How To Create A Text Shortcut

If there are things you type repeatedly, like an email address or a set of hashtags, setting up text replacement shortcuts can save you a significant amount of time. And they're easy to set up. 

(Note: These instructions are for an Apple iOS device. I'm not familiar with Android products and don't know how to access similar functionality.)

First, choose "Settings"

Scroll down to "Keyboard"

Select "Text Replacement"

Select "+" to create new shortcut

In my example, I wanted to create a shortcut that I could use to quickly add hashtags for a Ragnar Relay race. I added the text in the "Phrase" box and then created a three character shortcut (ras).

Here it is, in action. 

And that's it. It's that simple. Enjoy!

Getting Lean.

Ever try something new and have it not work out at all like you hoped? I hope so, because if you haven't, I think you're playing it way too safe. Risk brings great rewards, too.

Me, I try new things all the time. And sometimes, they don't work out at all. But that's okay. I can always adjust, right? And that's what I'm doing now with my E-life.

I thought that I was so clever when I set up separate Twitter and Blogger accounts. I would continue to write about my life on one blog and I would post about my running adventures on the new blog. But that hasn't worked out at all. Instead of creating two distinct places for my writing, I succeeded only in pulling myself in different directions. Not cool.

So, I'm fixing things. Right now, I'm stripping down my web presence to the basics. Yes, that means that my running and health-related posts will appear on my blog along with political, social and (sometimes) completely random posts. But that's okay. Each of those things is a part of me, and I trust that people will either find it worth the time to read, scroll by it, or stop reading my writing altogether. That's for them to decide.

I have one blog here at www.runner12.com. That is where my new posts will be going. I have one Twitter account, @JohnHulsey. And I have one SparkPeople.com account, SanDiegoJohn.

I hope you hang around. This is only going to get better.

From the 'Why Didn't I Think of This?!" Department'

It's a wall outlet with USB ports built in. No more wall adapters needed. And it's made right here in the USA.  How cool is this?!

First Post via The iPad

This is my first blog post via the iPad. So far, this app has crashed twice. Not a great start. But I blame the program and not the hardware.

(Come on, you had to know that I wouldn't blame the iPad, no matter the problem.)

Will I use this to post? Maybe. It's just as easy to post via email. But for moderating and managing the blog, yeah, this might be helpful. We'll see.

Don't Be Proud of Your Ignorance

Obama: iPad, Xbox Turn Information Into A 'Distraction'

HAMPTON, Va. -- President Barack Obama, addressing graduates at historically black Hampton University on Sunday, said that it is the responsibility of all Americans to offer every child the type of education that will make them competitive in an economy in which just a high school diploma is no longer enough.

Moreover, Obama said, the era of iPads and Xboxes had turned information into a diversion that was imposing new strains on democracy.

"You're coming of age in a 24/7 media environment that bombards us with all kinds of content and exposes us to all kinds of arguments, some of which don't always rank that high on the truth meter," he told the students. "And with iPods and iPads, and Xboxes and PlayStations -- none of which I know how to work -- information becomes a distraction, a diversion, a form of entertainment, rather than a tool of empowerment, rather than the means of emancipation. So all of this is not only putting pressure on you; it's putting new pressure on our country and on our democracy."

(Continues at link)

Obviously, as anyone who has read my recent posts knows, I am a huge fan of the iPad. So yes, I'm a bit biased here. But this sort of celebrated ignorance on the part of the President is disappointing.

His near-boastful admission of ignorance reads to me like the people in the early 90's who would say, "oh, I don't even know how to turn a computer on," and sound somewhat proud of that fact. It's no crime nor sin to not have complete control of all technology, but to brag about what you do not know seems stupid to me.  And if he really doesn't know how to use an iPod, why would he give one to the Queen of England?

But to the bigger allegation, that these devices are distractions or, worse still, peddlers of disinformation, I would remind the President that the same has been said of every media format since the beginning of time. Surely the first cave wall drawing depicted one man's interpretation of an event rather than an unbiased telling of it. Unfortunately, at the time, there were very few choices for alternative media.

The delivery system is not the problem here. And blaming the messenger does nothing to address the real issues. In fact, the President's clumsy speech should have stressed the need for critical thinking, not been an example of the lack of it. Perhaps the President should have been in my meeting with my IT Manager, who told me that he had read more news in the first week with his iPad than he had in the entire month prior. And maybe the President should utilize the amazing new apps designed exclusively for the iPad that provide more than just text for any news story. They also include links to source material and other related stories, so I can verify data and read it in the context of other relevant data.

I expect better. I certainly expect a President who knows better than to demonize technology.

This is just so, so wrong.

This is Snopes crazy sort of stuff, but here it is:

Terrorists Could Use Explosives in Breast Implants to Crash Planes, Experts Warn

Female homicide bombers are being fitted with exploding breast implants which are almost impossible to detect, British spies have reportedly discovered.

The shocking new Al Qaeda tactic involves radical doctors inserting the explosives in women's breasts during plastic surgery — making them "virtually impossible to detect by the usual airport scanning machines."

It is believed the doctors have been trained at some of Britain's leading teaching hospitals before returning to their own countries to perform the surgical procedures.

MI5 has also discovered that extremists are inserting the explosives into the buttocks of some male bombers.

"Women suicide bombers recruited by Al Qaeda are known to have had the explosives inserted in their breasts under techniques similar to breast enhancing surgery," Terrorist expert Joseph Farah claims.

I don't know what to make of this. It sounds plausible, but wouldn't there be a rash of successful plane bombings already? It's not like this requires a lot of lead time. I'm really not sure if this is tabloid nonsense or a credible security concern. It sounds crazy enough to be a hoax, but is there a reason that this CAN'T be true? I'm going to remain skeptical about this until the story appears somewhere besides The Sun, Fox News, and World Nut Daily.

Facebook? Ugh.

For some reason, I can't log into my Facebook account through my mobile phone. Goofy, right? I key in my email and password and it drops me right back to my logon screen.

Stupid Facebook.

One In A Row

The sign read "start here," so we did. And this post marks one day posting in a row. I hope I am more consistent in 2010.

[gallery]

Test email to blog

So, did it work?

Falling into Fifty

I'm ready to write again. And I miss Falling into Forty. So the obvious solution is this, Falling into Fifty. And since there is no reason to maintain multiple blogs, I will consolidate all the others into this one.

Here we go.

The 101 Most Useful Websites

Interesting.