Image from flickr user Hawk Eyes

The Texas Rangers made the playoffs again this year. No smack talk from me. I just watch and hope for the best. “Rootin’ Tootin’ Ranger” was the name of a Rangers mascot from the ’70s. Wow, that game on Monday, October 10, blew me away. Would you believe the game’s walk off grand slam was the first in MLB playoff history?

What a series it has been between the Rangers and Tigers! The third base thing and it happened twice! (I won’t bore you with details, but email me if interested.) Then same guy who hit the walk off grand slam almost did the same thing in game four in the top of the 9th. He hit a three-run homer.

Brain food…

• The Art of Writing Business Processes. I did this for 10 years of my career before leaving the corporate world for freelancing. I enjoyed the work and believe in the importance of business processes and continuous process improvement.
• Being Kind Doesn’t Make Me Stupid. Is there something you can make right today? Things can and do happen sooner than we expect.
• How do you sign an e-book? I wondered this … now here’s a way. Not surprised.
• 5 Great Questions to Ask Yourself After a Failure. We all say we learn from our failures, but how much? These questions will ensure you learn as much as possible.
• How to Avoid Burn Out: 10 Symptoms of Severe Stress. Yes, another from Lifehack. You can love what you do and still burn out. Here’s help for those times.

And for fun because we’re allowed…

• The Best Obnoxious Responses To Misspellings on Facebook. (Some cuss words.)
• Funky Font Flowchart. Won me over just by leaving out Comic Sans.
• The Seven Deadly Keys. I guess I have a bad case of envy.
• The 50 Best Steve Jobs Tributes From All Over The World. I liked so many of them, but a few stood out especially sefanomanca, three apples changed world, Apple cries.

Photo from sxc.hu user bo_1963

So I decided to come up with a wacky title for this week’s links. Nothing to do with dancing, but it rhymed and Monday is Columbus Day. In 5th grade, I drove my social studies teacher crazy by repeating two lines of a Columbus poem. (In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. In 1493, he sailed the deep blue sea.) I’m amazed she didn’t send me to the principal’s office now that I have kids who have done the same to me.

We’ve all done things to drive our teachers, parents and other adults nuts. What about you?

Brain food …

• 3 Tips for Professional E-Book Covers. Yes, we do judge books by the cover — ebooks included.
• How to Read More: A Lover’s Guide. Even book lovers like me fall into a reading slump. You get busy or choose to relax while watching TV. (It’s essentially reading for me because I read captions!)
• 10 Key Points Freelancers Must Know About LinkedIn. Good reminders. LinkedIn has so much going on. This cuts to the chase.
• Mobile Framework Comparison Chart. For my designer buds. Compare all the frameworks and choose the one that best fits your needs. [Link: Deborah Edwards-Onoro]
• Exquisite Tweets. Paste the URL from a single tweet in a conversation to get a one-page thread to share or save. [Link: Dana Chisnell]

And for fun because we’re allowed …

• 10 Coolest Lunch Bags. If you work in office with public fridge, first lunch bag and one other (ick) will stop theft. I like the lunch bag art bags.
• the difference 10 years makes. Cartoon covering TV, mapping, cell phones and more.
• 12 Hilarious Graffitis on Signs. Spoiler alert! Skip the first one if you haven’t seen Marley & Me …
• Size Comparison Of Famous Sci-fi Spaceships. Putting the end to “My ship is bigger” debate.
• Social Media Icons. I rarely follow the egg. Maybe twice out of the 8,000 I follow.

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Ahh … rough week. Best I let y’all go adventuring through these links.

Brain food…

• Where to Find Free Market Listings. An alternative to the awesome Writer’s Market.
• The 12 Golden Rules of Great Conversations. Tips also apply to writing. For example: Instead of “That’s a huge burger!” use “That thing is a heart attack on a plate!”
• How to Kill the Facebook News Ticker. I use the AdBlock Plus extension in both Chrome and Firefox. It works! Put the two lines in two separate filters, not one.
• Read One Book a Week. Once you get rolling, you’ll keep going. Here are great books with fewer than 200 pages.

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Photo from sxc.hu user Spiders

Can’t believe fall arrived on time in the Dallas area after one of the hottest summers ever. Today is the first time I donned my sweater while working in the office. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think about fall aside from changing leaves? For me, it’s candy corn. I know Halloween is over a month away, but somehow it’s become a bad habit for candy corn (and it must be a specific brand) to find its way into my house along with a few candy pumpkins.

