Today my Twitter On Paper arrived!   For those of you who don’t know about this project, a guy named Sam Potts in Brooklyn, NY, decided that he would allow people to request that he write down, on paper, any Tweet he had previously made and mail it to the requesting person, free of charge.   He has just finished the project, capped at 1,000 hand-written and mailed Tweets, and I am now possessing one of them because I requested one before he finished — this is so cool!

So, here’s the envelope as it arrived.    Note that Sam has some incredibly good handwriting:

Opening the envelope, I find two sheets of paper, one with a greeting from Sam on it, the other with my Tweet-on-Paper:

The greeting sheet reads, “Thank you for participating in Twitter on Paper.   You’re always welcome to send something* back, if you like, no obligation!    Sam Potts, Somestreet, Brooklyn, NY 11215   *of equal or lesser value, of course!”

I will definitely be sending something back to Sam, but I have to think of something really creative and good.   I want to thank him for trying something pretty novel and curious and footing the entire bill for it.

My Tweet-on-Paper:

It reads:   “Ok no kidding people — when you get your ToP, do not blog about it.   Do not spread the word in any way.  This thing is already out of hand.” and it is stamped, “Jun 8 2009“.

The rules of Twitter-on-Paper stated that requestors had to specify a tweet that Sam had made himself, because he is the only owner of his own Tweets and the only one that has the legal copyright to distribute them as he wishes.   I picked the above Tweet because it’s kinda ironic — he’s Tweeting about the very thing that I requested.    A local black hole ought to open up near here any moment…

I think I’ll go and find a suitable frame for this little piece of Internet culture — after all, who knows in 5 years where Twitter and so forth will be?

A huge thanks to Sam Potts and his curiously fun little project — I love my Twitter on Paper!

Some of you know that I own an iPod Nano, won from an online contest. The great part about this is that I get to download and listen to podcasts on my drive to and from work. What’s a podcast, you might ask, eyebrow cocked in the air like you just don’t care? A podcast is like a blog, if you will, but in audio and/or video form. Some of these are outright blog-to-audio format, some are shows on TV or radio translated to a form that I can download and listen to at my leisure. These are all subscribed through iTunes, but most are available by themselves, so you can usually find them to download without the iPod or similar device.

These podcasts keep me awake, interested, and fill my head with things to think about as I whiz through the boring Iowa countryside and fitfully dodge deer in my little orange Aveo. Here then is my current cadre of podcasts in case you, sweet reader, would like to fill your head with something new, too.    Click on each icon to be taken to that podcast’s website for more information and/or download availabilities.

NPR's Planet Money

By far my #1 favorite podcast EVAR. Planet Money is all about taking the complex ins-and-outs of financial news and happenings and breaking it down into chewable bits for those of us who don’t speak using phrases like, “collaterized loans” and “stock options”. In these odd economic times, PM has become my go-to for covering current news about the government’s actions and what the implications might mean. Fun, impartial, even-paced, and interesting, I look forward to each and every one. Audio only with blog backup.

Free Culinary School

Chef Jacob is interested in one thing — FOOD — and he loves to teach you how to be a gourmet chef, too! Intended for those of you who don’t know diddly squat about the culinary arts and want to learn, or those of you who like a good refresher, he starts off with the basics — knife work, stocks, sauces — and then branches out to more complex topics. Personable, interesting, and with a great website to supplement, I use this podcast to fulfill the foodie in me who will never really become a chef, but likes the idea of trying. Audio only with huge website backup.

Countdown with Keith Olbermann

Keith always tells it like it is in politics, whether the truth hurts or not. He takes me home every evening and always keeps me interested and awake. OLBERMANN! Audio or video available.

The Rachel Maddow Show

Full of wit, sarcasm, and incredulousness, Rachel makes quick brainfodder of the news of the day. Both audio and video available. (video not recommend for driving)

Midwest Teen Sex Show

What sounds like a kinky porno turns out to be a intelligent, funny, off-the-wall show produced with teenagers in mind, covering topics in sex and sexuality with funny actors/actresses, costumes, with a witty and sarcastic bent. Nikol and her cast of compatriots lead you through short shows about any number of different topics dealing with sex. Mildly NSFW, depending on the podcast. Video only.

60 Minutes

The original news program. Sometimes useful, sometimes utterly boring. I judge this one by the titles and skip those that seem snorers. Audio and/or video, but who would watch the video?

