and then rolls it right up
Apr 24, 2009
Wow. There goes a bit of history.
Aside from the incredibly rudimentary text-only pages and fingerfiles on my college’s Unix system (and one Santa Cruz geekhaus), my first real web sites were on Geocities. I helped out by volunteering as a community leader, I ran a few “groups”, and I had web rings (back when that particular entity was run by Sage Weil.) I left Geocities in 1998, shortly after Yahoo first partnered with Geocities and tried a stealth-rewrite of its Terms of Service. I stopped using Webring (or joining any webrings) when Geocities bought *that* in 1998. Still…it’s kind of sad to note the complete demise of Geocities.
I tried most of the first (1993-1996) free-webpage hosting services: Tripod. Angelfire. Xoom. I had a free graphics gallery, a database of support and recovery resources online, a primitive choose-your-own adventure game that was always more idea than actual game. (Trying to come up with, and keep track of, all those forking story ideas was a bit labor-intensive.)
I’ve since moved on quite a bit, running my own hosting business (minus any popup ads). But I still remember the Geocities culture, its general structure, its community. Geocities died a long time ago. Yahoo’s just been using the corpse to try and attract the occasional customer who decides to pay for premium service. (I’ve gotten a few of those clients who’ve found out that Yahoo’s idea of ‘premium’...isn’t very.)
Hearing this news is a bit like hearing that the playground you loved as a child…the playground you hadn’t thought about in a decade and hadn’t visited for a bit longer…is finally being demolished.
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blah blah, blah-blah-blah-blah
Apr 20, 2009
A friend got evicted last week. They’re halfway across the country, so I can’t do much to help. I did offer my library as a place to stay, if they are able to get out here. However, they’d have to leave their home state (they’re currently staying with another friend) and they could not bring their three cats because 1) mine would have a fit; and 2) they’ve routinely let their cats pee all over furniture, including ruining a leather sofa. As much as I dread telling someone “yes, I can help you but you have to give up your pets,” I could not deal with the aggravation caused by taking in at least two cats who are used to being allowed to pee all over any surface they please. (The third one might be just fine; I don’t know.)
My hours at my web dev job got reduced by 25% last quarter; and now we’re all taking a 10% rate reduction. I can’t qualify for mortgage refinancing because my property value has dropped so much (yay housing markets) and so I’d have to pay $10K up front to lower my mortgage payments by $100 a month. That doesn’t even calculate the added interest on the loan over its lifetime.
I had interviewed for an additional job that looked good: telecommuting, providing tech support, all very much up my alley. And part time, so it wouldn’t cause interference with my web dev job or my event staffing job. I got the notice today from that company that they’ve offered the position to another candidate (probably one that doesn’t already have other jobs and so, presumably, would be willing to grow with them if / as the position expands to fulltime.)
I had to let my hosting support person go. With the small client base, no one was asking questions or submitting tickets, so there wasn’t anything that needed doing - and with the various reductions, I now can’t afford to keep paying them until the client base grows. (I need to get off my backside and do some marketing.)
I’m in a funk. The weather’s lovely, but I’m about as cheerful as a funeral home. And I know, intellectually, that I’m still relatively well off. I have jobs (several, in fact.) I have a home. I’m not facing eviction or foreclosure. I’m currently healthy (though I don’t know how much longer that will last if I can’t get neurologists to return my phone calls so that I can get my prescription refilled by a neuro in this state). My car works. One of my cats will be needing significant medical work this summer; but hopefully - HOPEFULLY - it won’t be the multiple-thousands-of-dollars variety. (I already know it’s going to be at least $1,000. Maybe since this one has a sweet disposition I can find a less costly vet to take him to…?) But I’m still kind of freaking out.
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Color the Sky: This week's color is...
Apr 13, 2009
golden yellow. For those that need something more specific: its HTML color code (hex code) is #FFD633. It rained yesterday, it’s going to rain today, I’m missing the sun. So post your golden-yellow photos, stories, memories, recipes…whatever!
Color the Sky Prussian Blue… (or actually, this week, golden yellow. Aherm.)
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when I'm feeling bluuuuuch
Apr 10, 2009
I don’t feel well. My head is splitting, my stomach’s fluttering, and I ache. I really do not need to be fighting off the flu right now.
Today I was going to spend time playing with the toys I got yesterday. I was going to drive down to the stadium, pick up an autodeposit form, and fill that out (leaving the requisite voided check this time, so they’d be able to autodeposit my paychecks instead of me having to wait two weeks for them.) I was going to drive down to NorWesCon (well, to a friend’s room party after the convention) and hang out with some folks I haven’t seen in a year.
Tomorrow I have a soccer game work-shift in the evening. This is the first event I’ve been scheduled to work this month, so I really wanted to get the hours.
I cannot be getting ill!!
On the flip side, maybe it’s one of those 24-hour things…
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This week's color is...
Apr 05, 2009
...spun-sugar bubblegum pink.
Share a story, a photo, a poem, a recipe, a memory, a graphic…anything having to do with “pink”. Post your link in the comments for this entry.
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A weekly meme exploring your reactions to colors.
Apr 05, 2009
I've always known that I respond strongly to color. Sometimes I associate a color with a taste, or a smell, or a feeling, or even an emotion. I can almost hear the sound of certain colors.
It's the very beginning of spring, and things that have been dormant all winter are waking up. The world is no longer just grey and black and white and the occasional bit of brown. It's blue (sky), green (grass...and moss...and tiny leaf buds), pink (cherry blossoms), gold (sunlight) and purple (the morning glories on the back fence). The air almost tastes bright silver (crisp cool warmth but not icy, just...comfortable.)
Every week I will post a color (or two). It might be the color of the zodiac sign that's just beginning. It might be a color that has stuck in my mind for some other reason. It might be the color of whichever team won the local hockey/football/soccer event. You tell me a story - post a photo - write a poem - create a graphic - something, anything, which that color inspires in you. Maybe it's a childhood memory of a particular favored shirt. Maybe it's the color of your first car. Maybe a flower you saw somewhere. Maybe you, too, can taste or hear colors - and you post a recipe or a song for all of us to enjoy. Link back (or trackback - requires a login) to that week's entry and share what the color sparked off in your mind.
The name for this meme came from the first line of Donovan Leitch's song "Wear Your Love Like Heaven". I've reprinted the lyrics.
More..!
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