Blog Master G

My plans to update my main Web site (not updated since Monday, March 29, 1999, 5:15 a.m.) are slowly progressing, as I put the infrastructure in place that will make updates incredibly easy.

Today I made great progress, as I broke apart the Movable Type template into chunks that will allow me to leverage MT’s stylesheets (so that I can change the design of the entire site with ease) along with my custom-built content management system. Creating this link was easier than I had anticipated. And it’s really cool. Controlling the site’s content through my own CMS gives me quite a bit more flexibility in that area (I can leverage PHP to do lots of fun if-then statements and the like).

There’s still quite a bit of work left to do, especially in terms of moving all my writing into a database so that it can be viewed dynamically, but once the infrastructure is in place, the rest is fairly easy.

Bidding on eBay is quite the rush. I really understand why it’s such a hugely successful company. And creates big wins for all parties involved — eBay, buyer, seller.

Finally, at long last, I will have a pair of brand new Salomon Xscreams. After last week’s missed opportunity and the disappointment of yesterday’s San Jose ski show, I finally decided to go all out on eBay. And I won a pair of 2001/2002 brand new (still in wrapping) Xscreams. My winning bid was $410. Adding in the 30 bucks for shipping brings the total to $440, about 70 bucks more than what I could have had them for last week. But hey, that’s the price of hesitation. And I feel good about my win. The exhilaration of snaking the skis away from two other bidders who were going head to head in the final seconds was half the fun.

Yesterday I also bought a Thule 751xt Rapid Railing Carrier roof rack for my car (to mount on my factory rack). All I need now is a ski/travel box and I’m ready for the ski season.

In his article entitled Crotchless Panties Of Doom, Mark Morford argues that the American people and protest-hungry interest groups have much more dangerous threats to worry about than scantily-clad women in Victoria’s Secret lingerie. To quote Jen, who just emailed me the link, this article is “brilliant.” She’s right. Read it.

Yesterday after reading a story in Business 2.0 about Google’s AdWords service, I searched the site for other stories on Google and came across one called Top of the Heap, which is about optimizing one’s site placement in Google results. The story was written by David Gallagher, whose name sounded quite familiar to me. So I did a Google search.

Sure enough, it was the same David Gallagher whose Web site I had originally stumbled across a couple months back while searching Google Groups for references to “Vassar Miscellany News.”

I was amazed then, as I was all over again yesterday, how eerily similar David’s past is to mine. He graduated from Vassar in 1992, seven years before I did; he was Editor-in-Chief of The Miscellany News, as was I; he received the Jane Dealy Wirsig Memorial Prize in journalism, just like I did; he seems to love writing, technology, and photography, same as me.

I decided it was time to email David; I wrote to him yesterday and have not yet heard back.

It’s sure a small world after all.

Yesterday while my computer was tied up at work installing the latest internal version of AutoCAD, I took a few minutes to read “Hot Coffee,” my friend Larry‘s first published piece, which recently appeared in Issue #14 of The Edge: Tales of Suspense. A short story about a father who hangs out with his 7th-grade son and his son’s friend (causing the friend’s parents to be rightfully suspicious of the behavior), the story is quite well written, funny, tragic, and disturbing all at once. Congrats, Larry! Keep up the good work.

Do you know Jack Schitt? If you don’t, be sure to check out his life story. It’s quite informative. I never knew he had such a big family. And next time someone accuses you of not knowing Jack Schitt, you can tell him or her that that is simply not the case.

Do Freemasons rule the world? That’s the question that seems to keep popping up lately. A group of us were discussing Freemasons at my Leadership Program last week, and Jen just told me that her coworker Joe actually is a Freemason. And she emailed me the link to Rob Morse’s column today, which is all about the government’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and its new Information Awareness Office (IAO), which aims to know everything about everyone and has something to do with the Freemasons.

And what do government and the Freemasons have in common? That darn pyramid with the eye that keeps popping up everywhere, from the dollar bill to the aforementioned IAO Web site.

They’re watching us. Or at least they want us to think they are. Remember: The FBI’s criminal database can only search for one keyword at a time. Good thing most of us have more than one name. I guess Cher, Shaq, and Eminem are out of luck.

Understanding the world around us is something that many people take for granted. Admittedly, I have a hard time identifying all 50 United states on a map, let alone other countries around the globe.

I trace this back to a States test I took in 5th grade. Each kid in the class had to keep taking the test until he or she received 100%. After several attempts, I was still unable to pass. When I was one of only a small group (2 or 3 kids total) who couldn’t pass, I decided to throw in the towel. I came prepared with a map in my backpack that hung over the back of my chair and was accessible during test time. Yes, I cheated on my 5th grade U.S. geography test. I passed.

In the spirit of my ongoing challenge to name all 50 states (I can do it just about every time these days!), Jen found this states game for me on November 9.

Why do I mention this now? First, so that I can move that email from Jen out of my email inbox now that I’ve captured it here. Second, in honor of GIS Day, which is tomorrow. I learned this from my coworker Ben, who was my feedback partner during last week’s ELP. He develops GIS software for Autodesk, so I’m sure he knows quite a bit more about geography than I do. And worlds more than the average American.

It is also fitting that I mention this today since the largest oil spill in history has occurred off the coast of Spain. Twenty million gallons of gas oil have spilled, compared with the 11 million that were spilled by Exxon-Valdez in 1989. It is so sad what we are doing to this world.

Before heading to James’ BBQ in Sacramento on Saturday, Jen and I swung by Cal Expo for the Sac Snow Show, where I hoped, among other purchases, to buy a new pair of Salomon Xscreams, which I’ve been wanting ever since I demoed a pair last season. They also happen to be the best ski on the market for at least two or three years running.

And what did I do? I made the mistake of passing up a brand new pair that was on sale for $367 (less than half the retail price). Since they didn’t come with bindings, I told myself I could get a better deal on eBay. Of course, that’s not the case. I would’ve been smart to buy two pairs and sell one on eBay for a nice little profit. So I spent a good deal of time on Sunday kicking myself and even considering driving back to Sacramento to pick them up. Luckily, I came across info on another ski show, the SnowSports Expo, in San Jose this weekend, so that brought me a lot of relief. It looks like it’s going to be an even bigger show, so I should be able to get some good deals.

Despite my frustration with not having purchased the skis on Saturday, a few good things did come out of having gone (in addition to the free weekday lift tickets included with admission). First, I bought Jen a ski jacket and gloves, since she’s decided to give skiing a shot this year. So she’s excited. And I’m excited that she’s excited. Second, I bought the Goode poles I’ve been wanting for quite some time, and also a new pair of Salomon boots (though at 6.0, they may be a little too soft, but we’ll see). Third, I nearly bought a pair of Salomon Pilot 8 skis, but was convinced otherwise by some guy who worked for Salomon and was helping me try on the boots. He urged me to get the Xscreams, so that solidified my decision.

Now I just have to keep my fingers crossed that they’ll have the same good deal on the Xscreams in San Jose this weekend.

Back in the office for day 2 after ELP and the weekend, I’m still feeling under the weather and really tired. I got a lot of sleep the last two nights, but still don’t feel 100% better. But I am feeling better than I was on Sunday, and I fought the temptation to stay home from work sick yesterday and today.

Maybe it’s the season or just doing so much over the past week, but I hope to feel better soon.