What is the Nike+?

Amazing. The Nike+iPod Sport Kit is a $30 accessory connecting your shoe and your iPod wirelessly (some call it an overpriced pedometer). Runners place a small sensor under their shoe insole and connect a receiver to their iPod nano, to track statistics during and after a workout. Your workout progress and statistics such as pace, total time, and total distance are updated on-screen and with audio cues through your headphones. After a run, sync your iPod nano and upload to Nike to track your progress and challenges over time and compare with friends. Not too bad right? Wait it gets better.

You then can connect to the Nike+ website and track your running statistics and improvement. You can share your training information with others, and setup virtual races with friends to compare your times over the same course. Way cool. I've already registered with Nike+ and let me say the experience has been rewarding. I don't have the gadgets yet, but once I do I will be going places! I encourage any runner to go to the site and check it out. At the very least look at the tutorials. It's pretty stinkin' awesome. The only thing is that (of course) Nike will encourage you to buy (roughly about) $90 Nike+ shoes to sport a little space under your sole to keep the wireless accessory. However, I found a site that shows how to cut your own little space out of your Asics. Not sure you'll want to go tearing up your shoes, but if you're devoted to a specific brand (as I am) then you might not mind. I also should probably mention that Lacelid.com makes a plastic piece that ties right into the laces and holds the sensor just for that purpose. They aren't very expensive, I think only about $7, but if you are running rough terrain I'm not sure you would feel very comfortable going this option. I would still run regardless of all this technology, but this, this just makes it even better. :)

Also if all this Nike+ yak has made you want to start conquering the road I highly recommend you read this guys blog post on "5 Tips for New Runners". Very helpful.

Some news

Two days to go until Christmas! I am psyched :)
Some news that caught my eye:

LONDON, England (AP) - Queen Elizabeth II will use YouTube to send out her 50th televised annual Christmas message (read more).
It's a pleasure to see the older generation take advantage of the technology that is available to us.

NEWPORT BEACH, California (AP) - Former child star Danielle Fishel, a teen heartthrob on ABC's "Boy Meets World," was arrested this week on a drunken driving warrant from Los Angeles County (read more).

And for an inspirational story an Indiana man buys a $25,000 Dodge using coins he saved from vending machines (for more).
Talk about thrifty.

And to wrap this post up I'll leave you with one of my favorite vids. Make sure you have one of these. ;)

My vid-craze

Yeah, yeah, yeah, so I've been posting alot of vids lately, so sue me. I really like this guys idea...I wanna see if he would come to FL and dance with us :)

Want more info on what exactly this dude does? Check out his site its got more vids on it.

Oh and this one rocks too.

My hero!

This is so sweet too cause I'm planning on voting for Thompson...

Sa-weet

Merry Christmas!

The kodak moment

Michelle HippsMe and my bros went and took some secret pictures for our mom this Christmas. We were too cheap to do it in a studio so we bought some polos, grabbed our cousin and went to the beach for these photos. They turned out ok..seeing as we were on a time constraint (we had a half an hour to take these pictures). But I was hoping that every one of them would be really good. In total we have about 25 pictures and only 4 of them are usable because of someone not having their eyes open or not smiling, etc. Anyway it I was kinda disappointed with my cousins photog skills but I guess not everyone can be as good as me :) just kiddin'. The best one, I think, was one that we randomly did. I cropped and photoshopped it a lil bit but it didn't take away from the picture.....I felt like it should be on a target commercial or something. Otherwise this is the one I'm happiest with.....Michelle Hipps

Work stories that made headlines this year

Some of my personal favorites.

"Cola wars get physical as Pepsi worker attacks Coke employee"

Two employees from the rival companies got into a tiff over shelf space in the aisle of a Wal-Mart in Indiana. The Pepsi worker allegedly assaulted the Coca-Cola employee, hitting him in the face, giving him a black eye and breaking his nose. Police say the two were also accused of trying to run each other over with pallets full of soda bottles.

"Deputy nabbed twice for DUI -- by husband"

An off-duty jail deputy was pulled over and charged with driving under the influence -- by her husband, a fellow deputy. She supposedly left before he could give her a Breathalyzer test, so he pulled her over again and called for backup. She was placed on administrative leave.

"Workers killed after seeking raises"

A car dealership owner killed two employees because they kept asking for more pay. The employer told police he was having financial problems and was under a lot of stress.

