees it laid off last month accidentally got too much in their severance packages—and now it wants the money back.

“This letter is to inform you that an inadvertent administrative error occurred that resulted in an overpayment in severance pay by Microsoft,” reads a letter sent to an unnamed employee and posted on the TechCrunch blog. “We ask that you repay the overpayment and sincerely apologize for any overpayment to you.”

Blacked out are the employee’s name and address and how much Microsoft says he owes. The letter bears a Microsoft letterhead and a date of February 18.

Contacted by CNet News, a Microsoft spokesman confirmed the letter was real and hinted that some other laid-off employees had been underpaid in their severance packages.

He or she declined further comment, deeming it “a private matter between the company and the affected people.”

I wonder, did the good people at Microsoft not use Microsoft Excel for their spreadsheet? I don’t know much about how Excel works, but I do know that it will calculate out columns automatically.

I won’t say more. After all, I am in the market for a new laptop and I don’t want my name added to some secret blacklist of names of people who can’t register their Microsoft products.

Just a little Internet humor Mr. Microsoft! I really do love you guys! And, I’ve only touched a Mac a couple of times! Promise!

And, oh, if you dare to comment, you do so at your own risk. The owner of this blog site takes no responsibility for the actions of any mega-giant computer company against anyone who feels the need to join in the conversation stream. Unless said mega-giant computer company would like to donate to the Heartsill laptop computer fund.

Lessons Learned...So Far

As many of you know, I've been taking a break from blogging this week. For those who noticed, thanks for noticing! For those who didn't notice, shame on you! :)

A few days into this furlough thing, I've learned a few lessons that I'd like to share with you. Nothing too earth-shattering important, just observations.

1. I could get used to not going to work every day! I definitely see why retirement is so appealing to so many. I get to set my own hours and do my own thing (or at least those things that Tonya tells me are my own things!) I like working around the house. I like building stuff and painting things.

2. No project is as simple as you think. So far this week, I've built Evan's toybox (once I get it painted, I'll post a picture to let you see my handiwork. I've also painted our guest bathroom. I've washed clothes. And, cooked a few meals for my lovely wife. Each of these projects were planned out and I had a gameplan for each one. However, projects don't go the way you think they should or as fast as you think they should.

3. You never have the right tool! I've been to Lowe's and The Home Depot several times already this week. Now, I'm not complaining. I love those places! They are manly stores. If they could bottle the smell of either store, I'd buy it! But, just once, when I start a project I'd love to have all the tools I need to finish it.

4. It is amazing how many cuts and bruises I get when I work around the house! Right now, I've got two cuts on my head where I hit myself as I built Evan's toybox, not once, mind you, but I did it twice! Yes, I hit my head twice. Tonya did get a good laugh out of that one.

5. There aren't as many hours in the day as I thought! I always want to do one more thing before quitting time gets here, but I know that some of those things will just have to wait until the next day. I'll keep those things on my list so I know what to accomplish next.

6. I forgot just how many muscles I have! I've rediscovered a few hundred of them over the last couple of days. And, to be honest, I think each of them is hurting right now!

7. Nothing I've done this week matters to anyone but me, and maybe Tonya and Evan. Then again, that's okay by me.

8. By now, you've wondered what the meaning of the photo at the top of the page is. Just a reminder to self: when you are on unpaid furlough, be prepared for things to break! Our laptop died last night. Well, that's not true. The laptop is working, the LCD screen died. Guess what? To fix it would cost $300-400! Yup. So, I guess we'll been spending money that we hadn't planned to spend on a laptop. Let the shopping begin! And no, that wasn't on my "to-do-list" for the week!

9. I'm torn about blogging right now. I've really missed the regular readers of my blog and I've missed your comments! I started blogging because I had something to say, and words to express. I've continued blogging because of the social networking I've come to love.

Friends, be patient. I'll be back. As a writer and editor, I simply have too many words in me to keep them all to myself. So, soon, I'll be filling my blog pages with more "stuff," some you'll enjoy and some you'll just pass over and say, "What was he thinking?"

That's okay. As I've said before, it is my blog! So, I'll write what I want to write. And, as a reader, you always have the choice of simply not reading. Hopefully, you won't do that, but I understand if you do. Unless you are one of the mean-spirited commenters who've lurked around the site for a while.

Keep praying for my fellow co-workers. Because I can't check email, I don't know how they are doing. I'm sure they are fine. And, hopefully their computers didn't give up the ghost and they aren't nearly as sore and tired as I am!

How Slow Will You Go?

Outgoing Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Kevin Martin is pushing for action in December on a plan to offer free, pornography-free wireless Internet service to all Americans.