Brain food …

• The Great Big (30+) List of iPhone Apps for Writers. Ooh. Saving this in case my next phone is an iPhone. BlackBerry still fighting … battery flipped out, but found a replacement and it’s still working.
• Blog Book Tour Providers. Blog tours are a great way to spread the word about your book without the cost of travel. You also get a search engine boost.
• What Is the Point of Writing a Book If You Have No Online Presence? Authors need to think platform and presence long before the book deal.
• Attitude Counts. This economy can bring anyone down because it keeps beating on us. It’s OK to be down, but don’t be out for too long. Take action.

For fun because we’re allowed …

• When Parents Text. How about “When kids new to texting text?” I hope I never land on this list. 10 Funniest Parent Texts from Oddee.
• 88 Ways to Make a Stranger Smile. Nothing lifts one’s spirits than making another smile just because …
• X-Men Restroom Sign.
• What It Would Look Like If Facebook Was Honest About Its New Changes.
• The past and the future of famous logos. So future logos will be boring, or turn into generic icons?

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My high school’s college fair — gathering of representatives from different colleges — looks pitiful compared to this week’s in Plano (a skip north of Dallas). Plano holds two nights of college nights at two of its three senior high schools in mid-September. Over 200 colleges come. We also went one last spring in Irving that was bigger. These give kids a great opportunity to meet many colleges and narrow their lists.

It’s best to start attending them in 10th grade because by the senior year, you should know where you want to apply because the application process mainly occurs in the fall of the senior year. Thank goodness we went to two of them last year. Now, we’ll be sure to go to at least two during our sons’ junior years. Maybe sneak one in 10th grade. It depends on many factors.

For example, our daughter wants to go to a school in the Northeast. Because of the Irving college fair, she found out about two schools that offer scholarships she can get based on her scores and grades that would bring down the costs. No, she’s not one of those who has a 4.0 GPA or super high SAT scores.

My older son wants to go to Texas A&M or TCU. But he’s 12. Of course, he could change his mind. When I was growing up, I wanted to go to A&M like my big brother did. I got accepted there, but ended up going to TCU for a year and finishing at American U in Washington, DC. What changed my mind was partly personal and partly the realization I needed a smaller school and a better chance of getting smaller classes.

Some kids know exactly where they want to go. In this case, the college fair is an opportunity to learn more about the schools and check out other options.

What was your experience in preparing for life after high school?

Brain food…

• If Things Aren’t Going Right, Try the Left! While focused on art, the advice can work for a lot of areas of our lives.
• 100+ Free HTML Email Templates. Wow. These are beautiful. They’ve also been tested in many of the most popular email apps.
• You’re Reading Too Fast. Better to read fast and get through more books, or to savor and absorb everything? I think it depends on book.
• Codecademy. If coding was this fun back when I took Javascript, Java, PHP, etc. classes, I might’ve been a coder today. Nahhh… like my writin’ biz.
• From Writer to Writer. Emily Suess asked writers — me included — to share their advice for handling rejection.

And for fun because we’re allowed…

• To Boldly Go Where No Cookie Has Gone Before… Nom nom.
• You’re Mocking Me Aren’t You? Many faces of Buzz Lightyear.
• 10 Neatest Monopoly Boards. Three Monopoly games is enough. We have the original, kids’ version and the fancy one from Franklin Mint that we ordered years ago.
• Old Timey Star Wars. I love old timey pics.
• The Future According to Sci Fi Films. Better watch out… according to 2012 and I Am Legend, we’re facing the end of the world and zombies taking over next year.
• 100 Years of Fashion. 100 years, 100 seconds, catchy music and rockin’ dancin’.

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Here’s my “where I was” September 11 story. Where were you?

• Can Pre-Paid Legal Services Help Freelancers? You may have seen ads for Pre-Paid Legal or know someone who told you about it. It turned me off especially because of its MLM setup. But take away the marketing and it’s a good service.
• Book Blogger Directory. A keeper for authors. Remember, don’t just email ‘em all asking to review your book. Target blogs that match your book’s ideal reader. [Link: Chapter and Voice]
• How to Focus in the Age of Distraction. Great mindmap. But I had a hard time focusing and trying to stick with one branch. I kept jumping over. =)
• Where to hang out at Google+ Hangouts. I haven’t joined one yet. Have you? What was your experience?
• Two great Twitter tools. Twitblock: Scans your followers for potential spammers following you. DoesFollow: Quick way to find out if someone is following you without sending a DM or scanning that person’s long list of followers.

For fun because we’re allowed…

• Pencil pictures. Very cool.
• Brandversations: When competitors invade each other’s logos. Love the artwork.
• 8 Retro Imaginary Advertisements for Modern. More beautiful artwork that combines old time advertising styles with modern day gadgets. Think old Coca-Cola ads meet Macbook.

