Blog Master G

Big news: I’ve received my first chunk of revenue for my consulting business. With that, my first hosting client site is up and running: 100 Faces Productions, LLC, which will be the future home of my Dad’s next installment of his 100 Faces of Marin book series. Very exciting on multiple fronts. Stay tuned…

My Scoobie celebrated its first birthday on May 4. With just more than 18,000 miles, I’ve driven her quite a bit since the 11 miles on the odometer when I drove off the lot a year ago. So happy birthday to the Scoob. I pay an arm and a leg for the car that’s caused me lots of anxiety and earned me my first speeding ticket in more than 5 years, but it’s worth it. It’s great having a car that’s safe, fast, functional, has room for 100 pounds of dog (and then some), gets me to and from Tahoe without chains, sticks to the road like nobody’s business, looks good, and is a shitload of fun to drive.

Here’s to you, Scoobie, and the next 100,000 miles. (OK, so I’m talking to my car in my blog. Have I lost my mind?)

As an avid Movable Type user, I really like this quote from yesterday’s short story in the NY Times about the forthcoming TypePad hosted blogging service (written by fellow Vassar alum David Gallagher; it’s a small Web world, after all):

Although the powerful features and elegant design of Movable Type have made it the tool of choice for serious bloggers, the hurdles involved in configuring the software on a Web server can be daunting for beginners.

I’m eagerly awaiting the release of TypePad sometime this month, as I’m sure everyone else in the blogging world is. I’m certain it will blow away Blogger and blogspot in terms of features, reliability, and server speed — especially since it will be a for-fee service. I’m signed up to be notified of the public beta, so I’ll definitely check it out then; I don’t know if I’ll need to pay for the service, though, since I already have quite a bit invested in my own Web hosting and in MT. Rather, I’ll likely wait for the release of MT Pro.

In any case, I think the blogging industry is an exciting place these days and will only continue to grow as the tools available to less technical folks are improved. What better way to get the mainstream hooked on blogging than to offer a powerful and reliable (factors that I believe to be key) combined Web hosting/blogging package (i.e., TypePad)?

According to some silly new research, the way I sneeze is actually a perfect fit for my personality: “The ‘Enthusiastic’ sneezer is a charismatic leader who makes a show out of sneezing multiple times — really loud.”

As Jen can attest, my sneezes are damn loud.

[via FARK]

Democratic Congressmen are accusing Bush of “flamboyant showmanship,” as Sen. Robert Byrd put it, when he landed May 2 via Navy jet on the deck of the USS Lincoln prior to his speech declaring the end of the war in Iraq. Rep. Henry Waxman of California is calling for a release of the financial impact of W.’s grand entrance by the GAO. Of course, the administration isn’t cooperating. If it’s not such a big deal, then why won’t they release the numbers? It’s estimated that the cost was $5,000 per hour, which, the administration claims, is the same as it would have cost for Bush to arrive via helicopter. But that wouldn’t have been nearly as dramatic, now would it have been?

CNN.com – Administration defends Bush’s jet flight to aircraft carrier

I think it’s fine that Bush gave the speech on the carrier, which was all Fleischer focused on in his defense of W., but that’s not what’s at debate here. It’s how Bush made his entrance that is questionable. Whether it was a cheap campaign trick or not, who knows? What I do know is that the entrance was over the top. Other than the fact that it cost tax payers lots of dough, so what? Boys will be boys. Let the draft dodger have fun while he can.

I hope this 7pm ET showing replays at my 7pm here in California on the queen (to Fox’s king) of conservative stations, MSNBC:

Hardball College Tour: Bill Maher

(Thanks, Jose Luis, for the heads up.)

I was appalled to learn yesterday that among the 600-plus prisoners being held without charges and without legal rights at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba is a handful of 13- to 16-year-old boys, who, after more than a year in some cases, are finally being released. This is thanks, in part, to pressure from Colin Powell. I applaud Powell for pressuring Rummy to release these kids.

CNEWS: War On Terrorism – Rights group: Planned release of Guantamo prisoners is too little, too late

Beyond the fact that these kids doubtfully pose any threat to Americans or to the American way of life, they and the rest of the terrorist suspects being held are, as today’s SF Chronicle editorial muses, “imprisoned in a legal netherworld in which they have no right to due process, a trial or access to an attorney.”

Anyone who thinks that the U.S. Patriot Act is a good idea should read this account of why it’s so dangerous to our basic freedoms and Constitutional rights as Americans.

(Thanks, Shannon, for the link.)

The rain dried up, the clouds parted, and the sun shone on a picture-perfect San Francisco day that greeted the 2003 San Francisco Bay Area Vassar Club Founder’s Day picnic. More than a dozen VC alums representing classes from the mid-1980s all the way through the most recent graduating class of 2002 (soon to be trumped, of course, by the Class of 2003) — along with a handful of significant others and friends of alums — gathered at the amphitheater at the western end of San Francisco’s gorgeous Crissy Field, overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge.

Chris Rouse ’88 did an excellent job organizing the day, bringing the table, the grill, the goodies, and, of course, several 5-liter kegs of beer. After all, what is a Founder’s Day without beer? For we are the Brewers.

One of the more comic moments of the day was when several alums gathered ’round keg #2 in an attempt to tap it. Getting the beer to flow was rather challenging with the flimsy plastic levers and spouts. Someone said, “How many Vassar alums does it take to tap a keg?” My response: “I think the problem is that this keg is too small. We’re used to much bigger kegs at Founder’s Day.” Of course, when I chaired the 1999 Founder’s Day Beer Committee, FDBeerCom, we had an entire beer truck to help us pour the brew.

We raise a glass to you, Matthew Vassar, and salute you for giving us all an excellent education that will remain with us always. Through Founder’s Day we come together not only to remember you, but to reminisce about the shared experience that none of us will ever forget: Vassar College.

– Gabe ’99

View all SF Founder’s Day 2003 photos

Last night Jen, Jess, Ben, James, and I saw X2 at AMC Van Ness here in San Francisco. I wasn’t too impressed by the first installment of the Marvel Comics story of Professor X, Wolverine, Jean Grey, Cyclops, and the rest of the gang. But X2 — named simply that in the title screen of the film itself, and also billed under the name “X-Men 2” and “X-Men 2: X-Men United” — was just awesome. The action was nonstop, the special effects were excellent, the acting was solid, and the story was intense. Combine all that with mutants with kick-ass powers and some super-sexy stars (Famke Janssen as Jean Grey, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos as Mystique, Halle Berry as Storm, Kelly Hu as Yuriko Oyama/Lady Deathstrike) and you have the recipe for a thoroughly entertaining and visually pleasing film. My favorite characters from the film were probably Nightcrawler (new in this film), Mystique, Jean Grey, and, of course, Wolverine, who’s been a long-time favorite of mine (I still have Wolverine #1 somewhere, which could be worth several hundred dollars if I could ever find it again).

I would certainly see X2 again and will add it to my DVD collection when available. This summer movie season is off to a great start.

Next up: Matrix Reloaded.