The free Internet plan is the most controversial issue the agency will tackle in December.

The proposal to allow a no-smut, free wireless Internet service is part of a proposal to auction off a chunk of airwaves. The winning bidder would be required to set aside a quarter of the airwaves for a free Internet service. The winner could establish a paid service that would have a fast wireless Internet connection. The free service could be slower and would be required to filter out pornography and other material not suitable for children.

So, here’s the question of the day for my faithful blog readers: Would you sign up for slower Internet service so that you could also filter out porn? I know the easy answer is, “Yes, sure I would.” But, think about it a minute. Would it slow down your pictures, downloading music, uploading blogs, etc.? Would that make a difference in how you decided?

Tell me your thoughts.

Am I Old Or Just Wiser?

A schoolboy collapsed and went into convulsions after playing a new version of the “World of Warcraft” online computer game for 24 hours straight. The 15-year-old boy and his friends were exploring the “Wrath of the Lich King” expansion pack when he suffered what appeared to be an epileptic seizure, it was reported earlier this week. Now, in total truth, I have no idea what this game is or what the Wrath of Lich is. But, that doesn’t really relate to this story.

“They played all day and all night. Maybe they got a few hours of sleep. They ate a little food and breakfast at their computers,” the boy's father told a newspaper in Sweden.

Doctors told the father that his son’s bodily systems had been disrupted by a combination of sleep deprivation, lack of food, and the prolonged period of concentration playing the game.
The teenager and six friends were reported to have gathered at his home in Laholm, western Sweden, on Saturday to play the updated version of the game, which went on sale Thursday. He collapsed at around 2 p.m. Sunday.

The boy is expected to make a full recovery but his father said he plans on limiting the amount of time his son is allowed to play computer games.

Oh, so many questions here. Now, as a disclaimer, let me say that I love to play video games. My addiction to video games started in college! I played hours and hours of Pac Man and other games in the Student Center at Samford University. Maybe I should have spent less time there and more hours in the library, but I digress!

But, somehow, I always knew my limit playing video games—usually when I ran out of quarters!

Now, how many students have to collapse playing video games before parents know there’s a problem? Seriously! Don’t parents know the dangers of video games or computer usage? Is this a top secret fact that many parents don’t know about? Common on people! If you don’t know this truth, go back and reread this story again. See the dangers!

Then, another question, why was a parent letting their child eat all of his meals at the computer? How healthy can that be?

Folks, left to their own vices, children and teenagers don’t always make the right choices, is that news to anyone? Not all teenagers. Not all children. Not all parents are bad. But, there have been way too many stories like this lately.

Take some time to turn off the computer. Focus on your family. Read a good book. Read a bad book. Listen to some music. Take a walk. Go for a run. Just don’t be controlled by some piece of electronics!

Is It Good News or Bad News?

Hi. I’m Steve and I’m a news junkie!

I’ll admit it.

For many, many years, I enjoyed reading my morning newspaper. I would read it cover-to-cover and catch up on the events from around the world. Reading the paper was normally the first thing I had to do every day.

However, with the advent of the Internet, I no longer subscribe to a local newspaper (maybe an editor shouldn’t admit that!). Now, I get my news from online. I find myself reading MSNBC, Foxs News, CNN for my national and international news. I like to read AL.com to find out what is happening around Alabama, and in particular, around Birmingham. I read countless other Web sites each week, keeping up with the news, both the serious kind and the funny kind.

So much of what I read online breaks my heart. The news is just downright sad. Just this morning, I read the story of a teenager being shot and killed after egging a car. I read the story of a firefighting plane that crashed, killing three on board. I saw the story of a Jacksonville Jaguar football player who was shot outside an apartment complex.

News like that goes on and on.

So, why read it? Why keep up with what’s going on in the world, both near and far? Well, for me the answer is really simple. I don’t think God wants me to bury my head in the sand, pretending everything is fine, not keeping pace with what takes place in society. It was Billy Graham, perhaps the best evangelist since the Apostle Paul, who described his preaching as having a Bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other. I can envision that if Billy Graham were just starting out today, he’d edit that statement slightly by saying that he had a laptop in one hand and his Bible in the other.

To stay relevant with what is happening in the world, I read. I read books. I read magazines. I read blogs. I read online.

Do I get discouraged? Sure, all the time! But, if I stopped reading, I’d miss out on great stories like the waitress in Illinois that received a $1,000 tip for her service. I would miss out on how a balloonist survived a 9,000 foot fall in South Carolina. And, I would miss how the Jerry Lewis telethon raised over $65 million (a new record) for MDA research.

So, is the news pitcher half full or half empty? I guess it all depends on how you read the notches on the glass. Or in my case, the news on the screen.