Don't Forget Cone Day: Ben & Jerry's

Don't forget to stop by your local Ben & Jerry's tomorrow for their annual Cone Day, where you can get a free Ben & Jerry's ice cream cone!



If you're in Memphis, you have 3 choices for locations:

SHOP ADDRESS DISTANCE 1 Ben & Jerry's Beale Street 175 Peabody Place Memphis, TN 38103 0.6 mi (0.9 Km) 2 Ben & Jerry's East Memphis 5007 Black Road Space #110 Memphis, TN 38117 9.2 mi (14.8 Km) 3 Ben & Jerry's Germantown The Village Shops of Forest Hill 9155 Poplar Ave., Suite 14 Germantown, TN 38138 17.6 mi (28.3 Km)

Angie's Memphis Food -- My Google Maps

Google has added the ability to create and edit your own Google map, more easily than the mashup concept that I mentioned yesterday.

I've created "Angie's Memphis Food" for your next dining adventure-- check it out!

Google Maps Mashups -- Housing and Wine

I just love the Google Maps mashups that everyone seems to be doing these days!

I've even heard there's a new version out that allows users with little programming knowledge to put together their favorite things on a Google Map.

In the meantime, here are a couple of the interesting maps that I've found...

Housing Maps . com -- http://www.housingmaps.com/ -- Someone has put together the Craigslist postings on for sale and for rent places in major cities. You can see where the place is, map to it, look at pictures of it, etc. It's great and I highly recommend checking it out if you'll be moving anytime soon!

Well, I can't find the other one... it's a vineyard mapping API... if I find it, I'll be sure to share it.

For now though, goodnight!

Google Earth + Crisis in Darfur - Socially Responsible Technology

I came across the following article today on CNN.com. Google Earth is using their free mapping feature to teach others about the crisis in Darfur. Check it out below.

(For entire article, visit: http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/04/10/google.genocide/index.html.)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- If you Google the word Darfur, you will find about 13 million references to the atrocities in the western Darfur region of Sudan -- what the United States has said is this century's first genocide.

As of today, when the 200 million users of Google Earth log onto the site, they will be able to view the horrific details of what's happening in Darfur for themselves.

In an effort to bring more attention to the ongoing crisis in Darfur, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum has teamed up with Google's mapping service literally to map out the carnage in the Darfur region.

Experts estimate that 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million more have been displaced since the conflict flared in 2003, when rebels took up arms against the central Sudanese government.

The new initiative, called "Crisis in Darfur," enables Google Earth users to visualize the details in the region, including the destruction of villages and the location of displaced persons in refugee camps. (Interactive: See how the new technology works)

Elliot Schrage, Google's vice president of global communications and public affairs, joined museum director Sara J. Bloomfield to make the official announcement about the new feature.

"At Google, we believe technology can be a catalyst for education and action," Schrage said. " 'Crisis in Darfur' will enable Google Earth users to visualize and learn about the destruction in Darfur as never before and join the museum's efforts in responding to this continuing international catastrophe."

Sign Up Now: Free Movie and Servathon!

I'm dropping you a note about two exciting Net Impact opportunities comingup in April! Mark these on your calendar and e-mail me back to sign up!:~)

I'm looking forward to seeing you! Please take the time to come out andget involved in these fun, worthy activities.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FREE MOVIE SHOWING: Iraq for SaleTime: Tuesday, April 17th @ 7:30 PM
Cost: FREE
Location: Power House
Address: 45 G.E. Patterson (near Earnestine & Hazels)
RSVP: E-mail rsvp@memphisnetimpact.org

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hands on Memphis Servathon --
Join Net Impact as we partner with MpactMemphis! We'll be volunteering to help out an organization in Memphis.Our team is "It's All Good" and you can get more details by clicking on the following link.

Time: Saturday, April 21st @ 9 AM
Cost: $20 donation
Location: TBD
RSVP: E-mail rsvp@memphisnetimpact.org

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Please forward this to anyone you think may be interested in joining in!


Thank you!

Guy Kawasaki and the Travel Com Internet Marketing Conference

A quick note before I forget-- I have been gone since Tuesday to the Travel Com Internet Marketing Conference in Las Vegas.

I got back to Memphis this evening (which probably partly explains why it's 3:45 AM right now...).

Anyway, yesterday Guy Kawasaki spoke on how to change the world using technology. I COMPLETELY enjoyed the presentation. It really made the conference worth it for me.

I've heard about Guy many times through a professor that I had at Pepperdine. I've read one of his books (Art of the Start) and I've kept abreast of his blog from time to time, as you may have noticed in a previous post.

I won't post all of my notes here, but I'll say that his Blog is a great reference point. Check it out: http://blog.guykawasaki.com!

Reason 2,365,901 to Get an Extended Laptop Warranty

My Sony Vaio's hard drive crashed today. It's been acting up lately, which I'll blame my lack of posting on.

It's been randomly restarting and having all sorts of unexplained errors.

Anyway, this afternoon all was explained when the Vaio gave the error message "Hard Drive Crashed. Back Up Data."

After over an hour and a half on the phone with Sony, and three customer service people later, a box is on order.

If you've ever sent a laptop back, you know that the cardboard box is worth gold... once you have convinced them to mail you a box, it's pretty much smooth sailing.

Thank goodness it happened today... my 3 year extended warranty is up in around 3 months.

Whew.

You're Invited -- Mpact Party Saturday Night, March 24th

Dear Friends,

I wanted to let you in on an upcoming opportunity that you’ll want on your radar screen— Mpact’s Party of the Year is this Saturday, March 24th at the Botanic Gardens!

The theme is Casino Royale. There will be music by The Plaintiffs, food, a silent auction, and casino tables! The cost is $40 and the tickets can be purchased online here: https://web.memberclicks.com/mc/quickForm/viewForm.do?orgId=mpm&formId=25322.

If you’re interested to meet up for the party, please let me know. I’ve already purchased my ticket and I look forward to seeing you there!

See you soon,
:~) Angie

P.S. Feel free to repost this message or to send it on to anyone you think might be interested.

Ugh again.

Just when I thought I was almost beter...

My ribs on the right side have continued to be in quite a bit of pain... think no laying on my back or right side... reduced movement... tenderness to touch... it's been a pain-- quite literally!

I went to a new primary care doctor today (the one recommended by the Ear, Nose, & Throat doc who cured me a month or so ago) and this office seems much more competant.

The results are in: the new doctor has diagnosed me with a fractured rib. Sweet. Can it get any more exciting?

Anyhow, for all the times I've ended up with an achey body lately, at least I finally have an answer as to what's up.

I'm broken! :-)

But really, it sounds like I'll be okay... it's just going to be a little painful for a while.

Why has this happened you may ask? Well, if you remember, I was sick for around 7 weeks not long ago. I was going to an incompetant doctor who failed to diagnose me properly on the first 6 visits and I ended up at an ENT who was able to cure me in 3 days with just a little common sense and some nose spray, basically. Anywho... during those 7 weeks, I spent a LOT of my time coughing... and apparently, coughing for 7 weeks = broken ribs.

Take it from me, if your doctor can't figure out what's wrong with you, get a new doctor!

Web 2.0... The Machine is Us/ing Us

A great video that you have to see about our technology evolution...

New Book: The Unexpected Legacy of Divorce

I found a new book that I've been reading and I just love-- I highly recommend it! It's The Unexpected Legacy of Divorce by Wallerstein, Lewis, and Blakeslee.

It's a 25 year study of children whose parents divorced in the 1970's and 80's when they were young kids. The authors collected data about the children as they grew up and analyzed it to find similarities between them.

My parents divorced when I was in Kindergarten, age 5. I've always been interested in the way that the experience shaped my life. To learn how it effected other people and the common intersections... it's all very intriguing.

