The news came down on Friday that Amazon bought Goodreads. If you don't know what Goodreads is, it is a social media site for readers and authors. It is a good way to connect to authors and to discover new books to read. What does it mean though, now that it is part of the Amazon world? I read this article on Huffington Post blog post today about the acquisition. 

The author, Dan Blank, says:

I am not entirely sure how I feel yet about Goodreads being bought by Amazon. I remember in the early days of Amazon, it was hard to navigate and not too easy to find things, and over time, they grew and changed and made things more simple. Goodreads is in need to a usability change. It isn't the most user friendly site to navigate and needs a couple of more options for the reader to post things without them being reviews or and update on how far into a book they are. These are just things that as a former web designer, I find a little annoying. Most people probably won't agree with me and say that Goodreads is just fine. That is fine with me too. I am forced to see things a little differently because of my web design past.

In the long run, it will be interesting to see what happens. I know I don't want Goodreads becoming an extension of their e-commerce model because, personally, I buy books from Barnes and Nobel for my Nook and don't want to see sellers like them squeezed out in the end. Only time will tell.

You can read the rest of the HuffPo article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dan-blank/amazon-goodreads_b_2978457.html?ncid=txtlnkushpmg00000036

Hi all! I haven't posted this week because, well, I don't have much to say. I am really missing writing, but I have had a lot, and I mean A LOT, of schoolwork to do. I am getting closer to graduation and it is starting to wear on me. I think I told my husband at least twice that I didn't want to be in school anymore. I think it is more than anticipation of graduating in five months and not that I am ready to just give up.

I miss so much because of school. WRITING!! Isn't that what this is all about? I am not writing, and I mean AT ALL! I have so many ideas in my head but they all have to be pushed back because of a paper on Information Security or an assignment about algorithms, you know, truly exciting stuff. Ok sarcasm mode off. I miss my crafting stuff too. I don't get to make anything anymore. I have ideas for that and a lot of unmade patterns stacking up. Reading isn't happening much either. I have to sneak in books between everything else and it takes twice as long to read the books I am excited to read. 

In the end, though, this will all be worth it. I will have my degree, I will have ideas on paper, and I will hopefully be doing other things I want to be doing. I hope time is on my side this time.

Every spring, we have this great pair of Mourning Doves come nest right outside our door. They are used to us and we are used to them so it is a great relationship. We love to watch them have babies, watch the babies grow, and have a mixture of happy and sad when the babies fly away on their own. No matter what though, they come back and do it over year after year. 

This year is a bit different. Kids moved in across the hall. You would think kids would be fascinated about birds and nests, but no, these kids want to poke them with sticks and throw rocks at them. It is breaking my heart. B nicely told them to not bother the birds, but they didn't listen. So watch out folks, I may be writing a sad post about the babies not making it or something worse. I don't want anything to happen to them. I love this little bird couple and hope to see them again next year as well.

The good news, my semester is over. The bad news, my new semester began the next day. I got an A+ in two of my classes but a C+ in my Geology class. To be fair, I am an Information Security major and identifying rocks will not stop the spread of viruses and worms in a computer network. The class was a little beyond me but now all of my General Education classes are finally finished.

I know I am always saying I have no time to write and it really is the case. I feel like I am losing ideas on a daily basis. The times when I think of something is the time I can't write it down. When I get back to it later, it is gone, or at least the important parts are gone. Has anyone else had this problem? What do you do to combat it?