Mine can be summed up pretty much like this…

The song that defined my generation.
Although I still don’t consider it his best work, I can’t deny the impact of Purple Rain.

If I was President and had some serious dirt to hide, I would grandstand an issue that would distract the majority of the American public, while at the same time tie up the highest courts in constitutional wrangling for at least a few years.

Yep. That’s what I’d do.

And this is a brand new idea that I just thought of, that no one has ever done before, and that no one is currently doing at this moment.

Recently, I’ve decided to move on to hubless devices for my smart home set-up. Not that there’s anything wrong with hubbed solutions in particular – rather, it was more of a challenge of curiosity to see if I could pull it off.

As such, I have some items for sell, starting with a Netgear Arlo Security System.

It includes the base hub and two cameras. But perhaps most importantly, I also include 16 rechargable batteries with charging station! Although the Arlo line gets perhaps the best battery life of all in its class, it still requires eventually buying new batteries and throwing away the old. Through some diligent searching, I finally found rechargable batteries and ordered extras along with the charging station.

Interested? Please place your bids below on eBay, or consider the “Buy It Now” option! I am also open to serious best offers as well.

Click here to bid

Warriors best the undefeated Kings team to take the #1 spot!

Bryson had one of his best games ever!!

Great job boys!!

#Warriors #BraniacBryson #AllenThisTogether

Like countless others, I spent years questioning why Lauryn Hill simply refused to make a follow-up to this classic album. She’s made sporadic guest appearances. She’s said that she’s content. And I’m happy for her for that.

For me, it took a few listens to realize something simpler – these tracks are prayers. She said what she needed to say to her Father. This made me love this album even more!
Case in point, “Tell Him” (perhaps my favorite track). On the surface, this seems like a typical heart-broken female track. But there’s much, much more. Fist, open your Bible to 1 Corinthians 13. Then hit play…..

Everything moves fast in the Information Age, including trends. From the first chat rooms, to emojis, to instant messaging, to vlogging – it seems that trends themselves move as fast as the high speed connections they’re spread with. And the latest trend, affectionately being referred to as “Meme Speak” is no different. That name means exactly what it implies. Just as I’m sure you or someone you know has communicated almost exclusively with emojis at some time or another, Meme Speak is communication almost exclusively with memes.

Of course, memes themselves aren’t new, although finding what could be proclaimed as the first one is quite frankly an impossible task. But Oldest.org did a great job compiling a list of some the internet’s earliest standouts here.

Like most trends, the thought of this can seem humorous and even quirky. Host Stacey Higginbotham of Stacy On IoT has jokingly shared how her young daughter and her friends carry on entire conversations using this form of communication. Sometimes, Stacey admits, she has to ask her daughter for clarification on some of the conversations.

Although I love nearly all forms of creativity, and welcome new forms of self expression, memes by their nature have unfortunate dark sides. Specifically, the majority of memes that are shared on the internet are just that – shared. Meaning they are created by someone else, thus they are someone else’s thoughts. I caution those who make it a habit of sharing such memes in abundance. Even if it’s not the case, it gives the appearance that you lack the ability to form your own thoughts and opinions. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with sharing quotes or interesting things via meme, but when it becomes your overwhelming form of communication it can possibly make others question your ability to articulate your own thoughts and opinions.

Perhaps one of the worst dark sides of memes in my opinion is the spread of political [mis]information. Over the years, this darkness has grown worse and worse – especially in today’s political climate where so many seem willing to separate along party lines. Far too often, memes are shared that contain quotes meant only to promote “us” while casting shame and ridicule on “them”. I try to remind my friends all of the time that the fact of the matter is memes are created , usually in about 2 minutes, on someone’s phone using any number of free apps. Thus, the validity of the statements in the memes shouldn’t be so readily accepted as fact. Moreover, I encourage them to consider the source and consider the intended audience – these are the easiest tell-tell signs as to whether or not a meme contains any actual facts.

Simply put, I think speaking in meme can be funny. There’s plenty of silly out there to go around. Not to mention the challenge of searching for and using memes that fit the conversation at hand, or creating them on the fly. My only caution is to not let it replace one’s own ability to actually communicate using one’s own thoughts and opinions, and being able to articulate them effectively.

But hey – trends come and they go.

Got hit with a spring snow storm that’s making travel difficult.

No fear! Snow day work day!