"Alleged robber asks victim out for date"

After two men robbed a Domino's Pizza delivery woman, one of them called the victim from his cell phone to apologize -- and to ask her out.

"Four women fired for gossiping"

Four women employed in a small New Hampshire town were fired for gossiping about a relationship between the town administrator and a fellow co-worker. They were fired on the basis that "gossip, whispering and an unfriendly environment are causing poor morale and interfering with the efficient performance of town business."

Here's some more on strange work stories.

I can hear my bed calling my name

but for some reason I just don't want to go to sleep yet. Go figure.

When I grow up...

Found my wedding dress, this is what I'm wearing on my "special day."

I can explain

I haven't blogged in a whole day so let me update you. I went to my grandparents house, about an hour away, to help set up some Christmas stuff, but I mostly ended up sorting silverware. It was a mess; my grandparents own 3 houses on the same land and between all the houses it was madness. But fear not; the silverware dilemma has been resolved, all silverware has been returned to it's proper location. I hadn't planned on spending the night but my grandparents "conned" me into staying. Me and my Grandmama planned on getting up and going Christmas shopping in the morning. More on that later. Anyway, have to share this picture with you because it's simply amazing.Lake house Totally made spending the night in my Grandfather's shirt worth it (it ended up coming home with me). Not that it was bad, but I felt like I was stealing his shirt. Amazing no? It's my Grandparents lake house. So we left in the morning headed east and visited my aunt at The Iron Gate a design/furniture store. It was a really nice store but the stuff was really expensive, really expensive. Like one table was $18,000. What would you do with a $18,000 table?!?! This sofa was $3,000, and one leaf piece was a couple hundred. People and their money are ridiculous. Next me and Grandmama went to Ruby Tuesday where this little kid stared at me while I ate my food kinda unnerving.Kid Staring Anyway so we went Christmas shopping and bought absolutely nothing. But we did do alot of window shopping! I even worked up the courage to try on a dress at Gadzooks but I didn't like what I was presenting so back on the rack it went. It would have been a good deal for the dress, only $34. (Unlike $18,000) But we looked around, listened to some guy playing on the piano, watched kids playing on the playground, looked at jewelry, looked at furniture...Coffee Bubblesyou things you do at a mall. It was a good way to burn the calories we just ingested after eating at Tuesday's. After not finding anything we headed back home to the lake, Rubybut not before stopping off at Publix for dinner. There, my grandmother was off shopping, while I grabbed the complimentary coffee blew bubbles in it and pushed the cart around. Grocery shopping is just so much fun. Look at that photo. Ronnie HippsI should be a professional. Anyway after, might I add much deliberation, mi Grandmama settle on salmon for dinner. Wise choice. Lets go. I swept the front porch and did a couple of other things around the house before I left. Just so I would feel like I did something. I like knowing I helped my grandparents out before leaving. Anyway, over all, full day. I got alot done with my grandmother and had a good time doing it. Hopefully if my school schedule allows I'll be able to do more of that. So thats the reason I didn't blog yesterday. I was a busy girl.

Just a spoonful...or is it....

Quick! Hide the kids!

The Disappearing Car Door Act!

I'm not sure if this is an improvement for the world or just a plain waste of time. I'll get back to you on my thoughts for that one.

You know that Invisible Man book? Well the idea behind it just might become a reality. Most likely after I die. (everything cool takes so long to materialize)

Oh yeah, I was reading this earlier this morning...in the mood for some griping? KentuckyGurl is well known for her griping. The only frustrating thing about her blog is that she needs Google AdSense! With all that traffic, make some money gurl!

The 34th wall experience

Michelle HippsHere are some pictures from a couple of weeks ago, when me and a friend painted a wall as a happy birthday gift to another friend. It took us about 3 hours to do it all. We first tried covering the wall with spray paint...that didn't work out so well, so we went to Wal-Mart and bought actual paint and started working with that. That turned out much better. The wall, called the 34th Wall, we painted on is along a major road (surprise, surprise the road is called the 34th Street) so we got honked at alot. It was weird painting on it because it is vandalizing, but it is widely accepted and tolerated by law enforcement. Michelle HippsThe wall itself was peeling off. There were so many layers of paint on it that the layer that was peeling off was 1/4 of inch wide. There were bubble spots too where air had crept under the layer and created a pocket of air. It was still fun even if we were both too short to reach the top. :) Thats probably why it took us so long to finish it; we goofed off alot! By the time we were done we had paint all over ourselves. I got it on my shoes my pants, my sunglasses, everywhere. It was worse for my friend; she stepped into the paint. After painting the wall we had meetings to go to so we wouldn't be able to see our friend's reaction. But her boyfriend brought her there with some flowers and showed it to her. It was all very romantic. He had to be. We threatened him with his life if he wasn't. Anyway over all I was pretty pleased with the outcome and the experience. Even if I was vandalizing property.Michelle Hipps

