Here are some of the nerdy, dorky, geeky items that grace my Christmas list this year!
LOST Seasons 1-6 Minimalist Posters: I think these posters pretty much speak for themselves.
Jelly Lenses - These cute little camera lenses are made to fit most cell phones and come in a wide variety... they should add a lil pizzaz to my Instagrams.
A pair of those fancy gloves that allow me to still use my iPhone while I'm keeping my fingers nice and toasty!
This origami page-a-day calendar where you can rip off each day, follow the directions, and fold that sheet into an awesome work of art. It would be so fun to have on my desk at work!
I'm doing it. I'm going shopping at Target on Black Friday for the 4th year in a row. You seriously can't beat their sales! Plus they open at midnight this year so there's no more staying awake all night in line then staying awake all day. I'm hoping to get in and out in a few hours then home to rest before getting up for the day.
These are the things I'm hoping to snag:
Lots of cheap DVD (Mad Men seasons, Sex and the City
seasons, House season 6, and whatever else good
they have going on for cheap)
Digital Photo Frame
I'm buying 2 or 3; One for my Grandma, One for my
Mom and possibly one to have around our house.
It was Friday and still Jean Week at work. I threw on this cutsey flowery and lace tank and green cardigan with some skinny jeans and tall gray leather boots. Sweet and simple!
Green Cardigan: Target
Black and Flowered Long Tank with Lace: Forever 21
I never participate in my work's Jean Weeks but since this is a short week due to the holiday I went with it. Plus to participate you have to donate $15 to a charity so it was well worth it since this is the holiday season!
Every time I wear this sweater and blouse combo I always get compliments on my ability to wear animal prints professionally. I find that two-toned animal prints are much more subtle and can be more easily dressed up. I paired this leopard print cardigan with a dusty pink blouse with flowery ruffles. Then I topped it all off (or bottomed it all off) with a pair of dark denim jeans with a large, but flattering flare, that perfectly showcase a pair of Coach peep toe wedges.
If you haven't already, you need to watch this video which features a segment from an aired episode of Maury.
Poor Shannon is on the show so Maury and his fancy DNA tests can confirm that her boyfriend, Joe, that he is the father of her baby. Joe says he cannot be the father due to the baby's light skin, hair and blue eyes. "Two cats can't produce a dog," is how he puts it.
Good thing joe knows who the daddy is! The daddy is Tom Anderson. Yes, the creator of Myspace is the baby daddy!
How did he figure out that Tom is the father, you ask? Well Joe did some Myspace snooping and he discovered that Tom was Shannon's first friend on Myspace AND her only white friend. It all makes perfect sense!
Just watch the video. It's hilarious and I'm pretty sure the ending is not a big surprise...
Myspace Tom has been a great sport about this whole thing. He keeps joking around about it but he wants to make sure everyone got the big message: Tom is not the father!
I just hope Joe learned something from all of this... like how one of the most popular social networking websites works, how dominant/recessive genes and genetics works, and what it's like to be a baby daddy!
Netflix Synopsis: Go behind the scenes at Pixar Animation Studios with this Emmy-nominated documentary tracing the creation and history of the groundbreaking company and featuring interviews with founders Ed Catmull, John Lasseter and Steve Jobs. Assembling rare Pixar footage and conversations with animators, producers, directors and voice actors, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Leslie Iwerks takes viewers on a fascinating tour of the outfit that forever changed Hollywood animation.
What I Thought: First off, I thought I was a pretty big Steve Jobs fan but apparently I'm not. I had no idea that Mr. Jobs was one of the founders of Pixar. Anyway, back to the actual documentary... it was absolutely amazing. I had no idea how much went into creating one of these films. Pixar employs scientists... that's hardcore. Pixar definitely was no over-night-success story. This film chronicles their slow but steady rise to fame, the obstacles they overcame and how they strive to never repeat themselves from film to film. These animators, producers and directors give Pixar films 100% and that is what I'm giving this film. A must see if you are an artist, computer engineer or just a child at heart.
Despite the dropping temperature, this outfit made me feel like spring is upon us!
Paired with a simple dark gray dress pant and off-white cardigan, this floral-like blouse brought a splash of color to this dreary fall day. And the ruffle colar looks so cute peaking out from behind the cardi (or even a blazer)!
The pink, gray, white and yellow floral top was a recent find and the rest was just pieces I had laying around in my closet.