Here's a summary from Amazon.com: During the last 40 years, our society's views on how families are created and how they operate has undergone a tremendous shift. In The Unexpected Legacy of Divorce, authors Judith Wallerstein, Julia Lewis, and Sandra Blakeslee have assembled a variety of stories from people of different ages and life stages. Some are children of divorce, some are from families that stayed unhappily intact, but all of them offer valuable information important to all of us as parents, children, and members of society at large. Separate chapters focus on the different roles children take on in the event of a divorce or unhappy marriage, ranging from positive role model to deeply troubled adolescent. In many cases, the people interviewed continue to define themselves as children of divorce up to 30 years after the occurrence; this is described by one subject as "sort of a permanent identity, like being adopted or something."

Both encouraging and thought-provoking, the final chapter questions how we maintain the freedom made possible by divorce while, at the same time, minimizing the damage. The authors' response to this question begins with pragmatic suggestions about strengthening marriage--not bland "family values" rhetoric but practical how-to ideas combined with national policy initiatives that have been making the rounds for years. With fascinating stories and statistics, Wasserstein, Lewis, and Blakeslee have illuminated the improvements within reach while our society experiences these massive changes in it's most fundamental relationships. --Jill Lightner
Check out the book here on Amazon.

Here are some of the quotes that I found to be interesting:

• "As I listed to Gary describe what it was like to play in his backyard, it struck me that children from divorced families do not talk this way.... When children of divorce did remember playing with friends as an important experience of childhood, the memories were from before the divorce... children of divorce have other, more pressing concerns. Is Mom all right? Is Dad going to pick me up tonight?..."
• "...divorce is a watershed that permanently alters their lives. The world is newly perceived as a far less reliable, more dangerous place... this new anxiety represents the end of childhood."
• "As every child of divorce told me, no matter how often they see their parents, the image of them together as a loving couple is forever lost... Unlike children from intact families, children of divorce in our study spoke very little about their parents' interaction... the parents' interaction was a black hold-- as if the couple had vanished from memory and the children's conscious inner life."

Wow, interesting, huh? Hopefully, I'll share more with you as I go; I'm on page 50 now, so I've just started.

Wowsa! Engagement Ring Found...

It's been quite a while since I've really blogged, so I think it's finally time to sit down and write. I'm finally feeling much much better (minus the rib and back pain) and my life is swinging back to normal. We're not there yet, but its getting closer.

The past few days have just been wild... I've wanted to share, but today I finally feel like I should write....

You'll never believe what happened to me today!

On my way out of my apartment building this morning, I found something next to my car on the ground: a big diamond engagement ring! It was between 3 and 4 carrots total... with 3 diamonds, in a platinum setting, with a gold trim. Beautiful ring!

Immediately, my mind began to race. How would I get the ring back to its owner? Who could I trust and how would I know?

First, I took the elevator back upstairs to the office in my building. I thought that I'd drop it off at the front desk as lost. Then, I realized... not everyone's honest-- and I'm not a huge fan of all of the staff in my building. So, I decided to take things into my own hands and turned on my heel, heading back to my car.

I put the diamond engagement ring in my purse with a plan to print "found ring" signs to hang in the lobby of the building. Then, I was off to work.

At lunch, I decided to drive to Pizza and a Movie on Harbor Town to return two movies that I should have taken back yesterday. Since I was already there, I decided to pick up sushi at Miss Cordelia's. After getting my food, I headed up to the checkout.

Just after paying my bill, I noticed a hand drawn sign that said "Lost Engagement Ring" with a sketch of the ring on it. It looked like it might have been the same ring.

I asked the clerk, "does this person live in X building?" and the clerk said, "no, but she did lose her ring. it must be hers." "Well, I'll talk to her," I said. "Who is she?" "She's a chef in the back," the lady replied.

"Hmm..." I thought, "this doesn't seem right... she doesn't live near me and she's a cook? I don't know if this could be the right person."

I then went to the back of the store, where I found this chef sitting outside, talking with a friend. They must have been mourning her loss.

I recognized the chef-- I spoke with her around two months ago. She was riding in an elevator in my building. She had parked near my car. She was there to teach a cooking class.

So, I went up and asked her where she lived... turns out she has a SECOND place in my building. She was just there recently.

At this point, I explained that this morning I found an engagement ring next to my car and I started to unzip my red purse. Just as I began to reach inside, the lady became very quite and her friend began to gasp.

When I pulled out the ring, the lady began to cry. Her friend began to confirm, "that's her ring! That's absolutely her ring!"

She was clearly in a little shock. After she had a moment, she said, "can I know your name?" Clearly this was a big moment for her. I left her with a business card.

A few thank yous and hugs later, I was on my way back to work. I was so relieved to have found the ring's proper owner.

The rest of the day went great.

Then, when I got home tonight, there were FLOWERS at my door! How fun-- she left me a thank you note and flowers saying "Angela! Many thank-you's for finding my Diamond Ring!! Thank you again!"

I had no expectations for a gift, but anyone who knows me KNOWS how much I LOVE flowers! (P.S. The flowers are from Gestures -- my favorite Memphis flower shop)

I wish I'd taken a photo of the ring, so that I could have shared it with you. It's pretty cool. I may have to share one of the flowers... we'll see.

Well, that's it. Pretty cool, huh? What a day filled with fate.

Memphis Bloggers: Free Tickets Anyone...?

Memphis Bloggers--



I have a group of free tickets to this upcoming performance this Friday at the Hi-Tone.





It's a concert that will help local bands make their way to South by Southwest this year.





Performers are: Snowglobe, Giant Bear, Jamie Randolph and the Bloodsuckers, Jump Back Jake, Holly Cole and DJ Witnesse.

Show starts @ 9 PM.

If you are a Memphis blogger and you would like free tickets, e-mail me at tickets@angiedawn.net.

Happy Valentines Day!

Google told to remove content from site

BRUSSELS, Belgium

Google Inc. lost a copyright lawsuit Tuesday to Belgian newspapers that had demanded it remove headlines and links to news stories posted without their permission. The ruling, if confirmed, could set a precedent for how Web search engines link to copyrighted material in the tumultuous arena of online news.

The company behind the world's most-used search engine immediately said it would appeal, claiming its Google News service was "entirely legal" and the Belgian decision was a one-time result that would not be repeated elsewhere.

The Brussels Court of First Instance ruled that California-based Google could not call on exemptions, such as claiming "fair use" because it says it reviews press articles when it displays headlines, a few lines of text, photos and links to the original page.

"Google is reproducing and publishing works protected by copyright," it said. "Google cannot call on any exceptions set out by law relating to copyright or similar rights."

For the entire article, go here: http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8N8VUPO0.htm.

Hello World!

I know, I know... it's been a while. Forgive me; I've been a little super-saturated with the internet lately.


I'm not sure how many times I can re-read TMZ and CNN; if you're behind, lots has been happening. Anna Nicole died, Justin T. had the flu, and Lindsey's back in rehab. Lol. Isn't it odd that TMZ has achieved full on news status? Not only that, since when is J.T.'s flu something we should be learning about on the major news networks? I've seen actual *news* programs quoting TMZ and interviewing their president (or whoever he is) way too much lately.


Well... back to reading US Weekly.... lol...


In other news, I haven't reviewed how people are finding my blog lately. I always think this is interesting. Here are a few of the latest phrases people typed into Google and Yahoo that land people here:

• Sinus cocktail (I'm apparently dominating on this phrase during this cold season!)
• Fun chocolate recipes (Happy V-Day!)
• Cute Angie (Hmm... there are a few of these...)
• Harry Bears Fried Peaches (A hometown favorite)
• Wangs Memphis Menu (You know, I don't think this is actually online...)
• Harry's Detour Downtown (Isn't it interesting how many food things I'm ranked for? Ha!)
• Rensselaer Medal Program (Hopefully, this is useful to someone...)
• Parvez Michel Gallery (Go Parvez!)

Okay, that's enough for today. Have a good night and if you haven't checked out Ballet Memphis lately, you should... they just wrapped up a FABULOUS performance this weekend:

Trey Bien!: Join the ovation and shout bravo when the company performs two revivals and one world premiere by Trey McIntyre, who marks his fifth anniversary as resident choreographer of Ballet Memphis this seasons.

Help Get the Vote Out for Memphis!

Please let everyone know about the voting for "$40 A Day" in Memphis episode on Rachel Ray's Tasty Travels!

