What is the protocol for removing one's self from social networking?

I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but I think I'm over social networking. Of the online kind anyway. Don't get me wrong, it has its pros, but I'm feeling more and more icky about being sooo available all the time.

I know, I know, some of you are thinking: "He's on facebook all the time, what a hypocrite!"... well, so you know, I'm well-aware of my transgressions. I'm even on facebook as I type. Not exactly the point, but hear me out: maybe its a comfort, knowing that at any time, I can get in touch with anyone I want. Or maybe its a way to put myself out there in a more positive light. A self-promotion vehicle. Here's where the icky comes in. Ugh, I don't like it. I shouldn't need a crutch to help me keep in touch with the people I want to keep in touch with, right? And I shouldn't need any help with promotion. My close friends know me, who cares if friends of friends of friends really know me (can they even really know me just from looking at my profile and reading my wall?) ... And unlike the real me, the facebook me doesn't reach out to people to deepen friendships. It's always just a snide comment or a joke I've randomly thought of. Which makes it more about me than about the relationship I have with whoever I'm' talking to.

I think I'm over it. I know I've said this before, but I mean it this time. Facebook and I are going to take a break. No more status updates, photo uploading, tagging, commenting, etc. I'm taking a facebook sabbatical. I will however, continue to post new blog alerts on it, because I can't abandon my readers. [love you, mean it...all 4 of you.]

Sully is the man

Photo Courtesy Gregory Lam via Flickr

By now, everyone has seen the news about the miraculous plane crash in the Hudson River yesterday. When I first saw it, I just couldn't believe that no one was killed. This thing had disaster written all over it, that no one was seriously hurt is a blessing that no one can deny.

Photo Courtesy Safety Reliability Methods

I want to celebrate the hero of this amazing event: Chesley Sullenberger. But we all can call him Sully. He's been a pilot since he could drive. And his training and experience allowed him to be in control of his emotions during the entire experience. Instead of thinking of himself, even after successfully dropping the plane on its belly into the water, he checked every seat in the plane TWICE to make sure all passengers had been evacuated.

Just take a minute to think about what you would do in that situation.

From the Wall Street Journal: "For the first time in 50 years of commercial jet flight, the pilots of US Airways Flight 1549 successfully executed one of the most technically challenging maneuvers, landing a jetliner on water without fatalities."

So in honor of this supreme act of heroism, I hereby proclaim January 15 "The Day Sully Saved New York"...eat your heart out Spiderman, Batman, Rudy G. and Bloomberg. Sully's taking over.