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Ah, it’s Labor Day weekend. I’m keeping this short so I can unplug. and I hope you do, too.

Brain food…

• Google + tips for freelancers. A couple of tips that you might not consider.
• 5 Time-Saving Tools to Add to Your Twitter Tool Belt. Ooh, a few interesting ones.
• The Monster Collection of Moleskin Tips, Tricks and Hacks. I never could make it a habit to use something like this, but I know a lot of people who love it — so here you go.
• Best Procrastination Tip Ever. Trying this by doing it as early in the day as possible and feel proud to move on with rest of my day.
• SEO Guide to Creating Viral Linkbait and Infographics. Mega-guide with valuable information.
• Bookboon. Download free ebooks including textbooks, business books and travel guides.

And for fun because we’re allowed…

• Creative Sign-Offs. Most of the time, I use “Best.”
• 15 Funniest LOLcats Ever. Cookie cat looks like Shrek‘s Puss in Boots when he does that pitiful look.
• 10 Products Discovered by Accident. Whoa! Play-Doh was supposed to clean wallpaper?
• How to Revise Your Work (& Awesome Editing Symbols You Should Know). Ha! I like “That’s a good idea, I’m stealing that!”
• How old is your globe? Looks like the family’s black globe is from 1949. It says “Copyright” on it, but no year.

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I live in Texas and haven’t been to a single high school football game since moving back to Texas in 1995. And, my daughter is a senior at a high school … a giant one (2600 in two grades) compared to mine (less than 2000 in four grades). Oh, I love football, y’all. My dad took me all around Dallas/Fort Worth to meet a few of the Dallas Cowboys and get their autographs.

Photo by Cherie A. Thurby

When the Cowboys won the Super Bowl in 1994, I was nine months pregnant. Although an exciting game, I couldn’t jump — thank goodness. Everyone wondered how I didn’t go into labor that day. (She arrived 10 days later — maybe that explains her disinterest in football.)

I joke that I didn’t graduate from a real college because it didn’t have a football team. Growing up in Fort Worth, I caught a few games at TCU where I went for my freshman year of college. Loved that experience especially when TCU played against Texas A&M. No matter how you feel about the Aggies, they have an incredible and precise band that puts most bands to shame. And no, it wasn’t because my husband had played in the Aggie band.  You just have to watch the Aggie band to understand.

My most memorable football memory has to be the 1986 Cotton Bowl: Texas A&M vs. Auburn and Bo Jackson. I have my brother, an A&M graduate, to thank for getting to see the game.

What’s your most memorable football memory? If soccer is your thing — go for it.

Brain food…

• Freelancer’s Guide to SEO – More Visibility, Traffic, and Clients. A well-organized doable guide with simple steps that won’t overwhelm you like others.
• 9 Ways Your Business Needs To Change To Become Social. This is how I try to work with social media. I truly love the interactions. I could spend all day listening and helping people if I could. [Link: Adam Helweh]
• How to Write a Good Freelancer Bio. Suggests various elements to include along with some tips.
• How to understand regret — and 2 ways to avoid it. I don’t think I have any big regrets in my life. Sure, I wish I had done some things differently, but if I had never done them … my path may not have ended up where it has today.
• 10 words worth collecting and how to use them. These aren’t insipid words. Quite the opposite.

For fun because we’re allowed…

• Social Media Explained… in very simple terms. Hilarious.
• Duck Tron. What happens when you throw duct tape into a scene from Tron.
• George Washington Autocorrect. HA!

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School begins on Monday. Yay! Hooray! Too excited? The kids had a good summer. It’s time to return to our regular scheduled programming, only this year it has a few more shows added than I would like. The little guy takes piano, does scouts and goes to religious school twice a week instead of once. The older guy adds football and has to practice twice a day for a big event in February.

The daughter gets busy with her college search and application process. Glad that last one will be done by November — I hope. I know some schools accept applications later on, but the bulk of the work happens this fall. Then, she can sit back and enjoy her senior year.

Me. I’ll be working extra hard to hold on to my sanity on top of mothering, wifing (boy, that looks like wi-fi’ing — you know, be a good wife), volunteering, serving clients as best as possible, chauffeuring, exercising, sleeping.

College has changed drastically from when I applied. I only applied to three schools. After I finished my freshman year, I applied to two schools because I moved to Washington, D.C. Now, kids typically apply to more than five schools. The cost? College tuition inflation multiples faster than regular inflation. In a conversation, someone said that it’s possible fewer kids will go to college in the future because of this. Or, go to community college — which are growing like weeds. I believe it.

Education is important. But not at the expense of your finances and sanity.  What are your thoughts on the state of college education?