The necklace is a piece out of my aunt and uncle's jewelry line that I used to sell for. It is peridot, iolite, champagne topaz and pink tourmaline set in sterling silver. Their website is currently offline and under construction but when it's up I'll definitely let you know!
Cream cardigan: Target
Floral Blouse: Gap
Gray Dress Pants: Gap
Jewelry: Family Jewelers (contact me if you're interested)
I just came home from a week long business trip to Mexico... and I'm not talking about the fun Mexico, rather the scary Mexico on the news.
I wanted to make sure that I kept in constant contact with my parents and boyfriend while I was away so they didn't worry too much and to keep myself sane. However, my provider's international roaming costs were too much for me to handle! But I still wanted to have a contact with home!
Thankfully, I recently purchased an iPhone. And thankfully, we were never out of wifi's reach!
I figured email would get boring and the time delay between messages would be lengthly and annoying. So I turned to Facetime!
If you are unfamiliar, Facetime is Apple's video chatting service that can be used between any combination of Mac laptops and desktops, iPods, iPads and iPhones over any wifi network.
My boyfriend was on Warped Tour, a music festival, all last summer so we got really used to talking via iChat and Facetime while he was on the go however this was my parents first experience.
I left my iPad2 at home with them and gave them a quick tutorial before I left. Facetime is quite possibly the easiest tech thing I have ever had to teach my parents! They picked it up right way!
The real fun started the first night I was in Mexico when I spent the first half of the conversation with my parents staring at their dining room ceiling. Apparently I forgot to tell them they have to frame themselves in the shot. Once I clarified this for them, they kept their faces as close to the camera as humanly possible, as seen above!
Facetime is an awesome substitute for normal phone calls while traveling. It is easy to teach, even to the toughest of audiences, and it is incredibly convenient. Not only do you get to bypass those nasty international roaming charges (since it's all through wifi) but you also get to alleviate some homesickness by getting to see and talk to your loved ones "face-to-face."
It also doesn't hurt that Facetime reminds me of one of my favorite 1991 classic Disney Channel Original Movie, Zenon Girl of the 21st Century. Everyone in this movie had a video conferencing "phone" they carried around.
**UPDATE** Fall 2012 Facetime is made available over a cellular signal.
As part of a group blogging assignment for one of my New Media Communication graduate classes, I had to write a two-part article regarding a topic that falls under the "Healthcare and New Media" umbrella. I choose to investigate Internet Self-Diagnosis--both the pros and the cons. This was a really interesting topic for me since I had a bad experience with Cyberchondia a few years back. I hope you enjoy the read...
In today’s cyber world we are provided with resources and information on anything and everything. We can purchase all our clothing and home furnishings online. We can order a pizza online and have it delivered. We can even visit with a virtual doctor.
The internet provides us with services like WebMD and mobile applications like iTriage that will collect information on our symptoms and ailments then report back to us the possible causes, sicknesses and diseases.
But is this type of self-diagnosis doing more harm than good?
For instance this is what might happen if you ask “Dr. Google” what is wrong with you:
Some doctors feel that these online diagnostics are creating “cyberchondriacs,” a common term used to describe otherwise rational internet users who latch on to the worst diagnosis thrown at them by search engines, message boards and diagnostic services. For example, a user googles the cause of her three day migraine and most of the top results include brain tumor and scattered among the first page are some results about stress and eye sight issues but the user immediate jumps to the worst—brain tumor.
It is also ironic to note that even WebMD recognizes the peril of Cyberchondria buried within their Family Webicine blog from December 2008. But it does not dare to place this warning on its homepage as a valuable reference in easing the imaginations of their users.
So why are more and more people turning to self-diagnosis through the internet? Most health professionals just chalk it up to the rise in general internet usage and the prevalence of hypochondriacs throughout history.
Not only is this practice of online self diagnosis dangerous but it can also be deadly. Some people use the internet to gain piece of mind about an ailment when a doctor's appointment seems unnecessary or too costly without insurance. Some doctors feel that this practice is causing people to feel that regularly scheduled doctors appointments are unnecessary and this will cause a decline in preventative health measures in the long run.
In the recent Wolters Kluwer Health Point-of-Care survey, Google and Yahoo were cited by 46 percent of physicians as a frequent source of information about patients health, diagnosis, treatment and care. And 60 percent of physicians have admitted to changing their original diagnosis based on internet research.