Click here to vote:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_ad/

We’re behind. Vote, Vote, Vote!

You're Invited: Net Impact Professional Chapter Membership Kick-Off @ EP's Delta Kitchen

Dear friends,

You are invited to attend the Net Impact Professional Chapter Membership Kick-Off on Thursday, February 8th at EP’s Delta Kitchen and Bar!

I have included the details below. Feel free to repost this message and to invite friends!

See you soon,
Angie

What: Join the charter Net Impact Professional Chapter at EP’s Delta Kitchen and Bar on Beale Street for our exciting Membership Kick-Off!
Net Impact is a national organization whose members create positive social, economic, and environmental change through business. More importantly, Net Impact connects members to others who want to do the same! We’ll have drink specials, networking, and a wonderful new professional organization to introduce you to. In addition, all new members will receive a coupon for EP’s Delta Kitchen!

When: Thursday, February 8th @ 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM (If you can't make it until after 5:30, not to worry. We'll be networking until 7:30, then a group will stick around for for dinner.)

Where: EP’s Delta Kitchen and Bar
126 Beale Street, Memphis, TN 38103
(901) 527-1444

More Information: http://www.memphisnetimpact.org/

RSVP: rsvp@memphisnetimpact.org

Affiliate Summit-- Revenue Today and Schedule

A special thanks goes out to Revenue Today, who linked to me this week for writing about the Affiliate Summit. Revenue brands itself as "the performance marketing standard." It's a marketer's guide to permission marketing and personal search.

This link motivates me to follow up on my previous post and share with you what I enjoyed at the conference.

To start with, here are are the sessions that I attended at the Affiliate Summit in Las Vegas:

• Marketing Your Affiliate Site - Outside of the Box
• Mobile Phone Affiliate Marketing
• Ask the Experts: Super Affiliates
• Bloggers-- The New Super Affiliates
• Optimizing Landing Pages
• Affiliate 2.0: Discover Ten Top New Webtrends

I'll post notes from a few of the sessions in later posts.

Google Patents-- Check It Out!

I found a completely cool and very useful thing today: Google Patents!

Google has compiled the whole collection of public patents from the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

There have been around 7 million patents issued by the USPTO.

This site would have been extremely useful during my engineering studies at RPI.

Here's a fun patent for lipstick.

Macy's Waiting Line Online - What are they thinking??

What's Up With Me -- A Quick Summary: Sick, Affiliate Summit, Las Vegas, & More!

As I've been noticing that my readership is growing, my guilt for not posting for over a week has started to mount at a proportionate rate.

This is the short of it: First of all, I've been sick... really sick. And, I was tired of ranting about it, so I just stopped writing.

Here's one last set of details--

I'm in week 5 of being sick (not including my short stint in November) and I'm about as sick of talking about it as actually feeling bad. I've been to the doctor 4 times, had my blood drawn 4 times, had 3 antibiotics, 3 cough medicines, 2 shots, 2 X-Rays, 1 sleeping medicine, 1 mucas thinner, 1 inhaler, 1 pain killer... and around 5 or 6 bags of cough drops.

Needless to say, I can't remember having been sick for such a long period. It's been a real challenge. I've lost my voice on more than one occasion, and I've been coughing non-stop.

I basically have a super sinus infection and broncitious. Oh yeah, and my ribs are inflamed now from all the coughing... so now I have pain to deal with for a while. I think that my body is essentially re-adjusting to being back in Memphis. It's much more humid here than Los Angeles.

I'm beginning to feel better. But as you can imagine, I'm just TIRED of it all. So between you and me, I'm done being sick. ;-) I'm going to do my best not to talk about it anymore here.

With that... NEW TOPIC--

I just flew back tonight from Las Vegas. I was at the Affiliate Summit on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.

The Affiliate Summit was a great chance to meet other people who are on the cutting edge of internet marketing-- and to absorb new creative internet marketing ideas.

I flew out to Las Vegas on Friday night and met up with BoRyan. We stayed at Neil's place, which was noteably well decorated! Thanks Neil!

BoRyan was also sick on Friday when we met up, so we became Neil's excuse to stay in. At one point, he told someone we were "sick as dogs." :-) At least someone got some mileage out of it. Hehe.

I should probably share more with you about the Affiliate Summit, but I'm going to wrap it up for now and work on Net Impact. In case you haven't heard, I'm launching a professional Net Impact chapter in Memphis! We are the FIRST professional chapter in the entire state of Tennessee!

Our Memphis Net Impact kickoff event is going to be held on Thursday, February 8th at Elvis Presley's Delta Kitchen. If you've been meaning to try EP's, this is your chance! We'll have drink specials, networking, and a wonderful new professional organization to introduce you to!

I hope to see you again soon. I'll do my best to get back into the swing of things here.

:-) Angie

Get Well Soon...

I'm renaming this blog post. I've heard that my title of "testing" is confusing.

I was actually planning to delete this post, but since I got a cute comment, I'm going to keep it.

In case you were wondering, I was testing out Google video. I made this homemade movie clip of the "Get Well Soon" gift BoRyan sent me last week.

Since he couldn't be with me in Memphis while I was sick, he did the next best thing. He FedEx'd me snacks!

THANK YOU! :-)

Wang's to the Rescue!

If you live in Downtown Memphis, you know that getting food delivered is next to impossible if you don't want Papa John's Pizza.

My favorite delivery restaurant in Memphis is Wang's Mandarin House. They have great food, free delivery, and are inexpensive. Wang's has been voted Best Chinese Restaurant by Memphis Magazine and Memphis Flyer for 23 years in a row. Someone knew what they were talking about!

My one challenge with Wang's is finding enough food to meet their $15.00 minimum purchase for delivery. If I was going to have one problem, this is the one I'd choose. Tonight, I'm going to have sweet and sour shrimp, crab ragoons, egg drop soup, and 7-up. Whoo hoo!

If you're finding yourself hungry in Memphis, be sure to check them out:
Wang's Mandarin House
113 S. Main Street, Memphis
(901) 523-2066

They're Growing Up!!

I have 16-year old twin brothers who are identical and live outside of Oklahoma City. Since they were born, I've been about the same size (as you'll see below). They have been growing up before my eyes, and after a recent photo, I feel compelled to share it with you:

Before:

Chris, Nick (check out his tiny RPI shirt!), and two friends

Nick, Chris, Me

After:

Chris

Nick and Lauren

All together now.... AWWWWWEEEE!! :-)

A Few Notes

I stayed home from work today. I didn't fall asleep until probably 4 AM this morning because my ribs are hurting me. I've just been sick for so long, that my body is giving in. Today, I'm staying in bed and I hope to feel better soon. I may have to stay in bed the entire weekend to build up my strength. Anyway, hopefully it's almost over.

Last night, I went to Drinking Liberally for the first time. It was at Dish and I went with Serrabee. Other than that I couldn't talk, it was a great time. I definitely want to go back again.

Afterward, I headed over to TJ Mulligans at the Pinch for trivia. Our little team started at around 6 people and over the two-hour game, grew to 14 people. It was a little chaotic, but fun. We again had a great team, but this time, we had pop culture covered. In the end, we only got one question wrong and got first place by a big lead. We won a gift certificate for $50! Unfortunately, I guess that the other people in the bar were suspicious of us or something because they told the bar that we were cheating. This was disheartening for me because we never cheated, and wouldn't cheat. Either way, we got to keep our prize and the night worked out. I should note that I drank a ton last night -- a ton of hot tea! I've never had hot tea at a bar, especially not 3 or 4 cups.

Like I said, today I'm relaxing. If I feel up to it, I may blog a little...

Still sick, healthcare, and more...

The verdict is officially in..................................I'm STILL SICK!

If you have been within earshot (or blog's reach) of me in the last month, you probably already knew this. I have been fighting it like crazy and I've almost won, but we're doing one more round in the ring, just for fun.

Today, as part of the "fun" associated with my doctor visit / physical, I had the following: a chest x-ray, an EKG, a urine sample, and a blood sample. Oh yeah, and I couldn't eat beforehand. If you know me, you know that I don't do the day without breakfast. I just don't!

