#trending

allcreatures: Photographer Linden Gledhill used a home-made...

erinchapin — Sat, 18 May 2013 08:05:00 -0400

Photographer Linden Gledhill used a home-made contraption to photograph this ladybird in flight in his garden in Pennsylvania

Picture: LINDEN GLEDHILL / CATERS (via Pictures of the day: 14 May 2013 - Telegraph)

Incredible shot!

Donating time at Beardsley Community Farm

erinchapin — Sat, 11 May 2013 19:45:47 -0400

My column this past Sunday was on apps which can lead you to volunteering opportunities in your area. Granted, it wasn’t a very sexy piece, but from time to time I try to show people how technology actually can put you back in touch with some basics in life: learning a craft, planning your meals and now helping your community. I promised (to the three people who read it) to post an update here on my experience.

Short version: It was fun, educational and I worked muscles I had forgotten about.

Matt Callo, volunteer coordinator for the community farm, said they average about 1-2 volunteers per week from VolunteerMatch which has both an online and iPhone presence. The day I was there, one of the local Montessori schools helped out through the lunch hour and three other adult volunteers (aside from myself) were there for most of the day.

Duties included weeding and harvesting various beds - some of which were slightly flooded due to the heavy rainfall Knoxville had seen in the preceding days. Since I wore my Wellies, the wet beds were mine.

The most strenuous task was separating raspberry bushes so they would have room to grow. The beds were packed with plants that we had to dig out - trying to preserve the roots so some could be potted and given away or donated. While my shoe choice helped me out in the flooded beds, I quickly learned they were not the right choice for spade work.

If you’ve a mind to get your hands dirty and do some good work for a great cause, contact Beardsley Community Farm and tell them you’d like to donate some time. You won’t be sorry!

WORD THUG: HOW I DEBATED AMERICA'S MOST CONTROVERSIAL SENATOR

rachel-wise — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 19:34:40 -0400

WORD THUG: HOW I DEBATED AMERICA'S MOST CONTROVERSIAL SENATOR:

wordthug:

The reviews are in for The Don’t Say Debate, Debate. Some good. Some bad. Although the bad was from the Nashville Scene who wasn’t even at the debate. Instead they lazily added a question mark to their headline (Very Fox News-ish of them) followed by cherry-picking quotes from other…

Comedian J. LaLonde explains how he organized the “Don’t Say Debate” against Sen. Stacey Campfield.

“If I can do it from a park bench on an iPhone, 1,000 miles away, imagine what you can do when you’re in his district.”

New viral blog gives plenty of "Reasons" to laugh

rachel-wise — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 14:52:00 -0400

The latest blog to go viral is one that sounds a lot less funny than it is.

I saw friends on Facebook linking to this Tumblr called “Reasons My Son Is Crying.”

By the name of it, I thought it must be some kind of parenting blog, which, frankly, sounded less than interesting to me. But the more and more links I saw, the more inclined I was to check it out.

I’m glad I did.

The blog doesn’t give an explicit explanation of what it is, but the entries make it pretty clear. The author posts photos of his toddler son crying in various scenarios, each seemingly more absurd than the last.

“I wouldn’t let him drown in this pond.” (My personal favorite.)

“I closed the refrigerator door.”

“I asked that he not wipe his muddy shoes off on my car seats.”

“It took me longer than 0 seconds to take his shirt off.”

The accompanying photos show the child crying over that particular event, which pulls at your heartstrings while simultaneously tickling your funny bone.

Maybe we shouldn’t be laughing at the fate of this teary-eyed youngster, but it’s just too hard not to.

Check it out here.

An alumna's perspective: FGCU has come a long way

rachel-wise — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 17:32:00 -0400

Whenever I’ve been asked where I attended college, my response is usually: “I went to a university in Southwest Florida.” The reason, of course, is that it’s much easier than explaining the details of a school almost no one has heard of.

But that’s all changed now.

On Tuesday, someone asked the same question. My answer? “I did my undergrad at Florida Gulf Coast University.”

“Wow. Congratulations,” he responded.

I’ve got to tell you, it felt good.

