1/30 Hangouts

[darkemeralds]

Gosh, it's the third of September, which makes me three entries behind in my putative Post and Read Every Day In September plan, which I told no one about and only vaguely hinted at to ravurian. I guess it will be make thirty posts in September, a slightly different commitment.

So, thing the first: Google+ Hangouts. Really cool. My sisters and I have been using Hangouts for a few weeks now. We all live in the same town, but getting together in person is a big production number. We're working on manifesting improvements in our lives (me: remodeling), and we like to meet to share our progress. Hangouts work perfectly.

What I like:

• The interface is reasonably intuitive
• It's free
• It easily accommodates several people and switches focus seamlessly to whoever's talking
• The sound quality is good, and the system eliminates cross-talk and echoes amazingly well
• You can start a Hangout on your phone, then switch to your tablet or computer, also seamlessly

What I don't like:

• It's a wee bit glitchy and isn't 100% reliable on all devices and operating systems (yet).
• It's a bit of a shock seeing myself as if on live TV. But I'm getting used to that. I'm figuring out makeup, lighting and angle.

It would be really cool if the geniuses of technology could figure out one thing: how to make it so that when I'm looking at you on the screen, I look like I'm looking at you. As it is, I have to gaze interestedly into the tiny pinhole front-facing camera on my device in order to look like I'm listening to you--and then I miss the nuances of your expression. Someone get on that, please.

Comments

[dine]

I've been wondering how it was going with you lately - any chance we can meet up later in September/early October? I think we should aim for at least every six months, don't you? *g*

[darkemeralds]

Yes yes yes!

My work schedule gets a bit nuts at the most gorgeous time of year, but they HAVE to let me out of there at dinnertime no matter what. Where should we meet? And when?

[dine]

do you want to aim for dinner one evening after work, or could we meet for breakfast some weekend? you probably don't want to bike down to my neighborhood, but we could meet at Milo's or something, as long as we made it early-ish so there isn't too much wait for a table. if we do dinner, I'm always a fan of Old Wives Tales, or we could always get our by-now traditional BBQ.

as far as I know now, my schedule is relatively open for the next month or so; is there a week that works best for you (or any that absolutely *won't* work)?

and if you're up for more people-time, we could always see if Michelle, Sorcha or SA are free to join in (though I enjoy one-on-one time, so that's not essential)

[darkemeralds]

How about dinner after work one day the first week of October? It's not difficult for me to get to most points on the east side inside, say 60th or so. Russell Street is always good, but I"m open to suggestion (if not full of ideas).

[dine]

that should work nicely for my schedule - with class back in session, I'd be getting off work at 5:30 again, so make it 6:00ish? I've really been craving OWT for a while now, so that'd be my choice if that's doable for you. let me know which night works best for you

[darkemeralds]

OWT is eminently doable. How about 6:00 on October 2? That's a Wednesday.

[dine]

that sounds perfect to me! I'm looking forward to seeing you again and catching up :)