Kiva

Posted on by
1

As a part of our wedding gift, my good friend Jam gave Rand and me a gift certificate for Kiva. So what’s Kiva? Here’s some info from their about page:

Kiva’s mission is to connect people, through lending, for the sake of alleviating poverty.

Kiva empowers individuals to lend to an entrepreneur across the globe. By combining microfinance with the internet, Kiva is creating a global community of people connected through lending.

The initial gift allowed us to make two loans: over time, those loans have been (mostly) paid back. Today, I went to Kiva and used a portion of our balance to make a new loan and give a small donation to Kiva to cover operating costs.

I think Kiva is a really cool organization, and I encourage you to check them out!

Protected: Pseudonyms (email me for password)

Posted on by

This content is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Posted in me! | Enter your password to view comments.

Tweet, tweet

Posted on by
2

I may not be posting here much, but I am hanging out on twitter more these days.

You can catch me at twitter.com/eringoblog (my general tweetage)
or twitter.com/calligbyerin (crafty),
or the newly-launched twitter.com/27chronicles (for all your 27-related needs–email 27 sightings to 27chronicles (at) gmail)

So come and follow me…I promise to follow you back, as long as you’re not porn or a spambot or someone trying to help me maximize my full twitter potential or whatever. 😉

Phone blog!

Posted on by
Reply

I just set up WordPress for my phone. Pretty cool, right?

I was going to post more today…some romantic lyrics, or a poem, or pictures or something, but I never got on the wireless network. I’ve been relying on the phone for my internet needs instead.

So, I hope you’ve had a pleasant Valentine’s Day. Enjoy!

Why I <3 my Kindle

Posted on by
Reply

kindlefromamazon

I have to admit, I feel sort of guilty about loving my Kindle after Amazonfail part deux, but I do love it so. I see a lot of hate directed toward the e-book reader out there on the internet…and while it’s not my goal to change anyone’s mind, I thought I’d write about a few of the reasons why I like mine.

1. Instant gratification

Last week, I decided that I wanted to read the Newbery-winning When You Reach Me. I mean, I knew I wanted to read it, but I decided that I wanted to read it right now. I went to Amazon, downloaded the free sample, and was happily reading away within minutes. When I got to the end of the sample, I clicked on “buy,” and had the whole novel at my fingertips.

2. Portability

I love being able to carry around a whole library of books anywhere I want. Now, I don’t carry my Kindle with me *everywhere*, but I always take it with me when I have an appointment, or when I’m traveling. (Any reader knows the dilemma of choosing which books to bring with you on vacation, or even on a weekend away. Now I can bring as many books as I want!)

3. Buying more books, taking up less space

I am an English teacher married to a librarian. Needless to say, we have a lot of books. I don’t even have room for all of my books…I have books in boxes. I have books in my classroom. I have stacks of books in random corners all over the house. And Rand? Has more books than I do. With our Kindles, we can continue buying new books that we don’t have to find shelf (or floor) space for. (Please note…this has not stopped either of us from buying books in their regular  form.)

4. Electronic Paper Technology

I know lots of people read e-books on their iPhones and other portable devices. I know (also) that lots of people are excited about the iPad and its e-book reader. What I love about the Kindle that those devices don’t offer is the way it mimics actual paper. (Yes, other e-readers have this technology, but I don’t own those. If I did, I’d be writing about them…) There’s no backlighting–some people have complained about this, but backlighting is what makes looking at a computer screen for extended periods hard on your eyes.

5. The sample option

I mentioned this above, but I love being able to sample a book before deciding if I want to buy it. It’s the electronic equivalent of browsing in a bookstore (something I also enjoy doing). It’s also a good way for me to keep track of things I might want to read.

Now, is the Kindle perfect? Of course not. One thing, for example, that I hope Amazon offers in the future is the ability to share books within a household. Rand and I both have Kindles, but we have no way of sharing reading material. So if Rand buys a book for his Kindle and he thinks I might enjoy it, the only way for him to share it with me is to give me HIS Kindle. Or for me to buy another copy of the book–something we would never have to do with an ink-and-paper book. (a quick google search lets me know that there are ways of sharing, but they’re not *good* ways.)