March Madness indeed

So, if you’re following what’s happening in college basketball, even peripherally, you’ve heard about the FGCU Eagles. In fact, unless you’ve been holed up without TV or Internet access, you have no doubt heard at least some of the buzz.

The Florida Gulf Coast men’s basketball team is the No. 15-seed that slam-dunked their way into the national spotlight after upsetting No. 2-seed Georgetown and taking down No. 7-seed San Diego State, becoming the first 15-seed to make it to the Sweet 16.

And did I mention Florida Gulf Coast is only in its second year of NCAA tournament eligibility? The school itself was founded in 1991 and didn’t hold its first class until 1997.

After their first upset, and then their second, the Internet seemed to burst at the seams with talk of FGCU. Headlines on every major news site; videos and memes.

*** Here’s a list I compiled of some of the best and most poignant quotations about FGCU. ***

I read dozens and dozens of articles on this Cinderella story come to life. I began collecting links and was overwhelmed by the magnitude.

FGCU felt the boom, too.

According to figures released by the school, FGCU.edu had 230,985 unique visitors on Monday, while FGCUAthletics.com had 117,113 unique visitors. A month earlier, those totals were 49,143 and 3,856, respectively.

The student bookstore saw a year-over-year increase of $28,550 (521 percent) in women’s apparel sales and $100,246 (686 percent) increase in men’s apparel sales for the period of March 1-25 (via Sports Illustrated).

#DunkCity

One of the biggest reasons FGCU became such a sensation was that the team was really fun to watch.

The New York Times described their style as “fun, fast paced, exciting, reckless, like a bunch of grown children coloring outside the lines. They became known for their 3-pointers and dunks, fast-break layups and defensive stops.

And then came Dunk City.

The phrase seemed to originate from the Georgetown game and helped put Fort Myers — now known to many as Dunk City — on the map. And as with many things, social media helped it spread like wildfire.

Florida Gulf Coast; FGCU; Dunk City. These were trending on Twitter and just about everywhere else you turned. The former no-name university now had several names, along with the interest and support of a nation.

The pandemonium

The Eagles’ historic success has spawned so much reaction. There have been music videos and celebrity tweets and FGCU apparel every which way.

But the best part of this buzz, to me and to many of my former classmates, is the attention on the university. It’s easy for people who have never heard of Florida Gulf Coast to dismiss it entirely, or — as I read on Twitter — to assume it’s only a school that people who couldn’t get into the University of Florida would attend. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

FGCU was a school that I carefully considered attending and a school that benefited me in myriad ways. I loved it from day one and was always proud of the foundation I was helping build. I helped transform student media on campus; I worked hard to leave it a better place than it was when I first got there. I was inducted into the Student Hall of Fame in 2009, and I couldn’t be prouder of my alma mater.

Alumni perspective

Jameson Yingling, a former classmate and fellow alum who served as student body vice president for two consecutive years, weighed in on all the madness. He currently lives in neighboring Estero, Fla., so he’s been able to witness the excitement first hand.

Jameson was also one of the student leaders who really pulled for Division I sports — and he was instrumental in helping bring DI sports to the university.

“People used to laugh when I told them where I went to school. It almost got snickers and smirks when they’d ask, ‘Where is that?’ I’d tell them, ‘You just haven’t heard of it yet, but it’s a really outstanding and dynamic school.

Honestly, anywhere you go, it’s all people are talking about. It’s something that was only a dream back then. We talked about the lack of campus spirit and pride. And for those of us in leadership roles, we wanted to cultivate that and make it grow. It’s incredible to see how athletics can do that.

It’s exciting to see how sports can transcend sports and become something greater than the game being played. It has potential to go beyond the game being played and beyond the athletes. It can bring people together — and it’s done that.”

Isaac Roman, another alum who served as student body president for one year, shared his thoughts. He currently lives in San Francisco, Calif., and was also very involved in bringing DI sports to FGCU.

“I’m still getting over the excitement of becoming a Divison I school.

I feel like we’re apart of (this success). At the time we were at FGCU, we were making the hard choices we had to make. We were working toward something, and it paid off in a big really big way. I’m proud of that.

