Sarah Goes on and on About Her E-Mail

Thank you to Yahoo! Mail for sponsoring this post about staying connected. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

* * *

This is my second post about about how an e-mail has affected my life and I am having a heck of a time picking just one thing. I easily get 100 e-mails every single day. How has e-mail not changed my life? I now work from home. I could never do what I do for a living if it weren't for e-mail. I suppose I could still do some freelance writing but I could never sell swag. My artists live in Boulder. It would take weeks to get anything accomplished.

But how do you pick one?

I can think of a handful of e-mails that I got that made me geek out that were actually twitter notifications (a response from Warren Sapp, being followed back by Yoko Ono, being randomly followed by Eric B. from Eric B. and Rakim) but twitter notifications don't really count.

I can think of e-mail that were comment notifications (one time Nancy Lieberman commented on a post I wrote about her on BlogHer) or friend requests on Facebook or myspace (two long lost friends from high school on myspace alone) but those don't really count.

I was going to write about the time Erin asked me if I could go with her to see Duran Duran, but then I remembered that it wasn't an e-mail, it was an IM. I thought about lying and saying it was an e-mail, but if I have been honest here since 2005 it seems wasteful to start lying to you about that.

I could write about the first picture I saw of friend's babies. I could write about job offers or really cool sponsorships. I could write about being invited to have one of my pieces published in Mothers of Intention.

How do I choose just one e-mail?

I can't.

I mean, I already wrote about the e-mail from John Flansburgh. (Am I getting creepy about that? I'm getting weird, aren't I?)

I can't imagine living without e-mail. I spend probably too much time thinking about how different life would be if we had the technology we have now in high school. I love technology. I am an obsessive e-mail checker and I am okay with that. I have had e-mails that made me cry, e-mails that made me jump up and down like a little girl and hundreds of e-mail that made me laugh, and those are the ones I am the most grateful for.

Sarah Reviews Net Nanny

I had heard of Net Nanny. I even had a lap top for the kids once where it came pre-installed, but as so often happens when you are me, I didn't really know how to use it so I forgot all about it.

Yes, I am over here being ashamed.

But good news! I figured it out! And just in time, really.

As my children become more literate and more computer savvy, and also because they have computer lab at school as well as friends who unsupervised will watch hours of the Annoying Orange on youtube I think that it is time for something like this.

Now, I don't want you to think that I generally let my seven year olds go online completely unsupervised, but I tend to get engrossed in writing posts or tied up on work phone calls and there is always a possibility that my kids will stumble upon something unintended.

Say for example (and this has happened to a friend of mine) my kids wanted to do a google search for their favorite sporting goods store - Dicks.

Exactly!

And we all know that a SpongeBob video on you tube is one click a way from a related video that might not be what Nickelodeon originally intended.

I am pretty liberal and I don't mind explaining distasteful things to my children. What I really worry about is 1) online predators, 2) them spending my money by downloading stupid stuff, 3) them downloading viruses or 4) them accidentally seeing something that scares the crap out of them.

I only checked a few boxes, but you really have a lot of options with Net Nanny.

I hope that is big enough for you to read, but if not you can block things like sex, religion, violence, auctions, social networking, racism, pay to surf, lingerie, chat, shopping, hacking, alcohol etc.

I love that you can personalize it.

I am fine with it if children choose to read about religion or racism as I am happy to talk about it with them later, but if they want to learn about hacking they are going to have to ask their uncle. I don't need two seven year old hackers living this close to the pentagon.

If your child (or you, if you forget to turn it off) stumbles upon a restricted site, they will get a very clear message and a redirect.

Easy peasy.

The other cool thing is that you can go back and see what your child was doing online.

My kids are pretty predictable, then again, they are seven and haven't yet really learned how to surf the internet.

Here is what it looks like when I am on.

Exactly.

Net Nanny is $39.99, but you can check out a free trial here for mac or here for a PC.

I am also giving away a few subscriptions, so leave a comment here and tell me why you want it and I will randomly choose the winners who I will then e-mail a code so please don't forget to leave me your e-mail address.

* * *

Disclaimer: I received a free subscription and compensation for this review, but these words and opinions are my own.

Sarah Reviews Karizmac Luminous

Thank you to Karizmac Luminous for sponsoring this review. For more information about Karizmac Luminous please visit http://www.karizmac.com/luminous.html.

* * *

Karizmac Luminos.

I know, when the Clever Girls first asked me to review it I thought I would be interviewing a psychic or escapologist (I did not make up that word. I found it on Harry Houdini's wikipedia entry.) The name also kind of sounds like a spell you would learn at Hogwarts, but it is neither human nor something from Harry Potter. It is an app and it turns out Karizmac is the maker and Luminos is the name of the app.

That clears up the first part.