Some worthwhile reads

To start off, I would just like to say it's an honor to be a part of such a great university such as mine. I am also honored to have such great fellow students not only academically but athletically as well.

Now if you're not into sports well then give this a read. It's an article on a woman who used to be obese before surgery; she dropped 135 pounds after the procedure and now views her life before the surgery as secret. Very interesting read.

You also need to check out Sherrie's blog an amazing story of a deaf woman.
And I think that's all folks.

Cheap gas at $.03 a gallon...not bad

MINOCQUA, Wis. - Dozens of drivers made a mad rush for cheap gas after a station employee accidentally changed the price to 33 cents a gallon.

An employee closing Trig's Minocqua Shell for the night mistakenly entered the price of a gallon of gasoline as 32.9 cents instead of $3.299 on Monday night.

He left about 10 p.m., but drivers could still use their credit cards to buy gas (continue reading.)

I would hate to be that guy!

A list of Web 3.0 applications

Wanna know the difference between Web 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0? Look here.
Wanna know how we are moving from Web 2.0 to 3.0? The answer is here.
Moving on......
I've spent about the past month of my life looking for Web 2.0/Web 3.0 applications. And I gotta say after finding some of these apps, I've found now I can't live without them.

- Ask 5000 People (something similar to it is Askeet!, but not quite like it)
Some one once said there is wisdom to be found in the crowds. This site is based off that idea. The sites platform allows you to pose a question to people all over the world and get an answer back in about 5 minutes. It has a map on it as well so you can see where they are located when they answered.

- Runners Map
This is one of those sites I can't live without. It has a map on it that allows you to mark where you are going to start running to where you are going to stop. You can run all over the city and it will tell you how many miles you run and what your route looks like from a road map view or satellite view.

- Train Check
TrainCheck sends the next 3 train times at ANY stop in your metro to your SMS or email enabled cell phone. Very, very nice and convenient.

- Call the Future
It's in demo mode now but this idea could definitely turn into something sweet. CallTheFuture calls the specified number with the given return name.

- Meebo
Can't download AIM, Yahoo Instant Messenger, or any Instant Message user face to your computer? Meebo is your answer. It's IMing through an internet window. A very nice feature.

- TierraWiki
According to the site "TierraWiki is a site for sharing and visualizing GPS routes. The premise behind TierraWiki is that each of us is an expert of at least one area that others would be interested in and that there are the hundreds of areas within our reach that we haven't explored because we don’t know about them." So far they have done a very nice job of that.

- Google's Grand Central
You have one number that rings all your numbers and puts them into one voicemail box. Sounds interesting...but I have to wonder, how many phones does Google thing we have? Though I am signed up I have yet to use this application.

- Go2Web20
The Web 2.0 directory comes to life! But we are already moving into the 3.0 age...so I wonder what they are going to do about the 2.0 name they got going on.

- Second Life
Live out your life, virtually.

- Mosaic of Photography
So maybe this is not an application, but it is cool to see. And I can imagine that instead of using the pictures they provide it will be done with photos we provide. There are a couple of bugs with it; they probably are still working on it.

- 43 Things (also similar to it is My 50 Things)
Create a list online of things you want to do, see, experience. Share it with other people, see how your list changes, and see what you get accomplished. Get feedback. Feel good.

- Whrrl
You can share real-world life experiences and discover places, events, and people through the chronicles of others. And you can do it via your mobile. Sa-weet.

- Clipmarks (similar to that is Diigo)
See a web page you like? Clip it. Share it.

- Del.icio.us (there is also Simpy)
Same idea but you share the links instead. Essentially it a page dedicated to your favorite or maybe not so favorite links. You can also group them together too.

- Flickr (also similar to it is Smug Mug and Photobucket)
By far the best photo sharing and manging site for your pictures, Flickr allows you to upload personal photos, share them, search them, comment on them, and create off them. This is one big fan of that site.

