2009 September | Calm, Cool & Connected

September
30
Phone Charms II

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Posted by Becky in Becky, Just for fun, Teens & Cell Phones, Vlogs Tags: Becky, Teenagers, teens
Comments (26)
September
29
We have a winner!

Congrats to Zipporah for winning the LG VU in our September giveaway!

When asked “how could Mobile TV help you stay calm, cool & connected?” Zipporah answered:

“Waiting – I seem to do a lot of it these days. Sometimes, not so patiently at that. I think that being able to watch a little Mobile TV might keep me calm, cool and connected as I wait – at hubby’s Dr. appt., in line at the bank on Friday and just about anytime I have time to kill.”

Congrats Zipporah!

Thanks to everyone who entered! We’ll have more of these giveaways in the future so check back to see what other cool prizes we’ll be giving away.

Posted by Calm, Cool & Connected in Contests, Just for fun, Uncategorized Tags: Contests
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September
28
The Move

Earlier last month, my wife and I helped move our son who is in college into a house. This was a nice change for him as he’d spent the previous two years in a dorm. As you’d imagine, he was excited to have his own room and privacy.

The house is perfect for college students as they have two TV rooms and an assortment of video games. They also have a wireless network set up so everyone can use their PCs. However; they did not have a landline phone in the house, although I did notice a phone jack in my son’s room.

My son first thought this was an outlet for cable – lol!

Despite not having a phone in the house, he assured us that we can contact him on his mobile phone through voice and text and via e-mail. Today’s college students seem to be totally dependent on their mobile phones and PCs for all of their communication.

Maybe we need to call this Generation “M” for mobile?

Posted by Michael in Michael Tags: Michael, teens
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September
25
USA Gymnastics Visa Championship

I had an exciting Friday night a couple of weeks ago! AT&T is a proud sponsor of USA Gymnastics and they allowed me to attend the Visa Championships hosted by USA Gymnastics with VIP tickets so that I could share my experience with my fellow calm, cool and connected parents. But I didn’t go alone! I was able to take my mother, step-dad, and step-grandmother with me to the American Airlines Center in Dallas. I have never been to a gymnastics competition, not to mention a championship competition. Our VIP tickets gave us almost front row seats to view all the action. Friday night was the continuation of the men’s competition. I had the privilege of seeing the 2012 Olympic hopefuls very close up and my guests for the night seemed to really enjoy watching all the rotations of the men’s competition.

At times it was hard to keep up with every routine as they were all happening simultaneously. I was closest to the floor routines as well as the high bars and parallel bars. I have never in my life, that I can remember, watched a men’s floor routine. Wow, how in the world do they do those handstands, which look way more painful than a standard handstand? Here’s a glimpse of the floor routines:

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As I watched the high bar routines, I would cringe every once in a while. It seems that if I asked my elbows to bend as the gymnasts did, the joints would surely give way and I would fly into the stands. Here’s another great video showing some of the amazing talent that we watched:

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I was very touched during the awards ceremony at the end of the night. I was sitting next to Jonathan Horton’s grandparents and his whole family actually. His grandfather stood up and yelled proudly, “that’s my grandson”. It still brings tears to my eyes when I think of it now. It was a great family event to attend.

After the competition the excitement didn’t stop. We were also given the opportunity to check out the AT&T Technology Tour. The AT&T Technology Tour is an experiential tour that demonstrates live AT&T services in the home as well as wireless. My family and I were able to see AT&T’s technology firsthand through wireless devices and touch screens. My family was amazed at the all the cool things you can do with technology after going through the tour. It was definitely a night to remember.

Posted by Calm, Cool & Connected in Effie, Just for fun, Uncategorized Tags: Effie
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September
24
Shop with Me!

As everyone pretty much knows by now, I’m an avid shopper. If and when I get any free time in my schedule, it is quickly consumed with runs to the mall either for me or my tweens. Window shopping trips are adventurous, relaxing, and fun! However, when I’m errand shopping, like trying to find an outfit for a specific occasion, it can be stressful!!!

I have a very calculated approach that I take when completing shopping errands. The two tools central to these searches: a phone and a computer. When I have at least a day advance notice, I’ll get online and start browsing through the various stores and boutiques at my favorite shopping locales, clicking away on the pictures of items I like and sending them out to everyone in my inner circle for their opinion. Just like this:

If I’m already out then I can snap pics of the things I like best and either email them to friends, or post them on Facebook immediately, for all to see.

Recently, my son was away on a summer trip and called home frantic. School was to start on Monday and he was desperate for a specific pair of Nikes. He hurriedly gave me a description of what he was looking for and then sent me a pic from his Samsung phone. I was off, utilizing the Nike, Yellow Pages and Shopping applications in order to find the locations closest to me that might have this style.