I no longer have to explain to people what FGCU is. Every time I met a new person, I would have to go through an elevator speech of what FGCU is. I’d have to try to build up credibility in two minutes. This has allowed FGCU to speak for itself.

Now I can just say, ‘I’m from FGCU, Dunk City.’

I came to FGCU because I wanted to build something and be somewhere that was new and fresh and exciting and doesn’t have 100 years of history. There was so much potential to have an impact on my life and the community.

I’ve been literally coming home from work and sitting on my news feed just running through every story, liking every comment, commenting. I feel so connected, but in a way also very disconnected.”

The fairytale’s end

Sadly, our Cinderella story came to an end last night as the Florida Gators beat the FGCU Eagles 62-50.

Of course, we’re still proud of our team and grateful for the support we’ve seen pour in. It’s only just the beginning, and it’s exciting to think of what’s next for our burgeoning Southwest Florida university.

I think Andrea McCrary, my good friend and successor at the student newspaper I left behind when I graduated, put it best:

“You know what ‘winning’ is? Going to a university where students aren’t just numbers. I had such a great experience at FGCU because of the professors I had. Each of them inspired me, encouraged me, and pushed me to reach my full potential. … Congratulations to the men’s basketball team, all the athletic teams, the students, the professors, the faculty, and the administration that comprise one of the most unique and wonderful universities in the world.”

Hear, hear.

What everyone's saying about "American's favorite college basketball team"

rachel-wise — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 19:26:00 -0400

It’s my week to write a #trending column and, honestly, how could I write about ANYTHING other than Florida Gulf Coast University? Even if it hadn’t been my undergraduate alma mater (it was), this Cinderella story has captivated a nation, making FGCU — by many, many accounts — “American’s favorite college basketball team.”

It’s an incredible story, and one that makes me feel so proud to be an alumna. After reading article after article … after article … I began to glean just how special a story this really is.

Here are a selection of some of the most poignant quotations from the countless articles on this underdog sensation.

“This isn’t a Cinderella story. This is the ugly stepsisters, the ones no one knows the names of, winning the hearts of the prince.”
- ESPN

“But it’s not just that (they are the first 15-seed ever to be one of the top 16 college basketball teams in America). No, not at all. It’s the way FGCU has leapt and heel-clicked and chicken danced into America’s hearts. It’s the memories they’ve made during games with their above-the-rim aerials and their below-the-backboard antics. In a college sporting world of corporate fakery and soiled amateurism, FGCU stands for pure joy.”
- Yahoo! Sports

“I can’t remember an NCAA Tournament team delivering a louder message than Florida Gulf Coast University did during their two games in Philadelphia this weekend. It was pretty straightforward, too. Play like you don’t have a care in the world, and the world may soon care about you.”
- TIME

“They are more than just a Cinderella team this year; FGCU is a legitimately lovable underdog who wins in style and seems to have a blast doing it. If there’s any team to get behind this year, it’s the Eagles.”
- Bleacher Report

“If anything, FGCU played with more abandon and more athleticism Sunday even though a Sweet 16 berth was at stake. Instead of tensing up, they started loose and got looser as the game unfolded, playing basketball as if it were a jazz session, each player riffing off another.”
- Washington Post

“In four hours of basketball, Florida Gulf Coast has done what is nearly impossible in modern sports: It has awakened wonder among a populace addicted to snark and seemingly immune to joy. The Eagles — and surely their spectacularly unconventional coach — have shaken a sport turned stodgy by over-management, by refusing to apply brakes to their basketball or their words.”
- Sports Illustrated

“FGCU is an instant hysteria for our era of instant history: It took George Mason four rounds to become the national obsession that FGCU became in four days.”

“What stands out most about FGCU is the moxie. They play like they believe they should be running the other team off the court — regardless of the opponent. With most Cinderellas, you expect them to lose; with FGCU, you now expect them to win.”
- USA Today

“This is the story of an athletic, balls-to-the-wall team outclassing ‘better’ teams, and doing it with style. The Eagles win by running the break, attacking the rim, forcing turnovers, and never being afraid to throw alley-oops. Everything that’s fun about watching basketball, FGCU is designed to do.”
- Deadspin

“Even watching Florida Gulf Coast celebrate has become more enjoyable than switching to another game.”
-Esquire

Social media explodes with talk of Florida Gulf Coast

rachel-wise — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 23:00:00 -0400

End of an era

erinchapin — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 15:04:11 -0400

We lost a great one at knoxnews this week.