- Google Maps (also just as interesting Google Earth)
A virtual map of the entire globe (thankfully for us blondes) with directions. Though I'm not sure if Area 51 is visible...

- Gmail
Gmail's personal belief is that you should never have to delete your mail, you should be able access it when you need it even if it's a year old. In addition to having Gmail you also get a iGoogle page where you can put what news you want to see, your calender, your weather cast, photos, and, of course, your email's inbox on your main page. For me it's like my desk...only virtual.

- Protopage
If you don't click on the above link just to look at it, well I'm going to be annoyed. This is a page, in my very small opinion, worth looking at. It is your personalized news, sticky notes, bookmarks, and your dog on your page. And you can share it too. Have you ever been at the office and somebody wanted to do something but you told you couldn't cause you are so busy and they don't believe you so you slide them your schedule book with all you sticky notes on it to prove it. You can do the same thing with protopage. Just send them the link!

- Rememeber the Milk
A list you create online that you can send to yourself via email, IM, or SMS. Very convenient.

- Gabbr
Gabbr allows you to read and comment on the latest news across major news sources as well as across the blogosphere. Bloggers can submit their blog posts to appear on the front page for others to comment on.

- Digg
Digg is a place for people to discover and share content from anywhere on the web. From the biggest online destinations to the most obscure blog, Digg surfaces the best stuff as voted on by the users.

- Blogniscient
Blogniscient categorizes and ranks blog articles and blogs in real time, providing the latest information on the best blog entries.

- Memeorandum
Memeorandum offers a window into the world of online news, focusing primarily on U.S. politics and current affairs. It auto-generates a news summary every 5 minutes, drawing on experts and pundits, insiders and outsiders, media professionals and amateur bloggers.

- Tailrank
By tracking conversations between blogs, Tailrank finds the hottest posts from millions of blogs so you don't have to. How nice.

- Writeboard
Writeboard is shareable, web based text documents that let you save every edit, roll back to any version and compare your changes. You can use it to collaborate with people or you can use it solo.

- Voo2Do
Voo2do tracks priority, due date, and time estimates for each task. There is no notion of "lists" in voo2do— tasks can be grouped by project, but you can view and edit a bunch of projects together. Handy for the ambitious person.

- Esnips (also there is Multiply)
ESnips is a social content-sharing site, where you can publish and share any media type. You have practically unlimited flexibility in choosing what you want to share, and with whom, in 5GB of free space.

- Pageflakes
Customize what you want to see on the internet.

- Net Worth IQ
Find out what your net worth is by age, income, occupation, education, and country. Then go track it as it changes.

- Stumble Upon
Channel surf the internet with aStumbleUpon toolbar to find great sites, videos, photos and more based on your interests. StumbleUpon learns what you like and makes better recommendations.

- Pandora (also similar to it is LastFM, this one is more like social networking music)
Another one of my personal favorites. You type in the name of a song and artist you like and Pandora searches out similar songs like it based off the genre, voice, instruments and other stuff related to the song.

- Measure Map
Measure Map helps you understand what people do at your blog, and what influence you are having on the world. Google just purchased them.

- Visual Thesauruses
The Visual Thesaurus is an interactive dictionary and thesaurus with an innovative graph display that encourages exploration and learning.

- Youtube (similar to it, but at the same time entirely different is JumpCut)
A popular video site that allows you to post your videos, view others, and comment on them as well.

- Web 2 Logo
A digital mega mall that displays the logos of what you're looking for.

- Loopnote (along the same lines, I believe, is Brightkite)
Loopnote allows you to send multi-channel messages about events and things you want to share via, SMS, IM, email, or RSS feeds. You can subscribe to others loops too.

- Best Stuff
Best Stuff simply asks you to input your ‘best stuff’ in the world: whether it be a song that inspires you, your favourite little Indian restaurant, or the best explication of Kantian aesthetics. You'll be able to discover what people from around the world think is the best and share your best stuff.

- Furl
With Furl, you can save a copy of a web page and it is archived for you. This means that you can access that page and read it any time you need to, even if the web site is down, or the page has changed on the original web site, or even if the page is no longer accessible for free. In those cases where the web page has changed and you would rather have the new content, you can refresh the archived copy at will.

- MeteoStone
MeteoStone is an experimental project for people to collect and share meteorological data about weather all over the world. Everything on MeteoStone, all data and all content is provided by users. MeteoStone collects all local weather data and shows it on the map. Almost every hour (or less) they analyze the data and make reports for all zoom levels of the map.