(I have to tell you that at this point, if it had been for myself and if there had been more time, then I might have also used the Craigslist or Ebay features to see if I could find alternate options at a cheaper price. I’ve found Michael Kors STEALS by doing this.)

The whole thing took a matter of a couple of hours from request to purchase. They were ready and waiting from him when he came back home from his trip. Yes Christopher, I know, your momma ROCKS!!!!!!! Here he is on his first day of school sporting his new shoes:

(Disclaimer: Standard usage rates apply, depending on your plan. See att.com/dataterms for terms & conditions.)

Posted by Stephanie in Shopping, Stephanie, Uncategorized Tags: Shopping, Stephanie
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September
23
Webkinz, anyone?

Last week, when on my way home from Phoenix, I met a nice lady at the airport. As we sat and chatted, we realized we were waiting for the same flight. She was coming from a toy convention which, as a parent, sparked my interest. She explained how technology has changed the toy industry, which, I guess, I’d never really thought about.

There are so many electronics, but it donned on me that our devices have become “toys.” How many times have you handed your child your device to keep them busy while you were sitting in the doctor/dentist office, in traffic, getting your nails/toes done, returning an item at the store, grocery shopping, or one of the million other things we do every month? I know I have plenty of times. Whether it’s for them to play a game, listen to music, or watch a video, it keeps them from being bored.

She introduced me to Webkinz, which I was not at all familiar with. I am researching it now to see if it’s something I want to introduce to Johnny, and if there’s any value in it for him. As much as we spoke about technology and kids, we found ourselves relying on Facebook at the end of it all to exchange information because we didn’t have business cards on us. Clearly technology has enhanced our world as well as our children’s.

Do your children have Webkinz?

Posted by Brandy in Brandy Tags: Brandy
Comments (8)
September
22
Out of Touch

When I leave my cell phone on the night stand, I feel out of touch all day. When one of my kids removes the car charger from the car and my battery dies on the way home from work, like today, my anxiety level increases. I feel disconnected.

We are so accustomed to doing things when we want and wherever we want that, when we can’t, it’s jarring.

Have you felt this way before?

Posted by Priscilla in Priscilla Tags: Priscilla
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September
21
Making the Smartphone Jump

Confession: I haven’t made the smartphone jump yet. I am so close, I just haven’t done it. I used to use the price as an excuse why I hadn’t bought one but now they are in the same price range as any of the other phones I might buy from AT&T.

Funny story: at one time I had a smartphone, but for reasons that I can’t remember, I ended up giving it to my step mom who needed a new phone. I had to convince her to take it; she was against having to pay for a data plan. So I told her,” just take it and see if you like it”. I also reasoned with her that in the big scheme of things, the data plans were not much more expensive than the other rate plans available.

I’m not sure what came over her, but once she started using it the rest was history, as they say. My dad claims that she doesn’t need a husband anymore now that she has her smartphone. He claims he’s joking, but deep down, I think he might be jealous of the smartphone!

So what is so great about this phone? I found an article about a mom that uses her smartphone to help her with her grocery shopping and stay informed when she’s out and about with the kids. That explained it all to me and if you’re on the fence like I was this article just might change your mind. I know it changed mine. In fact, I am buying one at the end of the week. I will follow up to let you know how the transition goes and if I can make my smartphone do all that the article says it will do. My fingers are crossed. Supermomdom will be mine, I can feel it!

Posted by Calm, Cool & Connected in Effie, Organization, Reviews, SmartPhone Tags: Effie, SmartPhone
Comments (5)
September
18
Where is Everyone?

Sometimes a busy work day means not having time to check in with my family to see where they are and what they’re up to. So I recently added a trial of AT&T’s FamilyMap service to our family plan. Watch the video below to see just how easy it is for me to check in on my daughter.

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Posted by Becky in Becky, How To, Safety Tags: Becky, FamilyMap, Safety
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September
16
Teenagers and Text Messaging

On a recent Saturday, my 16 year old daughter was at a dance company workshop for the entire day. Along with that, we also had a parent’s meeting which did not end until 9 pm. After the meeting, a group of parents and dancers went out for dinner. We all sat at one large table, but the nine dancers (the youngsters) who came to dinner all sat at one end of the table – the opposite end.

During dinner, I noticed that the girls had their mobile phones out and were text messaging. However, what I did not realize at first is that they were text messaging each other…while sitting at the same table! To make matters more confusing, some of the girls were switching phones. I suddenly remembered something my wife shared with me that she’d seen on Facebook – “Why talk when you can text?”

Does your teenager text or talk to their friends (via cell phone) while in the same room…or at the same table?

Also, just a reminder that you still have time to enter the LG VU giveaway going on here: http://calmcoolconnected.com/2009/09/09/win-an-lg-vu/ But hurry! Contest ends tonight.

Posted by Calm, Cool & Connected in Michael, Teens & Cell Phones Tags: Teenagers, Texting
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