Why Google needs to learn how to share

I am enjoying a free download of Bob Marley's song Could You Be Loved thanks to Google Play as I write this.  A free song! So why would I complain about Google? Well, not so much a complaint as a suggestion.

I thought I would share the free song offer with friends on Facebook. So I clicked "Share" on Google Play. The only sharing option there was Google Plus.

Google Play is trying to promote by using the free downloads, but they're really missing the boat by being so resistant to Facebook. Granted, they and we may have some reasons to dislike Facebook. But if Google Play customers use Facebook, why not glean some business to Google Play via Facebook if you can?

It's called the Internet. Inter-NET. Inter-WEB. It is all interlinking. Send some web traffic away, some web traffic is going to bounce back to you.

People like to share and they will share through several sources if they are given the opportunity. It's to Google's benefit, but it also benefits the users of the site, because as I said, people like to share.

By being so closed in and resistant, Google is not acting like a modern company at all.

Below, you'll see a link to share this on Google+.
This blog is brought to you by the folks at Google, as Blogspot is a Google product.
I also use Gmail.

Thank you, Google for the good products. I don't mind sharing that I like you most of the time.
Now, give back :)

Dear God

Dear God,

If I am this thankful for a hot shower and chips and salsa, imagine how thankful I would be for a million dollars. But the shower and the snack are enough. The rest was just a hint, a gift-giving idea if you will.

Amen.

What do you dread to clean?

You'd think cleaning the toilet (in a house with 2 young boys who can't aim to save their lives) would be my toughie. But no. It's the fridge for me.

It's because I hate all the moldy, nasty, what-the-heck-WAS-it situations. Definitely it gets gross (because I procrastinate about it.)

The other aspect is the guilt. Guilt? Yes, the guilt. The guilt over the wasted food. So many good intentions. So many vegetables. Why did I buy so many vegetables anyway? Who am I trying to impress here?!? A whole unopened package of spinach??Come on!  I knew when I bought that I wasn't going to eat it. Derp!

The "secret" to cleaning out the fridge is to assign a regular day for it. Because the trashman picks up on Friday mornings, my DADD (Dump Anything Dead Day) is Thursday. If anything I dump is extremely heinous, then it can be frozen and then put out late that night. Frozen is great, because it keeps the smell (and the neighborhood dogs that like to get into trash cans) at bay.

If cleaning out the fridge isn't your challenging area, feel free to feel smug about it.

Take the poll and see how your least favorite cleaning chores compare.

An Artist's Stress Dream

Last night, I dreamed that Sacha Baron-Cohen (of Borat fame) and his wife were at my house & wanted to look at artwork I've done, as they were considering hiring me to do some art for them.

All heck broke loose at my house. The kids were all fighting, phone was ringing, pipes were leaking, and when we all went outside, large sinkholes started forming in my front yard.

I finally had to fess up to the guests that I didn't have anything under control and that perhaps (!!!) now wasn't the BEST time.

As he looked through my art portfolio, Sacha Baron Cohen of my dream crumpled the paper of some of my artwork and HE thought this was absolutely hilarious. I remember I was very peeved at him but he was so sweet and apologetic that it was all for the sake of humor that I forgave him.

This was obviously a stress dream, but it's fun to think about it now. I have no idea why Baron-Cohen was in my dream or why he left his British accent at home.

Blick Art Supplies Deal

Nice deal from Dick Blick Art Supplies! $160 seems like a big order, but it's really not since it doesn't take a lot of items to reach that -- art supplies aren't cheap. I also sometimes order ahead of my need for things, to be able to save overall. If you decide to order anything, I make a commission, so thanks in advance!

Sassy birds

Wild birds have a lot of personality -- especially when they want their seed breakfast and they think you are holding out on them.

I’ve always meant to get a real bird feeder. We just scatter a few seeds out every morning. There's been a lot of bird activity — actually , the birds have begun to expect the hand-out.

The main seed beggars I have are Cardinals. Many mornings, I hear the persistent rhythmic “chirp -- chirp” of a gorgeous red male Cardinal on our porch. This morning, it was a brown female Cardinal who asked, nay —demanded seeds. She was very sassy indeed! It almost sounded like she was cussing! I almost expected her to pull a jack-knife out from beneath her wing. She got her seeds because frankly, we live in fear of her.

The squirrels are regular visitors after the birds. Someday, I really do mean to buy a really nice bird feeder. A word of caution though -- If you don’t place the bird feeder the correct distance from trees and buildings or high enough off the ground, it can become a combination bird feeder/cat feeder.

Attracting birds to the yard provided an unexpected benefit 2 years ago, when a type of grub worm called Armyworms invaded Snellville lawns and gobbled them up. My yard made it through the infestation fairly well — I think because birds were used to eating here. They ate a lot of the worms. All through the year, birds help you with pest control because they feed live insects to their young. I enjoy watching them and just think they’re pretty. I've been surprised by how much personality they have, and how they're not afraid to show it.

Watch a pencil portrait being drawn

A pencil portrait artist showing some work on YouTube. There are things the artist does that should be noted. The piece of paper under the hand keeps the graphite from being smeared as well as protecting the paper from absorbing oil from the artist's skin.

The artist uses a mechanical pencil. You may want to use a mechanical pencil for fine details like eyes and eyelashes, but for the entire portrait using mechanical pencil takes way too long. You'll notice that the artist switches to a regular art pencil later. I also prefer Tombow Mono pencils because of the rich graphite content that mechanical pencil leads just do not have.