Ok, I'll admit it. I'm a newcomer to the cyber-universe and it's moving at such a pace, I struggle to keep up. I mastered my
MySpace just in time for
Facebook to become the place where cool cyber-beings hang. Now I'm trying even trying to
Tweet.
But what really has me flummoxed is the use of cyber-shortcuts--acronymns that have me scratching my head. Of course, once I figure them out, they make so much sense and my daughter thinks I'm cool when I IM (instant message) her. She was quite proud of how tech-saavy I'm becoming when I ended our conversation with TTYS (Talk to you soon). When I used it with my DH(dear husband), he thought it meant "Ta-Ta, You Stud!" Guess I won't try to tell him different.
Then there's LOL(laugh out loud), ROFL(rolling on floor laughing), and the more graphic ROFLMAO(rolling on floor laughing my a** off) and two of my daughter's favs, IDK (I don't know) and KWIM (Know what I mean?).
In fact, there's a whole secret universe of acronymns out there. And a good many of them are used by teenagers to keep their parents clueless.
Now, that's ok. I understand that parents suffer from IQ deprivation until their kids turn 21 and a little rebellion is good for self-actualization and all. But the internet can be a dangerous place.
So when I was researching this post and ran into a site that taught teens how to signal when their parents were watching or that the coast was clear, or ways to ask for nude pics of each other or to give their age/sex/and LOCATION(!), I started to think acronymns stink. Who needs shortcuts to disaster?
I know some people think there's a disconnect here. I write pretty hot romance, but I write for adults. I'm not in favor of underage sex. I remember being totally flumoxed when I was taking some grad school courses a few years ago with a bunch of middle school teachers and I couldn't get them to agree that it was A GOOD THING FOR MIDDLE SCHOOLERS NOT TO HAVE SEX! They didn't want to impose their values on the kids.
Excuse me. We impose our values on them all the time. And we should. You wouldn't let your kid play with a lit stick of dynamite. Why feel you can't tell them to wait for something as emotionally, physically, and spiritually explosive as sex?
And don't get me started on how easy texting, sexting and the rest of the internet have made life easier for pedophiles. It's all FMTYEWTK (Far More Than You Ever Wanted To Know).
Wow, I didn't set out to make this a rant. Sorry. But protecting young people is something I feel passionate about. I had intended to ask you to share your favorite internet acronymns. Now I just want to know if you think I'm crazy. I'm glad my kids are grown. If yours aren't, how do you protect them from too much, too soon?
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Please join me today at Sapphire Romance Realm for a chance to win YOUR CHOICE of my backlist!
I firmly believe part of who we turn out to be in life is a product of the people we surround ourselves with and the books we read. At no time is this more true than when we are children. The books I read as a child were grafted onto my soul with such firmness, I still remember the thrill of Black Beauty, the determination in Where the Red Fern Grows, and the joy and sorrow of Little Women as if I'd lived those fictional lives myself.
I'm always a little sad when Labor Day weekend rolls around. It's the last hurrah of summer and pretty soon my little dog Susie will be prancing along complaining her feet are cold on the frosty sidewalk when we go outside! But as long as Labor Day is upon me, I'd better plan to take advantage of the long weekend. However, we don't intend to brave the insane traffic trying to get out of the city later today. 
Speaking of reading, I'm in the middle of Lauren Willig's THE TEMPTATION OF THE NIGHT JASMINE and loving it. She has a "then and now" sort of thing going on with the structure of the novel--a couple set in current time who are studying a couple set in the past. Lauren tells the story of each with a gently comedic tone and a bit of espionage in both time periods. I highly recommend it.
My blog has received another award, though the title of this one "OUTSTANDING ROMANCE BLOG" leaves me feeling a bit overwhelmed (and a little naughty since I don't stick with romance topics all the time!) Perhaps it's a subtle hint that I should stop wandering where ever my interests take me. But thank you to Sheree of THE ECLECTIC READER for giving me this "outstanding" award (and it's pretty, too!)
If you are looking for something to while away some idle time this weekend, may I suggest the NightOwl Summer Love Webhunt? It's an easy way to score some great reads and book swag. I'll even get you started on this cyber-scavenger hunt. The graphic you need to find on my website is about half-way down my Bookshelf page on the left. 
Ok, I'll admit it. I'm a newcomer to the cyber-universe and it's moving at such a pace, I struggle to keep up. I mastered my MySpace just in time for Facebook to become the place where cool cyber-beings hang. Now I'm trying even trying to Tweet. 
So when I was researching this post and ran into a site that taught teens how to signal when their parents were watching or that the coast was clear, or ways to ask for nude pics of each other or to give their age/sex/and LOCATION(!), I started to think acronymns stink. Who needs shortcuts to disaster?
I've been married to the same surprising man for longer than either of us was single. You'd think in that length of time, I'd know everything there is to know about him (even though he is Norwegian and they invented the strong silent type!) But he continues to throw me curves.
Then when we moved to Wyoming, he wanted to buy some horses. I had no idea he could ride. This pic is of my DH and Star, my little mare. She was so sweet, butter wouldn't melt in her mouth, but Cody, the gelding my DH rode was so full of himself, it was hard to believe he'd been snipped. But every time Cody got cantankerous, my DH stared him down. My DH was definitely the only stallion in the paddock and try as Cody might to have a rodeo, he was never able to throw my DH. I'd been sleeping with a centaur all those years and never knew it! 
Now you've got to understand that we both come from the bluest of blue-collar backgrounds. Nothing wrong with that. I'm just saying the thought of attending an Ivy League university when we were growing up in the Midwest was about as remote a possiblity as walking on the moon. 