These seem like alarmingly high numbers. Shouldn't we trust that our doctors are using more sophisticated forms of research than what we have available in our own homes?
What this study did not site is what type of sources the physicians in question were consulting from the search results. It is probably safe to say that most were referencing scholarly journals and other sources. It can also be assumed that they may be referencing online communities comprised of healthcare professionals all over the world. In some cases, the physicians may be doing a more throughout diagnosi.
Psychology Today recommends being "smart" while using these online resources. They recommend people "self-screen - but not self-diagnose." When consulting the internet regarding your personal ailments, consider the source--make sure the information is credible. Also consider the context in which the information is being used. You may want to reference a source like HealthFinder.gov which is ran by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which offers information from trusted sources.
The Wolters Kluwer Health Point-of-Care survey also found that "53 percent (of physicians) believe that easier access to more medial knowledge by patients has had a positive impact on the doctor-patient relationship, leading to more informed discussions with patients." The survey also found that only one in five physicians believe this readily available information has been detrimental and lead to misinformation or an incorrect self-diagnosis.
Although internet diagnosis has some positive aspects, it has to be remembered that it is an easy and slippery slope into being a cyberchondriac.
We interviewed local industry professionals on various social media topics and answered questions submitted by the audience. A recorded version of the broadcast is posted below.
Follow us on Twitter (@GNGshow) or visit our website (www.girlynerdygoodness.com) for more information and updates about new podcast episodes!
Netflix Synopsis: Over the course of three years, filmmaker Meghan Eckman tracked the comings and goings of a solitary parking lot in Charlottesville, VA., chronicling the lives of the attendants who where working there. This inspiring documentary is the result. Hanging tough as they navigate the range of human emotion--from hope to frustration, from a sense of limitless possibilites to stagnation--the film's subjects embody the pursuit of the American Dream.
What I Thought: This is another documentary, like The King of Kong, I was coerced into watching. I was proven wrong when I said a film about a parking lot couldn't possibly be worthwhile. I don't even know how to explain it besides saying that it is utterly amazing. This is what happens when you put a bunch of highly educated young adults in an often desolate environment and let them go wild. It will make you wish you could work as a parking attendant.
What iWore:
Pants: Express ($60)
Jacket: H&M ($50)
Shirt: Generic white tank top
Why:
Last week the President and CEO of my company requested a meeting with me in regards to LinkedIn. He's a German businessman new to our company and the American culture so he wanted me to explain to him the purpose of LinkedIn and putting all your information out there for everyone to see.
From what I was told, he's an intimidating man and I want to make a good and memorable impression. I'm extremely knowledgeable about the subject matter so the perfect outfit is all I needed to seal the deal. I wanted to dress professional but, like always, I didn't want to lose who I am as a young woman in the industry.
I chose this perfectly-tailored, medium gray dress pants from Express and I paired them with this beautiful, vintage-inspired pink and gray tweed blazer from H&M. It is professional, yet fun!
And in case you were wondering, the meeting went fabulously!
This weekend I went on vacation with my boyfriend and, of course, my digital camera ended up being on the fritz!
Instead of buying a new digital camera without doing extensive research like I usually do when buying new gadgets, I opted to buy a $9 disposable camera.
We had fun and I took pictures all weekend with the disposable camera with no problems--besides he unnerving feeling of not being able to review the photo you just took.
Once I came home, I took the camera to the local Meijer where (5 years ago) I took all my filmed to be developed from school dances and events. Much to my surprise, the photo lab attendant turned me away explaining that Meijer no longer develops film. They only print digital prints. I was flabbergasted. If I wanted them to develop this camera they would have to send it out and I would have to wait several weeks to have it processed.
I suddenly felt so old for using a technology that has basically died. Why don't I just bust out my VCR and rewind some VHSs while I'm at it!
Anyway, back to my story... After some hunting I found out that a select few CVS stores still develop film in-house.
So good luck to any of your dinosaurs that don't develop your own film! Pretty soon there will be no convient ways to developing it. Go Digital!
It's as easy as pealing the decal off the plastic, placing it on your nail then filing off the excess decal at the tip of your nail. They're literally "peal and apply" with absolutely no dry time (except I like to put a top coat on mine for extra protection but it's not necessary)!