The good news:
* I do NOT have psnemonia
* I do NOT have mono (My little brother was diagnosed last week with the stuff, so I had to be sure... despite not even giving him a kiss on his 16 year old cheek.)

The bad news:
* I still have my sinus infection :-(
* My ribs, back, and shoulders are beginning to be in a considerable amount of pain from all the coughing I've done over the past month.
* My weight today was higher than ever before in my life (I'm hoping maybe I was wearing really heavy clothes... :-) )

The doctor gave me much stronger drugs this time. They must be, because they cost way more too!

So much more in fact that this afternoon, my phone rang. It was Visa's fraud detection department. They wanted to let me know that someone had made an unusually large purchase at Walgreens today in this place I don't typically make purchaes in a place called "German...(pause)...town".

Hahahahaha!! Finally, a beaken of light and happiness in my day!

Lets be clear though, Germantown has some kick ass shopping to be had. Love me some Saddle Creek!

Maybe this entire experience was really to teach me something about myself....

I need to get out and go shopping!

(P.S. I am NOT contagious. I've been on medicine for weeks now. If you see me, be kind and please know that I won't get you sick too.)

Cute Video

Linked In to Guy Kawasaki

I really enjoy reading Guy Kawasaki's blog, How to Change the World.

This week, he addressed LinkedIn and ten ways to use it. If you haven't heard of LinkedIn, you should try it - especially if you're in Memphis. LinkedIn has so many great advantages; it is an amazing networking tool and can fast forward your interview process.

So far, most of my contacts are on the east and west coasts. Memphis, this is your chance - check out Guy Kawasaki's blog and give LinkedIn a try!

Which Superhero Are You? I Am Supergirl

Your results:
You are Supergirl
Lean, muscular and feminine.
Honest and a defender of the innocent.



Click here to take the Superhero Personality Quiz

A Blog I Read: The Homeless Guy

I read a blog that you should check out: The Homeless Guy. You may have heard of him before-- he's quite famous. Kevin Barbieux, the Homeless Guy, lives in Nashville where he writes about his daily trials of being homeless.

Kevin writes in his blog lately about being sick and how challenging it can be to spend time with others while you're coughing. If you've been around me in the last two weeks, you know that I can relate to this.

He also writes about what it's like to live a life with limited choices... or maybe finding the path to choice again.

Here's a exceprt from a piece about Kevin from USAToday.com (from 2003). I do hope you'll take a few moments to visit his blog, and maybe consider donating a few dollars to his cough medicine fund via PayPal. :-)

It's just after 9 a.m., and most of the computers at the Nashville Public Library downtown are occupied, as usual, by the homeless. They're a ragged group in knit caps and ratty coats, hunched over their keyboards. Most spent the night at the shelter a mile down the road, or shivering in camps just outside of town. Now they're pointing and clicking their way through cyberspace.

Kevin Barbieux, 41, a mild-mannered veteran of the streets, slides into his seat and pecks out the address to his Web site.

Five months ago, Barbieux, started a Web log about his life. His goals for the "blog" were modest. Mainly, he wanted to show people a different side to homelessness.

But a strange thing happened. Barbieux's site took off. What started as a few dozen hits a day grew to a few hundred a day, then a few thousand. At last count, more than 195,000 people from around the world have visited, and the number continues to grow.

Barbieux is now trying to get his life together. He wants to get off the streets for good.

Trouble is, he's not sure if he can leave that life behind.

Shy and professorial, Barbieux doesn't look homeless. He dresses neatly — usually in jeans, an oversize golf shirt and a heavy coat — and keeps his graying beard trimmed. He ambles around town in a new pair of $10 boots from Wal-Mart. He almost never drinks.

Thanks FashionTribes!

I want to give a special thank you to Fashiontribes blog, who was listed my Angie's Adventures blog in their blogroll of favorite blogs, FT Faves.

Fashion Tribes is a daily fashion column that keeps up to date on the trials and tribulations of the fashion world.

Thanks Fashiontribes!

Birthday Pictures Posted

I have finally posted the pictures from the November 2006 trip that BoRyan & I took to Kauai, Hawaii to celebrate our birthdays.

You can find the photos here: http://angiedawn.shutterfly.com

You'll need a password. It's the name of the school where I most recently studied.

Have fun!

Angie

Restaurant Coupons at Restaurant.com

Restaurant coupons you should check out: http://www.restaurant.com/

An Amazing New Restaurant

I found an amazing new restaurant in Downtown Memphis this week. Since eating there, no other food compares. The place that you just have to try is Encore.

I had the beef wellington and my friend had the duck. It did take a little while for the food to arrive, so they boxed up some carmelized pumpkin cheesecake with pear confit for me. It was amazing! To see their full menu, visit encore-memphis.com.

The chef at Encore was previously the chef at Chez Phillipe, another great Memphis eatery.

They're open for lunch Tuesday - Friday and dinner on Tuesday - Sunday. Although you don't need reservations, they are available. And, they also have take out.

The one suggestion that I have is to enter from the street. If you enter from inside Peabody Place (like I did), you have to walk through the entire place to get to the server. Nobody is there to explain this, so it can be a little uncomfortable.

Happy eating!

Rensselaer Medal Program

My undergraduate school, RPI, offers this scholarship for high school juniors:

For more than 85 years, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, in conjunction with high schools around the world, has awarded the Rensselaer Medal. This is awarded to promising secondary school juniors who have distinguished themselves in mathematics and science. The responsibility for selecting the Rensselaer Medalist belongs to faculty and staff within the participating secondary school.

The Medal was first presented in 1916 with two purposes: to recognize the superlative academic achievement of young men and women, and to motivate students toward careers in science, engineering, and technology. This $15,000 per year merit scholarship is guaranteed for four years (five years for the School of Architecture program) for each medalist who is accepted and chooses to enroll at Rensselaer.

For more information, visit: http://admissions.rpi.edu/update.do?artcenterkey=1&setappvar=page(1)

Harvard University Free Tuition Announcement

Harvard University has announced that from now on undergraduate students from low-income families will pay no tuition. In making the announcement, Harvard's president Lawrence H. Summers said, "When only 10 percent of the students in Elite higher education come from families in lower half of the income distribution, we are not doing enough. We are not doing enough in bringing elite higher education to the lower half of the income distribution."

If you know of a family earning less than $60,000 a year with an honor student graduating from high school soon, Harvard University wants to pay the tuition. The prestigious university recently announced that from now on undergraduate students from low-income families can go to Harvard for free ... no tuition and no student loans! In addition, Harvard announces reduced fees for students from families with incomes between $60,000 and $80,000.

To find out more about Harvard offering free tuition for families making less than $60,000 a year visit Harvard's financial aid website at:

http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/daily/2006/03/30-finaid.html or call the school's financial aid office at (617) 495-1581.

I was right - Sinus Cocktail!

A few people have searched Google the past few days for "what is a sinus cocktail" and "sinus cocktail" and have landed on my blog.

Surprise-- they were all from Memphis!

The sinus cocktail is a Memphis thing. :-)

In Praise of Memphis

A great blog post about Memphis can be found here: http://fearlessvk.blogspot.com/2006/12/in-praise-of-memphis.html

Here's an excerpt:

Sense of Place: Many mid-size cities feel like Anytown, USA, with no distinctive sense of place or history. Memphis positively oozes its sense of place from every pore of the city, from the juke joints and hole-in-the-wall BBQ restaurants and the National Civil Rights Museum to Burke's Bookstore showcasing Southern literature and the countless art galleries showcasing Southern folk art. The colors, the smells, the architecture - everything testifies to Memphis' soul, and pays allegiance to its history. The challenge, of course, is to pay allegiance to history in a way that is not hopelessly nostalgic and reactionary, but my sense is that Memphis is self-aware about the challenge and does a better job than many other cities of embracing its past, scars and warts and all. In Memphis, I can walk down the street and feel surrounded by ghosts and memories and struggles.

