Blog Master G

OK, it’s that time again…

Dear Friend,

John Kerry needs our support.

We are trying to raise $10 million in May. Please make a $10 or $25 contribution to his campaign. Because if people like us don’t, we’re going to get another four years for George W. Bush. That’s the simple reality of this election.

Please make a contribution today by visiting:

http://johnkerry.com/donate

I did — and you should, too.

Aren’t you glad I just post important messages here instead of forwarding to you via email?

This photo is “#3- John Bult- Julie’s Sixteenth Birthday” on the list of the 10 worst album covers of all time. Here’s the description that goes with this photo:

This photo appears to have been taken closer to Julie’s 27th birthday, but let’s pretend we are idiots for a minute. In the world of visual communication, you have to worry about things like the feeling an image evokes. I *think* they wanted this to be a picture of a father consoling his young daughter on her sweet sixteen because she got pregnant or something. I’m not a father, but I’d guess you do stuff like that when your daughter turns sixteen. What I see when I look at this picture is a married guy (wedding ring) in a bar (beer and cigarette), holding hands with a girl who is twenty years his junior. She has been in the trunk of his Camaro for two or three days, and he made her put on lots of makeup so he could get her in to the bar for a “date”. He is busy insisting that she loves him, or will grow to love him if she knows what’s good for her. She silently screams for him to stop squeezing her hand so hard and just let her go. The absence of eye contact says it all. She is praying for the sweet release of death.

Lots of folks are already feeling sour about today’s announcement of the new, for-fee version of Movable Type. But come on, people, it’s quality software. Nothing in life is free. Six Apart can’t give away its software forever. And if we MT supporters want to continue to see this great software improved, of course they’re going to have to make some money along the way. I’d love to drive my car or live in my house for free, but that’s not the way capitalism — so much the foundation of America — works.

I predict that people will grumble about this at first, but Six Apart will continue to thrive and improve its Publishing Platform.

Movable Type 3.0 Developer Edition: “Movable Type 3.0 Developer Edition is finally here, and we’ve got a lot to say about it. Mena’s explained the thinking that went into this new version over at Mena’s Corner, where you can get the full story.”

I’m pleased to announce the beta launch of VassarChat.com, the latest project in which I’ve played a hand over the past couple weeks. Collaborating with some fellow alums, we hope this new community site will become an invaluable resource for other alums, current students, and those interested in Vassar College. Hopefully it will be a fun place to just chat and exchange ideas, too.

So Vassar people and anyone interested in Vassar, head on over to VassarChat.com, create an account, and post away!

One of the many awesome things about buying our first house is getting a choice in energy provider. In New York state, there’s a progressive program through Niagara Mohawk (GreenUp) that allows one to choose to have energy come from alternative sources such as wind, solar, biomass, etc. By paying extra for this clean energy, not only will we be doing our part for the environment, but we will be supporting local farmers, helping to create jobs, and telling the big energy companies that this is the direction we should be heading as a nation.

Good for Niagara Mohawk for making GreenUp available. If you live in New York, please consider joining the program. If you live elsewhere, please find out if your local energy company offers a similar program.

Our lungs and future generations will thank us. The time to make a difference is now.

GlobeandMail.com: “WASHINGTON — A contrite Donald Rumsfeld apologized yesterday to Iraqi prisoners abused by their American captors, and warned that the outrage will worsen if other images of the actions of U.S. soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison become public.

“‘There are a lot more photographs and videos that exist,’ the U.S. Defence Secretary told the Senate armed services committee. ‘If these are released to the public, obviously it’s going to make matters worse. That’s just a fact.

‘I mean, I looked at them last night and they’re hard to believe,’ he continued glumly, without going into detail.”

In other words, Rumsfeld is already in such trouble and facing pressure to resign that he doesn’t want to add fuel to the fire engulfing him.

I went running this morning. It had been a long time. It felt good. It hurt. I sure felt myself running slowly. I went to the end of my street, turned right, ran two blocks, and circled back. I was winded when I got home.

I used to run track in high school and college. I was a sprinter. A lazy sprinter. I ran the 100 and 200. Vassar didn’t have its own track, so we lazy sprinters drove to the neighboring high school to practice. We honked and waved at the distance runners. They ran there.

I have a love-hate relationship with running. And many other of my favorite things, such as skiing. I love skiing more than running. Getting to the mountain to ski is just a pain in the ass. And it’s so expensive.

At least running doesn’t cost anything.

The great thing about having gone to a college founded by a brewer is that the annual celebration of the school’s founder involves what else? Lots of beer. But Vassar students love to drink beer, so, unfortunately, even two trucks full of it is never enough.

Now residents of upstate New York, Jen and I returned yesterday to campus for the first time since getting married there last year to celebrate our first on-campus Founder’s Day since 1999. We met up with and ran into some old friends (Dan, Ian, Nika, David, Trel), and enjoyed the absolute perfect weather. It was also a good warm-up for this June’s class reunion.

What was most striking to me is how young all the students seemed. In the greater scheme of things, it hasn’t been all that long since graduating, but it felt very different attending Founder’s Day as an alum “outsider.” I remember well what it was like to experience Founder’s Day as a student, but it was interesting to see and experience the event from a different perspective.

Yesterday was my fifth (non-consecutive) on-campus Founder’s Day (last year was FD in SF), which pales in comparison to what’s got to be the record held by my friend Dan Merrill, who clocked in his ninth consecutive on-campus attendance. The Vassar Quarterly should do a profile next year when he hits the decade mark of Founder’s Day attendance. Rock on, Dan.

I’m really glad to have gone yesterday. I had a great time. I so much appreciate the beauty of that amazing campus more than I ever did as a student. Thinking back about my years at Vassar now seems like a distant and hazy memory. Sure, the haziness may be attributed to all the beer I consumed, but I really feel like a different person now, more in tune with and aware of the world around me.

Of course, a large part of who I am today is because of having been fortunate enough to attend such a special school, make great friends, and meet my wonderful wife.

Cheers, Matthew Vassar.

The long-awaited and much-anticipated IPO comes to be.

Google Inc. Files Registration Statement with the SEC for an Initial Public Offering: “MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – April 29, 2004 – Google Inc. announced today that it has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed initial public offering of its Class A common stock. A portion of the shares will be issued and sold by Google, and a portion will be sold by certain stockholders of Google.”

Saratoga Springs is known for horses, so you never know where you’ll see one. This mirrored one appeared today on Broadway near Church St.