The box says they last up to 10 days but I had my first pair on for over two weeks. You'll see some chipping but hardly anything compared to traditional nail polish. For as strong as they are, they sure are easy to remove. I just soaked my nails in an acetone nail polish remover for a few seconds then wiped them clean. So easy!
I've been so busy with work and my personal life lately that I was having a hard time keeping up with my nails so I gave these a try and I absolutely fell in love.
They run around $7 to $10 depending on where you get them. I've found them at CVS, Meijer and Ulta.
So far the only two I have tried have been the leopard print (Kitty, Kitty) and the black lace (Laced Up) ones. But now there is the new Designer Collection, which I can't wait to try!
This is our first official episode on the GNG World Tour 2011! We thought we'd start the tour off with a bang and make our first stop the surface of the sun! Besides discussing how freaking hot it is here, we talked about a real-life Batman that was hanging from a local building, the rise and fall of social media websites and some brief typography talk. We also gave away another one of our prized Digital Plaques. OH YEAH, and an unexpected visitor crashed our vacation on the Sun.
What iWore:
Skirt: American Apparel ($36)
Shirt: generic black tank-top
Cardigan: Target ($18)
Why:
Sometimes when I can't decide what to wear I let my boyfriend choose. Today I didn't want to wear all black to work so I let him pick from my larget variety of colored cardigans, he chose this nice teal one.
This morning I was contacted via tweet by The Detroit Free Press (@freep) to receive permission to use a photo I tweeted of one of the many storms that has ripped through Metro Detroit over the last two days.
I was, of course, flattered and I said yes. They used to photo to accompany a story about the pending flood warnings we are under.
The picture and headline graced the front page of Freep.com for most of the morning. Below is a screencap of the article itself.
The picture's caption reads: "Roads in Canton Township are awash from drenching rains. / Photo by Twitter user @katelynshelby"
For months I had been planning this surprise e-BabyShower for my cousin in Nevada and yesterday everything went off without a hitch!
When we first found out my cousin was pregnant the whole family asked, "How will we have a shower?" The majority of the family lives in here in Michigan and she lives halfway across the country in Nevada. "Do we expect her to fly here?" "Do we all fly to Nevada?"
"Neither!" I explained. And the e-BabyShower was born.
We decided this should be a surprise so we got together with her husband and family and began planning.
The first step was to make sure all the Michigan guests had all the correct information on where to ship gifts so they would accidentally be sent to the Mother-To-Be's house and ruin the surprise. Her family in Nevada graciously gave us their address and offered to receive, organize and wrap all the gifts.
Next we had to make sure everything was in order technology wise. In Michigan we would be using a 27" iMac and in Nevada they would be using a laptop and webcam hooked up to a HD TV. We did a few practice runs in secret to make sure everything worked smoothly.
Lastly, we had to coordinate the time schedule. We wanted to make sure that both parties were eating dinner at the same time. Michigan attendees ate a late dinner and the Nevada attendees ate an early dinner due to the time change.
Everything was perfectly planned and May 22nd rapidly approached!
In Michigan, we snacked on d'oeuvres at a long table decorated with brightly colored spring flowers with all our attention on the screen, waiting for the party to begin.
Shortly after 5pm we received the iChat invitation from Nevada from one of our accomplices. We waited quietly until the Momma stepped into view.
We all shouted "Surprise!" and held up her cake but she just looked at us and kept walking past. Confused, she turned around and gave us a second look. When she said nothing and just starred at us, her family bust out laughing then explained to her what was going on. Once she understood, she was ecstatic that we took the time to do this for her.
From then on, the baby shower proceeded as normal. We even got a tour of the baby's nursery, which we wouldn't have been able to do at a traditional baby shower!
We played baby shower games like the toilet paper belly game and the poopy diaper game. Then it was time to watch her open the presents we had all shipped out to Nevada.
After all the games and presents, it was time to eat. We had timed our meals perfectly so we could continue to chat while we ate. We discussed names and the sex of the baby--which is a mystery to everyone.
The e-BabyShower went perfectly! The duration of the video chat lasted over 5 hours, in which everyone got one-on-one time to talk to the expecting couple. Even grandma had a chance to catch up with the family in Nevada she hardly has a chance to see! We have even made plans to iChat/Skype more often at family parties so we can include our out-of-towners.
I was really happy to see this party go smoothly. For one afternoon, we were able to spend time together and make thousands of miles disappear in an instant!