- Share Dish
Shared Dish is a Web 2.0 social recipe sharing site. Add recipes, find recipes and vote on recipes to help create the ultimate community edited cookbook.

- My Friend Suggests
My Friend Suggests uses personalized suggestion features to learn about new and great places in your area. You can learn about the best places in your area from people just like you. Get personalized recommendations on everything from a reliable contractor to a new barbershop. Their similarity rating shows you how similar other user's tastes are to your own.

Other Web 2.0 information/application:
-KoolWeb2.0
-Web 2.0 Toolbar
-Web 2.0 List

If you think I should add anything else, let me know! :)

Ways of putting yourself on the web

Came across this insanely helpful MSN article and of course if I find anything good "then the people must know!" It covers putting yourself on the web via blogging, making music, shooting videos, publishing your novel, or joining a social network. And the best part..ready? Is the majority of it is free. Totally sweet.

When I grow up...

I'm going to moderately wealthy so I can afford the things my little heart desires. Like a pair of wonderful YSL Jeanne Leather Pumps which only retails for $525 and with these pumps I shall conquer the world. But how can one conquer the world without a good outfit to accompany my ever so inexpensive pumps? Well, I've had a hunger pain for Banana Republic clothes, so after perusing the BR's website, I've settled on a adorable Lace V-neck dress that dress retails for about $168. Well, as much as I love those pumps they wouldn't work with my desired dress so I would have to substitute them with YSL's Eva Sandals. I saved some money, they retail $395. But a lady isn't a lady with a proper handbag. My outfit would be accompanied by Burberry's own Ashcombe in red of course. Retail price: only a measly $620. I am ready to take on the evening. How much is my entire outfit for one evening? $1183. The life of the wealthy...

Welcome...

Abe's Babe to the wonderful world of blogs. :)
I'm psyched you're here.
You might wanna give this a read in your spare (if you have any.)

Speaking of Christmas shopping...

Sometimes when I shop this is the message I get.

Christmas present ideas

Get your niece, daughter, or grand daughter the perfect doll.

Interesting news for the day

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) - An accounting mix-up led to the wrong woman being crowned Miss California USA, and she's relinquished her crown to the rightful winner, organizers said Monday.

Christina Silva, 24, was declared the winner of the annual state beauty pageant, but she gave up the title to Raquel Beezley, who was originally named the second runner-up. Beezely, 21, will represent the state at the Miss USA pageant next April. (continue reading)

Missing kayaker turns up (ITN) - A kayaker missing for five years walks into a London police station and says he doesn't know where he's been. (watch video)

Google me!

I'm on Google!
My life mission is complete!

Song for your ears

Artist: Smalltown Poets
Song: Anything Genuine
Album: Listen Closely
Lyrics:
Test this gold for its worth is the same as testing me
And the fire burns easily today

The net is the good that's left after the metal is refined
As I melt, look at what I've got and
Separate it all from what I need

I'll take anything, anything genuine.
Looking up from where I went I could take whatever I get
I'll take anything, anything genuine

More interesting is my faith than the fear of what I'll miss
And those things are temporary anyway

Still on this side getting fit for a faith that's been tried
And I smile more believably while getting just enough to know I need

I'll take anything, anything genuine
Looking up from where I went, I could take whatever I get
Falling from Your hands or falling from Your lips
As long as it's from You, I know that I can take it, I can take it

And I'll rejoice.

Certified diver

After a day of being sea sick, stuffing my face with ginger cookies, and downing 3 Dramamine pills... I am now a certified diver. Was it worth it? Definitely.

How my fight started...

I rear-ended a car this morning on the way to school.

There we were pulled over alongside the road and slowly the other driver got out of his car and . . .
you know how sometimes you just get sooo stressed and then suddenly some little thing will strike you as the funniest thing in the world?

Well I could NOT believe it . . . the guy was a DWARF!
He stormed back to my car, looked up at me, and said, "I AM NOT HAPPY!"
So I looked down at him and replied, "Well, which one are you then?"
. . . and that's when the fight started . . .

Enjoy your weekend!

Because I know I will be...
I'll be diving for the first time in Key West, Florida for my Scuba certification.
Yippee! :)

Get those tangles out

With the all natural, environmentally friendly hairbrush.
hee hee...