A daily expression of gratitude

I do a lot of crafts, from brewing beer to sewing, calligraphy to candlemaking.  Stores like Hobby Lobby, Michael’s, and Joann’s Fabric, have provided me with craft supplies and ways to discover new crafts.

 

 Thank You 13 - Craft Stores [1:20m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (25)

This thank you is not for the games and applications on Facebook, but because Facebook has given me the ability to reconnect with people I lost contact with.  Since I created my Facebook account, I have reconnected with over a dozen friends and I deeply appreciate having them in my life again.

 

 Thank You 12 - Facebook [1:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (22)

Austin Homebrew Supply is my local homebrew supply store. They have a good selection of brewing and winemaking supplies and ingredients, and lots of recipes.  They have always been helpful and are one of the reasons I have as much enthusiasm for brewing as I do.

 

 Thank You 11 - Austin Homebrew Supply [1:18m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (19)

I am thankful for recording technology. Recording technology makes it possible for me to take my music and audio books with me, go to a theater and watch a movie,  record a television show that I can’t watch, and listen to and record podcasts.  Recording technology is so much a part of my everyday life that I rarely think about it, but I am very thankful for it.

 

 Thank You 10 - Recording Technology [1:27m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (18)

Last year, my boyfriend and I adopted a kitten named Squish.  He had been brought to the Town Lake Animal Shelter here in Austin. One of their volunteers fostered him until he was old enough to be be adopted. Squish has been a source of love, amusement, and wonder ever since we brought him home. He definitely has his moments of troublemaking, but he’s been a wonderful addition to our home.

For Squish, and for all the other animals that are rescued and adopted every year, thank you to Town Lake Animal Shelter.

 

 Thank You 9 - Town Lake Animal Shelter [1:11m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (22)

Thank you #8 goes to W3Schools.  They are my go-to website when I need a quick reference, refresher, or tutorial for most web-related coding.  They have tutorials and examples that you can test.  If you’re looking for information about HTML, Javascript, CSS, XML, PHP or several other subjects, you can find it on their site.

 

 Thank You 8 - W3 Schools [1:13m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (38)

I started 365 Thank Yous because I wanted to make sure that these thank yous and expressions of gratitude got out.  True thank yous aren’t said enough and most of us seem to think we have plenty of time to say them later, but we not have the time we think we do. That point was driven home yesterday.

Just a few days ago, I thanked Tee Morris. Yesterday, he and his young daughter (Sonic Boom) were left alone by the unexpected death of his wife.

Even in the sadness caused by this passing, there is something to be thankful for. The podcasting tribe has come forward to support Tee and Sonic Boom and Phillippa Ballantine has set up a ChipIn account to help them with immediate expenses. There are also plans for a long term trust fund for Sonic Boom.

So today, in addition to my scheduled thank you, I am thankful for the opportunity to say my thank yous, I am thankful for the podcast tribe and the generosity they are showing, and I am thankful for the opportunity to help Tee in a tangible way.

My 7th thank you goes to Farpoint Media.  Without Mike Mennenga and the rest of the Farpoint crew, I would never have found most of the podcasts I continue to listen to.  The Farpoint Media family now includes about 100 podcasts on a variety of different subjects. If you want to find podcasts to listen to, I highly recommend starting at Farpoint.

Some examples – pulled from my current and past podcast subscriptions:

• Dragon Page Cover to cover – interviews with authors and discussion of fantasy and sci-fi books
• Slice of Sci-fi – what’s going on in the Sci-fi world
• I Should Be Writing – Mur Lafferty’s podcast about writing fiction
• Survival Guide to Writing Fantasy – Tee Morris’ original podcast about writing, publishing, and marketing your work (ended in 2009)
• Adventures in Sci-Fi Publishing – about the sci-fi and fantasy publishing world
• Variant Frequencies – short stories of the speculative fiction genre
• DragonHearth – Tracy and Laura Hickman’s podcast
• Freshly Green – environmentally friendly advice and suggestions
• Marc Gunn’s Pub Songs Podcast – pub songs from Marc Gunn
• The Irish & Celtic Music Podcast – the title says it all
• Speaking of Beer – information and education on beer

 

 Thank You 7 - Farpoint Media [1:11m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (18)

I use the Firefox browser from Mozilla and I love it. I recommend it to anyone I know who is still using Internet Explorer.  Why do I love it?  It plays well with web standards and the extensions available for it make web-design and posting much easier.

So, to Mozilla and to the many developers that work on Firefox and its extensions – Thank you.

 

 Thank You 6 - Firefox [1:19m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (20)

Today’s thank you goes to Mur Lafferty.

Mur inspires me because of how much she has done – from writing for role-playing games and a book on podcasting to podcasting her essays and novels. She is always challenging herself and sharing her efforts and lessons with us.

You can find links to all her work below the podcast player or at the Murverse.

 

 Thank You 5 - Mur Lafferty [1:26m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (28)

I Should be Writing (advice and information from Mur about writing)

Much of Mur’s audio fiction can be found at Podiobooks as well as at the following sites:

The Heaven Series

The Takeover (Zombies in corporate America)

Escape Pod (annual Christmas stories)

Playing for Keeps (Super – and not so super – heroes)

Mur’s Published Work