Brain food…

• How to Find an Illustrator for Your Book. I suppose I should save this as I doubt Lane Smith, Chris Von Allsburg or Mo Willems are available or affordable.
• 3 Principles for Facebook Fan Pages. This author-focused article gives you the basics to get started, even if it’s with a personal page. Don’t start a page for the sake of it. Do it because you have a strategy and you want to commit to it. Although, he has been talking about social media for a long time, my client didn’t commit to a Facebook page until recently. If you’re into social media and marketing, you might find it useful.
• Is Free Too High a Price? I love this post as it clearly illustrates the value of giving away an ebook.
• 10 Things About Having A Writing Blog. George highlights what it means to manage a writing blog.
• Quiet Theory of Influence. A powerful post on how you can influence in social media without the oily stuff. People will argue against some of the points like the pop ups. I never liked them, but people have tested them and they do work. It’s like “Please RT” in Twitter. Yucky, but has shown to work. But I wouldn’t feel good about it… hence, snake oiliness.

For fun because we’re allowed…

• 12 Hilarious Pics of Starbucks Spelling. Do the barristers close their eyes to challenge themselves? How do you get “Parge” from “Kate?” Actually, I’d probably make these mistakes if I couldn’t read their lips.
• 50 of the World’s Best Guided Expeditions. I hope the next time I plan a vacation and travel someplace new, I remember to check this. [Link: Gina Stark]
• Exercises for the Terminally Busy. Often, I’ll take a short break mid-morning and do something like this. Then I do a full workout in the afternoon.
• 13 Hilariously Stupid Signs. “Staff and visitors only.” OK, who’s exempt?
• World’s Smallest Origami: A Rather Tiny Art Installation. Now I’ll be watching White Collar‘s Neal Caffrey copy … steal … these adorable works of art.

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I love schedule pickup and finding out my kids’ schedules, teachers and subjects even though I won’t know one teacher from the next. (Well, except my daughter happily got the same teacher again for math.)

I loved creating schedules like I did for high school and college. The only time it didn’t go well was during my freshman year of college. All the good courses were taken and I ended up taking a class that I wish I had never taken. I liked figuring out what courses I needed to satisfy my graduation requirements.

My daughter’s high school does it differently than mine did. She doesn’t get to pick her teachers. At my high school, seniors would go register first. Then juniors, and so on. We’d go into the cafeteria where the teachers were sitting by subject area and we’d go sign up with them. Of course, that wouldn’t work well in my daughter’s school of 2600 kids in 11th and 12th grade. Crazy.

The only thing I don’t know is who will be my youngest’ teacher. We’ll find out next week. That’s probably the most exciting one because I know many of the teachers at his elementary school. (We’ve been with this school since 2000 as the older two went through it.) He’s had a good track record in being assigned to the right teacher.

With schedule pick up comes buying school supplies, checking out spirit wear, joining PTA and going in shock in how much we’re spending in one week for all of this. And we didn’t have much spirit wear in high school. I had none in elementary or middle school. The only thing I had was a letter jacket. High school — I recall having a senior shirt, a sweatshirt for a senior girls’ group and a letter jacket. Yearbooks? That was a high school only thing.

And my parents had to shop for all of my school supplies. I’m grateful to the PTA for making that the easiest part of all this. The PTA works with school supply companies to order things in bulk. We just select the grade, write the check (of course, 3rd and 7th grade have the most expensive supplies in both schools!) and it’s done. Thank goodness, high school doesn’t have school supplies. The kids get what the teacher recommends or pickup what they need like folders, paper, writing instrument

I love back to school time. Yes, I do! It’ll be great to get back on a regular schedule. What’s your favorite thing about this time of the year?

Brain food…

• Quixey: Find apps that do what you want.
• 7 Ways for Marketers to Maximize Google+ Now. I like the tips in this one. Ironic, though. I couldn’t find the author’s social media links on his company website. Make sure yours links to your social media IDs.
• How to Write Better Using Humor. Crackers. Quixote. Cargo. Did I make you laugh? In editing an article, I noticed the author used sarcasm — in the same way I would. Except, it struck me as mean not funny. I better watch that!
• The Little Productivity Tip of a Zen Master. I love this one. I tend to do this — address things on the spot, unless it takes more time than I have. If I don’t, I fear forgetting and don’t always think to make it a task. Same concept as going through mail as soon as you get it.

For fun because we’re allowed…

• Angry Birds Superheroes: Who needs ordinary when you get the Avian Torch!
• 12 Coolest Things Inspired by Harry Potter. That dog! Too cute and funny. Those cupcakes. Yum!
• 62 Ways to Show Love. “I love you always works.” It’s nice to surprise and show in other ways.

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