New (And Old) Members Introduce Yourself Here

Hi All,

I'm one of many newbies here on the vine, recently graduated from the Greenhouse this past week (Yeah!). My journalism history is just that - history. I passed up a college acceptance for a journalism major (really dumb on my part, I know) and decided to become an RN instead. Before nursing school, I worked for a small town newspaper (my very 1st job), then for a small magazine in Dallas TX. It folded. End of journalism story.

But I did use a little more journalistic "talents" during nursing school when I was on the state board of nursing students as the editor & distributor of the state newsletter.

Now, I'm a retired RN (disabled), raising my two oldest grandkids (special needs kids). I'm an avid Dallas Cowboys fan, an extreme weather enthusiast (own and operate a weather station & report to NWS/NOAA, etc.) and a ham radio operator.

Wish I'd found the Newsvine a LOT sooner ... looking forward to learning and contributing. Preferably in that order. :-)

~ Deborah

Welcome debkee! Happy Newsvining.

Hi, I'm kriselda, also known by my screen name of thorswitch (for anyone who's curious, that breaks out into Thor's Witch - but most sites don't like apostrophes in their username :D)

I'm over 40, married, disabled (homebound), Heathen, moderate-liberal and "mom" to 2 wonderful lab mixes and a very snotty cat.

I love having discussions about a variety of things with intelligent people, and there seem to actually be a few of those around here, so that's nice. I also am a big fan of prog rock with a MAJOR addiction to the band Rush, and until my hand got all goofy on me, I played a pretty mediocre electric guitar. I'm also insane, as evidenced by the fact that most of what I learned about playing guitar came from trying to teach myself how to play Rush's songs. I suspect my astounding mediocrity resulted from trying to play that far out of my range, somewhat akin to Gary Coleman trying to teach himself to play basketball by mimicking Yao Ming.

I enjoy true crimes stories/shows, as well as fictional criminal procedurals, thrillers - mainly political and psychological, *well-done* Sci-Fi/Fantasy shows, smart comedies and - Gods know why - the I have a horribly embarrassing soft spot for all those "young dancer(s) and/or musician(s) who is/are recognized as having the potential to be A Star, and is told that he/she/they will be a featured performer in the Event Of The Year that will make or break her career, but first he/she/they must overcome self-doubt, have his/her/their ego brutally deflated, learn that sometimes the people aren't really who he/she/they think they are - with one of the above dramatic events putting his/her/their participation in the Event Of The Year in jeopardy, before finally giving a breathtaking performance at said Event, unleashing him/her/them to set the world of dance/music on its ear" movies.

That's pretty much about it - everything else is either real boring or somewhat scary, so I'll stop there.

Nice to meet you!

Hi everybody,

I have been around the Vine since Februay and would have come on board sooner but I did not listen to my son. My son Keith suggested I join Newsvine because as he says, "I needed an outlet" for my thoughts and feelings. I am glad I joined.

I have lived in Orlando for the past 24 years (moved from White Plains NY), retired from AT&T and became a Realtor. Since the Orlando market went absolutely crazy and became unaffordable for so many, I decided to go to Texas to get a license there. My son moved his family to Spring after they were displaced by Hurricane Katrina (they lived in Kenner) and his company moved their office to the Houston area.

Well, just as I was about to take the state exam my father, who lives in Tarboro NC, was diagnosed with cancer (multipile myeloma) this past May. Needless to say, I have been in very small town America since taking care of him. He has been in the hospital since July 10 (not battling the cancer either--went in for fast heart rate and got the deadly MRSA pneumonia). It has been a life and death struggle since. Fortunately, he pulled through and will be home tomorrow--completely dependent on help from others which is difficult for him since he has always been quite independent. I'm getting out of here ASAP. This little town has changed very little since I was born here 56 years ago. I am taking my Dad with me since of his seven children I seem to have the most flexible job--yeah right--no sale, no money!

I have read and commented on some of your stuff so keep it up. You seem to have a great sense of humor and an enlightening spirit-so why aren't you on my Friends list? Anyway, keep up the good work and I will see you around the Vine. Welcome to all the newcomers and don't let some of the bullies we have here scare you off. Just know when and where to comment and you will be fine. Do not forget the "Ignore" button if you come across anyone you cannot deal with. There are a lot of very respectable folks here and there are some who are not so.

Thanks again Scott for this post.

Sorry Scott. I introduced myself "there" since I forgot you had moved "here"

Hi Tedd. Not sure what you mean by "Dave from FrontPage fame" but I am a Microsoft MVP for FrontPage and I answer technical questions in the FrontPage newsgroups.

Scott, as Tedd said, FrontPage is a web site development tool. It was bout by Microsoft in '97 and has been their main web development package for home users (and power users) for many years. FrontPage is still around but there won't be any new versions. It's been replaced by Microsoft Expression Web (Frontpage on Steroids). The main competitor is Macromedia Dreamweaver.

Hi,

My name is Vernon. I found my way here when I found popurls.com. I don't have a lick of journalistic experience but I am an avid reader. I'm not much of an avid commenter but when the spirit moves me I try and make it a well thought out comment.

