The Twitter complex

"Twitter is a communication service that enables you to quickly send out short messages about what you are doing to a network of people."
(Wiki Answers.com)


Like many people around the world, I'm a twit. Let me clarify this statement: I'm actually a Tweeter who uses Twitter to update my status. Doesn't everyone or at least those with extra time on their hands who want to be socially relevant.

My official status in case anyone reading this is interested is 158 followers or people who find me interesting enough to want to keep up with my thoughts or impressions and related matter. In addition I'm following 179tweeters some of whom I'm genuinely interested and others because - well - they follow me so I feel it's only right that I follow them back. No insult intended, by the way. Kind of pathetic when you think about it.

There have been a few issues with Twitter, which have been brought to the attention of their techies, for example, they have reversed my followers and following count.

After searching the Twitter site extensively for an e-mail to make them aware of this error, I finally came accross a usable link. The first Twitter techie was helpful and made the necessary changes after a while to correct the reversal, however subsequent techies were indifferent to my plight. Their solution is to direct tweeters to their forum where everyone can complain about their various issues and there are lots and lots of issues.

The negative aspects to being a tweeter is that a follower can drop you at any time. In conducting my daily check-in a while back, I discovered to my chagrin that 3 people had dropped me for whatever reason. That's the thing: you just never know why a person stops following you! So you speculate that perhaps my tweets are boring, or perhaps it's a result of declining the offer to follow them... It's enough to give a person a tweeter complex! The challenge is to make an enticing statement within 140 bytes or extra words end up in the dastardly red letters minus sign.

There is some positive news. Last week a few more people were added to the followers column but how long they will stay is anyone's guess. I'm always betwixt and between tweeters.

Update: once again it appears that Twitter has not recognized a new follower today by not recognizing it in my numbers. ~ sigh ~

Death row prisoner opts for unusual last meal

Once again, the only phrases that spring to mind upon reading this story is "gimme a break" followed by "I dunno.."

It's not uncommon for prisoners on death row to ask that their last meal be favorite foods like steak, fried chicken, cream pie...before they check out of this world. However, fish food definitely falls into the unusual category, especially when the request specifies that the prisoner be turned into fish food and fed to your run-of-the-mill gold fish.

This is exactly what convicted murder, Gene Hathorn requested if his final appeal fails. This begs the question as to why would he want to become fish food. Right?

Actually, it's all the name of art and he has given permission to allow artist, Marco Evaristti, to use his body as an 'art installation" that will be part of a larger project focusing on capitol punishment.

Fish food...capitol punishment...? Is there a connection I missed?

The artist who lives in Denmark, will deep freeze Hathorn's body following which it will be turned into fish food. Once this is achieved visitors to his exhibition will be able to feed - well - the former Hathorn to a shoal of goldfish.

It is hoped that work will begin within a year if Hathorn is refused an appeal for the third time and he hopes he can stage the show in North America, somewhere like the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

O-kaaaaay... For sure the museum will jump at the opportunity to display feeding goldfish. It's so...artsy (cough-cough...).

Read the entire story, which includes the legal ramifications of this type of request and other related information here:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10530546