Jigsha Desai left our team to be the new Digital Director for Scripps at Naples Daily News in Naples, FL.

In typical Jigsha fashion, she left work on Wednesday evening and started driving to her new home where she began work today (Friday).

I’ve been blessed to be part of her team for almost eight years. In that time, she has taught me everything I know about the work that I do at the Sentinel and, more importantly, a great amount about people, friendships and strength.

This is the earliest photo I could find of the two of us together. We were attending a roast of a colleague in 2006. That’s Jigsha on the right.

If you follow the #trending column on knoxnews, you will find her final column this Sunday. Though she gave me permission to read it before she left, I couldn’t bear to do it.

Already, the office is a little dimmer.

But I look forward to hearing of the amazing new friendships she will make and interesting adventures she will have as she explores her new home.

We used to joke about giving something the “pinkie test.” It was how we referred to the corporate position on thinking outside the box. Don’t jump ALL the way out at once - just stick a pinkie out at first and test the air - then go right back in.

That’s not how Jigsha lives her life.

I know she’s already in Naples - on her first day - jumping in with both feet and leaning in with all her might.

Send well-wishes to @jigsha.

motherjones: thenewrepublic: House of Cads: The Psycho-Sexual...

erinchapin — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 11:07:59 -0500

motherjones:

thenewrepublic:

House of Cads: The Psycho-Sexual Ordeal of Reporting in Washington by Marin Cogan

Illustration by Kirsten Rothbart

Best thing we read this morning. Read this, y’all.

Interesting read.

laughingsquid: Futuristic MYO Armband Lets You Control Your...

erinchapin — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 20:25:32 -0500

laughingsquid:

Futuristic MYO Armband Lets You Control Your Computer With Gestures

Pretty incredible tech.

Bloomberg Mayors Challenge Finalist: Knoxville's Urban Food Corridor

erinchapin — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 17:15:00 -0500

Bloomberg Mayors Challenge Finalist: Knoxville's Urban Food Corridor:

If you’ve not seen it yet, you should take the time to look at the Bloomberg Mayors Challenge - of which Knoxville is a finalist.

The idea was for cities to find new, innovative solutions to national problems at the local level.

Knoxville, like many cities, has neighborhoods in our urban core that have been designated as “food deserts” - places with few local grocers, where food prices are often high and healthy food choices are narrow. Many of those neighborhoods also suffer blight from abandoned or neglected properties, and other symptoms of disinvestment.

In my view, that matrix of familiar problems presents an opportunity for innovation. Our proposal for the Bloomberg Mayors Challenge connects underused urban spaces with the need for good, local jobs and good, local food.

The idea for an Urban Food Corridor came from responses the City received when we asked local residents to submit their own ideas for Knoxville’s proposal. It offers an inventive, sustainable approach to several persistent challenges in our core neighborhoods.

Huffington Post is asking people to cast their votes for their favorite ideas. Remember that the winning city gets $5M to help implement the proposed plan.

On the road with Butch Jones...

erinchapin — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 13:51:31 -0500

evanwoodbery:

It was a busy Thursday following Tennessee’s football staff across the Volunteer State. Check out our datelined reports from Memphis (http://ow.ly/hxYhi), Nashville (http://ow.ly/hxPx6 ), and Knoxville (http://ow.ly/hxXKb)

Finding unbiased info on pre-abortion ultrasounds

erinchapin — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 12:44:00 -0500

It’s my turn for the #trending column this Sunday. In order to write a less impassioned but more informed piece, I did a TON of research earlier this week . I wanted to make everything I found available to readers who were interested as it wasn’t as easy as you might think to find information from both sides of the aisle on this hotbed issue.

First, I’ll give you a little taste of my column:

Monday, I learned via Twitter that state Sen. Jim Tracy, R-Shelbyville, proposed a bill mandating ultrasounds for women seeking to have an abortion. Many clinics already perform ultrasounds to gauge the gestational age of the fetus, but Tracy’s bill proposes a detailed ultrasound that, if the patient refuses to view, will be described to her in detail.

