Sunday, May 5, 2013

Documenting my life on Twitter

Most of my posts on Twitter are to share weblinks to news articles. But occasionally I’ll tweet something personal or make a pithy observation.
In April 2011, I compiled a sampling of the latter from my first two years on Twitter. I wanted to see what parts of my life I was documenting on Twitter. With this post, I’ll cover the next two years of my Twitter posts.
Many of the personal posts included photos, but I won’t run those here.

Living in Connecticut 

Rainy day in CT, so took the family to see “Rio.” The kids liked it and that’s all that matters. $36 for 4 tickets, $20 for concessions. (April 16, 2011)

At New Canaan, CT, library to hear ESPN and ABC Sports President George Bodenheimer speak. (May 1, 2011)

Just plucked two ticks off my daughter. The scourge of Connecticut ticks continues. (May 14, 2011)

Moving to Virginia 

Stopped to see the Liberty Bell on the drive from Conn. to Va. Beautiful day in Philly. (Aug. 19, 2011)

Seeing Tysons Corner, McLean and Vienna, Va., for the 1st time in 12 yrs. I hardly recognized the area where I used to live. (Aug. 19, 2011)

Moving into new house in Vienna, Va., today. As usual, I think we have too much stuff. (Aug. 23, 2011)

5.9 magnitude earthquake in Va. Typical overreaction in DC. (Aug. 23, 2011)

Vintage Chicago Bears glasses survive another move. If only the team were as tough. (Aug. 27, 2011)

Glad I’m not in New Canaan, CT, now. 70% of village without power, many roads closed. Been there, done that too many times. (Aug. 28, 2011)

Living in Virginia 

Just visited Great Falls National Dog Park ... or that’s what it should be called. (Sept. 11, 2011)

Praying mantis in our front yard in Vienna, Va. (Sept. 20, 2011)

Heavy rain in Vienna, Va., this afternoon. Our backyard is flooding again. (Oct. 13, 2011)

Glad I’m not living in New Canaan, CT, anymore. 42% of homes without power from snowstorm. (Oct. 30, 2011)

Vultures chow down on dead deer near my kids’ school in Vienna, Va., today. Omen? Metaphor? Maybe. Circle of life? Yes. (Nov. 4, 2011)

Had wood-fired pizza from Monaco Pizza Deli in Great Falls, VA, tonight. Yum. (Dec. 30, 2011)

Just picked up this turtle in the street in front of our house in Vienna, Va. I let him go in the woods near a stream. (May 2, 2012)

Went for walk this evening in Colvin Run Mill Park in Vienna, Va. Lots of venison on the hoof. Happy hunting. (Sept. 7, 2012)

Double rainbow in Great Falls, Va., right now. What does it mean? (Sept. 22, 2012)

Hiking Difficult Run Trail at the Potomac River. (Nov. 4, 2012)

Travel 

At the 2011 U.S. Pole Dance Championship in NYC. Looking forward to some great performances. It’s a real sport, folks. (April 29, 2011)

Watching the annual buffalo roundup at Custer State Park in South Dakota today. (Sept. 26, 2011)

Washington Dulles airport IAD is the most inconvenient airport. Lines for boarding passes, TSA and subway tram. Long way to gates. (June 3, 2012)

Back in LA. At In N Out Burger. (June 3, 2012)

Delightfully retro Jerry’s Motel in L.A. has a bottle opener on the bathroom door frame. (June 5, 2012)

View of the 405 and 105 from my hotel room in Inglewood, CA. Classy. (June 7, 2012)

Back in Chicago. Millennium Park. (June 22, 2012)

Free symphonic concert at Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago (June 22, 2012)

Beautiful summer day in Chicago. At Cloudgate, aka The Bean, in Millennium Park before interview. (June 22, 2012)

At Pier 57 in New York City for Windows 8 launch. (Oct. 25, 2012)

Depressing trip to NYC. Bad economy on display. Saw long food line outside church, job line, panhandlers, garbage pickers looking for cans. (Oct. 25, 2012)

At Fighting Illini basketball game at United Center in Chicago. Illinois vs. Auburn. (Dec. 29, 2012)


My kids and family activities 

My 8-year-old son listening to Rihanna’s song “Cheers (Drink To That)”: “Why are so many songs about drinking alcohol?” (Aug. 16, 2011)

Carved Finn from Adventure Time for my jack-o-lantern this year. “I’m all about stupid!” (Oct. 31, 2011)

Time for some post-Halloween pumpkin smashing! (Nov. 5, 2011)

My son finds a giant waffle fry at Chick-Fil-A. (Jan. 21, 2012)

