Electing a US President in Plain English

Yes, a person may lose the popular vote, but still be elected president. Explaining how the presidential election works is a bit confusing and different from all other elected positions in the United States. It is the electoral college that actually determines the presidential outcome. Commoncraft's short guide to understanding the basics of the US election process was recently posted on YouTube. If you need a refresher on how the final result is tallied - this is an excellent starting point. Interesting note - electors are not obligated to vote for the candidate that their district chooses.


Electing a US President in Plain English from leelefever on Vimeo.

Just Added Twitter to My Facebook page

Updating my Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, and blogs is beginning to cost me a lot of time. I sat down at 8:30 this morning to update one and now it's 10:38 am. and I haven't even had breakfast. Just discovered a young blogger by the name of AJ Vaynerchuk who created a small application that will link Twitter to Facebook. It's easy to install and looks good, now just have to see how useful it will be. Follow this link to his blog.

Library Levy

As co-chair of Citizens Supporting Twinsburg Public Library, I was delighted to read the article in the metro section of the Plain Dealer today noting the good work of libraries during economic downturns. We who love and use libraries recognize the value they add to the quality of our lives. It is just great to see their contribution acknowledged in print.

Next Tuesday voters will be asked to approve a one mil levy to support our local library. This will cost home owners only $3 to $5 dollars a month that they can recoup by checking out just one book and/or DVD a year instead of buying them. Why would anyone want to pass up a bargain like that? Even if someone had all the disposable income to buy whatever they wanted, isn't it a good thing to support an institution that helps people who don't?

What will voting yes for the Twinsburg Public Library levy get you - access to a world of free entertainment and the opportunity to do something really great for your community!

CLEVNET Has MP3 Audiobooks for iPods!

I am so excited! Yes, this is a big thing - CLEVNET's e media collection is now available for iPod users with a CLEVNET Library card. Check here for CLEVNET libraries. Granted the collection is rather small (it's brand new after all) and ALMOST EVERYTHING is already checked out (of the 200 plus mp3 titles, how many are checked out by CPL staff, I wonder?:).

I was able to find three titles to check out for myself: Anne of Green Gables, Raise Your Social IQ, and Bloodlist. I'm not sure these would have been my first choices (slim pickings for now, as I said before), but I wanted to try out the new collection.

OverDrive's MP3 titles are compatible with most MP3 players, including Apple devices. Some, like the iPod Shuffle may be used with special considerations. Check OverDrive's website for more information.

It will be necessary to download the OverDrive Media Console 3.0 on your computer to access CLEVNET's MP3 content. The instructions also suggested that I change my iPod to manual sync rather than auto, but that didn't help. So I imported my title from the OverDrive Media Console on my PC to iTunes and then synced my 5th generation iPod without a hitch. I did have to import each of the files/parts individually. I'm not sure whether the newer iPod Touch would work differently. When my daughter returns from South Africa next month, I will try it on her iPod Touch.

If you want to burn the files to CDs, I would suggest creating a new playlist for each title first and making sure the files/parts are in numerical order before burning. If anyone has had a different experience, I would appreciate comments.

Low Carb Diets Work, So They Say

Last week the Plain Dealer had an article on the success of low carb over low fat diets in losing weight and lowering cholesterol. Link is here.

I'm not sure it's such a great idea to jump on any branded diet plan like the Atkins diet or the South Beach diet without a little bit of research. The low-carb food pyramid is obviously very different from the MyPyramid, released by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) on April 19, 2005.

Good news - cutting back on carbs doesn't mean doing away with grains and veggies. It does mean avoiding starchy vegetables, such as potatoes, corn, and beets, and greens are the low-carb dieter's super-friend.

Making Reservations Online

There are so many great restaurants in the Cleveland area that I've become dependent upon a few websites to help me make a decision. OpenTable.com is one of them. It lists only 52 kinda pricey restaurants, but they're great for special occasions and those times you want to impress. I can make my reservation online immediately - no waiting on hold or getting directed to voice mail. They also send a confirmation within seconds to my inbox. Includes linked maps, menus, interior views and special instructions you may want to pass on to the restaurant. You can also order flowers to be placed on your table for birthdays or other special times. FYI -the Blue Canyon in Twinsburg is listed under the category - Most Booked.

Menuism is a site that is comprised of local recommendations and reviews by members only. This gives ordinary people rather than professional reviewers the chance to rant or rave over restaurants they have visited. Just type in the name of the locale (anywhere in the US) you want to visit for a list of reviewed places. Links to maps are also included as well as a breakdown by type of cuisine.

Of course the old standby for locating restaurants is cleveland.com/dining located on the Plain Dealer's online site. Eateries may be found by name, type of cuisine, or location.

I wouldn't recommend using the Beacon Journal's site, because it contains a lot of errors - especially listing restaurants that haven't been around for years. Makes me wonder if they even care whether we use this site or not.

A Jane Austen Summer

Earlier this year I watched Becoming Jane - about a young Jane Austen who strives to become a writer against the wishes of her mother. She's courted by a number of young men and rejects them all until meeting Thomas Lefroy, who rocks her world. Both families oppose the union, so Lefroy suggests that they run away together.

Jane remains at home, never marries, but ends up writing some of the most popular and lasting literature in the English language. The character Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice is supposedly based on her real life love, Thomas Lefroy.

