JedFonner.com

I’m not a huge fan of the Facebook site. There’s just way too much stuff going on, and truthfully I have no interest at SuperPoking anyone or throwing anything at anyone. I <3 simplicity and clean interfaces, which is why I love Twitter and RSS and pretty much all things Google, especially Gmail. But it seems like everyone in the world is on Facebook and so just boycotting Facebook seems like a bad idea. I want to interact with my friends on Facebook without actually logging in. My goal was to find ways to integrate Facebook information into the systems I already use on a daily basis, namely email, Twitter and RSS. It turns out that it's pretty easy to use many parts of Facebook without ever actually setting foot inside Facebook.com (after some initial setup of course).

Updating your status

Since I already use Twitter and enjoy its dirt-simple interface and multitude of software clients, I wanted a way for my Facebook status to reflect my latest tweet. The best way to do this is to use the official Twitter Facebook application. With this application, your latest Twitter post is used to update your Facebook status for all your non-Twitter-using Facebook friends to see.

I’ve added a quick walk-through of how to set up the Twitter Facebook app (it assumes you’ve already clicked the link above to go to the Twitter Facebook app page):
Video walkthrough on how to setup the Twitter Facebook application.

Keeping up with your friends’ status updates

I find that RSS fits into my workflow much better than Facebook. And it turns out it’s really simple to subscribe to the RSS feed of your friends’ status updates. This RSS feed is just status updates, it does not include all Wall activity like other application activity, but truthfully I never really cared who was throwing what at whom.

The image at left shows how to get the RSS feed for your Facebook friends’ status updates (click to see larger). Once you have the feed URL, copy it to your RSS reader of choice.

You can use the same trick to get an RSS feed of all your friends’ Notes, but I’ve found that Facebook Notes is so rarely used that it’s not worth it.

Email is your friend

Facebook sends you emails with your new notifications and messages. And unlike other social networks, the Facebook emails actually include the body of the notification instead of a just a link to log into the site. So if you’re like me and you don’t need to reply to most of your notifications, you can get your Facebook notifications and messages without ever needing to log in.

If you want to change what emails Facebook sends you, you can turn on and off specific email events in your Notifications Settings page. Click the image below to see how.

It’s hard to completely avoid Facebook though

Unfortunately, there are some situations when you absolutely must log into Facebook. For example, you can’t get around logging in if you want to reply to someone’s message or comment on a friend’s status message or browse photos. But my advice in these situations is to get in and get out quickly. Don’t dilly-dally, or you might get lost in the depths of Facebook hell.

If you're new here and like what you've read so far, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Our cats can’t get enough of boxes. Everytime we get a package or bring a box home, they treat it as a new toy for them. The only problem is that they can’t both be in the box at the same time, and they don’t like to share, as you can see here:

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This is a pretty awesome mini micro-musical that many Hollywood actors recently released to protest California’s recent vote on Proposition 8 which banned gay marriage. Aside from the fact that it’s spot on, it’s also hilarious and worthy of a watch. And like most good web videos, it includes Neil Patrick Harris.

So if you care about equality or just want to save the economy, get involved at Join the Impact.

Nicole at week 25

T minus 100 days and counting until little Eli’s due date. Over the last few weeks both Nicole’s belly (see pics) and baby Eli have grown quite a bit - Eli is around 14 inches long and weighs just under 2lbs! With this growth spurt has come lots of movement. I (and other folks brave enough to ask) can feel the baby when he kicks and even sometimes when he moves around. Nicole’s been enjoying this second trimester much more than the first since she’s been feeling much better and things have gotten more exciting. We’re a bit apprehensive about the third trimester which starts in a few days since sleeping is supposed to get more difficult and the baby gets much bigger.

Since moving into our new house, we’ve started working on the nursery (pictures to come). So far we’ve painted, hung a border, bought bedding, and assembled a crib and a changing table (sometimes more than once). Our bedding is “Snug as a Bug” by Kidsline. We still have a lot left to do, but it’s starting to feel more real by the day!

Also, for those who have been asking, here’s where we’re registered. But these lists are a work in progress:

• Babies R Us
• Burlington Coat Factory’s Baby Depot
• Target

Friday, Nov 28th is the last day to voice your opinion on whether the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should regulate carbon dioxide (CO²) pollution, the primary cause of the climate crisis. This is, how they say, kind of a big deal.

In April 2007, responding to a lawsuit brought by NRDC with states and other environmental groups, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the EPA has the authority to regulate carbon dioxide if it harms public health and welfare. The Court ordered the EPA to decide whether the welfare of the American people was being harmed by CO² emitted by cars and powerplants or to explain why not.

After over a year of delays, the EPA is finally taking public comment before making a ruling. But the window for sending in comments is quickly closing.

Of course, special interests — like the oil and coal lobbies — are working overtime to defeat a positive ruling and have already gotten thousands of comments submitted in opposition.

You can send in your public comment via the Repower America site here. I sent my message in already and I’m looking forward to seeing it on the EPA’s website and being part of the public record.

You can read more about this issue at the following sites:

• Washington Post: EPA Seeks Comment on Emissions Rules, Then Discredits Effort
• Mother Earth News: Comment Before the EPA Rules on Carbon Dioxide
• NRDC: Tell the EPA to act now to help stop global warming
• San Francisco Gate: Go On Record with the EPA
• Houston Chronicle: Texas governor Perry concerned by plans to limit greenhouse gases