Thanks Paulius!

On Wednesday I posted something I thought no one would respond to, which quickly became the hot new online phenomenon known as 'Michelle's Chuckle Button'.

Ok, so I exaggerate a bit. It might not be a full-blown phenomenon.

Thanks to Paulius, who investigated, discovered and reported about the 'Reactions' feature already built into Blogger. Very cool!

So now my blog has a 'chuckle' button and a 'meh' button at the bottom of each post, terms which I think fully capture the broad emotional spectrum of online opinion.

It's taken a long long time, but Blogger has finally started delivering some very neat tools. I would have been willing to pay for all these extras, but hey - they're free!

Pod...Cast? What IS this new thing?

Like many folks, I spend upwards of eighteen hours a month on the freeway heading to and from work.

I foolishly canceled XM a few months ago, but have been pleasantly surprised to notice I'm spending a lot less on music from iTunes lately. (I have a number of friends who are resolute converts to the religion of 'Only Dummies Pay for Files', and they may well have let out an excited gasp a moment ago.)

But no, I haven't started stealing songs - instead, a good six years behind everyone else with a PC and an MP3 player I've really been getting into podcasts lately.

I'd listened to snippets of a few podcasts here and there over the years, and I never enjoyed them. A full tortuous minute of listening would prove that the voices, personalities, and writing style all grated.

One exception was a really fun podcast - Earth Concepts For Aliens, which for some reason stopped after only seven podcastisodes. I'd recommend downloading all seven, and then peppering the writer/producer/performer Paulius with demands for a plethora of new podcastisodes.

But I can't credit ECFA for the surge in my podcast listening, since for some reason there are only seven podcastisodes of this Emmy Award Nominated podcast.

I finally came across the trifecta that had been lacking in the 'How Stuff Works' podcasts. I started out on 'Stuff You Should Know' with Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant, and have worked my way into 'Stuff Mom Never Told You' with Molly Edmunds and Cristen Conger.

(In the fantasy world that is my brain, Cristen records the audiobook version of 'Timeclock Adjustment', my novel-in-progress.)

I have only listened to SYSK and SMNTY so far, but if they're any indication of the quality, all the different podcasts on the site are worth checking out. Go! Do so!

not a real knot

It's very weird - I can't tie a knot consciously.

Say I'm about to throw sweatpants into the washer, and I want to tie the waist-ropes together. Can't do it. My fingers fumble. Same thing happens if I try to tie shoes if they're not on my feet.

If I pull the article of clothing on, I have no problem tying the knot on the first try - I allow the knot to tie itself, somehow. But when I focus on it, it doesn't happen - because it's not a valid knot-tying situation? I know it's a simulation?

Is that a reason all my creative projects fizzle out, because I'm not committed enough? I know it's just for fun, and so I allow myself to be distracted? Or is it a Brain Crack phenomenon (as described by Kato and Paulius)?

I thought not taking myself too seriously meant that I would stay grounded, avoiding Pompous Ass Syndrome. It might be limiting my creativity too.

Odd

Mister Paulius has a podcast, for those of you who didn't know.

It's a fun podcast! I was in the car yesterday, listening to the latest installment, and it was really surreal, this guy I kinda know but don't, his voice was coming out of of my car speakers, like he was on the radio or something.

Also, he's working on a Web Comic! How cool is that?

~~~~~

Update! An unnamed source inside PauliusCo has informed me that the web comic has been delayed due to issues with the Kazakhstanian art studio. We will continue to live vicariously through the creative deeds of others as long as necessary. Good thing I brought a book.