It’s Gonna be one of those posts…..
As many of you know, I’ve been involved in local politics seriously since 2014. I became a local democratic zone leader in 2022. It’s been a big job, but it’s largely akin to running the PTO, but with more far-ranging consequences. You’ve got planning for events, wrangling volunteers, and keeping…
Guide to Gift Giving
It’s close to Christmas, and as we finish up our shopping, it’s worth reflecting on the purpose of gifts in the first place. I read an article this am about how millenial parents are frustrated that their Boomer parents are showering their kids with useless stuff that just ends up…
FFS
We’re living in interesting times. The lead candidate for the republican nomination for presidency just wants everyone to give up and anoint him their candidate now, despite finally starting to face the consequences of years of fraud and treating the legal system as a cudgel to use against anyone he…
AI is Going to Change Everything
Working in digital marketing, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and what it can and should be used for is all the rage right now. If you want to understand AI better, the best source is really Chris Penn– who has an excellent set of videos and regularly explains what’s happening in AI…
Podcamp 2023
A small group of us, die hards from Podcamp Philly and Podcamp East, came together this past weekend for Podcamp 2023 in Philadelphia. There were amazing sessions talking about how AI and Chat GPT will pose challenges to those of us who are involved in digital marketing, or looking to…
Glad to Leave Office? I get it.
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney is getting into trouble because he spoke his truth, saying he’s looking forward to a time when he’s not mayor. As someone who was a Township Supervisor for 6 years, I understand this sentiment perhaps as much as anyone. Being a local elected official may look…
Almost 80 Best Movies of the 80’s
Rolling Stone just put out a post of the 100 best movies of the 1980’s- and there are a lot of obscure movies that as a teenager/college student during the 80’s I never heard of. As a child of divorced parents, I spent a ridiculous amount of time at the…
Losing but not Lost
I lost my bid for re-election as a Township Supervisor. Elections are like the world’s longest job interview. I knocked 946 doors, speaking with friends and neighbors; sending mail out to people about what I stood for, and what I believed. I chose not to attack my opponent, even though…
Running for Office
I am a local Township Supervisor in Pennsylvania, running for re-election this year. Supervisor is a part-time position, and comes with a statutory stipend of $2,500.00 a year. that equates to about $5.20 or less an hour of meeting time, and other work we put in to help guide the…
Dementia
My mother-in-law has dementia. She had been pretty good at hiding her slow cognitive decline for a long time, but gradually, not even those of us who would have preferred to be in denial could avoid the truth. We needed to move Nancy out of her home and into a…
Community and Critique
I love that the internet is a small town. I love that I know people through certain channels, then run into people in real life where we share friends. probably the best example of this is when I met Alex Hillman of Independents Hall at a meeting about Blog...
Redesigning the Conference Experience
I've been involved with the Podcamp and the Podcamp Foundation from very early on, having attended the first Podcamp in September, 2006 and having helped organize four others so far. Most of you know this. What's intriguing though, is the thought of redesigning the...
The Joy of the iPhone
My husband was kind enough to give me my christmas present early- a new iPhone. While I could go on and on about the coolness of this toy, I want to talk about the consumer experience first. When you get the iphone, it's in a box that is spectacular. It's pretty...
A quick post-
We just saw Enchanted- a Disney send-up of Disney tales. My younger son was perplexed- Why did everyone end up with the wrong person? Explaining to him that life often means emphasizing contrasts versus similarities is pretty deep stuff for a boy of nine. Girls grow...
The Quiet after the Storm
My folks are still here, and they stayed with the kids so my husband and I could go out for dinner alone. We tried a place we'd never been before, and had a perfectly pleasant meal, quiet and without the chaos found at the local chain places during the holiday...
I have a dream….
....that this next year we take Podcamp and make it like Summer Camp. ....Phase 1: We find a place where there can be a multi-day, even weeklong retreat of New media Folk and their families. Kinda like the Podcamp Cruise idea, only somewhat more back to basics. ...
Gratitude
Leading up to the US Thanksgiving holiday, I've been writing about what I am thankful for. Oprah Winfrey tried to incorporate this sense of thankfulness when she was pushing a "gratitude journal" a few years ago. This was a way to write down the positive things in...
Thanks to Campfire and verizon Home 2.0!
Campfire and Verizon's Home 2.0 project sent us a great Flip Video camera to thank us for our blog posts about the super verizon Home 2.0 Events, showing the super power of FiOS. The only downside of the whole experience is...
Overkill
I don't watch a lot of TV these days. I even get the majority of my news online, and thus, "normal" people always look at me a bit oddly as I am taken aback by such announcement as the outlet malls will be opening at Midnight for shopping on "Black Friday", and the...
Holidays & Happiness
The Holidays- Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's (and I'll toss in my birthday since it's on Jan. 2nd) are often incredibly busy and incredibly stressful. There's family gatherings, enormous banquet sized meals to be prepared, parties to host and attend, gifts to be...