This American Life

The popular hour-long show on NPR comes in a much handier packet as a podcast. Not all shows are lovely, but some are darn intriguing — and/or creepy. TAL always seems to have an odd bent on the subjects they pursue. Audio only.

News from Lake Wobegon

For those of you who cannot stomach the entire A Prairie Home Companion, Garrison Keillor’s news from ‘up nort’ is sure to amuse, mystify, and or put you to sleep gently, depending on the day. Audio only.

President Obama's Weekly Radio Address

Everyone should listen in, just in case the Big Chief has something important to say about the state of the world. Audio only (get it — radio broadcast?)

Photography Podcast

If you are a photography buff, or simply want to take better photos, you can’t go wrong with this podcast, which is all about doing it behind a camera and making it count. Audio only with website backup.

I Want Your Sex

Mia on Top leads you through stories about her sordid sex life in the world of sex parties, BDSM, open relationships, and play acting. NSFW. Audio only.

Dilbert

Dilbert in video form..what’s not to like? Short, sweet segments about Dilbert’s live in the cube. Video only.

NPR's Car Talk

Click and Clack love to talk about cars, and I always keep a few of their podcasts on hand, just in case I want to listen about cars and car repair. Audio only (they tried, but radio just didn’t tune in on the video, ya know?)

There you have it — my current listing of podcasts! I hope some of you find something you like! If you currently listen to podcasts or other online shows, let us know what, and why!

Twho. Twho.

I am really fazed and confused by the recent development on Twitter of everyone “auto-following” and sites that help you automatically gain OMG numbers of followers as long as you follow them all back.

Seriously, are you people BORED!?

I tweet, of course — you can click on the “T” icon on the upper right to see my stream and/or follow me if you like, but I try to hold that which I transmit to the masses to a dull roar, and if I can, keep it to something interesting. I’m not about to tell you every time I use a Kleenex because, frankly, you probably don’t givashit. And if you do, you’re creeping me out. Shoo.

I use TwitterFox for watching my own stream of followees, but I keep it trimmed down to a short, scrubby brush. If you follow me and I don’t follow you back, or only do so for a little while, it means you’re not interesting enough to bother with. Don’t take it personally, but I have enough updates to watch without hearing about how incredibly sore the third pimple on your left buttcheek is. It’s not that I don’t care — I just…don’t care.

Have you seen my Tweets?

The other part is this: I have a limited number of CPU cycles in my brain that can do something during the day, and most of those are already taken up by work, family, Facebook, personal projects, and daydreaming about a very frightened and bikinied Julia Stiles. Twitter has to slip itself in there somewhere, and if it’s inserting junk, that’s just going to gum up my gears. Not a pretty sight.

That being said, there’s a good deal of Tweeps that add and enhance my life. Here’s a brief list of those folks I follow who are truly amusing and/or informative. You might find them likewise, or they might strike you as a step above goring your own liver out with a swizzle stick. Different strokes.

• McCainBlogette – Meghan McCain, someone I’ll go into more later, but a fun-sounding gal, despite the political affiliation
• Slashdot – Keeps me from having to read the webpage just to find the few stories I care about
• wootshirt – A shirt a day of some odd incarnation
• thatgirlonline – Caitlin Hill, TheHill88 on YouTube, social youth media at its quirkiness
• planetmoney – NPR’s Planet Money, covering everything financial in real-world terms
• dooce – Mmm….psycho mommy. Heart!
• blurb – Dooce’s husband, an enigma into himself
• DMRegister – The Des Moines Register, Iowa news
• MarsRovers and CassiniSaturn – Because who doesn’t want to know all the sordid details of space probes?
• richardbranson – Mostly self-promoting, but hey…it’s some dude in a wild haircut who is richer than sin. That’s kinda neat.
• BrentSpiner – All the famous characters revealed in the man himself
• levarburton – Butterflies in the sky, they can tweet twice as high
• ComputerGeeks – Great deals on tech stuff from ComputerGeeks (geeks.com)
• wilw – Wil Wheaton’s random timelines of thinking
• BreakingNewz – The AP’s twitter feed for new news stories
• DellOutlet – Deals from Dell on whatever’s on sale that day
• thewino – Kris is inspiring to everyone, except those too dumb to read their way through her awesome writings

There’s more, of course — I’m following 93 people as of this writing — so don’t feel bad if you got left out (feel free to leave a link to yours in the commentary). Or check out my Twitter page to see who I all follow.

So….do you tweet? If so, why? If not, why not? And who do you like the best to follow if you do?