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.

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

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

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

The webcam in the car saves 20 seconds of video whenever the car makes a movement outside normal parameters, such as a sharp turn or a rapid change in momentum. The system then electronically sends those mini-videos to a company who then adds tips for the young drivers and sends it to the family.

No results have been published from the study yet, but indications are that a lot of accidents involving teenage drivers occur purely because of inexperience and poor education on how to drive.

Having grown up in Maryland, I can attest to the fact that the current system for teaching teenagers drivers really sucks. Politicians keep focusing on alcohol, loud music, too many passengers, late night driving, etc. But it seems like an important, additional course of action would be to reinstate Drivers Ed in school and increase the amount of classtime and driving time before teenagers can get provisional licenses.

Not so brilliant campaign video:

We couldn’t believe how clear the pictures were. Although a lot of the time they had to explain just what we were looking at (especially when they showed us his, um, “male parts”). But then at the end they showed us the 3D images and we were blown away. We could actually see our baby’s face. Unbelievable.

And after much deep thought (and much Googling), we’ve chosen a name:

With luck, in less than 5 months little Eli will become the newest member of our family.

Here’s a small set of pictures from the sonogram showing our healthy baby boy:

And here’s our baby boy’s development chart:

Except what the Republicans are saying about Obama and Ayers isn’t true.

My new favorite website, FactCheck.org, has put out a fantastic article on the attacks that McCain and Palin have been lobbing at Obama. Read their story: “He Lied” About Bill Ayers?.

FactCheck says of the ads, “We find McCain’s accusation that Obama “lied” to be groundless” and “Other claims are seriously misleading.” Overall, they say,

McCain-Palin campaign attempts to sway voters – in ads and on the stump – with false and misleading statements about the relationship, which was never very close. Obama never “lied” about this, just as he never bragged about it. The foundation they both worked with was hardly “radical.” And Ayers is more than a former “terrorist,” he’s also a well-known figure in the field of education.

Normally I don’t feel the need to parrot every new story on FactCheck.org, but I thought this one was important since most people probably assume, as I did, that there’s really some meat behind this whole Obama-Ayers thing. But after reading the FactCheck piece, it seems to be much ado about nothing.

Click to listen to Ben’s interview on NPR

For more, checkout Ben’s website, Open Sky Energy.

The one thing Ben didn’t mention in the interview was whether they offer “friends and family” discounts on solar panels. I’m going to assume they do.