by Kathy Brasby | May 2, 2026 | Technology, Uncategorized
Facebook pulls information like a black hole pulls in light.
Last month, I was considering trading vehicles and got a quote on my car from Carvana. When I lifted the lid on the settings I’m going to give you, Carvana was already reaping my Facebook information. I never mentioned Carvana on Facebook — or vice versa, for that matter.
It was like opening a trunk and getting pelted with black bats.
Facebook tracks our activity on other websites and apps — even when we’re not on Facebook (like my Carvana story illustrates). If that bothers you, you can stop it in your account settings by clearing previous off-Meta activity and disconnecting future tracking.
Here’s how to do it in six steps:
- Open your Facebook account (be sure you’re logged in) and click on your photo in the upper right-hand corner. (I’m using a browser window. You may have to adjust if you’re trying this in a phone app.)
- Choose Settings & Privacy from the dropdown menu. Then Settings.
- Go to Accounts Center.
- Select Your Information and Permissions > Your Activity Off Meta Technologies.
- Choose Clear Previous Activity. (If you want shivers up your back, view the previous activity first — you’ll see what companies are hanging onto your account like leeches.)
- Choose Manage Future Activity > Disconnect Future Activity.
I’m not on other social media much, so I don’t know the process for other platforms. If you do, email me — I’ll consider it for a future newsletter.
by Kathy Brasby | Jan 15, 2026 | Humor, Uncategorized
A friend of mine recently told me how she hates to run, but does it anyway.
This friend is a kindred spirit. She’s slow. Me, too. She hates treadmills. Me, too. Running is boring. Yep.
But she’s been running circuits in her backyard, and I thought I ought to offer her the 5K experience for a change of pace. Pun intended.
Climbing Mount Everest
If you haven't run a 5K, you might think it’s like climbing Mount Everest.
You’d be right.
When I started, I found an app called Couch to 5K, which promised to have me ready for my first 5K in eight weeks. It worked, and I ran a 5K two months later.
The People You Meet
So I plan to tell my friend about the app and also about the interesting people you can meet. For example, at one 5K, the first runner across the finish line then ran the race backwards, then ran it again forward.
Which meant I got lapped twice.
Yeah. Interesting.
In the off-season, the high school cross-country team might even join us. There's nothing more exciting than watching a 16-year-old sprint the 5K as fast as I can run a mile.
If We Run Anyway
I use the term run lightly. It’s more like “getting double-lapped” running.
If I convince my friend to join the 5K experience, we’d get fresh air, strong lungs, muscular legs.
And we wouldn’t need a stopwatch when we run.
We could time our runs with a sundial.
by Kathy Brasby | Aug 20, 2012 | Uncategorized
Why do I write? It’s a cliche to say, "because I can’t not write." That’s a true statement but I want to dig a little deeper.
I write to create a world to explore and people to meet. I finished one novel only because I liked the main character so much I couldn’t leave her hanging literally at the end of a chapter.
I write to discover meaning. When I’m confused or puzzled about something, I sit down at the keyboard and start writing. In the stream of consciousness comes ideas and connections I hadn’t seen before.
I write to connect my thoughts with other people. I want to connect and writing handles the job better sometimes than speaking. I’ve said some disjointed things that would have been clearer if written.
I write because I love words. I love the music of alliteration, the rhythm of sentences, the magic of a well-turned phrase. I don’t hit that goal all the time but there’s zest in the trying.
I write because I like to read. I read my stuff and I read other texts. Then ideas come and what do you do with ideas? Start writing.
All this, I think, boils down to the cliche. I write because I can’t stop.