That DVD inspired me to rewatch the BBC series based on her novels and to listen to the unabridged audiobooks available through the Twinsburg Library, Project Gutenberg, and Librivox.

Officer Down Memorial Page

The Officer Down Memorial Page is a non-profit organization dedicated to honoring America's fallen law enforcement officers who lost their lives in the line of duty. It provides an online form for family, friends, and citizens to leave their memories or condolences for any officer who has made the ultimate sacrifice.

This past Sunday Police Officer Joshua T. Miktarian, Twinsburg Police Department, Twinsburg, Ohio was shot and killed while conducting a traffic stop around 2 am. The community of Twinsburg mourns for the loss of this young officer, husband and father.

To leave a comment, tribute, or condolences to the family, please follow this link.

Cost of Food Today

When did really good fish become so expensive? Last week I tried out a new fish shop in Twinsburg, located at the rear of the Lobster House. I'm not sure if it is comparable in cost to the grocery chains, but I thought I'd give it a try. I bought some wild salmon and some kind of fish from Hawaii. Loved the salmon, but probably won't buy the other again.

Anyway, I was happy to find "The 20 Healthiest Foods for Under $1" link on Lifehacker just to balance out the budget a bit. It's pretty cool and it includes recipes.

Cooking for just two or one can actually be rather costly, but we've begun using DIY dinners to save on throwing out uneaten leftovers or unused pieces and parts of items that we had to buy to complete a recipe. Each dinner costs about $10 ($5/per person) and no waste. Not sure how much I'm saving, but everything gets eaten and nothing to throw out.

National Hamburger Festival

I've been to rib burn-offs in Cleveland, but how did I miss this event? This is the "third" annual hamburger festival in downtown Akron. According to the brochure not many participating establishments are your gourmet style restaurants, but it sounds like fun anyway.

New 3G iPhone Review

Wil Harris of ChannelFlip in the UK has a first hand review of the new iPhone that was just released today. It may take a little longer than usual to download due to bandwidth load.

How Am I Enjoying Retirement?

Well, maybe I'll have an answer for that in a couple of years. Before ever hearing about Julie Morgenstern, author of When Organizing Isn't Enough: SHED Your Stuff, Change Your Life, I decided that I would start retirement by throwing out all those things that I'm not using. I've been packing up clothes for Purple Heart, shredding papers, and tossing out half used bottles and boxes of stuff all over the house. Still so much to do.

Next Week - Dr. Horrible's Released!

Joss Whedon's online musical/Internet miniseries will be available for free viewing. As a former BTVS fanatic, I feel obligated to promote the heck out of this. View the trailer!


Teaser from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog on Vimeo.

HBO's Unconventional Ad for New Series

Charlaine Harris, author of the Southern Vampire Series, is one of my favorite "guilty pleasure" authors and HBO is producing a show this fall called True Blood based on the series. They've come up with an intriguing PR ploy by creating ads, blogs, and fake news releases about vampires coming out of the coffin.

The ad for Tru:Blood supposedly created by the Japanese for their vampires is a "taste" of the realism they're trying for. It reminded me a bit of the fake online mythology that Heroes had available last summer for their series, but this is looking for a more gritty, realistic approach. It's fun, check it out at bloodcopy.com.

From what's been leaked, it's going to be much more graphic than the books. Perhaps that will be liked by HBO's audience, but I'm not happy about it.

Happy Birthday Project Gutenberg

Michael Hart created Project Gutenberg in July 1971. His goal was to provide free online access for literary works in the public domain. About 340 new books are added each month to the 25,000 texts already available. Content is available in various formats including PDF and more recently audio (human and computer generated).

In addition to PCs, downloads are compatible with the Kindle and quite a few other mobile and handheld devices. Audio files work great on the iPod and they're free!

Scientific Applications for Google Earth

I'm no scientist, but I love Google Earth. The July issue of Popular Science highlights five scientific applications using Google Earth: Volcano Tracker, Storm Trooper, Emotion Map, Arctic Eye, and Flight of the Bird Flu. What fantastic tools for students and teachers, not to mention actual scientists and interested amateurs! What did we have growing up - protractors, slide rules, and, oh yea, erasable bond typing paper.

4th of July is a pet's nightmare

Especially if they're dressed up like this one. But seriously, my Lacey is a quivering mass of jello every time she hears fireworks and they seem to start one or two weeks before and after the big day. Some tips from Amazon's blog:

1. Keep them distracted.

2. Exercise them before the fireworks begin.

3. Crate them if you leave the house.

4. Play music to create a sound barrier.

5. If all else fails, ask your veterinarian about tranquilizers.

Levy Campaign Video

I'm co-chair of the Citizens Supporting Twinsburg Public Library and we're working for the passage of a new Library levy to bring operating revenues up to the level that they need to meet the demands of the library patrons.

The Library circulated over 100,000 items last month - who says people don't read or use libraries anymore!

Here's a video by the Library Director, Laura Leonard, explaining the need for the new levy. Great job, Laura!

Saw this on Amazon.com blog

Krispy Kreme Bacon Cheeseburgers - I'm about to go into a diabetic coma just thinking about it.

TPL's Steaming

I don't know if "steaming" is even a word, but Librarian Fred Baerkircher at the Twinsburg Public Library has created a Steam Group at Steamcommunity.com for local gamers to chat about, what else, gaming and to keep in touch between lan parties.