This year will be my 20th in a row with the same Valentine’s Day wish. My blog may not be the best place to ask, since she doesn’t often read it and I’ve not asked her this way before. Nevertheless, new times require new approaches… that’s what keeps it interesting. So, let’s see how it goes.
Jenny, will you be my Valentine?
OK, so I’m experimenting now with Google Ads. I have zero expectations that my blog can generate any meaningful income for me, but I’m certainly willing to give it a try. You’ll find them in the banner of many of the pages on this site now, and it’s kind of interesting to see what comes up. On the main page, I’m seeing ads about blogging and web hosting. On others there is Cubs memorabilia and invitations to meet Democratic singles. We’ll see how it goes.
Ads are everywhere, and it does me no good to try and avoid that reality here on my own blog. If you can’t beat them, join them, right? Keep in mind, I don’t determine the content of these ads, the Google Gods do that. So an ads appearance here on my site does not equate to an endorsement or recommendation of that product by me. But feel free to click on it anyway, you may put some coin in my pocket by doing so.
For a long time I have preferred using Yahoo! Maps over MapQuest. It just seemed to me that Yahoo’s offering provided more features and often found locations that MapQuest could not. But move over boys, there’s a new kid on the block.
Google has launched a beta version of a new service called Google Maps. My early review is that it leaves the others in it’s dust. As with Google’s other resources, the interface is much cleaner than both Yahoo and Mapquest, not cluttered with advertisements. Some may appreciate the direct links for finding things such as ATMs or WiFi hotspots on Yahoo and Mapquest, but Google Maps takes a more Google’ish approach. Looking for something in particular? Type it into the ‘Local Search’ box and see what you get.
I used a well-known address in an experiment to compare results among these three services; 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC, better known as The White House (find each map yourself here: <a href=”http://us.rd.yahoo.com/maps//maps/extmap/%2A-http://maps.yahoo.com//maps_result?csz=Washington%2C+DC+20502-0001&state=…“>Yahoo, Mapquest, and Google). Of the three, only Google accurately places it’s marker for this address (maybe I’m nitpicking, Yahoo’s star lands on the entrance gate, but Mapquest lands on the wrong street, providing a back yard view of the White House from the Ellipse).
There are still a few things to be sorted out. Don’t look for a ‘bar’ near the White House, unless it’s a Bar Association you’re after. Maybe a ‘pub’? That will get you to Pueblo Memorial Airport in Colorado, no matter what your starting point. Try ‘tavern’ for better luck. And for Mac users, Google admits it’s not quite working yet in Apple’s Safari browser (my default), but that they’re working on it.
Yesterday Google Map’s directions helped us navigation our way to a high-school in Faquier County, about 45 miles away, without few hitches. The printed map didn’t highlight the route like the on-screen one, and the directions came on page 2, requiring a run back into the house from the driveway to grab them. Minor bumps. All in all, I’m eager to see how Google Maps develops. It’s off to a promising start.
Imagine you were going to go on a trip around the world. You are going to spend a whole year traveling, and so you have to keep your costs under control, so maybe you’d do some meaningful volunteer work along the way, and oh yeah… it’s you’re honeymoon.
Michael Phillips is a first-rate designer and web builder who I have done work with for the last few years. His new wife Megan is a teacher. But this year, they’re globetrotters. Oddly, it was a snail mail note that Michael sent me from South Africa that pointed me to their online travelogue and photo album.
It’s a great read and an amazing journey they are on. You will suffer great travel envy, but at the same time, reading their updates and looking at their pictures is truly the next best thing to being along on the trip with them.
Watch this commercial (mpeg, 1.52mb), and try and guess the product being advertised before it ends.
Thanks to sis for sharing
This week’s cat is Kitty, a stray that our kids started caring for two summers ago (in the good old days when we were a one-cat house). By the time winter rolled around, we had little choice but to bring Kitty inside with full pet privileges.
Prince Charles to marry Camilla!
(What? They still have Princes?)
Pope John Paul is Sick!
(He’s just a man, an old one.)
Brad and Jen have split!
(And this matters to anyone how?)
BFD! It’s amazing to me, our need to pick a class of people to worship and scrutinize. Leave them alone to their lives and please stop telling me about them, I just don’t care.
“You look around the world at potential trouble spots, Iran is right at the top of the list.”
Vice President Dick Cheney on MSNBC
January 20, 2005
“Well, I’m quite clear and I believe that everybody is telling the Iranians that they are going to have to live up to their international obligations or next steps are in the offing; and I think everybody understands what next steps mean.”
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice to NATO
February 9, 2005
More fun from Virginia’s House of Delegates this session. Today they approved by a 60-34 vote H.B. 1981 which “Provides that any person who exposes his below-waist undergarments in a lewd or indecent manner shall be assessed a $50 civil penalty“.
Now I’m quick to offer my own disdainful smirk whenever I see some slovenly looking teen showing off his boxer shorts like it’s some sort of fashion statement. And if it was my own kid it would earn them a rap on the head and a shouted ‘Pull up your pants!’. But a $50 civil penalty? Ridiculous.
The bill brings penalties for display of undergarments ‘in a lewd or indecent manner’. Is there a tasteful and decent manner for showing off your thong or boxers? What about on the beach, where bikinis and swimsuits differ little from underwear? Does the mean that such items without pants are OK, but if on display hiked up above pants worn over them they are illegal?
C’mon Virginia. That’s twice this week the work of our House of Delegates has made news for their intolerant and stupid legislation. Do some real work or wrap it up and go home.
UPDATE: The Virginia Senate shows some good sense.
Droopy-Pants Bill Dropped in Va. Senate
AP, 2/10/05
As mentioned here before, my big brother Kevin is the conductor of the current tour of the musical Miss Saigon. Recently, they visited Tallahasse, and in this letter to the editor of the Tallahasse Democrat, he thanks the city for the warm welcome he received.
