Another moodle-versary, and happy 30th birthday, emoticons...

September 19,1982... Carnegie Mellon University professor Scott E. Fahlman says he was the first to use three keystrokes — a colon followed by a hyphen and a parenthesis — as a horizontal "smiley face" in a computer message posted at 11:44 a.m. on Sept. 19, 1982, during a discussion about the limits of online humor and how to denote comments meant to be taken lightly...

How many emoticons have you run into? Here's my favourite: ;oD  -- a winking one with a big smile.

 There are dozens of variations:
:-(    Sad
>:-[  Angry
:^p   Cheeky
B^.   Bespectacled and speechless...

You probably know more of them than I do, but if you're interested in learning more about emoticons and their Eastern variations, here's a Wikipedia list.

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On another note, today marks two years since I've started moodling. On September 19, 2010, I followed the suggestion of my friend Cathy (my guest moodler/homilist) and embarked on this writing adventure known as Simple Moodlings. So far, I've posted 494 moodlings, published 137 Simple Suggestions, received 273 comments, and had over 24,000 hits (at least an eighth of those are referrer spambots from Russia, which drive me crazy!) A drop in the bucket, but it's been fun. I'm still evolving as a writer, enjoying my craft, and connecting with people near and far. 

I'd like to thank the members of the academy (well, my followers, official and unofficial), my family (for putting up with me being lost in thought at my computer at times), and all those who have left comments or made them in person. It's nice to know when something I'm experiencing strikes a chord in others. Our common humanity is something I really value!

And if you need any encouragement to start your own blog, look no further. It's an easy way to share ideas and life with friends -- just try it... most blogsites have templates that make it really easy. If you do decide to try it, let me know, and I'll look for you in the blogosphere. In the meantime, my love letter to the world continues...

Have a :-) day!