Blogging
I was watching this reality TV show the other day and it was all about people who blog. It was interesting because it focused on three random people who were completely different from one another. One of the people worked for a fitness magazine and she blogged daily about what she ate and her workouts and how she felt before and after each one and even what she listened to while she worked out. She was about thirty five years old and was married and had a son.
Another one of the bloggers on this blog hosting series talked about sports and worked for a news station. He wrote about what it was like to be him and meet famous athletes all of the time and also how he got to be where he is today (what his major was, where he went to school, internships etc).
The last person was a high school student who was running for student council and writes daily about what needed to be done with the school and her aspirations.
It was interesting to see how these three completely different people came together. The series had them changing web hosts so that instead of their usual hosting sites elsewhere, they all blogged on the same one and then they interacted with each other. Since it was a TV show, we also got to see what they were going (and watch them write too) which was really interesting as well.
It just goes to show that no matter who you are, how old you are or what you do people will find what you have to say interesting. So if you keep a journal or even would like to, you should consider making a blog online. Because while you may think that people will think your everyday old life is boring, other people may relate to you or find it interesting. You never know what kind of friends you can make or the impact you can make on other people. And even if none of those things happen, you still have a convenient and fun way to get your feelings out and keep them documented so that you can look back later. I think that is the best part of an online blog or journal, because it is saved for you and they say that writing and getting your feelings out can be great medicine and a way to clear your head.
Blogs
A lot of my friends have blogs. One of them is studying abroad and really doesn't have time (or money) to talk to everyone on the phone everyday and so having a blog is a way for her to write (and keep documented) her experiences down for everyone to read about and people can make comments and she can also post pictures of her trip for us to see. This way we can catch up and keep in touch and still see and hear about each others lives while we are miles and miles apart from each other (although she did have to go through several blog hosting sites in order to find one that could hold all of the data she was entering but she did!).
Another one of my friends uses his blog to talk about the computer class he is teaching and one that he is taking as well (he even specializes in talk about blogs and choosing a good web hosting company for it). I have heard a lot about teachers having their students keep blogs for an assignment or a project. My botany teacher assigned us extra credit to keep a blog on our universities web hosting service. We had to plant a seed and keep it growing through out the semester (which is really hard especially for me) and then we had to answers questions on the blog that the teacher had posted and basically make a blog entry every few days or so to keep track of our progress. And then at the end of the semester the teacher could just go online and check that we did it and have been doing it throughout the semester since it has the date and time stamped on it and we could get credit.
It is amazing to see how far blogs have come. From advertising to keeping in tough to journaling and getting out your emotions and getting extra credit for class, almost everyone will be blogging soon. It is just so interesting to see just how far we have come with technology as a society as a whole. We are using computers and the internet for just about everything that we do like shopping, keeping in touch and even banking. So I am eager to see how many people (including our grandparents even) will be blogging in the next few years.
CUTTING THROUGH THE WEB HOSTING MUMBO JUMBO
Why is it that there are just certain professions that enjoy talking over everyone else's head? You know what I mean, you have the doctor's and their whole you have Allergic Dermatitis which just means a rash do to an allergy and best yet, there is no diagnosis, because if they tell you that then they don't know where you got it or why. Lawyers, auto mechanics, and so forth, they all do it. They speak their own language, and I am not sure whether this is meant to make us feel dumb, or to make sure that they can take full advantage of our lack of knowledge and take us for top dollar on their services.
Well, now there is another one of these professions that have learned to this a lot and this is the computer industry. Seemingly speaking a language that only they understand, the lingo is actually way more complicated than the things that it describes and explains. I really came across this problem when I was looking for a web host for my internet site. I know a little about the internet, however I started looking at web hosting services on the web, and my head began to spin right off. Who knew that there were so many foreign terms involve in making a web hosting choice, well certainly I wouldn't have imagined this to be so complicated.
Let me break down for you into human terms what I found out:
BANDWIDTH - Very simply this is the amount of room on the server for your traffic, for instance, the amount of views, visitors, pages of your site all get factored into this traffic amount. CNN's home page is about 200 KB, while Yahoo's home page is about 70KB, just to give you an idea of bandwidths.
ACCESSIBILITY & RELIABILITY - These two terms are most commonly used together to say how easy it will be to get on your site. 99% or higher is about where they should be.
PHP AND PERL - Just two different types of computer lingo for programming things.
A lot of times you will come across information that you don't understand online, but you need to make sure that just like when you were in grade school if you are reading something and you don't understand look it up. You may find it makes sense after all.
CHOOSING THE RIGHT BED FOR YOU
Choosing the right bed can really make all the difference in the night's sleep you are getting. Sure everyone wants something that will look nice, but it also must be functional, as getting rest is probably one of the most important things that you do each day. You must find a mattress that is firm, but not too hard. Some people like a really soft mattress, however these many times do not provide you with enough support and that can effect the type of sleep you are getting. Making this choice, can be difficult. After all, they let you lay on a mattress before buying it, however no matter how many beds you try, you can't always be sure that you are making the right choice, until you actually get it home and really begin sleeping on it.
For this reason, I love some of the money back guarantees that they offer on television, however these beds are a lot more money then you will pay if you are going into a retail or discount shop. That is why it is important to look for a moderately priced mattress and one that if it doesn't hold up for at least a year or two, that you can get a refund or at the very least a credit towards another mattress.
There are two basic types of beds the innerspring mattress and the memory foam mattress. Neither is really better, it is just a matter or personal preference. The innerspring mattresses tend to be more firm whereas the foam ones provide a little less firm of a feeling, but tend to provide a more even support throughout. You many need to really shop around for the mattress that is right for you as choosing a bed is not only an important decision, but perhaps one of the most difficult ones to make because you really only know after sleeping a few full nights on it, whether or not it is right for you.
It is also important that when you are replacing your memory foam mattresses that you choose to replace your box spring as well. Many people think that replacing your box spring is an unnecessary thing to do, however your boxspring can effect significantly not only the type of night's sleep you are getting, but also the amount of support that your mattress is getting. If there is a weakness in your existing box spring, and you opt just to replace your mattress, you may find that your mattress begins to sag in certain areas. This can significantly decrease the function of a really good new mattress.