A Different Kind of Beauty: Finding the beautiful in Memphis forces us to reconceptualize beauty itself. No, the beauty won't come from an architecturally dazzling new contemporary arts museum or from rolling green hills. But it will come instead from the unknown bluesman on the corner (of which there really are many), the every-one-is-unique knobs on the gates to the National Ornamental Metal Museum, the faded signs on the sides of so many abandoned buildings, and even the quasi-existential sight of more cargo planes than you can imagine loading and unloading at the Memphis International Airport in a surreal spectacle of the inner cogs of a global economy laying themselves bare. People who can find beauty in this city are unusual, idiosyncratic, and have cultivated a different way of seeing from the ordinary modern American vision - these are people I want to know, and I want to learn to see like them.

The Times They Are A-Changing: For all my griping about the cosmetic nature of downtown revitalization and the poverty of vision (or concern) regarding the zip codes where tourists never tread, there is no doubt that Memphis has transformed rather dramatically and will continue to transform itself as the years go by. This is a fascinating process to watch - how neighborhoods are built, how demographic composition changes, how cities and developers and citizens interact and negotiate and wrestle over the details of this transformation. Memphis is therefore a city that sparks imagination and vision - knowing that downtown might look completely different in 5 years, provokes us all to imagine how it will look, what it should look like, who will be touched by these changes. A professor at the University of Memphis told me that when he arrived in Memphis nearly 15 years ago, there was basically nowhere to eat but fast-food restaurants, BBQ joints, and Chinese buffets. That is a remarkable transformation indeed, and I think not just cosmetic. Wanting to experience different cuisines marks a kind of cultural curiosity and creativity that is a good sign of things to come.

The True DIY Culture: Once upon a time, I was young, stupid, and really into punk rock. (Now I am older, hopefully slightly less stupid, and more enamored of post-punk - the more things change....) The buzz acronym at the time was D.I.Y. - Do It Yourself - start your own band, write your own zine, put together your own record label, sew your own clothes, organize your own protests, blah blah blah. But really, I don't mean to mock, because for all its adolescence and narcissism and naiveté, the DIY ethic is a commendable one. And in Memphis, where cultural creativity exists, where political dissent exists, where writers and readers and artists and musicians gather - the spirit is necessarily a DIY spirit, because unless you're William Eggleston (whom I adore, just to be clear), you won't be in the national spotlight, the cultural overseers won't deign to notice you, unless they do so in a moment of extreme condescension, and you certainly won't make big bucks in this river town. But I really do think that makes the creative, artistic, and intellectual communiites of Memphis unique - uniquely self-motivated and uniquely idealistic. I've been enormously impressed by some of the people I've met in this city, struggling for all the right reasons aganst a wall of ignorance, complacency, and oblivion. Their spirit reminds me of my old adolescent idols, people I've long ceased to think about - and I really appreciate Memphis for reinvigorating that part of me and reminding me of the struggles worth fighting.

Remember the Main Article - Memphis Daily News

I thought I would take a moment to write a quick post beore running off to work today. I recently met up with an old Mpact Memphis friend who has been working on a proposal for a development project in downtown Memphis.

The proposal is for a $43 M apartment building along South Main. It would include quite a bit of retail space and a parking garage as well.

I was excited to hear about this proposal because upon my return to Memphis, I found very few options. Most of the places that were once apartments have been renovated and are now upscale condo buildings. When my apartment came onto the market, I snached it off the day it posted. This used to be something I had only heard of in LA or NYC, but right now, there are so few options in downtown Memphis that I see it happening here too.

And, it just so happens that my apartment is a condo... so even my apartment isn't exactly an apartment.

I guess my story made an impact because I'm the "old friend" in this article about the development project. You can find the original version here: http://www.memphisdailynews.com/Editorial/StoryLead.aspx?id=95655

I hope their project is chosen; good luck! :-)

I have placed a few excerpts for you below:

Remember the Main
New development team wants to build $43 million complex at Main and Gayoso
by Andy Meek

In the midst of guiding the development partnership he helped assemble to create what could become the largest African-American-led project ever in Downtown Memphis, Darrell Cobbins heard from an old friend recently.

She told him about her impending move back to Memphis and all but reaffirmed the untapped market for the multimillion-dollar mixed-use project Cobbins' team wants to develop at a key site along Main Street.

Operating as Riverside Partners, the developers have submitted plans to build a $43 million, 20-story apartment and commercial building at the corner of Main Street and Gayoso Avenue. The proposal calls for, among other features, the inclusion of six efficiency apartments, 118 one-bedroom and 78 two-bedroom apartments at the site.

Cobbins and the rest of his team - mostly young black professionals who have tapped some major financial backing for their project - say they believe rental opportunities at top-quality apartment developments Downtown are quickly drying up. Yet demand for them remains intense.

One example is the recent search by Cobbins' friend, who moved back to Memphis within the past month.

"She had to rent an apartment online, sight unseen, just to go ahead and grab it because she couldn't find an apartment anywhere Downtown, and she wanted to live Downtown," said Cobbins, an associate with the Memphis-based commercial real estate firm Commercial Advisors LLC.

...

And in addition to apartments, the team also is planning 14,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space and 390 parking spaces. There's been talk of adding a concierge in the lobby of the development, which will be called Riverview at Gayoso.

...

A roof garden also has been added to the design for the top story, a feature that gives panoramic views of the Downtown skyline and the river.

....

Officials with the CCC's Downtown Parking Authority still are evaluating proposals from the four development teams that submitted plans for the site a few weeks ago.

To read the entire article, go here:
http://www.memphisdailynews.com/Editorial/StoryLead.aspx?id=95655

Urban Camping in Los Angeles

Happy New Years Eve!

This is my idea of urban camping:

On Friday, I flew my cough happy self to Los Angeles to celebrate the New Year with my someone special.

Just in time for my arrival, the hot water heater promptly broke. Yesterday, I had a cold shower that had just a hair of lukewarm to it. It wasn't fun, but I lived.

Today, there wasn't a drop of warm water in sight. It was 100% freezing, 100% of the time.

Along the same lines, the heater in BoRyan's place isn't quite up to speed, so this was my routine today: I woke up and turned the oven to 400 degrees and opened up the door to heat the air in the apartment. Then, I filled up the hot water kettle and turned on the stove to heat the water. I then poured that warm water into a bigger bowl that I used to bathe myself.

Wow.

Me, Emily, and our neighbor lady downstairs all have dirty hair today. I have my fingers crossed that the plummer really does show up now like he promised. I just have to take a shower...

While I was out today, I picked up a dish of brown sugar body scrub and a scratchy brush. I can't wait to get clean.

Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Great magazine articles: InStyle and U.S. News

While dashing through the aiport today, I grabbed two magazines which turned out to be great: InStyle and U.S. News.

InStyle offered fun fashion tips, including:
* Tiny jackets with short sleeves are in this season.
* The Army and Navy Surplus Stores are great places to find fun accent pieces at reasonable prices.
* The Vonage V-Phone is a tiny little phone (the size of a thumb drive) on a keychain, in orange-- looks fun!
* www.pepperface.com is offering a Swarovski covered pepper spray canister, to keep you safe and stylish.

Okay, okay... so I'm sure you got tons of value out of that. :-)

Now, the magazine that you HAVE TO BUY this month-- U.S. News & World Report Annual Double Issue for December 25th, 2006 to January 1st, 2007. This magazine will change your life-- get it now before it's too late!!