At 3rd grade Famous American Biography Bash, two white kids in blackface as Frederick Douglass and Thurgood Marshall. Glad it wasn’t my son. (Jan. 27, 2012)

At 3rd grade Famous American Biography Bash. Just witnessed two Ben Franklins have a paper sword fight. Historically accurate. (Jan. 27, 2012)

Watching guilty-pleasure “Finding Bigfoot.” My son, 8, calls it “Not Finding Bigfoot.” My daughter, 6, jokes “Finding Unicorns” is next. (Feb. 20, 2012)

Spending the day riding zip lines, climbing trees, rope ladders, etc., at Adventure Park, Sandy Spring, Md. (April 7, 2012)

At the Orioles-Nationals game in D.C. with my son and father-in-law. (May 20, 2012)

At the Nationals-Yankees game. Yankees up 4-1 in the 7th. (June 15, 2012)

5-cent hot dog and peanut night at Nationals Park. Nats up 1-0 over Giants, top of the 3rd inning. (July 5, 2012)

Nationals finish 3-game sweep of the Giants in exciting fashion. And I got to meet Teddy. (July 5, 2012)

Daddy-daughter day out at Katy Perry movie. (July 7, 2012)

Waterfall in Scott’s Run Nature Preserve in McLean, Va., that empties into the Potomac River. (July 15, 2012)

At the Nationals-Marlins game with the kids. (Aug. 4, 2012)

Exciting Nats victory tonight. Plus, my daughter and I got on the Jumbotron for our enthusiastic cheering. (Aug. 4, 2012)

On a hike in Reston, Va., daughter spotted this stick insect. (Aug. 11, 2012)

Can’t find the Olympics on TV. The History Channel is on instead. #NBCFail (Aug. 11, 2012)

“Come on. Where are the Olympics?,” my 6-year-old said just now. #NBCFail (Aug. 11, 2012)

At rain-delayed Nationals game with the kids. It’s my fifth game this season. (Aug. 19, 2012)

My kids are addicted to Minecraft. It could be worse. They could be really into Mein Kampf. (Sept. 16, 2012)

Just watched the International Space Station fly over our house in Vienna, Va. (Oct. 11, 2012)

Trick-or-treaters are digging my Minecraft T-shirt. I’m hip to what the youngsters are into. (Oct. 31, 2012)

Enjoying Christmas Eve tradition - watching “Love Actually.” (Dec. 24, 2012)

Bought a Toshiba laptop for my 9-year-old son for Christmas. Windows 8 user interface is a nightmare. Different is not necessarily better. (Dec. 25, 2012)

My son asked why his new laptop couldn’t be easy to use like the family desktop computer, a Windows 7 machine. (Dec. 25, 2012)

My son, 9, just said the Windows 8 desktop looks like “that leukemia phone.” He meant the Lumia from Nokia. That explains the poor sales. (Dec. 25, 2012)

Cool, SR-71 Blackbird at National Air and Space Museum annex in Chantilly, Va., today. (Feb. 18, 2013)

Space Shuttle Discovery at National Air and Space Museum’s Udvar-Hazy Center today. (Feb. 18, 2013)

Spent afternoon with the kids at National Air and Space Museum’s Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. (Feb. 18, 2013)

Were my daughter’s Littlest Pet Shop toys made in China’s littlest sweatshop? (March 16, 2013)

Saw “Oz” with daughter. James Franco miscast, but still enjoyed. #oz (March 17, 2013)


2012 presidential race 

Romney is beating Obama in one area at tonight’s debate: He’s wearing a much bigger U.S. flag pin. (Oct. 3, 2012)

My 9-year-old son and I shook hands with President Obama. (Oct. 19, 2012)

Obama podium on football field’s 5-yard line. Metaphor? Goal line stand or in the red zone? (Oct. 19, 2012)

In long line to see Mitt Romney speak at GMU. Hope I make it in. (Nov. 5, 2012)

Huge crowd for Mitt Romney at GMU in Fairfax, Va., today. He’ll fill the Patriot Center easily. Seats 10,000. (Nov. 5, 2012)

Didn’t make it inside venue. Too cold to stand outside for overflow. (Nov. 5, 2012)

Should have listened to my son who didn’t want to go to Romney event. “If you don’t have VIP tickets, why bother?” he said. So true. (Nov. 5, 2012)

My vote in Virginia will not matter. All I did was cancel out my wife’s vote. (Nov. 6, 2012)

Concerts 

In NYC waiting for Kylie Minogue concert to start. Love her. (May 4, 2011)

At the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show tonight in NYC. Airs Nov. 29 on CBS. (Nov. 9, 2011)