So you are wondering what kind if app this is. This is from the website?

Still confused? Watch this video.

My experience was pretty much like the video.

It was all

and I was all

and it was all

Then it was all

and I was all

and it was - You are like Miss Piggy.

Then I was all "I am NOT like MIss Piggy. I think this thing just called me fat."

But I'm sure it didn't mean I was a pig. I mean, really, Miss Piggy isn't even fat. She is kind of glamorous in a really irritating way. When it comes down to Muppets I've always identified more with Janice - or Animal.

Seriously, you could at least pretend to be surprised.

Whatever - then Luminous said I was like Princess Leia Organa so I forgave it, because I AM like Princess Leia, especially if that means I am not wearing a bra and I want to make out with Harrison Ford.

Again, I've said too much.

Would you like to see my personal Charisma Map?

Yeah, I'm not exactly sure what it means, but it would appear that I am much more accepting than I am reasonable and that sounds about right.

Anyway, you can find out which famous women you are like too. They have a free app and a paid app. The paid app is only $ 1.99 - cheap - and you can get it for your iPhone or iPad at the app store.

Did I mention I just got an iPad? Feel free to believe the hype. It is as awesome as you have heard.

Check it out. I played it like six times and I got compared to Dorothy Hammil, Anna Kournakova, Ayla from Clan of the Cave Bear, Judy Blume, Brooke Sheilds, Susan Boyle, Mary J Blige, Dana Torres, Angelina Jolie and Edith Bunker.

Who are you like?

* * *

While Karizmac Luminous provided me with the app to review, the opinions I've expressed here are solely my own and represent my honest viewpoint. Karizmac Luminous, Clever Girls Collective and I promote Blog With Integrity.

Sarah Loves Her E-Mail

Thank you to Yahoo! Mail for sponsoring this post about staying connected. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

* * *

I was in a pissy mood. It was hot. It was loud. Twitter was down. My husband was late.

I hate back to school night. I like it when my kids go to school, but the idea of every single student bringing both parents (or both sets of parents in some cases) to the elementary school for the same two hours is painful. Our elementary school is huge. I think there are eight different kindergarten classes. There must have been 1100 people in the gym/auditorium, half of them were 12 or younger and everything was echoing.

Also I think I was getting a migraine.

I kept checking my e-mail on my phone to see where my husband was. It was 6:00 pm and D.C. traffic is brutal. I was really hoping he wouldn't miss the entire presentation.



I stared at the latest e-mail.

It was from John Flansburgh.

Clearly I was seeing spots. John Flansburgh? Could there be two of them? Could They Might Be Giants be e-mailing me?

Blogging has allowed me some brushes with fame. Nancy Lieberman commented on a post I wrote about her on BlogHer.com. Warren Sapp atted (I don't know, how would YOU spell it?) me on twitter once, but an e-mail from John Flansburgh? That was new. His PR people, sure, but him personally?

I showed my phone to my neighbor.

"Isn't John Flansburgh the guy from They Might Be Giants?" I asked her.

She looked at me like I was crazy.

I don't think she ever even heard of the band. Then again, she actually likes Katy Perry, so I'm not sure what I was expecting.

I got brave and looked at the e-mail.

It was absolutely from that John. They Might Be Giants were putting on a free show in DC that week. It was for kids and they were hoping some of the local parent bloggers would spread the word.

The e-mail itself wasn't terribly glamorous, but I had received an e-mail from one of my musical idols and it made the rest of the night bearable. Even the PTA skit.

I use e-mail every day. A lot. I could not work or keep up with my family or talk to my friends without it. I can't imagine how we communicated before this. Phone calls? Yikes. I don't miss that. Sure, I've had more pressing e-mails and I've had more meaningful e-mails but I've only received one e-mail from a bona fide rock star. I'm glad Yahoo! gave me an opportunity to tell the story.

* * *

alue="http://www.youtube.com/v/h9PNoJuP-mk?version=3&hl=en_US">

Sarah Reviews Cube Dog

Thank you to Cube Dog for sponsoring this review. For more information about Cube Dog please visit the Facebook page or download it on iTunes.

* * *

When the Clever Girls asked me to review an app for my iPhone I was psyched. I love my iPhone and I love apps. I probably have 60 or 70 of them on my phone. Sure, I mostly use the Kindle, Monopoly, weather and solitaire apps, but I love the others anyway.

But for today we will just be discussing Cube Dog. What is Cube Dog? Cube Dog is this:




Adorable, right?

So I went on to iTunes and downloaded the free Cube Dog app.

First I made a medium gray dog with floppy ears. He was adorable. I named him Flash. I wasn't sure what to do with Flash, so I took a picture of him with my kids.

Then with my computer.

Then with my cat.

Sid was not amused.