And then, of course, there’s the DRM problem (which is sort of the same issue as above). I occasionally think I should be more upset about it, but I haven’t been able to get worked up over it.

Anyway, that’s what I like about my Kindle. Now that the iPad is out there, do you think the Kindle is a dead technology? Will people still want a dedicated e-book reader when there is a device out there that can do a bunch of other things as well? Will the latest Amazon debacle over pricing of e-books drive potential customers away? (I have no idea…that’s why I’m asking you!)

Protected: Status

Posted on by

This content is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Posted in blogging | Enter your password to view comments.

27 songs that never fail to make me happy*

Posted on by
1

(yes, I opted for “more wasting time on the internet, plz”)

Here they are, in no particular order

1. Don’t Stop Believin’–Journey

This song is actually currently my ringtone. Yes, I’m serious.

2. Without Me–Eminem

3. Black Horse and the Cherry Tree–KT Tunstall

4. Cold, Cold Heart–Midge Ure

5. I’d Like That–XTC

6. New Mistake–Jellyfish

7. Waterloo-ABBA

8. Short Skirt/Long Jacket–Cake

9. Wandrin’ Around–Carbon Leaf

10. Got to Get You Into My Life–The Beatles

11. Here on Earth (I’ll Have My Cake)–Crash Test Dummies

12. Just Can’t Get Enough–Depeche Mode

13. Ordinary Day–Great Big Sea

14. Geek in the Pink–Jason Mraz

15. My Baby Loves Me–Martina McBride

16. The Way You Make Me Feel–Michael Jackson

17. King of Spain–Moxy Fruvous

18. Hey Ya!–Outkast

19. Solar Circle Girl–Einstein’s Sister

20. Mr. Blue Sky–ELO

21. Ana Ng–They Might Be Giants

22. Gettin’ Jiggy Wit’ It–Will Smith

23. Molly–Jackdaw

24. Cecelia–Simon and Garfunkel

25. Still Can’t Buy Me Love–Ookla the Mok

26. Bad Romance–Lady GaGa

27. Days Go On So Long–The Frogs

*by no means is this a list of the ONLY songs that make me happy…just a random list!

Random thoughts for Thursday

Posted on by
1

Ok…lots of random stuff floating around in my brain. Let’s see if I can make some sense of it.

1. BRR. I DO NOT LIKE when the temps dip into the teens. (Lower than that? I’d prefer it if I didn’t have to leave the house, thanks.)

2. I think the iPad, aside from the stupid name, looks like an awesome shiny new toy. However, since in the past year, I have acquired (a) a MacBook pro, (b) a Kindle, and (c) a Droid, I probably won’t seeking to buy said shiny new toy. I will, however, look on with envy. 😉 (If you didn’t see it when I posted it on facebook, this post on the iPad is pretty funny)

3. It would be difficult for me not to note the passing of JD Salinger. While I can’t say I was a fan, he is an important figure in American literature.

4. This week, I proctored and rated the NYS Regents Exam in English. All of our students passed, including a small group targeted as struggling writers. One of my fall semester duties was teaching a course specifically designed to help these students improve their writing skills and pass the exam. Win! (also win…I have no proctoring/rating duties tomorrow, and so I don’t have to go in. whee!)

5. As a (former) sorority girl, I can honestly tell you that my sorority was nothing at all like this. (It’s really funny, but also sort of sad, as it reinforces all kinds of negative stereotypes about Greek life. So I say pfft to you, Cornell chapter of Pi Beta Phi–and give a hearty cheer for the Eta Beta chapter of Alpha Delta Pi, for showing me that not ALL sororities are “like that.”)

**I love you ADPi, deep down in my <3**

6. Sadly, I’ve wasted too much time…must accomplish something this evening, but what? Clean? Exercise? Crafts? Feel free to vote. 😉

Nine years

Posted on by
Reply

gram0024.jpg

Angie Trombetta Morelli

This post is a couple of days late, as I have been busy and distracted…I also forgot to make a couple of important phone calls, and for that, I feel terrible.

Miss you, gram.