When I'm not parked in front of the computer I'm reading, fishing, drinking coffee.

Thanks.

I've never been reading and fishing, but I have been know to be fishing and drinking coffee. :o)

Hello Newsviners,

I'm Rosie. I found Newsvine when I posted a blog on yourhub.com/denver. It was a link, and I thought it would be "useful" to me, as I am trying to get my story out to as many people as I can. What a surprise to me, when I found out that Newsvine was useful to me in a different way than I thought it would be. I found out that this is the best site I've ever been on, where I can learn, express my own thoughts and ideas, and meet a lot of great people, as well.

I'm 55, disabled, and became a widow on 6/25/07. Currently, I live in Minnesota, but I have also lived in NY state, PA, CO, IA, TX, NE, and WA. I have 3 adult daughters, and the middle daughter was adopted out at birth. I found her on 8/10/05, and I met her on 10/10/07. Adopting her out is why I posted my original story on yourhub.com.

Most of my writing is poetry. I started writing in the spring of the year of 2005. All of my poetry is inspired by the feelings I'm having as I'm writing, and a lot of them are from negative feelings. I was going through a period of difficult events when I wrote my first poem. My husband had just been diagnosed with lung cancer, and my brother also was in the final stage of lung cancer.

I consider being a member of Newsvine a privilege, and I consider having my Newsvine friends an honor.

Hello everyone,

I've been here a few weeks but haven't introduced myself. I'm 54yrs old and currently a cancer patient and retired (involuntarily). Before that I've been a Registered Medical Technologist, systems analyst, and contributing editor to PC magazine. I've really been enjoying my time here. The other site that I enjoy spending my time on is plastic.com. I tend to gravitate toward writer-centric sites.

Thanks for letting me attend this gathering!

david; 31 next week; a postdoc at a university in scotland; from central PA; interested in science, languages, human rights, international development, history, and lots more. oh, and stories. stories are possibly the most important thing in the long-run.

i joined newsvine while exploring various social networking and bookmarking sites online. it's a diversion from the lab, where i spend most of my time, and (not surprising to anyone here) has become an addiction.

i gave up other diversions like computer games and tv because i had a nagging feeling that i needed to do something important. research is important, yeah, but i wanted to do something more... immediate. my long-term hope is to find some way to combine my interests in science, human rights, and development.

for now i'm content to use newsvine as a filter to get to the most interesting stories online, and along the way to learn from everyone here. in exchange i hope to contribute a little of what i know.

djproctor

Nice part of the world that you live in. My trip to Scotland in the spring allowed me to appreciate how beautiful the country is, why the people who live there are so characteristically interesting (their 1500-1700 heritage), and how Ireland and Scotland are so alike and different at the same time.

Hey everyone, I've been around since... hmmm... um... Feb 07 I believe. It took me a while to find my niche and I think that's important, Scott's niche is pumping out over 100 things a day, I know this because my tracker for Scott always stops at 100 but I know he's hard at work! My thing is fiction writing. I tend to focus on Noir, but I tend to hide in Scott's shadow playing his little games he does over in the Writer's Group. I suggest everyone give it a shot.

I feel that everyone's gonna have their own thing here, I tried doing it all when I got here and it didn't work all that well. So find what makes you happy here and go for it!

Hello all,

I'm de-lurking...funny I'm not shy IRL but here I just don't know where to start.

How about my name? The Other Meat - adopted in I think it was in 2001 as a play on Austin Powers' character Fat Bastard's desire to eat Mini Me: "baby. The other other white meat." Heh. So there ya go.

I'm 35, a native mid-westerner living in the deep south, a social worker, a massage therapist and ex network engineer. Yes I'm a supporter of NPR and a geek. I'm never sarcastic (whoooo, meeee?) and tend to trust BBC over CNN. If there's a little guy, I'm probably rooting for him and I believe intolerance should not be tolerated. If I could get away with it in the conservative city I live in, I'd cover my vehicle with snarky bumper stickers. I prefer to preserve its paint and keep the windows intact, so I just quietly boycott Wal-Mart, recycle, buy organic, keep in touch with my mid-western friends and maintain an anthropologist's viewpoint of my surroundings.

There. Now I've either made a few friends or a few enemies.

Hi. As my screen-name suggests, I'm Jared Kardos. I'm 19 years old and currently in community college. I want to be a journalist but unfortunately the community college does not have a degree there, so I'm just doing my pre-requisites.

I'm also a credited theater actor and an aspiring author. My other interests include music, movies, and comic books.

never introduced my self on any of the forums,should have done it...i thought with so many good writers, i felt out of place and was a bit hesitant...I joined on 10/2007

I am Navigator, i come from Aviation...sub branch Aviation Security, i am an instructor and a behavior profiler..i was heading security operations for a airport till recently and then decided to move in to aviation security training...i have worked on hyper sensitive airports...gone through all the grind and lived through threats...with my blood pressure going up and down..i am a chain smoke and love my drink.....

I mostly seed on political affairs and have written some articles on aviation and aviation security...