Then I wasn't really sure what to do.

So I made a small reddish dog and named him Danzig.

What? Danzig is named after a fish I used to have.*

I wasn't really sure what to do with him either.

Then I turned on the sound.

Cube Dog is FAR more interesting when you turn on the sound. I made Danzig play with a ball and take a nap. He called me on his iPhone.

He's so cute. My real pets don't even have cellular devices.

The gist of Cube Dog is that you can create your own 3D virtual pet that looks however you want him or her to look and you can play with them.

I thought the thing was passively cute, but when I was putting together this post my son saw the video and begged me to let him make his own Cube Dog.

He named his Cubey.

My seven year old son made it play with a ball and fetch things and Cubey's eyes turned in to hearts. He played with his Cube Dog for 40 minutes. It probably would have kept him entertained for even longer but I had to make a phone call.

This is a great way to kips kids entertained in waiting rooms or at restaurants. (Yes, I am that mom.)

There is also a store where you can buy more things for your Cube Dog, but I didn't really check it out.

Don't forget to keep an eye out for the Cube Dog facebook contest between June 13 - 17th!

* * *

While Cube Dog provided me with the app to review, the opinions I've expressed here are solely my own and represent my honest viewpoint. Cube Dog, Clever Girls Collective and I promote Blog With Integrity.

* * *

* The fish was named after Glen Danzig.

Safe Kids U.S.A.

If there is one thing that pretty much every parent can agree on (I can't speak for Evel Knievil) it is that we want our children to be safe at all times.

It seems easy, right? Well, it seems easy until you become a parent. Then, holy crap! Everything is dangerous. The road! Riding bikes! Poisonous cleaners! Expired food! Poorly installed car seats! Was my crib just recalled?

Don't even get me started on bisphenol A in plastics.

Then your kids get older and there sports and skateboards and boyfriends and driving, and yeah, safety is complicated.

Luckily, there is help. Safe Kids U.S.A. is an amazing resource for parents.

Safe Kids USA is a nationwide network of organizations working to prevent unintentional childhood injury, the leading cause of death and disability for children ages 1 to 14. [They] educate families, provide safety devices to families in need and advocate for better laws to help keep children safe, healthy and out of the emergency room.

Safe Kids USA members:

• Teach families about child injury risks and prevention

• Encourage and conduct research on leading injury risks

• Evaluate solutions for injury risks

• Work to pass and improve child safety laws and regulations

• Provide lifesaving devices such as child safety seats, helmets and smoke alarms to families who need them

• Promote corporate leadership in child safety through effective and sustainable partnerships

The organization is wonderful. The website has safety tips by region, age or risk area. There are sections for parents, educators, media and safety professionals.

This is some good stuff, people. This group is very serious about injury prevention.

Ben Franklin knew what he was he was talking about when he said "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

As a sports writer and a parent of two t-ball players, I am a huge stickler for sports safety. I have written about far too many concussions to be lax about sports safety. I know a lot of parents just freak out and won't let their child near a football field or a hockey rink, but we know tricks that can help children be safe - yes, even playing football.

Hydration - this is no joke, especially in warmer months. Proper hydration keeps a lot of other body functions working properly.

Preparation / Concussion Awareness - as with anything being knowledgeable and ready for a situation gives a person a distinct advantage if an emergency arises. Teach the children what to look out for and they will be ready.

Acute and Overuse Injury Prevention - Tennis elbow, tendinitis, shin splints - we know these things exist. Now how do we stop them from happening? We have ways.

If you want to know more, please join Safe Kids U.S.A for a livestreaming webcast on their facebook page May 2, at 12 PM EST. The chat will be hosted by some really smart doctors and Steve Young. Yes, that Steve Young.

STEVE YOUNG!

Oh yeah, former Bucs in all caps here.

What, you want to know about the doctors too?

Mr. Young will be joined by Dr. Angela Mickalide, CHES, Director of Research and Programs, Safe Kids Worldwide, Dr. Douglas Casa, Director of Athletic Training Education, University of Connecticut and Dr. Gerard Gioia, Chief, Division of Pediatric Neuropsychology and Safe Concussion Outcome, Recovery & Education (SCORE) Program at Children's National Medical Center.

Not too shabby.

Again, May 2, noon EST, Steve Young, Safe Kids U.S.A. Facebook Page.

Any questions?

* * *

This post was written as part of a compensated partnership with Safe Kids U.S.A.

Sarah Loves Mark Romanek Videos

I'm not a director or even a film student, but I know what I like and I like music videos that are directed by Mark Romanek.

This post has nothing to do with anything, but please enjoy.

Hurt - Johnny Cash







The Perfect Drug - Nine Inch Nails



99 Problems - Jay-Z




Novocaine for the Soul - The Eels