According to the Guttmacher Institute, as of Feb. 1, eight states have laws requiring women seeking an abortion to undergo an ultrasound, but what is the purpose? Proponents claim that women who can see and hear the fetus will refuse to go through with the procedure. This logic is often shrouded in the phrase “informed consent.” In that spirit, I sought to become as informed as possible.

It’s easy to find arguments that feed whichever rhetoric you choose to espouse. With automatic filters in major search engines, it is difficult to find balanced results from which one might truly become informed. Thankfully, I have DuckDuckGo to rely on — a search engine which doesn’t track or filter bubble.

— I started by reading the text of the bill itself and breaking down what each section of the bill meant.

— This article from The American Independent was one of the first resources I found. It led me to several of the following articles, studies and data.

— 1983 article in the “New England Journal of Medicine” by that anti-abortionists like to quote to “prove” that ultrasounds deter women from having abortions. The study spoke with two women whose ultimate response was “I believe it is human.”

— I was trying to find information on what year ultrasounds became a part of standard care in obstetrics and gynecology to see if there was any intrinsic value to the Fletcher and Evans paper of 1983. After a couple of hours searching, this was the closest I could find: NIH study from 1979 stating that they still don’t recommend routine use of ultrasounds.

— Jeanne Monahan wrote a (short) paper on ultrasound policy that looks staggeringly similar to many of the legislative movements over the last few years. Included in the footnotes of her report are studies, articles and other related links.

— If you’ve read my ramblings on Tumblr before, you’re aware of my obsession with infographics. This article from Remapping Debate had some good information on the legislative movement in 2012 to circumvent Roe v. Wade with laws such as the pre-abortion ultrasound. Included, was a colorful state-by-state infographic showing the varying strictness of abortion laws in our nation.

Using that graphic and the “Requirements for Utlrasound” document below, I studied other states which have enacted similar laws.

— I found several good resources at the Guttmacher Institute:

— The Washington Post did an article in 2010 on the abortion rates in countries with universal healthcare.

— Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health conducted a study that I very much wanted to read, but it was only offered for pay, so I had to settle for a summary and several slides in a PowerPoint presentation.

I found this study very interesting — it changed my mind in a small part of this issue.

— Finally, the Tennessean did a phenomenal project last year called “Abortion in Tennessee.” Extraordinary reporting.

WORD THUG: CAMPFIELD V. LALONDE - AN OPEN LETTER TO TN SEN. STACEY CAMPFIELD

erinchapin — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 16:35:22 -0500

WORD THUG: CAMPFIELD V. LALONDE - AN OPEN LETTER TO TN SEN. STACEY CAMPFIELD:

wordthug:

Dear Mr. Campfield (May I call you Stacey?),

Dear Stacey,

Since my initial challenge which you accepted, you have agreed upon a few specific guidelines, however, we have yet to agree upon a date, time, and many other parameters needed in order for this event to take place. The…

A debate for the ages. A battle of wits.

I am eager to see if this will actually happen. The online department has had it’s own issues in the past trying to get Sen. Campfield to agree to an interview.

If Mr. LaLonde can pull this off, I will be there with bells on … and a camera.

So you got 'catfished' and other dating hoaxes

rachel-wise — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 19:03:00 -0500

Ever since the 2010 documentary “Catfish” was released, I’ve been fascinated by this idea of elaborate Internet dating hoaxes. The notion that someone would dedicate so much time to building a fake life and extensive fake network of friends and family, and use it to deceive others — frankly, it blew my mind.

So when the Manti Te’o scandal came to light last week, I grew equally as fascinated. Not only was the story so bizarre and, at this point still somewhat mysterious, but it’s happened so publicly. The bottom line is questions must be answered.

Getting ‘catfished’

In case you’ve never heard of the term, here’s a little about its origin.

(Filmmakers Ariel Schulman, Henry Joost and Nev Schulman, from left.)

The term “catfish” comes from a 2010 documentary film of the same name, in which a young New Yorker named Nev Schulman has an online relationship with a woman on Facebook that turns out to be much different than it appears. It’s hard to say much more without giving away the ending.

