There are now 500,000 applications for the iPhone and there are more to be written and sold. I refuse to call them apps as we are already talking in monosyllables and abbreviations. Next it will be simply grunting and pointing.
But, in all seriousness, who needs half a million tasks to be done on a phone? Isn't the phone for making phone calls? Oh no! It is for texting, taking photos, finding out where you are going etc. And by the way, when you add the "find my phone" application because you misplaced your phone, you are at the end of the technology road. When a phone costs $400 you should be wearing it on a chain around your neck as a decoration and not wondering where it is. Soon, we will need an application to find applications, as we won't have time to look for useless, redundant tasks to do. I wonder how many people have applications taking up space that they never use. From free to over $10, memory is valuable and needs to be available for the really important tasks.
The trend? Lots more but more useless applications than now. And what happen when they don't work as expected? For example the usually resident auto correct application shown below. Link provided"
 

Seems that we should read what we write before we send it. It is called "unintended consequence"! Here is a link to Damn You Autocorrect...

Family mediation is available across the United States in small towns, large cities, and even in rural areas. It is generally a free service and can make an incredible difference in a family. I have been a family mediator for twenty years , and although I am not currently volunteering, I have seen the positive results when caring family mediators work with a family.
As we approach the holidays there is greater stress on families and fuses can be short. Coupled with the economic downturn, families are having difficulty coping with life. This is the perfect time to provide some insight into the mediation process.
First, it is important to understand how a person becomes a mediator, or is qualified to assist in the dispute resolution process. Volunteer mediators come from all walks of life, but many come from the helping professions. Teachers, nurses, and mental health professionals often use mediation as an adjunct to their professional careers and many become family mediators. They all go through an extensive training program, which in many states is an 80 hour or more course. The process of mediation is learned with lecture and role playing to structure a framework that provides consistent, and repeatable dispute resolution outcomes. There is an internship with other established mediators, and then, certification.
The scope of problems encountered by mediators is indeed wide and varied. It can be a son or daughter who is often truant, belligerent, of failing to be a participating member of the family. Or there can be drug or drinking problems and just bad behavior. Or, it can be a husband and wife that are just not communicating and having difficulty with their marriage. Mediation is simply dispute resolution within a family.
The entire process of family mediation is confidential and is not based on the ability to pay. The family starts with an intake interview to establish whether or not mediation is the correct course of action. They are then assigned either a single mediator, or in some cases, co-mediators. In a series of meetings which are somewhat informal but structured, the family outlines the problems and the mediators listen. It is important to understand that the resolutions reached are from the family, and not the mediator. The mediator is a guide or facilitator, and helps to control the negotiation process. The meetings can be with the entire family, individual members, or some combination of the family members. All mediation is based on mutual respect, equality of power, and transparency. The objective is to reach an agreement that all participants believe to be the best resolution, and to work toward complete resolution of the concerns.
This post is simply an overview and is based on over two hundred family mediation's that I have been involved with. The results have been gratifying and it is important to remember that mediators are volunteers. Their reward is successfully assisting a family in distress. And now for the trend that I see in the future. In many volunteer services we have seen a decline in those people willing to give a significant amount of time to community service. The reasons are many and varied, but the trend is real. Small towns and cities have limited budgets to provide essential services and family mediation may be harder to finance. I hope that we can find a way to continue this important part of family intervention.
I wanted to provide a link to finding service in all areas but there is no central directory. But there are State directories. And a call to your town or city hall can provide the location of a mediation center. If you want to be a mediator, make the call to find out about training. It feels really good to help someone else...

This past weekend, October 30th, the Northeast was hit again with a storm. Here in New Hampshire as elsewhere, it was unexpectedly, a snow storm. This was the earliest snow recorded ever in weather history from the last 140 years. Amounts of wet heavy snow approached two feet just a few miles from here, and we received about 12 to 14 inches. And, once again, we all lost electricity.
Today, at 5 days, there are still 30,000 people without power from a high of over 300,000. That is one third of the total population! Newscaster's could have used a script from last year and several years before, as it is the same song over and over. "Heavy snow, broken branches and trees, wires down" was the refrain again. The best question to ask is "when are we going to have power again?, followed by why does this keep happening?". Well, it is easy to answer the when, three days for us, and the reason we keep repeating the problem is money.
Our local downtown is a 10 minute walk away and the power was on there. Ten years ago a local group decided to "beautify" the area and in the plan included burying the power lines. So in the downtown area there are no telephone poles, no wires overhead, and no problem with a power outage. But, the power companies have always said that it would cost too much to do nationwide. They have been saying that for 50 years! Well, what does it cost to have power crews and tree services working overtime for a week at a time? What about the businesses that lose money during the outage? And what about the human misery and medical problems caused by prolonged outage? The need for shelters etc? 
And, the concern is not just for storms and related weather conditions. Our roads and bridges are deteriorating and we are letting it happen. There is a National gas tax that is earmarked for roads and bridges but it never seems to get there to provide improvements. The obstructionists in Congress will not spend money on infrastructure, even if it does increase employment.
The trend as I see it is more of the same but at light speed. Increased demand, no new power, failing power systems, and government apathy. A perfect storm! We say that we are concerned that some enemy somewhere will sabotage the grid. Well. they do have to travel at all; we are doing to ourselves. No power for the people...