Category Archives: Musings

What if my House Used Twitter’s API?

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Do you know what an API is? Me neither, but it has something to do with the inner workings of web applications like Twitter, LibraryThing, GoodReads, Facebook etc. When web application developers let their API’s into the wild strange things can happen.

For instance. I’m on Twitter. I’m also on GoodReads. I clicked a button on GoodReads that allowed my activity there to be let loose on Twitter. So when I add a book to my “shelf” on GoodReads it goes out as a twitter. That’s fine. Except that when I just change my status of what page I’m on in a particular book on GoodReads it also sends that to Twitter. So yesterday, for much of the day my twitter status said:

So, that was a little embarrassing. I checked GoodReads and there is no obvious way to turn this off. I don’t know whose API is at fault here, so I’m avoiding GoodReads until I figure this out.

This got me to thinking.

What if other things were to tap into Twitter. Like my house for instance. What if everything I did were to be broadcast to Twitter. It might look like this. (And yes, the House made a few typos).

Stream of Consciousness — Daily Routine

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Several times a week I make the short drive to my kids’ high school. To get there I pass an all-boys school. I often pass by when the boys are being dropped off or being picked up and because of the traffic congestion, they’ve hired a police officer to direct traffic.

I like him. He reminds me of my son’s former rugby coach and 4th grade teacher (and my daughter’s 5th grade teacher) — a gentle and kind man. I have no idea if this traffic cop is gentle or kind, but he seems to be good-natured. He’s always smiling and doesn’t jab his hands around all angry-like. Which always makes me remember another traffic cop — Vic Cianca from Pittsburgh.

Most of you are too young to remember the original Candid Camera, but I remember it well and the clip I remember most of all is the traffic directing Officer Cianca from Pittsburgh with the white gloves and “dancing hands”. I saw him, once, when I lived there — directing traffic for a trolley or Mr. Rogers festival or something like that. The last time I saw him was in Flashdance.

On days when I pass the school and there is another traffic cop, I feel let down. The past few times I’ve driven by the school the traffic cop has been a stout angry looking fellow who made me feel as if I should have found a different route to the high school. This morning, however, my buddy was back; all smiles and using happy hand gestures.

All is well.