I saw this in theaters when it came out, and it made me think. I’d definitely recommend it. But it didn’t stop there — the film spawned a TV show that debuted recently on MTV. It has a similar premise: People who have developed online relationships seek to learn more about their purported lovers, often discovering unexpected realities.

The Manti Te’o tie-in

I’m pretty sure the world did a collective “HUH?!” when a Jan. 16 Deadspin article came out, saying that Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o’s girlfriend — the one who allegedly died of leukemia the same day his grandmother died, and who was at the center of many, many news stories — never existed in the first place.

(Notre Dame star linebacker Manti Te’o after the Nov. 12 game.)

The article revealed that it was all an elaborate hoax. It asserted that Lennay Kekua, the college girl whom Te’o had talked very publicly about and whom he told the world he loved, was a complete fabrication. The details in the story seemed to indicate there was a very complicated web of lies behind this hoax.

It was, and continues to be, largely a mystery. Details are still coming out; reports are still being investigated. But, to me, it indicates something even bigger: Te’o is insisting he’s been “catfished.”

Hitting close to home

Of course, whenever I take on a topic for a column, I try to find some kind of local, East Tennessee tie-in. I want to help make issues relatable for our readers. So it seemed a bit too good to be true when I saw this tweet by Cami Webb:

Cami Webb, a Gatlinburg native and UT grad currently living in Orlando, had been contacted out of the blue by Christopher Waldron, a student at Syracuse. Waldron alerted her that someone was using her photos to do some “catfishing” of their own.

“So this Te’o thing got me thinking. There’s been this drop dead beautiful girl flirting with me on Facebook. Profile is pretty sketch and no one knows her. I did a reverse picture search and this person is using your pictures. It’s odd but I knew something was up. Name is Venessa Beckwith in Oswego, NY… Who does not exist,” Waldron wrote to Webb.

Webb was startled by the random email.

“I initially was shocked, and then felt taken advantage of. This person was using my images to apparently flirt with random guys on the Internet. Even more discomforting was that the profile had been up since 2011. It makes me wonder if there are other imposters out there that I may very well never find,” Webb told me.

She proceeded to message “Venessa” and report “her” to Facebook, in addition to enlisting the help of her friends to also report the profile. Although she never received a response from “Venessa,” she did hear back from Facebook days later.

“They (told me they) didn’t find anything wrong with the profile. Turns out she did end up deleting all my photos — which is all I really wanted,” Webb said.

How to spot a ‘catfish’

Just because some people have been duped by fake online profiles doesn’t mean it isn’t OK to engage with people you don’t know online. It does, however, mean you should be more cautious.

When I asked Waldron about his experience with “Venessa” and tracking down Webb, here’s what he told me:

“It was just common sense. There was not much info on the profile, vague answers, and let’s face it, models don’t send Facebook messages to strangers for dates. … Back in the summer, I knew it was a fake profile so I did not pay much attention to it. It was when the Te’o news broke when I said ‘hmm…’ “

Waldron did a reverse image search, which led him to Webb. His advice to others?

“I just think people should pay attention to red flags and bad excuses, like they can’t meet for coffee because their cat got run over for the fifth week in a row, etc.”

Tools to help

The unfortunate truth is that these kinds of Internet dating hoaxes are more common than you might think, which is why it’s important to understand the best ways to guard against it.

“As long as we continue to be lax with our online presence, impersonation will happen,” Webb cautions.

Here are some of the best tips and tools to combat both online identity theft and being duped by a fraud.

Understand privacy settings and how best to control them, across all digital platforms and social networking sites. Social networking is great, but too much personal information can make you an easy target. The more someone knows about you, the easier you’ll be to victimize.
Use reverse-image searches such as TinEye.com to see if your photos might appear anywhere else online, or if photos of someone you’re communicating with match someone else’s.
Set up a Google alert for your name. That way, whenever you’re mentioned on the Web, you’ll know. You can also set up alerts for other people’s names or specific phrases, if you’re suspicious. (It’s free, by the way.)
Be wary of people you’ve met online: If you’ve never met in real life or Skyped, why not? At the very least, insist on video chatting. It’s not that hard to find a way to make it work.
Be especially suspicious of “models.” As many have noted, models don’t typically look to strangers online for dating or companionship. (It’s possible, but unlikely.)
If you want an instant kind of “proof,” have someone hold up a piece of paper with something specific written on it — your name and date, perhaps.
Use your best judgment, always. Proceed with caution and understand that sometimes, if it seems too good to be true, it might just be.