Here's a summary of a few articles I read that I found helpful:

"50 Ways to Improve Your Life" article:
Included in this article are amazing tips, that are forward thinking and on point. Here are a few tips, in a nutshell:
* Get Happy, and You'll Live Longer -- "While some people may be born with sunny dispositions, happiness isn't necessarily based on genes or luck. Psychologists now belive it's like a learned skill, almost like knitting."
* Lose Those Shoes (downsizing on your heels)
* Eat at Home for Your Own Good -- "Research suggests that eating out plays a key role in America's obesity epidemic."
* Drink some cups of white tea -- "Move over green and black teas -- younger and healthier, and sweeter white tea is poised to take over your pot. White tea actually comes from the same plant... but is less processed and made from the buds of young leaves instead of mature, whithered leaves."
* Stop Diabetes 2 before you get it -- The American Diabetes Association "estimates 20.8 MILLION Americans have
* Book a passage to change -- Including how we treat our planet, how we view politics, and how we live daily
* Take up an instrument -- again
* Give each week a tech-free day
* Start your own blog
* Write your family cookbook (I'm thinking this could be a cool idea!)
* Divorceproof your marriage (or relationship) -- "Based on research, the best single predictor of whether a couple is going to divorce is contempt... Comtempt goes beyond criticism or name-calling to a you're-so-beneath-me tone of haughty superiority. 'My favorite example is correcting someone's grammer when they're arguing with you...' " Also, try this: "...live by the stranger standard. Like letting someone with only one item go in front of you at the supermarket line."
* Unplug the television
* Hit the road without the DVDs
* Coach your kids sports team
* Lift a shovel in New Orleans
* Vote!
* Lend a hand to your troops
* Help rennovate your local park
* Get rid of the leaf blower -- "A single gas powered leaf blower can emit as much pollution in one year as 80 cars" WOW! Time to get a rake!
* See a glacier before it melts!
And MORE! As you can see, this is a great article!

"America's High Anxiety" article:
I would really like to copy in this entire article... let's see if I can find it online. It definitely represents what I experienced over the last two years, and many people experience every day. I think that this one issue absoluately stiffles our country's innovation. So many people who might otherwise open their own business and help to generate more ideas and money for our country don't because of this one thing. What is it? Healthcare...

I found it! Read it (below) and be SURE to buy the latest copy of U.S. News (Dec. 25 - Jan. 1 Double issue) on the newstands today!

And, Happy New Year if I don't talk to you before!

:-) Angie

America's High Anxiety
By Mortimer B. Zuckerman
Posted Sunday, December 17, 2006

Our nation's core bargain with the middle class is disintegrating. We are into the fifth year of a relatively robust expansion, but millions are worse off. Exposed to greater risks in job security, they feel abandoned, left to fund their own health and retirement programs out of static or falling real incomes.

Resentment and envy are not normal characteristics of our society; we usually don't care how much the other guy makes as long as we feel we're getting a fair shake. Today, however, the middle class is not. Most of our economic gains have gone to people at the very top of the income ladder. Median income for a household of people of working age, by contrast, has fallen five years in a row. What's more, in a rapidly changing economy, Americans are losing their jobs, and while they often find new ones, the average pay is 17 percent below what they were earning before.

Even college graduates have been hard hit, their wages having failed to keep pace with inflation over the past five years-and this at a time when the profits per share for the companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 index have been increasing at double-digit rates while corporate profits are at the highest level in two generations. Wages and salaries, meanwhile, account for the lowest share of our GDP since the government began recording the data, in 1947. As former Secretary of the Treasury Larry Summers put it: "If the anxious middle's concerns about fairness are this serious when the unemployment rate is 4.4 percent, there will be far greater concerns whenever the economy next turns down."

Risk. The economy is going great guns-thanks to globalization, continued technology advancements, and improved productivity-but the middle class and working families just don't feel they are getting ahead, despite the fact that they're working very hard. Indeed, many ordinary Americans say they are either falling behind or just barely keeping up.
Philosophers and politicians-from Plato to Disraeli to John Edwards-are fond of the "two nations" concept (slave/free; rich/poor; black/white). Today, we can add another: secure/anxious. Risk, even more than the level of incomes, is the main issue. As family incomes have become more stable, loss aversion has become increasingly important. By a margin of 2 to 1, Americans-traditionally, eager entrepreneurs-consider it more important to protect current sources of income than to take an opportunity to take a chance on something new and make more money.

Tens of millions of Americans live in fear that a major health problem can reduce them to bankruptcy. They realize their families are one health crisis away from family hardship, which is a key reason for the pervasive feeling of personal and permanent insecurity.
This particularly affects American families. Marriage has always been a vital economic and social institution. Yet married people with kids are twice as likely to file for bankruptcy as single adults or childless couples, and they're more likely to lose their homes than married couples without children or single adults. Why hasn't the two-earner family protected more Americans from the risk of financial disaster? Well, to most families, a second income is not a luxury but a necessity, as wages for men basically flattened out as women entered the workforce. The job market has become more uncertain, with roughly as large a share of workers involuntarily losing their jobs every three years as during the steep economic decline of the early 1980s. The cost of housing, education, healthcare, and child care, meanwhile, has gone through the roof.

Think about what happens when a woman leaves the workforce to have a child.

Think about the possibility of a child who becomes chronically ill.

Think about what happens when one of two parents loses his or her job, and what happens afterward when families break apart.

Think about the fact that raising a child to the age of 18 will cost over $200,000 for a middle-income family-and that doesn't even account for college tuition, now a required ticket for admission into the middle class.

Perhaps that's why for the first time, according to the Census Bureau, households headed by single people outnumber those headed by married ones.

If there is one single source of risk our policymakers must tackle, it is health insurance. We must not muddle on, a band-aid here and a band-aid there. We must find some way to provide universal health insurance, especially to cover all children. This is one of the critical reasons that Americans are nervous and no longer believe that the next generation will be better off.

The deep disquiet in this newly anxious American nation was evident in last month's midterm elections. Whichever party better focuses on healthcare will do a world of good for itself and the country.

Almost better!!!

Today was another day with the lepers. It's amazing how people run the other way when your voice is horse.

Anyway, I'm just about bored out of my goard with all this... hopefully, I'll have something fun to write about soon.

I finally did go to the doctor today. It looks like what started as a cold may have developed into a sinus infection.

To remedy this, the doctor wrote me the typical prescriptions for an antibiotic and cough medicine. Then, she said, "would you like a 'sinus cocktail'"? Sinus cocktail? What's that?

Anyway, after talking to a few friends and family members around the country-- I've decided that this could possibly be a Memphis term. Okahoma didn't know it. California didn't. And not Washington DC. And that's a pretty good cross section I'd say.

But every person I talked to in Memphis knew it-- young, old, man, woman.

For those reading who may not know what a sinus cocktail is, it's a combination of 2 shots: one is a steroid of some kind and one reduces the amount of drainage you're producing... and I think there are some antibiotics mixed in. The idea is that it takes the antibiotic pills a few days to kick in and this helps in the meantime... Actually, I hear I'll be a new person tomorrow.

I'm counting on that!

The whole visit was definitely an interesting experience. First, they drew blood to be sure I had an infection-- 3 vials of it. Yeow! Then, they gave me the two shots. I can't really remember the last time I had a shot per se... so I was a little nervous. This poor lady who did it-- that's all she does all day is give people shots. What an experience with other people that is.

Anyway, I had to do this whole drop your pants, hold onto the table routine. I let her know that although I wouldn't move during the shots, it did really freak me out to have them. I think this formed some kind of rapport, as she gave me tips to reduce the pain and was chatty. This made the whole thing way more reasonable.

Afterward, I went to the Walgreen's next door to get my prescriptions and walk off the shots. That's one of the ways to reduce the pain-- walk.

While I was there, I had the good fortune to get a phone call from my friend Larry. I had a few extra tickets to an event this weekend and he's going to take his kids. Larry just so happens to live near the Walgreen's and drove up to get the tickets. I'm super happy he'll be able to use them and take his kids. :-)

In the end, I'm here to type about the experience... :-) I just have a few extra bandaides.... and for those of you who may have talked with me personally lately, this is nothing new. I'm really becoming quite tolerant of pain. For one reason or another, I've fallen down completely on the ground 3 times since moving back to Memphis a couple of months ago. I'm black and blue and covered with bandages constantly. Sexy!

So, the moral is-- life is looking up and I'm fighting to get better. Although I do enjoy time at home and relaxation... It's not my favorite when it's forced... and also, when it spans over a month. This all started at the end of November.

But again, I'll be better tomorrow I hope!

Cross your fingers for me. :-)

I've lost my voice...

So, I'm sick again. Did I say that already? lol. :-)

I don't actually FEEL that bad, but I SOUND terrible! I've almost lost my voice.

It's left me feeling somewhat isolated. I can't really talk to anyone... and at work, I've been staying low, to keep from getting sent home. :-)

I think that tomorrow I may work from home. I'm also going to head to the doctor.

