The patented 5-step process: How to Hug a Baby

Step 1: Find a baby

Mission accomplished!

Step 2: Verify that what you have found is indeed a baby: Employ classic sniffing techniques.

Yup, it's a baby!

Step 3: Be sure to flatten the baby before actually beginning the final hugging process.

Good work!

Step 4: Slide paws around baby in preparation for close-up (the 'paw slide').

Well done!

Step 5: Wait for a camera to appear. (If all previous steps have been performed accurately this is inevitable.) Perform the difficult and patented 'hug, smile, and lean' for best photo quality.

Love to you all!

Of love and cookies

A very old man lay dying in his bed. In death's doorway, he suddenly smelled the aroma of his favorite chocolate chip cookies wafting up the stairs.

He gathered his remaining strength and lifted himself from the bed. Leaning against the wall, he slowly made his way out of the bedroom, and with even greater effort forced himself down the stairs, gripping the railing with both hands.

With labored breath, he leaned against the door frame, gazing into the kitchen. Were it not for death's agony, he would have thought himself already in heaven.

There, spread out on many sheets of wax paper on the kitchen table were literally hundreds of his favorite chocolate chip cookies.

Was it heaven? Or was it one final act of heroic love from his devoted wife, seeing to it that he left this world a happy man?

Mustering one great final effort, he threw himself toward the table. The aged and withered hand, shaking, made its way to a cookie at the edge of the table, when he was suddenly smacked with a spatula by his wife.

“Stay out of those,” she said.

“They're for the funeral.”

How to support a good cause using Twitter, blogging & social networking

Have a good cause to support? Add your information in the comments!

People often ask me how can they do fundraising for a problem or person they know about. Basically, you write a blog post and ask people to help you promote it, and to visit and donate. And you spend a few weeks at it.

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Classical: New Age music resources

A number of people asked me for more Classical: New Age resources after I shared cellist Jami Sieber's “Hidden Sky” in March. Here's a quick list of some useful places to check out:

• Editor's Picks in Classical: New Age (CDBaby)
• Rhapsody Classical New Age Piano Music (Online radio station)
• New Age Classical Music (list by encoresarah on Amazon.com)
• Music is here—Classical: New Age

Being "on" CNN and Oprah via Twitter

Twitter has been interesting so far!

After unexpectedly getting a hug and kiss from Rick Sanchez of CNN (and getting my picture in CNN's technology section, ...

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Susan Austin photos of Jawaahir dance performance Sparkle

Susan Austin of Austin Images Photography took these photos of me and my fellow Jawaahir dance members recently (that's me in the first pic!) You can see many more on the Jawaahir Flickr page. And there is a short, fun documentary that was done about the making of this show, Sparkle.

Susan is a wonderful photographer—obviously!—in the Twin Cities area that we met through Twitter, where she is @SusanAustin.

Something you have to learn about yourself.

Thank you for visiting. Our computer network has been secretly analyzing your personality for several months and learned this about you:

You have a need for other people to like and admire you, and yet you tend to be critical of yourself. While you have some personality weaknesses you are generally able to compensate for them. You have considerable unused capacity that you have not turned to your advantage.

Disciplined and self-controlled on the outside, you tend to be worrisome and insecure on the inside. At times you have serious doubts as to whether you have made the right decision or done the right thing. You prefer a certain amount of change and variety and become dissatisfied when hemmed in by restrictions and limitations. You also pride yourself as an independent thinker; and do not accept others' statements without satisfactory proof. But you have found it unwise to be too frank in revealing yourself to others.

At times you are extroverted, affable, and sociable, while at other times you are introverted, wary, and reserved. Some of your aspirations tend to be rather unrealistic.

84% of people (tests over several decades) report this as accurately describing them when told beforehand it is an assessment of their personality. Wonder why this seems to be as accurate as it does? Read more about the Forer effect.

(And no, we don't have a secret network. This is a trick. Click the link and read more.)

A Musical Mediation to Relax and Reflect With: Hidden Sky, by Jami Sieber

Relax or reflect with “Hidden Sky,” a deep, clear and spacious musical meditation from electric cellist Jami Sieber. (Click the play arrow in the upper left corner to listen, and drag the slider in the upper right corner to adust volume.)

Hidden Sky by Jami Sieber

Tender and wise romantic melodies slowly unfold in a perfect meeting of Western and Eastern sensibilities. Sieber's music on this album comes from contemplating on her meeting with the elephants of Thailand. The "Sukhotai Rain" and "A Common Music" tracks even include sounds made by the Elephant Orchestra from the Thai Elephant Conservation Center.

(Note: you may need to reset the volume in the player after some tracks.)

Behind the scenes of a sold-out show: The rehearsal for "Sparkle"

Jawaahir's rehearsal for the sold-out "Sparkle" show (dance photos from the show are now up!) on 3-minute egg:

This show was a lot of fun to do! The Company members choreographed for each other this time, and the video offers a wonderful glimpse of our creative process.

We won a Shorty Award for technology on Twitter!

Dave and I recently won what the New York Times likened (somewhat) to the Oscar and Tony Awards for creating short tech content on Twitter.com via our "channel" @Twitter_Tips!

So I'm heading to Brooklyn in a couple of weeks (February 11th) to accept the $1,000 Knight Foundation award at the Awards ceremony. We received more votes overall than most category winners did, and 42% more votes than the second place competitor in our category. My personal account on Twitter is @SarahJL, and Dave's is @QuantumGood.

The Shorty Awards competition was covered by The New York Times, The BBC, AdAge, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, MediaBistro and many others.

Twitter hacked—15 Tweets that tell you everything you need to know.

So Twitter got hacked. And phished.

The Twitterverse responded with it's usual self-assured je m'en fous—a sure sign it takes something much more significant than a little phishing and a few dozen hacked celebrities to threaten our Tweeple. (If Favrd went down, you'd hear some real outrage. And Zamanfou is something else entirely—although we have that too.)

Here then are 15 tweets that prove we Tweeple are a hardy bunch. Also sarcastic, ironic, self-loathing and always ready for a good LOL. Just like the rest of the internet.

Click any tweet to be taken to that writer's Twitter user page. (You can follow them from there!)