Knoxville named second happiest city for work

rachel-wise — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 14:05:24 -0500

Ah, it’s my favorite time in Tumblrville: time to announce Knoxville’s latest placement on a national list.

(In case you’ve somehow managed to miss our fixation on lists, you can browse past entries here. As it turns out Knoxville is the proud owner of many odd and varied titles.)

But this time Knoxville has been named one of the happiest cities in which to work. According to Forbes, Knoxville earned a score of 4.02 out of 5 total points in a list compiled by CareerBliss.

(Downtown Knoxville and Fort Loudoun Lake are seen Oct. 26, 2012. Photo by
Paul Efird/News Sentinel.)

This list — 10 happiest and 10 unhappiest cities — “is based on analysis of more than 36,000 independent employee reviews between Nov. 2011 and Nov. 2012.”

Employees all over the country were asked to evaluate ten factors that affect workplace happiness. Those include one’s relationship with the boss and co-workers, work environment, job resources, compensation, growth opportunities, company culture, company reputation, daily tasks, and control over the work done does on a daily basis.

Rounding out the top 5 happiest cities:

Dayton, Ohio
Knoxville, Tenn.
Honolulu, Hawaii
Memphis, Tenn.
Pittsburgh, Pa.

And the top unhappiest cities:

Boulder, Colo.
Reno, Nev.
Wichita, Kansas
Fresno, Calif.
Little Rock, Ark.

To read the complete lists and for a breakdown of Knoxville’s score, check out the post on Forbes.com.

IHOP to offer free pancakes Feb. 5th

erinchapin — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 13:23:00 -0500

According to a press release from IHOP, the eatery will be giving away free short stacks of buttermilk pancakes on Tuesday, Feb. 5th.

The free flapjacks serve a dual purpose: celebrate National Pancake Day and hopefully raise $3 million for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

Digital tools and apps to help New Year's resolutions stick

rachel-wise — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 18:13:16 -0500

In this week’s #trending column, I decided to tackle a topic I’ve seen quite a bit of lately: New Year’s resolutions and technology.

All across my Facebook feed, I’ve seen declarations from friends that in 2013, they will quit or cut back their social media and smartphone usage.

That’s all well and good, friends, but for me, it’s not a realistic goal. In fact, my job requires me to use social media, my iPhone and iPad. So instead of swearing them off, I’ve found helpful ways to embrace these devices.

(Photo by Associated Press)

I’ve scoured the web for recommendations and pulled out some of my favorite mobile and Web apps that can help users stay on track to accomplish their goals for the new year. Here is my list of some of the top picks. (And by the way, all these options are free.)

Note: Some of the following appeared in my column, but I’ve also included runner-up selections and additional categories.

(Photo by Associated Press)

Health and fitness: Eating healthier is, invariably, one of the top goals every year. One of my favorite apps to help get and stay in shape is MyFitnessPal, a free calorie counter and diet plan. It’s both a website and mobile app and includes a social element, if you choose to enable it. You can track your progress and share it with friends for encouragement along the way, or you can keep it personal. (Available as a Web app and on Android and iOS devices)

Runner-up: Lose It! is an app that allows you to set up a personalized weight loss plan and budget your calories. (Available as a Web app and on Android and iOS devices)

Exercise: If you’re looking for something that’s more focused on physical activity, Fitocracy comes highly recommended. It is a free daily workout tracker and fitness community online and as a mobile app. It uses social tools and gamification to make working out easier. (Available as an iPhone app; Android app currently being developed)

Runner-up apps: Workout Trainer offers thousands of free workouts and premium programs that help you achieve your fitness goals. Some say it’s like having a personal trainer in your pocket. (Available as a Web app and on Android and iOS devices)

Runkeeper is a GPS-driven app that allows you to keep track of your workouts, view your progress, and share your stats with friends. (Available as a Web app and on Android and iOS devices)

Organization: Evernote is one of my personal favorite ways to keep my tasks in order. It’s a website and app that’s a sort of memo keeper, perfect for lists and reminders in text, photo or audio format.

