5th of August 2000
Our family is delighted for the safe return today of our daughter-in-law from eight weeks of military training in hot and steamy Biloxi, Mississippi. Departing just four short months after her marriage to our son, this was her first extended absence from her new husband. After deplaning she said the first things she wanted were a hot bath and about a week of sleep. The relaxing will have to wait at least until Monday as this is drill duty weekend. No rest for the weary.
Great interview with Bill Gates at Red Herring. Thanks to Mr. Zeldman for turning us on to this one. It's rather lengthy, but be sure to stick around to the end because Gates puts a brilliant spin on his problems with the Department of Justice.
You tell 'em Faith. We need you at MeFi, the libs are ganging up on us.
4th of August 2000
As the new school year approaches, I am once again flattered and humbled by all the college and secondary school sites linking to Internet Brothers Helpware as a site building resource for budding web developer students. When I first noticed this phenomenon two years ago I was flabbergasted that anyone, particularly educators, thought enough of my little spot on the Net to include it in their curriculum.
With each succeeding year, the university sites referring students here reads like a travel guide across America. In the spring of this year, and now again, the high schools and even junior highs are getting in the act as well. If by chance any teacher who has listed Internet Brothers on their school's web site might read this, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the confidence you have in the content.
--- end self-centered ego trip ---
3rd of August 2000
Hey ms. soon-to-be-39, that's Save As...
2nd of August 2000
I've heard it said, and have learned in the 12 step program I attend, that airing our problems helps us reach a solution or acceptance. I observed two occurances of this; two people who seemed to be hurting for different reasons and decided to seek public support on the Net. In hindsight, probably not sound thinking. One was envious of the attention focused on others. He displayed immaturity by going on the attack and was savaged for it. The other was describing a long-term loneliness. His outpouring resulted in public ridicule over unpopular anti-feminist views.
Lesson learned, for me at least, is that public airing of private matters probably isn't wise. There's a reason we call our inner circle of friends an inner circle. It is comprised of others with whom we have developed and nurtured trust over time. They can see the hurt on our faces. They advise and counsel from concern and friendship. Public display of emotion seems to be more an invitation for personal agendas. It's risky, and I know of two people who are probably hurting more now than before.
1st of August 2000
Big changes in the world of site promotion and search engines this past weekend. First, AltaVista launched a new design that appears to also include a new database. It certainly affected Internet Brothers. We went from well over 100 referrals per day from AV, to just about a dozen on Monday.
Next is an ongoing cleanup at the Open Directory Project. Apparently an edict came from on high to eliminate the deep-linking. Meta-editors have been very busy in recent weeks removing sites with multiple listings in various sub-directories. Relevancy be damned. If you've been fortunate to have multi-posts at ODP, beware it won't last long. This has a snowballing effect as Hotbot, Lycos, and Netcenter (among others) still pull their search from the ODP directory.
On the plus side, Google is the new darling of search. Recently replacing Inktomi as the engine of choice at Yahoo!, Google is now the place to be. Since the switch, Internet Brothers is seeing more traffic from Yahoo!, and Google, than ever. Web site promotion has always been a crap shoot at best. Remember, it's an ever-evolving environment, so remain flexible.
31th of July 2000
I've been catching some spammers lately. Whenever I opt-in for something, I give my email address as whotheyare@internetbrothers.com. For example, if I signed up for a Microsoft newsletter I would enter my address as microsoft@internetbrothers.com. Then if I start receiving spam to that address, I know who the spammer is, or at least where they obtained my address. I'm compiling a list. One of these days I'll put a feature together and publicize the scum.
It's funny strange seeing people you don't normally see dressed up. Went to a wake for an in-law. Suddenly you realize, wow she's got great legs, or he's a nice looking man when he shaves and wears a clean shirt. I never quite know how to act at functions like this, especially with open casket. Being from a very small family, I haven't attended many wakes or funerals. Not that I want the practice, but it seems like something you gradually learn how to handle with experience. I'm not much for chit-chat and small talk and I always wonder if the bereaved get tired of hearing, "If there's anything I can do..."
30th of July 2000
When I was younger, perception of beauty like this rose escaped me. Always in a rush, too little time for anything; too much time - wasted. I was 40 years old before I ever really noticed a Bradford Pear tree in the spring or burning bush in the fall. They must have always been there - what wasn't there was my awareness.
I was a self-centered egomaniac with an inferiority complex. Burning the candle at both ends, I wondered, "what can you do for me today?" Recovery is a dramatic affair. Relief from addiction is only the surface. I have emotions I didn't know existed. I can smell the air when it rains and hear the birds when it stops. The feel of a baby's skin is a softness I never understood. A grandchild offers that touch by extending his tiny hand.
If I may advise from experience, just pause occasionally. Stop and smell those flowers. Close your eyes and breathe. Being young is marvelous, but you only get one chance. No matter what seems the most vital priority of the moment, realize there is always something more important to somebody somewhere. As much as we may wish to believe - we aren't the center of the universe. If so, it's dreadfully crowded in here. What can I do for you today?
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A lady picked up several items at a discount store. When she finally got up to the
checkout, she learned that one of her items had no price tag. Imagine her embarrassment
when the checker got on the intercom and boomed out for all the store to hear,
"Price check in lane 13, Tampax, Supersize." That was bad enough, but somebody at the
rear of the store apparently misunderstood the word "tampax" for "thumbtacks."
In a business-like tone, a voice boomed back over the intercom. "Do you want the kind
you push in with your thumb or the kind you pound in with a hammer?"
Joan, the town gossip and supervisor of the town's morals, recently accused George,
a local man, of being an alcoholic because she saw his pickup truck parked outside the
town's only bar.
George stared at her for a moment, and said nothing. Later that evening, he parked his
pickup truck in front of her house and left it there all night.
An escaped convict broke into a house and tied up a young couple who had been
sleeping in the bedroom. As soon as he had a chance, the husband turned to his
voluptuous young wife, bound up on the bed in a skimpy nightgown, and whispered,
"Honey, this guy hasn't seen a woman in years. Just cooperate with anything he wants.
If he wants to have sex with you, just go along with it and pretend you like it.
Our lives depend on it!"
"Dear," the wife hissed, spitting out her gag, "I'm so relieved you feel that way,
because he just told me he thinks you're really cute!"