Smart Move Jack (sarcasm)

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey seems to be preparing to "improve" Twitter by taking away what people like most about it. At the same time he flatly refuses to do anything the users request, such as adding the ability to edit tweets and, more importantly, enforce existing rules in a fair and unbiased manner.

Okay, I know... I was skeptical about the change from 140 characters to 280 and that's worked out well. This though - changing from following people to following topics - really seems like it would destroy Twitter. It's the people I'm interested in, not topics. My favorite people on Twitter each tweet about a variety of topics. I never know what might pop up in my feed - topics that wouldn't occur to me to follow.

So where will I go if Twitter dies? Follow the mass exodus wherever, hoping all my favorite people go to the same site. But I still have a small amount of hope that the massive negative feedback will change Jack's mind. I have not encountered the so-called incivility that some people seem so concerned about. You choose who you follow and you can block or mute anyone who bothers you. I think the people who complain about incivility either are idiots who haven't got the sense to block and unfollow people or they actually enjoy both the drama and complaining about it and in the latter case nothing will prevent them from indulging in said drama and complaining.

Rambling

I kind of hate that I neglect this blog so much now. I especially regret that I neglect to read other blogs. I used to enjoy this whole routine but I'm enjoying the other things I've been doing instead - reading, (a lot) sewing (not as much as I want to in terms of getting things done) and... um... Twitter. I find it to be a really convenient means of interacting with people online. I use my phone and my phone's always in my pocket so I can pull it out anytime I have a moment and often that moment turns into half an hour. So anyway, if you want to follow me I'm @uppityokie though, to be honest, I'm probably not that interesting. I mostly re-tweet stuff, including a lot of cat pictures.

I also have a sewing blog that I post on infrequently in case anyone's interested in that. I am almost done with a quilt top that I wish I would have finished early this past summer so I could use it now that quilt weather is upon us. And I have tons of other stuff I want to get done right now - several things for my granddaughter, another shirt for my husband (I have made several recently) and stuff for me too even though I really don't need more clothes. I need to get rid of a bunch of stuff to make room for the new stuff I'm making but there's really very little that I'm willing to sacrifice. I do wear it all, just some of it maybe not very often. But, though I don't need clothes, in terms of total number of garments I own, I do need more of certain things. This year I have decided more tunics and stretch pants. (I am stretch pants are awesome years old) I have some good fabric for tunics already but need to get some more of the good cotton spandex for pants. (BTW, for any British friends who might be reading this, by "pants" I mean "trousers." But you knew that, right?)

I have been wanting to comment about some of the things that are going on in the world. I've written whole blog posts in my head but just never get around to actually writing them. The world is such a freaking mess right now, sometimes I really want to start beating people over the head with a clue bat but, on the other hand, most of the time I feel strangely secure out here in my little sanctuary in the woods. It occurs to me fairly often that I'm really not but living scared all the time is just too tiring. Getting worked up over crap all the time is tiring. I guess some people don't have the ability to just ignore it all and live their lives but I don't have the ability to stay scared or outraged for long periods of time. I just can't. Maybe that's a failing but it does make life easier.

The leaves are just beginning to turn here. They have been late for the last two or three years. The peak of fall color used to come about the second week of October, sometimes earlier, sometimes later but now it's not until November. It's time for this video that I post just about every year. My favorite piece of autumn music with some beautiful autumn scenery.

This 'n' That

As some of you have already noticed, I have started using Twitter again. A lot. A couple of things got me back into it. One is football. We watch football every time there's a football game on so that's five games a week, sometimes six counting college. I like football sometimes but I quickly get bored with the game if it's two teams that I don't really care about and I can't read a book while the TV is on. Sadly that's not one of my talents. So when I get bored with the game I pull out my phone and see what's happening on Facebook. But I'm starting to get bored with Facebook so, Twitter.

Turns out that Twitter is much more interesting than Facebook. Facebook is mostly the same memes and listicles and slide shows over and over and over again. On Twitter you can have actual conversations. It's like texting with people you don't know well enough to give your phone number. Including sometimes even celebrities. And since my phone is always in my pocket I've taken to checking Twitter all through the day, maybe a little too much. So if you wonder what I've been up to you can probably catch me there. I'm @uppityokie.

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Besides tweeting too much I've been doing what most people are doing this time of year: shopping, though I'm about done with that. I have also finished a quilt and I'm about to finish another. Not sure if I can finish it by Christmas but I'm going to try. Sewing clothes has taken a back seat to quilting lately. I got the last thing finished except for the buttons and buttonholes a couple of weeks ago and just kind of abandoned it but I will eventually get back to it. I've also been doing some reading but it's been a while since I've read any science fiction and I'm starting to crave some.

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I was at Wal-mart this morning, in the checkout line, and the woman in front of me turns around and says, in a Russian accent that sounds like something you only hear in movies, "I'm 80 years old and I don't know how much longer I can do this," and then starts talking about how she's getting tired of supporting her grandson and all he wants to do is hang out with his friends and so on. I didn't know what to make of this but after she had left, the checkout girl said something about how sweet she is and that she talks to her frequently. So, I don't know... she might be a fun person to talk to when you get used to her. I kind of hope I run into her again sometime.

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And finally, a "This 'n' That" post is not complete without complaints about the weather, right? Actually, there's probably something else I wanted to say but I can't remember it so... It's cold today and tomorrow it's going to be f***ing cold. Well, it's December so that's normal but it was nice for so long when it normally should have been getting cold so now this feels like a sudden tragedy. (Yes, I am being overly dramatic.) As I said on Twitter recently (or was it Facebook?) I wish global warming worked like people think it does - you know... making the weather warmer than "normal" all winter instead of making it weird and sometimes colder than normal.