But if you’re more checklist-oriented, you might like Wunderlist or Astrid, both are simple apps and websites for keeping track of multiple to-do lists. I’ve downloaded both and have been trying them out. They are both good options, but it depends on your personal preferences.

Of course, I’d be remiss not to mention my other two favorite cloud storage apps — Dropbox and Google Drive. I use them both frequently, though for different purposes. They’re great ways to store files you need to access on your computer, phone and/or tablet. I’ve found Dropbox is great for video and photos files, whereas Drive is best for documents and spreadsheets.

(All of these use cloud technology and are available as Web, iOS and Android apps.)

(Photo by Associated Press)

Reading: If you’re looking to get back into the habit of reading more books, Goodreads is a good way to do that. It’s considered a “social cataloging” site and mobile app that helps you keep track of books you have read or want to read. It’s also a fantastic way to get book recommendations and connect with your literary-minded friends.

Runner-up apps: Pocket, formerly called Read It Later, is a way to digitally “bookmark” articles, websites and videos you might not have time to look at. That way, when you do have time, you can browse a list of items you marked and get to reading.

You don’t need to own a Kindle device to enjoy Kindle books. You can use the Kindle app to start reading books on all your devices.

Finances: Doing a better job managing your money is, not surprisingly, another top objective. My favorite tool is Mint, a website and mobile app that allows you to manage your budget using personal finance tools, track your spending and monitor your online bank accounts. (Available as a Web app and on Android and iOS devices)

Runner-up: Key Ring is an app that lets you scan and store existing loyalty cards, join new programs and receive mobile coupons right to your smartphone. For instance, instead of digging out your Kroger or Food City card, you can use your phone to keep these in order. Plus, you can find money-saving coupons you otherwise might not know about.
Quit smoking:For those smokers out there who are vowing to quit, Quitter is a good free app for that. It will show you how long it has been since you last indulged and how much money you have saved as a result. (Available on iOS devices)

Frankly, I could go on and on. I’ve heard so many great ideas for self-improvement when polling friends and colleagues about their New Year’s resolutions. And when searching for apps, there’s certainly been no shortage.

So start here. Maybe some of your goals align with the ones listed here; maybe not. But use technology as your ally, and figure out ways to better yourself with some of these helpful tools.

Parental contract?

davegod — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 08:27:17 -0500

When I was a kid, my sister and I had a chore list posted in our kitchen. It would have a column for chores, one for price, and one for initials.

The way it worked was that one of us would walk up and, for example, find the line that said “Vacuum living room….$1” and we’d initial and date beside it where we had done it.

We were allowed to pick and choose what we did, with the only caveat being that every chore on the list had to be done each week or else my parents would start assigning them.

So, if I (or my sister) wanted to do every single thing on the list - or none of them - we could do so, as long as we’d worked it out with the other one.

In that way, we earned some spending money, learned the value OF that money, and had our first taste of working under a contract.

Now, more decades later than she or I would want to admit, parental contracts with kids have apparently taken on a new form.

The question isn’t whether or not my parents (no way, no how) or I (now that I’m a parent; also, no way… for now) would have ever allowed one of us to have a phone as a child, the question is the changing nature of the parent-child relationship.

Janell Burley Hofman, to the delight of parents and the angst of teens everywhere, decided to get her 13-year-old son an iPhone for Christmas.

Whereas most of us are tied into contracts with less-than-personable phone companies, Gregory, her son, is tied into an unbreakable one with his mom.

Among other things, she sets the non-negotiable use of the phone, but does so in a way that is more about promoting responsibility than just being an overseer.

Her blog on the contract has become an Internet sensation, prompting a number of people to ponder the ins and outs of the deal, as well as debate topics ranging from whether a 13-year-old needs an iPhone to the nature of parent-child relationships in the 21st century.

So, to put not so fine a point on it, what are your thoughts?

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