I unlocked my Twitter account from the private setting this week for the first time in a several long months. This allowed me to do all those annoying tests through 3rd party companies with stats on my account.

Here are some examples stats:

My Official Stats: on Jan 23, my tweets have reached 20184 readers, 439 of them unique. by http://TwitterAnalyzer.com

(that is a lot of people for one day!)

My Twitter value is $192.12, according to http://www.twalue.com ... What about yours? #twalue

As I searched for a "word-cloud" to show my most commonly used words, I found a really cool site called Wordle. http://www.wordle.net/

It is not only used for Twitter, but many more creative ideas will spring to mind as you get used to the simple in site Java program. Basically, it is a photo that you design with the most common words from anything you choose. Options include colors, word layout, font and language. The few I created are very basic but you can do much more if you take the time to design it. Using a poem, book and even using this for classroom or for work can be a great way to grab the attention of the readers. I used the "Open In Window" option to make it fullscreen and took a screenshot. You can also save your masterpiece to the gallery they have on the site.

And, yes, it is free!  

Click to enlarge the photos below!


This blogs RSS feed most commonly used words:

I ran across a fun gem in the App Store call Polarize. It takes photos directly from the app or you can choose from your library. 

It gives photos that old shake Polaroid effect. It is fun and free, so give the makers a great review in the App store! 

More info: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/polarize/id301027161?mt=8

Samples (Truck and Potato heads were taken from my photo roll library).

By the way, the app does not take blurry pictures, I do. :-)

The App called TouchRetouch for iPhone is not only brilliant, but it works!  It uses pinch zoom, lasso, has a sizing option and it will literally match it surroundings. What does it do? It will make unwanted objects from your photos disappear. This is a must have tool for the iPhoneograher! 

Find more information here:

http://iphotomania.com/applications.html

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/touchretouch/id373311252?mt=8

Follow the screenshots. Simple. 

There is a "free" version and the full app without ads for .99. I use the paid version. 
You can choose to take a picture direct from the App or pick a photo in your photo roll. 

It also includes a sizing feature. It is great because most will make your photos too small automatically. This will be my example photo. There is a crystal beside the feet of Q (standing figure) I will remove. I pinched to stretch the photo to get in closer. I pick the size of brush and used my finger to cover the object which will be a red blur over the photos object. Once you are secure in your coverage, you simply click Go at the bottom. I did this in about 3 seconds but trust me, it can be very clean. I went back in and retouched the hand with the Clone Tool. Final Photo!
Keep in mind that this is not Photoshop. It is an App for a cellphone. It does what it claims and if you get good at it, no one will be the wiser to those unwanted objects. 

Make sure you test the free version if you are not that interested, then buy the paid version once you see how great it really is. Other options include: brush size, a Clone Stamp, an eraser to remove your mistakes and Email or posting to popular websites like FaceBook and Twitter direct from App. 

Free or paid, give a great review to the makers of this App.  

I spent much of my time Christmas night tracking Santa using the generic Maps app that comes with the iPhone. It was fun and addicting.

NORAD, as usual, had their main website track Santa and this information was passed to the Maps app.

Here is extent of my decorations, a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree. I gift from someone I don't talk to anymore. :(

My Christmas was sparse. The highlight of the evening was Irish coffee followed up with a short licking of my screen for @Starfleetmom and @Grimagination on Twitter.

I hope everyone had a safe and fun day!