I can hardly breathe (much less talk) right now without coughing. Will it be allergies? A cold? A sinus infection?

Your guess is as good as mine! lol.

Bahumbug...ha.

I'm awake. It's 5:30 A.M. and I'm officially up and typing. I woke up this morning hacking myself to death (I'm sick again-- ugh), and I thought I'd give the computer a try for a few minutes until my body relaxes again enough to go back to sleep.

I checked on my Myspace and received the most unexpected Christmas interaction I had all day.

Last night, I was purusing through Myspace... I see one of my classmates from high school who I never knew was on Myspace. I remember her as one of those people who was a bit of a trouble maker and a bit endearing at the same time... definitely someone with issues, but someone you wanted to like. She appears to be divorced with 2 children-- one of them being a small baby. I was happy to see how strong and independant she appears to be.

I thought that I should definitely connect. Our 10 year class reunion is coming up soon and I'm making a special effort to reach out to my classmates. As you probably already know, I do keep in close touch with my friends via the online world.

Anyway, this morning, I received this reply to my "friend request" in my inbox on Myspace from her:

Thanks for the request, but I"m going to deny it..You were on my list for a
long time and I sent you a couple of emails asking how you were doing and
you
never replied...I'm not trying to be crappy, I just don't think anyone
can have
1000 friends and keep up with them..but I do hope that everything
is going well
for you and I'm sure I will see you at the reunion! Best of
luck and I hope you
had a great Christmas

My thoughts on this:

--Who takes Myspace seriously?
--Does it matter that I never received her messages? Did she even send them to the right person?
--Does she really expect everybody on Myspace to keep up with all of their Myspace friends all of the time? And is this really what qualifies you to be someone's Myspace friend? Isn't it just supposed to be fun?
--Hello, I am an online marketer, this is why I have over 1000 friends...
--And by the way, I do keep up with many of them... I can multitask.

Anyway, not that this really matters, but give me a break... and take your issues somewhere else. I was seriously trying to be a nice person.

Byte me.

Scrooge and intellectual property rights

A more serious, but important thought for Christmas... by Joseph E Stiglitz, professor ...from http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/333/7582/1279.

A medical prize fund could improve the financing of drug innovations

At Christmas, we traditionally retell Dickens's story of Scrooge, who cared more for money than for his fellow human beings. What would we think of a Scrooge who could cure diseases that blighted thousands of people's lives but did not do so? Clearly, we would be horrified. But this has increasingly been happening in the name of economics, under the innocent sounding guise of "intellectual property rights."

Intellectual property differs from other property—restricting its use is inefficient as it costs nothing for another person to use it. Thomas Jefferson, America's third president, put it more poetically than modern economists (who refer to "zero marginal costs" and "non-rivalrous consumption") when he said that knowledge is like a candle, when one candle lights another it does not diminish from the light of the first. Using knowledge to help someone does not prevent that knowledge from helping others. Intellectual property rights, however, enable one person or company to have exclusive control of the use of a particular piece of knowledge, thereby creating monopoly power. Monopolies distort the economy. Restricting the use of medical knowledge not only affects economic efficiency, but also life itself.

We tolerate such restrictions in the belief that they might spur innovation, balancing costs against benefits. But the costs of restrictions can outweigh the benefits. It is hard to see how the patent issued by the US government for the healing properties of turmeric, which had been known for hundreds of years, stimulated research. Had the patent been enforced in India, poor people who wanted to use this compound would have had to pay royalties to the United States.

In 1995 the Uruguay round trade negotiations concluded in the establishment of the World Trade Organization, which imposed US style intellectual property rights around the world. These rights were intended to reduce access to generic medicines and they succeeded. As generic medicines cost a fraction of their brand name counterparts, billions could no longer afford the drugs they needed. For example, a year's treatment with a generic cocktail of AIDS drugs might cost $130 (£65; 170) compared with $10 000 for the brand name version.¹ Billions of people living on $2-3 a day cannot afford $10 000, though they might be able to scrape together enough for the generic drugs. And matters are getting worse. New drug regimens recommended by the World Health Organization and second line defences that need to be used as resistance to standard treatments develops can cost much more.

Developing countries paid a high price for this agreement. But what have they received in return? Drug companies spend more on advertising and marketing than on research, more on research on lifestyle drugs than on life saving drugs, and almost nothing on diseases that affect developing countries only. This is not surprising. Poor people cannot afford drugs, and drug companies make investments that yield the highest returns. The chief executive of Novartis, a drug company with a history of social responsibility, said "We have no model which would [meet] the need for new drugs in a sustainable way ... You can't expect for-profit organizations to do this on a large scale."²

Research needs money, but the current system results in limited funds being spent in the wrong way. For instance, the human genome project decoded the human genome within the target timeframe, but a few scientists managed to beat the project so they could patent genes related to breast cancer. The social value of gaining this knowledge slightly earlier was small, but the cost was enormous. Consequently the cost of testing for breast cancer vulnerability genes is high. In countries with no national health service many women with these genes will fail to be tested. In counties where governments will pay for these tests less money will be available for other public health needs.

A medical prize fund provides an alternative. Such a fund would give large rewards for cures or vaccines for diseases like malaria that affect millions, and smaller rewards for drugs that are similar to existing ones, with perhaps slightly different side effects. The intellectual property would be available to generic drug companies. The power of competitive markets would ensure a wide distribution at the lowest possible price, unlike the current system, which uses monopoly power, with its high prices and limited usage.

The prizes could be funded by governments in advanced industrial countries. For diseases that affect the developed world, governments are already paying as part of the health care they provide for their citizens. For diseases that affect developing countries, the funding could be part of development assistance. Money spent in this way might do as much to improve the wellbeing of people in the developing world—and even their productivity—as any other that they are given.

The medical prize fund could be one of several ways to promote innovation in crucial diseases. The most important ideas that emerge from basic science have never been protected by patents and never should be. Most researchers are motivated by the desire to enhance understanding and help humankind. Of course money is needed, and governments must continue to provide money through research grants along with support for government research laboratories and research universities. The patent system would continue to play a part for applications for which no one offers a prize . The prize fund should complement these other methods of funding; it at least holds the promise that in the future more money will be spent on research than on advertising and marketing of drugs, and that research concentrates on diseases that matter. Importantly, the medical prize fund would ensure that we make the best possible use of whatever knowledge we acquire, rather than hoarding it and limiting usage to those who can afford it, as Scrooge might have done. It is a thought we should keep in mind this Christmas.

Merry Christmas via Text?

I wonder exactly what the future of technology is.

Up until a few weeks ago, I've been using an old cell phone. So old in fact that I rarely sent or received text messages.

Then, I switched to a new cell phone that can send and receive text messages with ease. When I was sick a few weeks ago, I spent a good part of my time in bed exchanging notes with my friends. One night, I think I may have sent around 50 text messages. Wow.

Then, it became apparent to me that some of my friends have been sending 'mass' text messages. These are messages that you may get that say, "Hey, want to go to the movies tonight?" It's a little like phishing. You can send out a mass message to all of your friends and find out who is available without them knowing just who you asked.

So, last week, I tried the mass messaging; it was successful. I sent out a reminder just before meeting up for drinks. Friends who might have forgotten came; friends who were looking for something to do were given an option.

Since then, I've become much more aware of the mass messages I receive.

Today, I've gotten around 6 text messages that I suspect are mass Merry Christmas'. What do you think? Do these messages allow you to more closely connect to your friends or are they disconnecting?

I must say... I tend to feel it connects us. In the past, I would have not heard anything from my friends. It's hard to get away on Christmas day to connect. Text messages allow us to reach out on our own terms... to others who can receive them on their own terms. It's a bonus that you can connect to so many people at one time.

I do wonder though... what is the future of this? Will we eventually send Christmas card-like messages via text message? Christmas presents?

Either way, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Fun Night Playing Trivia at TJ Mulligan's

I know I've been a little checked out lately. Not too worry, tonight won't be much different.

This is just a quick post to say that after a screwed up day, the evening went quite well.

