We truly live in a very connected and wired age.  With this age of communication ease has crept up some interesting and fantastic tools that help plug people into one another’s busy lives.  Gone are the days of “small town” Mayberry, where on any given evening you could walk around and talk with your neighbors as they swung on a large comfy swing on the front porch.  Today our lives are so busy that once we get home from work we rush to the fridge, get dinner started, make sure the kids are getting homework done and getting ready to rest and relax for the night, that is if you do not have extracurricular activities, preparation for the next day at work or what not. 

Our world has changed.  People are not as open to company just dropping by as they once did (This affects church and ministry life drastically, but ill save that for another post.)  At the beginning of this age you could feel a vacuum as people started to pull away from others, but then something deep inside of us longs to be connected.  But we don’t have time. . We are busy.  I should take an hour or two out of my night to go over and see so and so, but then it turns into a 4 hour ordeal, then we get to bed late, and wake the next morning more tired that before.  Ever happen to you?  So what do we do to connect?

I am so glad you asked.  *smile*  About a year and a half ago I learned of something called Twitter.  At first it seemed silly.  It was explained to me that you simply put in up to 140 characters of what your doing, and people who follow you can read it. 

At first I was like.. “uhm. . so?”  I mean who wants to know when someone had a really yummy peanut butter sandwich?  So I put it aside for a few months until some issues in my ministry and life fell apart to such a stage that I withdrew into a deep cave.  It was at this time, the time I needed people and connections, that I blew the dust off of this platform and started to learn of its power to connect people together on so many layers and levels.  It was not simply about eating lunch.

Twitter has grown into an organic thing with people posting whatever they want, within the 140 character limit.  As of this writing I follow 138 people, and have 110 people following me.  This is amazing.  As someone who wants to know what others think and feel I can . . eavesdrop on a public conversation they chose to share.  I have been able to learn some amazing things about some of the people I have known for years or even days.  Things they reveal are non threatening, yet give us a picture of who they are. 

Not only can I see what they post, but I can in turn respond to them in a quasi IM.  By responding to them with an @ symbol I can direct a message to them that others that follow me and them can see.  Connection!

Now when I post something I have 110 people that will read it when it comes across their feed.  They too can then respond to me.  I will typically share small tidbits about my gaming, struggles, blog posts, ideas, questions and more.

Twitter has opened our world that is busy, bored, and alone into something that even in our hectic schedules gives us the ability to connect on a level not done before.  The ways to use it are endless.  And to be honest, the best way to get your head wrapped around it is to just do it. 

Head over to http://twitter.com and set up an account.  Then follow some users.  You can follow me by going to http://twitter.com/manorton Once you are following people just sit back and watch, learn and interact.

Come join me and others on the new swing on the new front porch, doing the same thing we did 50 years ago;  Sharing small bits of our lives with others.

  I have to admit I jumped at the chance to install and play around with Windows 7 Beta.  I have been having nothing but issues with my quad core CPU system and Vista.  Probably does not help that it’s a Dell, but hey.

One frustration I had run into was trying to install a few apps I love to use.  Being a good tech/geek I first installed my antivirus/firewall of choice.  I love AVG over many others, especially Norton, for the fact that it is not a recourse HOG.  Game’s and other system hungry apps need all the power they can get and don’t do well when a security system is hammering away for no reason every 10 seconds or so.  The install went well, and all seemed to work.  But then I was unable to install Google Chrome and Windows Live Writer. Chrome would install, and a warning came up that it might not be compatible with Win7 but I could get no connection to the outside world once the window was up.  With no warning from the AVG firewall to allow data to pass I thought nothing of it and figured it was just not ready for Win7.

Then this morning as I started my normal routine I fired up Twhirl, my Twitter app of choice on my desktop.  The app loaded but no tweets, nothing, it was dark.  No message from AVG, but it got me thinking.  Headed into the AVG options, disabled the firewall and boom, twhirl worked.  So I scratched my head and started to install Live Writer again. 

Well, I am currently writing this post from within Live Writer on my Windows 7 Beta install.  So you can figure out the issue.

I have disabled the AVG firewall, turned ON the windows firewall for now and will see what else I am able to get running.

So far on a scale from 1 to 10 of satisfaction with Win 7 I am shooting at a 9.  No kidding.  Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit runs like a champ.

Last night Tatiaana, aka Tanya, and Valimonde, aka Mike, got  a long awaited chance to do some leveling.  With the holiday’s upon us finding time to sit down and play together has been difficult to say the least.  Then it seems when we do get time to play we are so beat that we fall asleep while questing.  It is rough getting old sometimes.  *smile*  But we press on.  Why?  For a couple of reasons.

First and foremost, Tanya and I have been married for 18 years.  We enjoy spending time together, even when it is in short doses.  With all the distractions in our lives it can be hard to find a get away, or place to just run away and be silly or have a ball.  Playing a game we can afford to do that.  *snickers*  She wont let me post the pic of us running through the tunnel linking Lock Modan with the Badlands as we traveled to free one of Father Winter’s deer.  Seems the tunnel was rather hot and our armor sort of fell off while we where riding through.  You know. . silly things.  *looks over shoulder hopping Tatiaana does not thwap me in the back of the head*

Another reason we enjoy it is the challenge.  Mike is a goal oriented, strive to do all you can do, learn every skill you possibly can, teach others if they wish to learn kind of player/gamer.  Tanya is a puzzle and problem solver gamer.  In the past these two styles did not always fit, but as we play and work together not only in game, but over the past 18 years of this thing called real life, we have learned how to take the differences and complement each other.  I am the one who knows how to kill a boss.  She is the one who knows how to get to the boss if its a puzzle.  It is these differences that help us enjoy ourselves even more as we play together.

Gone are the days of parking ourselves in front of the television watching mindless dribble.  Now we park ourselves in front of the computer interacting with other people who are playing a game just like us.  Some may find it silly or possibly juvenile for adults to find so much enjoyment in a game.  Recently World of Warcraft has been shot at by some pretty crazy allegations from the head of the FCC to would be competators in the MMO marketplace.  The facts are that a ever growing number of adults in the United States, as well as the world population, are starting to turn to video games as their preferred means of entertainment and social interaction.  Can and should it replace going out and meeting friends face to face?  No. . it should not replace such activities as seeing daylight.  It is however just as legitimate, if not more rewarding at times, than spending hours in an activity that might otherwise be dull and boring to you.

Tanya and I love to play.  I am more into the game by far than her.  Some might even think that we are obsessed.  Honestly the nature of such games is made to keep you playing.  To keep you pushing yourself to become better than you are now.  TO achieve and reach forward.  To work together and break down complex problems.  To. . well, you get the picture.  The game reflects life.  It is what you do with it, how much time you put into it that matters.

I digress.  Back on topic of playing together.  We found time after a long two weeks of grabbing an hour or two.  Last night we helped the guild run Nexus, Tatiaana got her Red Christmas Hat.  We hit 76 and are very close to hitting 77 and getting our wings back.  She is home today and we hope to get some “quality” us time in.  

Take time with your spouse or significant other if you play with them.  One of the best words of advice I can give to help you enjoy your time together is this.  Communicate.  *smile*  Talk, discuss, work out small issues so you do not get frustrated if your partner does not play the same way you do.  After all. . . that is the best advice for couples in the “real world” as well.

After a little trouble in the upgrade path I, Mike the Geek Norton, have finaly updated PastorPlayz to 2.7.  I did have to delete everything and rename my plugin file. . but alas.  Its up.