Great musical performances at the 2011 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show: Maroon 5, Kanye West ... But no Cee Lo Green as billed. His loss. (Nov. 9, 2011)

Nicki Minaj filled in for absent Cee Lo Green at #VSFashionShow. Good replacement. Surprise performance by Jay Z with Kanye. Great stuff. (Nov. 9, 2011)

Seeing 78-year-old Frankie Valli at Wolf Trap. It was my father-in-law’s idea. (Aug. 23, 2012)

Well done, Qualcomm. That’s how you do a CES keynote. Newsy, interesting and entertaining. Loved the acoustic Maroon 5 capper. #2013CES (Jan. 7, 2013)

Looking forward to seeing Alicia Keys at Monster event at CES 2013 in Las Vegas. (Jan. 9, 2013)

At Rihanna concert in DC. Hope she shows up on time. (April 29, 2013)

That Rihanna is a great performer, and one sexy lady. (April 30, 2013)

We had good seats for Rihanna concert, but my iPhone 4 takes lousy photos. (April 30, 2013)

Great Rihanna show at Verizon Center. Loud though. My old ears are still ringing. (April 30, 2013)

Comments on media and pop culture 

I just killed a fly with a rolled-up newspaper. You can’t do that with a webpage. Suck it, Internet! (May 5, 2011)

OMG! The McRib is back at McDonalds! (Oct. 22, 2011)

Is Rihanna in every hit song on the radio these days? Sure seems that way. (Oct. 26, 2011)

If true love like Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries can’t last, what hope is there for the rest of us? (Oct. 31, 2011)

In “Give Me All Your Lovin’,” Madonna sings that she’s “a different kind of girl.” Yeah, a 53-year-old who still thinks she’s a girl. (Feb. 16, 2012)

Tonight’s Oscars are going to be huge. A black-and-white, silent film with two French leads is set to win. America will love that, right? (Feb. 26, 2012)

I haven’t missed the Oscars in years, but will skip tonight’s show. Watching The Artist win Best Pic = boring. I’m probably not alone. (Feb. 26, 2012)

Majorly disappointed with David Fincher’s “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” The 2009 Swedish film adaptation was much better. (April 29, 2012)

Pope Benedict to quit Twitter after just 34 tweets. That would be my tech story (bury the lede) angle. @Pontifex (Feb. 11, 2013)

Super Bowl half-time shows 

Hey, Madonna, that opening staging was completely ripped off from Kylie Minogue. (Feb. 5, 2012)

The Cryptkeeper is totally lip synching her halftime show. (Feb. 5, 2012)

I prefer the Black Eyed Peas mistake-filled half time show to Madonna’s prerecorded crap. Terrible. (Feb. 5, 2012)

Super Bowl halftime show is thankless job. Everybody complains about. Beyonce gave it her all. (Feb. 3, 2013)

Beyonce is so much better with Destiny’s Child. Solo Super Bowl performance not so good. (Feb. 3, 2013)

Beyonce isn’t doing much singing, telling the Super Bowl crowd, “Sing it.” (Feb. 3, 2013)

Growing old 

I feel old. AARP wants me to be a member. (May 8, 2012)

Maybe I should join AARP after all. Free doughnuts (at Dunkin’ Donuts)! (June 17, 2012)

Dad gets a haircut at Liberty Barber Shop in Libertyville, IL. Shop hasn’t changed much in 40 years. (Dec. 29, 2012)

TV shows 

NBC cancels “Awake.” Too bad. I really liked that show. (May 11, 2012)

Watched the season finale of “Supernatural.” Terrific show. Great cliffhanger. (May 19, 2012)

Season 2 finale of “The Killing” was excellent; resolution of the Rosie Larsen murder worth the wait. #thekilling AMC should stop there. (June 17, 2012)

MTV was right. Cassadee Pope was indeed “a lock” to win “The Voice.” (Dec. 18, 2012)

Science Channel’s “How It’s Made” is hypnotic. Can’t stop watching. (Dec. 20, 2012)

#grammys Justin Timberlake should go back to acting. (Feb. 10, 2013)

#grammys Ellen Degeneres so wants to kiss Beyonce. (Feb. 10, 2013)

I love Rihanna. So talented. So beautiful. #Grammys (Feb. 10, 2013)

#Grammys I wanna party with Kelly Clarkson. (Feb. 10, 2013)


Photos (from top): My son with VIP tickets to see President Obama speak on Oct. 19, 2012; my daughter and I at a Washington Nationals game on Aug. 19, 2012; Adventure Time jack-o-lantern from Halloween 2011; and a box turtle I found at our home in Vienna, Va., on May 2, 2012.

No comments: