At Twing, we think a lot about time-management. Your time-management, that is. That’s because for a Twing search to be worth your time, its results have to save you time finding the forums you need.

While we’re on the subject of time: How do you manage your time, anyway?

Time-management, for me, starts with wearing a watch. Heck, I’d never get anything accomplished without that. Or, for that matter, without setting an alarm clock to wake me in the morning. Come to think of it, I’m reliant on Outlook as my electronic organizer. Actually, I have to sync it with my cell phone and schedule alerts to keep me on task during the day, too. (Search Twing for forums that discuss time-management tips and tools.)

Even if you don’t rely on an army of time-management devices like I do, most people require some sort of organizing principle to navigate their way through time: Sunrise, sunset. Winter, spring, summer, fall. And holidays! For most of the year, major holidays are spaced out with just weeks in between them, making holidays a natural measure of time. Until you get to the third week in July, that is.

Right about now, Independence Day is comfortably behind us and yet there’s not another holiday to look forward to until Labor Day comes in September. Could this be right? I searched Twing to see if there are holidays between now and Labor Day that I might be overlooking, and should be looking forward to. Turns out, there are a ton of weird summer holidays that have people talking. Check out the list below, then make your own decisions about which ones are worth your, um, time to observe.

July 22: Ratcatchers’s Day

July 23: National Vanilla ice Cream Day

July 24: Amelia Earhart Day

July 25: Threading the Needle Day

July 27: Take your Pants for a Walk Day

July 28: National Milk Chocolate Day

July 30: National Cheesecake Day

July 31: Parent’s Day

August 1: National Raspberry Cream Pie Day

August 3: National Sisters Day, International Forgiveness Day, Friendship Day

August 4: Twins Day Festival, U.S. Coast Guard Day

August 5: National Mustard Day, Work Like a Dog Day

August 6: Wiggle Your Toes Day

August 7: Sea Serpent Day, Daughter’s Day, National Lighthouse Day

August 8: Sneak Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Night

August 9: Book Lover’s Day

August 10: Lazy Day, National S’mores Day

August 11: Presidential Joke Day, Son and Daughter Day

August 12: Middle Child’s Day

August 13: Left Hander’s Day

August 14: National Creamsicle Day

August 15: National Relaxation Day

August 16: National Tell a Joke Day

August 17: National Thriftshop Day

August 18: Bad Poetry Day

August 19: Aviation Day

August 20: National Radio Day

August 21: Senior Citizen’s Day

August 22: Be an Angel Day, National Tooth Fairy Day

August 23: Ride the Wind Day

August 24: Vesuvius Day

August 25: Kiss and Make Up Day

August 26: National Dog Day

August 27: Global Forgiveness Day, Just Because Day

August 28: World Sauntering Day

August 29: More Herbs, Less Salt Day

August 30: National Toasted Marshmallow Day, Frankenstein Day

August 31: National Trail Mix Day

I hate to cook about as much as I love to eat. Well, hate might be a strong word. I guess it’s more like dread.

Things weren’t always this way. When I was fresh out of college and first living on my own, cooking was new and fun. Between colleagues, friends, and neighbors, I had an endless supply of people passing me their favorite recipes, explaining the dos and don’ts of the kitchen, and even coming over to supervise when necessary. They were excited to share their love of cooking with me and I, in turn, was an eager recipient.

Still, my culinary abilities never developed — the instinct just wasn’t there. If I wasn’t cooking by committee I wasn’t cooking at all. Which wasn’t a big deal when I lived in a big city, went to work in a big office, and interacted daily with my big group of friends. There was always someone around to help me. (And a takeout place on every corner.) But time passed and life changed. Big city: Moved. Big office: Quit. Big group of friends: Busy and scattered. 

For awhile, I abandoned cooking completely. But you can only eat so many meals of rotisserie chicken, takeout Chinese, and burritos before that home-cooking craving beckons. 

I needed back that safety net which cooking by committee provided — it gave me confidence in the kitchen and made up for my lack of culinary creativity. A shelf full of cookbooks couldn’t replace it. Neither could the most functional of online recipe finders. I needed more hand-holding than that. So I cleared a space for my laptop in the kitchen, searched the Web for cooking message boards and forums, and it’s been mostly smooth sailing ever since.

These days, Twing is the first ingredient in any recipe I use. Whatever I’m making — from birthday cakes to holiday dinners, a Twing search connects me to a world of folks who cook with confidence…and are happy to talk with me about it. Here are the kind of Twing searches I use. Whether you’re a born gourmet or share my lack of ability, there’s a place for your voice in the mix.

Birthday cakes

Summer grilling

Weight Watchers recipes

Salads

Crockpot cooking

Dinner party menus

Comfort foods

Cooking with kids

With July Fourth on the horizon, I set out to write this blog about the connection between Twing and the week’s most top-of-mind subject: freedom. In particular, how the free exchange of ideas — a defining measure of freedom — has reached new heights in our Web 2.0 world and how Twing, as a search engine for online forums, contributes to that.

Deep concept, huh? Which is why (and where!) I got stuck.

Since there’s no fast cure for writer’s block, I considered alternative, more superficial topics related to the upcoming holiday: I could focus, instead, on the merits of doing a Twing search if you’re planning an Independence Day parade or designing a fireworks display and want to connect with others who are, too. I could have effortlessly switched gears and talked about how Twing’s search provides a refreshingly direct route to folks exchanging July Fourth recipes and patriotic craft ideas. (Indeed, there’s nothing wrong with using Twing for celebratory planning, so the links are yours if you need ‘em.)

Still, I kept coming back to my original idea. It was deep, sure. But, hey. Wasn’t Twing all about diving deep? What was I afraid of?

So with renewed confidence, I searched twing to see what real people were saying about topics — tough topics — that live at the heart of American debate. The war in Iraq, the energy crisis, presidential politics, immigration and healthcare policies, equal rights.

The results reminded me of two things: First, while other search engines consider everything but the kitchen sink, Twing’s focus on online forums promises better possibilities for individual voices to get heard. Second, free speech is most powerful when others can hear you and respond.

Could participating in online community or searching with Twing actually be patriotic? Between the barbeques and fireworks this Independence Day, think about that!

This Father’s Day, June 15th, you have a choice: You can make a tie salesman happy, or you can use twing to inspire a Father’s Day full of ideas that are as special as the dad (or dads) in your life.

For starters, why not take a moment to learn a bit about the origin of the holiday? You’ll look smart and thoughtful as you share your newly found knowledge with your family, and no one has to know that it’s all thanks to a twing search that was as easy as 1-2-3!

Of course, no amount of historical signficance can erase this holiday’s contemporary Hallmark holiday status. But let’s make the best of it by infusing that requisite Father’s Day card with some personalized forms of expression. Whether you design your own card or go for a storebought one, a twing search will deliver ideas aplenty.

And how about a present for Dad? If we’ve convinced you to cross “tie” off the list, you’re likely in need of new direction. So think of something, anything, Dad likes (or pick from our handy list below) and twing can take you to people talking about the latest and greatest on the subject.

• Sports
• Power tools
• Gadgets and gizmos
• Movies, music, and books
• Cameras and photography
• Barbeques and grilling
• Men’s fashion

When was the last time you let out your inner rock star? It used to be that there weren’t a lot of ways to do it. You could sing in the shower, grab a hairbrush microphone and serenade yourself in front of the mirror, or, for a more authentic exercise, you could take the stage at a neighborhood pub on karaoke night.

These days, however, any finished basement worth its suburban zip code has a karaoke machine, and reality television shows like American Idol put the possibility of stardom within the everyman’s grasp. And if you can’t sing for your supper (but wish you could)? There are plenty of non-singing alternatives. American Idol allows anyone who can dial a toll-free number to wear a record producer’s hat. And not just for singers, video games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band are a favorite for wannabe drummers and strummers, too.

Of course, not everyone has an inner rock star. But everyone has someone deep inside them just waiting to be let out. Let these twing searches take you to forums that put you in the right frame of mind:

• Race car drivers

• Super heroes

• Pilots

• Artists

• Athletes

• Writers

• Dancers