Social software: love it or hate it, it’s here in abundance and isn’t going anywhere.

I personally love the direction web applications have taken in the last few years. I couldn’t have imagined ten years ago everything that’s available online these days. I’m a member of a few of these social websites, so I figured I’d share what I’ve tried.

Last.fm:

I’m way behind on this one, as I only just started to use it a couple of weeks ago. It keeps track of every song you play on your computer and MP3 player, displaying them in handy charts. It will also recommend users who have similar tastes to you, so you can pop over to their profile and see their playlists. It even provides samples of most music and will create a ‘radio’ out of your common artists.

It’s a great way to find new and interesting music, so I’m surprised it took me so long to sign up. The only problem I have right now is that my iPod Nano usually doesn’t update my recently played list, so those songs don’t get added to my play count, which is very frustrating. It does work occasionally, just to keep me hoping.

Twitter:

This site lets you broadcast messages to whoever has signed up to listen. The messages have a 140 character limit, so they need to be short and sweet. The neat bit is you can update and receive the messages via text message.

I haven’t decided if this is lame or not. I currently have the messages popping up in Digsby, my instant messaging client, and that’s working quite well. It can be nice to break up those long work days with random messages sometimes.

Pownce:

This is like Twitter, but you can broadcast files as well. I haven’t found much use for this. I get e-mailed right now if there’s any activity on there, but I don’t use it much at all. Apparently, Digsby will be adding support for it eventually, so I might look into it again when that happens.

Flickr:

Everybody loves Flickr. They’re the quintessential example of how to do things right. I bought a Pro account with them when I first signed up, and I haven’t regretted it since. I don’t take nearly enough photos these days, but hopefully that’ll change with the new camera.

Facebook:

Yes, Facebook. Pure evil on earth, yet impossible to break away from once you join.

LibraryThing:

I signed up for this a few days ago, and I’ve added about half of my books. I’m really not sure what this is all about yet, but I basically signed up for this because I enjoy lists. Give me a beer, something to snack on, and group of objects that need itemizing, and I’m your man.

Basically you list all of your books, and then other people list their books, and….I’m not really sure what happens then. I guess it’s just interesting to compare libraries with other people. It also gives you recommended books based on what’s in your library, which could be handy.

One neat feature is that they’re adding the libraries of famous readers. I apparently share six books with Ernest Hemingway.

The one thing that worries me about this site is its focus on the books you own rather than what you’ve read. I’m currently trying to wean myself off buying too many books, and this site probably won’t help with that, but I figured I’d sign up and see what all the fuss was about.

Feel free to add me as a contact on any of these or share any sites you’ve been enjoying.

The tooth had to have a root canal, so I had the first half of the procedure done today after we finished with the first filling.

When it was decided to go ahead with the root canal, I had to move to another operating room within the office, one that had the necessary tools. In the time it took to make the move, the local anesthesia he had administered apparently wore off, and we didn’t realise this until he started drilling. I won’t be forgetting that moment for a while.

I have to return on Friday to finish the procedure and get another filling, and I’ll have a few more appointments over the next couple of months. I’m quite annoyed that I need to have so much work done. I thought I was fine when I was going in. I brush and floss twice a day, and didn’t have any pain at all, but I have been avoiding dentist appointments for years now. I’ll be making my regular cleaning appointments after this, though, as I’d rather not have to go through all of this again any time soon.

What’s even more fun is my work’s dental plan is terrible, so the root canal isn’t covered. Two surprises in one day - lucky me!

I’m back from the conference. It was good, and I learned a lot. I knew more overall about the technologies going in this time, so I feel like I was able to get a little more out of the talks.

I won a 3rd generation iPod Nano door prize, which is pretty cool. I already have my own 8gb Nano though, so I’m not sure what I’ll do with this one. I’d like to find some cool use for it, but I might end up just keeping it as a backup or giving it away. The next draw was for an iPhone, so I unfortunately just missed out, but I also dodged the book draws, so I can’t complain. Nothing worse than winning the draw for a book when an iPhone is coming up next.

There was much drinking and a serious lack or sleep this weekend, so I’m still recovering. I have my first appointment for dental work tomorrow, which I’m dreading terribly. I get to find out, while in the chair, whether or not I need a root canal. It’s a surprise!

I’m off to Seattle this weekend for a Java conference, so you might not hear from me much for a few days.

We’re going to the No Fluff Just Stuff symposium. We went the last time it was held in Seattle, and it was fantastic. The hotel accidentally labeled the conference No Stuff Just Fluff that time, but it definitely had stuff. I really picked up a lot from it.

The focus is on learning. You don’t have to sign up for the individual sessions, so you decide what to view throughout the day instead of committing at the beginning, and no one tries to sell you anything or push their products. It’s set up in a way that allows you to get the most out of it.

The conference is right in Seattle this time, instead of being in Redmond, so we’ll have more to do at night. It should be a fun weekend.

Shared items from my Internet travels:

Radio Waves Cure Cancer?

An exciting discovery that may lead to a cure or better treatment for cancer.

BC Ferries board gives itself $18,000 pay increase

An $18,000 pay increase for each part-time board member is a bit much when ferry fares have been rising so much recently. I'm going to start swimming to the mainland soon.

DreamWorks to make 'Ghost' in 3-D

DreamWorks has acquired rights to Ghost in the Shell and plan to make it into a 3D live action movie.

Choice Reviews of Lonely Planet Colombia from Amazon.com

Some reviews from the fraudulent Lonely Planet guide.

I finally dragged myself to a new dentist yesterday, something I should have done quite a while ago. I’ve been on my medical plan for over a year now, but I kept putting it off.

The new office seems fairly nice, and the staff are very friendly. The sort of friendly you usually only see when there’s some sick, dark secret lurking behind the scenes. Like Kathy Bates in Misery friendly.

It seems like everyone in town is sick lately, and my dentist had lost his voice. Not enough to stop him talking, but enough to make him sound like Michael Jackson, which would have been creepy even without the nitrous oxide in the room.

It turns out I have a few cavities, and one might need a root canal. Apparently, even though I floss once or twice a day, I suck at it and haven’t been hitting a few spots. He says when I come in for my cleaning, he’s going to have the dental hygienist give me a refresher course in flossing, which is nice and embarrassing. I have visions of sitting in a lineup with several eight year olds, being walked through the steps, in a Billy Madison situation.

Also, I still have all of my wisdom teeth, and the dentist wants to pull out two of them. Maybe I’ll have him pull them all and live off of tofu and ice cream for the rest of my life, avoiding future trips to the dentist altogether.

During the examination, the dentist said, “you have a high pain tolerance - that’s fantastic”. This worries me a little.

I go in for my first appointment next Tuesday. I’ll find out once I’m in the chair whether or not I’ll need the root canal. Hopefully it can be avoided.

Shared items from my Internet travels:

22 Blogs Every Writer Should Read

Still making my way through the list, but it looks like there's some good weblogs here.

Lonely Planet Fraud

Lonely Planet writer admits he never even visited Colombia while writing about it.

Steampunk Star Wars Action Figures

Obi-Wan Kenobi looks especially cool.

Peanut Butter, The Atheist's Nightmare

Of course! It's all clear now.

Neil Gaiman mentioned Tim Minchin on his weblog the other day. I’d never heard of him before, but I spent a good chunk of the afternoon perusing his videos on YouTube today. He’s a lot of fun, both a talented pianist and hilarious comedian.

Here’s his solution to the Palestine/Israel conflict:

On having an open mind:

And a love song:

He’s worth checking out. He seems to be most famous in Australia, his homeland, and the UK. I hadn’t heard of him here in Canada yet.