I met up with Serrabee for dinner at Blue Fin before heading down the street to play trivia. I've only every played trivia in Memphis once before and it was an accident. This time, I invited my friends who have never played before.

In the beginning, a few of our team members thought we should just drink... that we didn't understand it well enough to play. Clearly, our self esteem was low for about the first half. When we got to half time, the DJ began to read the team names in reverse order, starting with the most poorly ranked team. As he went up the list and our team name wasn't called (which by the way ended up somehow being "Angie's B*tches), the team began to think we had done so poorly that we weren't ranked at all. That was right up until it was declared that we were in FIRST place!

Swwwweet!

If there's one thing I have, it's smart friends!

At our little table, we had the following (that I know of, although I didn't get to quiz everyone... ha):
--> 3 engineers
--> 1 chemist
--> 1 psycologist
--> 4 computer programmers
--> 5 current or former Fed Ex employees

Needless to say, we had the math and sciences covered. Unfortunately, we were much more behind on pop culture. When they asked which popular song particular lyrics came from, we weren't sure. When they asked who invited the thermometer, we not only knew who invented it, but how and why... It had something to do with glass balls and liquid and density... but anyway.

Up through the second to last question of the game, we were in 1st place, ahead by around 12 points. The longer the game went on, the more serious and quiet the table became.

The last question was a hard one, especially since we weren't cheating. It was, rank the following 4 companies in order of value. McDonald's, IBM, Marlboro, and Coca Cola.

Unfortunately, we weren't so lucky on this question. We missed it and fell to 3rd place. Still, we won a certificate for $$$ off our tab. It was pretty good for a first try!

:-)

Angie's Celebrity Look-alikes

Whew!

Well, in case that you've been wondering what happened to me or the second day on my vacation, I've been sick.

Starting this time last week, I go a cold and ever since, I've been resting-- trying to get better as fast as possible. As you may agree though, the main thing that a cold needs is time. Luckily, I'm just about better and back into the swing of things.

I'll try to take the time to finish my stories about Hawaii as soon as I can. After that, I need to post the photos from my birthday party.

By far, I had the best birthday this year. It officially lasted around a month, with a trip, a party, lunches, dinners... it was great! Thanks to everyone who pitched in! :-)

On another note, the Christmas shopping has been going well. I've been shopping from home and have found that most retailers are giving free shipping and often, free returns. I have compiled my favorite online merchants onto one page for you: www.angiedawn.net/links. It's easy to find and easy to remember. As you know, I LOVE online shopping! Check it out and let me know how it goes.

Back again soon--
Angie

Netflix - A Fun Service Worth Trying

I recently purchased what has turned out to be a great birthday gift for BR: Netflix!

After receiving the gift, he took a few hours to rate some 200-300 movies. Then, in addition to the movies he chose as his favorites, Netflix was able to recommend more movies he might like.

Combining his favorite movies and Netflix suggestions, he created a BIG list of all of the movies he'd like to see. Netflix has a HUGE selection of movies and TV series, so this was easy.

Then, Netflix started mailing him the movies and he's been telling everyone how much he loves Netflix ever since. Just this weekend, he signed up both his mom and his dad with Netflix.

Each DVD comes in its own envelope. After you watch each DVD, you mail it back and Netflix sends you another.

You can watch as many DVDs as you want-- or you can keep each DVD for as long as you want. You send them back whenever you feel like it (1 day, 1 month, or 1 year later...) and Netflix will turn around and send you a new DVD from your list ASAP.

As you can imagine, Netflix has been wonderful! There are 3 options you should try:

• A gift subscription for a friend, family member, or co-worker (you purchase the subscription online and then print out the gift certificate to give them)
• A subscription for yourself (they're month to month, so you can cancel anytime)
• A two-week trial membership (excellent choice if you aren't sure if Netflix is right for you)

Go sign up here now!

Shame On You, Scamming College Student!

I received an e-mail today from a college student in the state I grew up in. The student claimed to be PayPal (the online financial transaction company) and of course, needed some log in information from me or he would cancel my account.

Isn't this just typical? Well, anyway, sometimes when I get these spam fishing e-mails, I check to see where the links actually take you.

Today, the e-mail's links went to the department of engineering at a large university. This really upsets me. Not only is the person a scammer, but they're using the servers at a public institution to help them. They weren't even smart enough to host their scam off somewhere else. Not that this matters, but you know...

I don't normally take the time to follow up on things, but today I took a few minutes to forward the e-mail to the Dean of Engineering at the school.

Hopefully, he'll stop the kid from sending it on to more unsuspecting internet users.

If you want to learn more about how you can stop receiving spam e-mails, visit www.ftc.gov/spam. If you have received a spam message that you would like to report, forward the message to this e-mail address: SPAM@UCE.GOV.

While we're on the topic, if you receive telemarketing PHONE calls that you'd like to get rid of, check out the Do Not Call Registry's web site here: www.donotcall.gov.

Good night and happy Thanksgiving Eve!

Career Goddess Salary Negotiation Blog

I found this important post on Career Goddess' blog here.

Yesterday's USA TODAY ran an extensive multi-page section on women and retirement was informative and yet it missed one very important FACT -- WOMEN EARN 77% FOR EVERY DOLLAR A MAN EARNS and a major contributing reason is that women don't negotiate salary and men typically do. I have seen this in my work as a career counselor having helped thousands through my private counseling and job search seminars. Women seemed shocked when they follow some solid salary negotiation strategies that resulted in securing thousands of dollars more. Men expect it. In fact, the biggest salary raises (over 15%) come from quitting your job and moving to a new employer but only if you successfully negotiate your compensation package. Women need to step out of their comfort zone, and not be humble or complacent. You must ASK to be paid what they are worth. If you don’t know what your skills are worth, go to www.RobinRyan.com/tools to get a good idea of the range you should be paid for the work you do. Sadly too many women are timid and just accept the first salary offer an employer makes leaving a great deal of money on the table that could have added to their retirement savings account if they had strategically asked. No one will volunteer to pay you top dollar unless you expect and ask quantifying your skills and experience convincing the employer you are worth the additional dollars.

Birthday Escape: Day 1

(I'm going to try to give the run down on what I did while we were out of town, to give suggestions and feedback for other travelers. I'll add photos as they become available... and, if I've forgotten something, there's nothing an edit won't fix.)

Let's start at the beginning: Day 1 of my adventure. I had a typical day on Tuesday (Nov. 7) last week. I went to work, had lunch, worked. Everything was normal, with one exception.

Instead of going home after work, I headed to the airport. Oh, and-- I wore jeans to be comfortable on the plane. Pretty exciting for a Tuesday... :-)

I hopped onto a 6:45 PM flight from MEM to LAX. It arrived after 9 PM and I hauled my huge bags out to the curb. (It often seems that the first time you try something, an extra suitcase is required for moral support.)

BR picked me up at the curb outside of the baggage claim. It was great to see him.

On our way to Santa Monica, we stopped at one of my favorite spots in Santa Monica. It's a little diner called Swingers. You can check out their web site here: http://www.swingersdiner.com.

They've recently come out with a new drink menu that features mixed drinks, so it's now a fun place to get Mohitos at some late hour. That and cheese fries, humus, veggie chilli, ahi tuna, or whatever other slightly off beat food you may desire. I went with the mohito and cheese fries while BR got a wonderful black and white milk shake.

After our snack, we headed back to the homestead in Santa Monica to dream of warm beaches and lush landscapes.

Hawaiian Angie

As I mentioned in the previous post, I'm back. I've been gone to Hawaii... I can't wait to share the details with you, but for now, I'll post one photo from the first day we arrived. As you can see, I'm a little jet lagged from traveling for two days.

By the way, the t-shirt I'm wearing is for a new music web site you REALLY should check out-- www.Pandora.com. It's the new "music genome project" and you just might like it...!

I'm Back!

I've been out on a birthday adventure. I'll fill you in ASAP!

An All TIme Low / Office Space Flashback

OMG - Did you know that there are cubical decorating kits?

Check it out: http://www.buycostumes.com/productgridview.aspx?pCatID=partysupplies&cCatID=CubicalPartyKits.