I don't have a favorite fruit but i hate pineapple.. it s long story.....

cheers to all

Hi everyone,

I'm retired (disabled), 60+, Canadian living in Ontario. I can't recall how I came across Newsvine, but I am very happy that I did. I read a little politics, quite a bit of what someone called the 'softer' columns. I'm interested in reading about how other people think about all kinds of topics. I think that Newsvine is a worthwhile, always interesting, endless conversation taking place among people of goodwill.

Hey all, my full name won't fit on here, so you can call me what everyone else calls me: CRUTCH.

Thanks to Marilyn L for inviting me in here; until I found this page, I had no idea how rude I was being--running my mouth without ever properly introducing myself.

I stumbled on to the Vine during a google search some months ago and have quickly become an addict. It is so refreshing to see so many people discussing so many topics with such a level of respect...I am humbled. I was raised in the South by well educated and good-mannered folks who believed in leaving politics and religion out of polite conversation. It's a great upbringing, but when combined with the fact that I was kicked out of college in my sophomore year some 15 years ago, I've been without a constructive outlet for my rage at the craziness going on all around me. I try to self-edit as much as possible, but inevitably I say some stupid things in here now and then. I truly appreciate the respect with which I have been treated and I try hard to always recognize it and return it. I really am learning.

Some demographics:
I'm 34, I live on the beach in the last quiet little beach town in southern California and my one grand passion is to surf. It is my whole raison d'etre. For me it is Vipassana meditation plus Ashtonga yoga while driving a race car; at once the most peaceful and exhilarating experience in life. I am truly blessed.
Before I was so unceremoniously expelled from college (another story, another time) I was bent on being a Constitutional lawyer. Afterwards, I went and got a job in the car business. It turned out to be serendipity. I soon bought out the company and now, ten years on, I have found what I would define as true success: all the money I need in about 30 hours a week. After all, what good is money if you have no time to enjoy all the things it affords? I am now as close as I have ever been to finding balance. The other side of that coin is that I have nothing to distract me from all that I perceive to be wrong with the world.
I am a tireless defender of personal liberty, for all it's virtues and its costs, and I am impatient with those who would not strive to defend their own. I believe in the basic goodness of humanity. I am also a bit of a paradox: while I am directly descendent of the settlers and founders of this country (I can trace my paternal lineage to the 17th century here) and I look the part (tall and blond), I am also gay and HIV-positive. So, at once a member of the most and least powerful classes of our society. And no regrets. My experience has been truly enlightening.
As I said before, I am here to learn. So thanks in advance for all that you guys have to offer.

Hi everyone,

I'm retired (disabled), 60+, Canadian living in Ontario. I can't recall how I came across Newsvine, but I am very happy that I did. I read a little politics, quite a bit of what someone called the 'softer' columns. I'm interested in reading about how other people think about all kinds of topics. I think that Newsvine is a worthwhile, always interesting, endless conversation taking place among people of goodwill.

Hello, my name is Sandie, (my Username is my "real" name). I'm 62, and live in South Essex, United Kingdom, just 30 miles or so East of London. I am retired, and my interests are Politics, Current Affairs, Computers, Virtual Railway Modelling, Collecting Diecast model cars, (Like Dinky Toys and similar). I am also interested in photography, (I own a Sony Cybershot digital camera, and a Sony Handicam camcorder, I also like rather weird pets like Tarantulas and Giant African Land Snails.)

I enjoy driving, (when I can afford the petrol), writing,walking, reading, and music. Favourite artists include Led Zeppelin, Nick Cave, Neil Young, and the Beatles.

I have worked at many types of job. I used to own my own Motor Repair Shop.

I am an Administrator of Four Forums, and write two Blogs.

I have been around Newsvine for just about a month, and I'm enjoying it a lot. Thanks for reading this.

Wow, to be in such great company is truly an honor. Does that sound corny? So be it. I am corny. Marilyn L. and so many other Newsviners have touched my life and heart in a way that I never expected. My Newsvine name is Alpha Dog. My friends call me AD. (My real name is Phyllis, but let's skip that one shall we?).

I have been "on the Vine" for about a year and a quarter -- 6 months of which I was 'on sabbatical.'
Not a good 6 months. :-( As interested as I am in politics and world affairs, it has been my choice to build my cyber home on the softer side of the vine.

though my career background is long and corporate, I now spend my weekdays split between freelance copywriting and walking dogs. Dogs and people are my passion. And, present company excepted, I like dogs best. I look forward to getting to know each and every one of you better.

Hi, my name is Jason. I just looked at my profile and it says that I've been a member since 5/07. The strange thing is, I've been coming to this site since it started (I was reading Mike D's page before he started newsvine). I guess my lurking nature kept me from joining right away...

Anywho, a little about me, I just starting to get into web design *cough*anyjobofferswelcome*cough* and am looking to change the career path that I'm in (we won't talk about that :). I love keeping up on tech events and just general news through the vine. I just recently started getting involved with groups and I'd like to thank Marilyn L for being my first friend!!

I'm still looking for a pic to put on my profile. I don't consider myself very photogenic, so that's probably why I don't like any of the pictures that I have. Maybe that will be my goal for this week... maybe...

Well, thanks for listening.