Thanksgiving in Indiana
We saw Ben and Kaitlyn and the rest of the Shoemakers… yes, they are the Shoemakers, and I am a Shumaker… VERY weird. We, of course, ate a ton and got to hang out with the family, but we also went to a movie (Bolt) and learned a new card game (Head and Foot). Although we had plenty of food, one day we went to an Amish restaurant called Das Essenhaus, which was amazingly good, and huge (buffet style amish breakfast). We were up there for 3 days and drove back by way of the Ohio Turnpike, and this time we did it in one day instead of two. It took us about 14-15 hours total, but it was a good drive, especially since we got to see some snow (They got 6-8 inches as we were leaving).
A New Computer?
(UPDATE 01/02/2008: I’ve decided to build a desktop, so I’ve rewritten this post to reflect that decision)
I may be building a new machine for myself soon. I find that my current box (built around 2001) has become a bit of a pain, especially if I’m running Photoshop, Itunes, Outlook, IE, etc, etc, etc.
One problem I really do have is that Itunes is such a resource hog, and it really drains the machine. Of course, that leads to thinking of how to get away from Itunes, but for anyone that uses Itunes knows, that’s a difficult thing to do (I have about 500 m4p files, and do like the artwork feature). Then there’s of course the issue of background programs like CA suite, DVD43 (what’s that?), Adobe gamma, Itunes helper, etc, etc, etc.
It’s All Small Stuff
In an effort to learn more about web services, I’ve decided to startup another website. Http://www.ItsAllSmallStuff.com The purpose of the site, or the “experiment” really, Is to see if I can power a site 100% from free RSS content, and still have that site be relevant itself. RSS content is a dynamic content from a website that can then be exported (RSS feeds power my sidebar over on the right hand side). The site itself is not going to be anything too over the top as far as design, and the only thing that will be static on the site are advertisements. The two main things I want to accomplish are to get the site high on Google rankings, and see the true possiblility of web advertisement revenue.
I have done fairly well in the past with SEO (Search Engine Optimization), but that was purely on a local level. So this time I will be trying to get a high ranking, in a globalmarket. I think I’ll do alright though, but probably not in the top 100 sites if someone were to search “news”. However I could see a possibility in specific sectors, subjects, and individual people (I might get a high ranking if someone searched specifically for “US Senator” or “Iran Nuclear Attack Weapons” or “Bono Charity Work”. Really who knows how well it’ll do though, I mean, I am getting into one of the largest markets on the web… news.
Carolina Blue – Obama Takes North Carolina!
President Obama won North Carolina on Thursday, a symbolic triumph that underscored his political strength as he turned nine states that President Bush won in 2004 to Democratic blue.
The Associated Press declared Obama the winner after canvassing counties in North Carolina to determine the number of outstanding provisional ballots. That survey found that there are not enough remaining ballots for Republican John McCain to close a 13,693-vote deficit.
“Yes We Can” – President Barack Obama
Barack Obama is the next president of the United States Of America! On November 4th, 2008 we the people elected Barack Obama to office by an electoral count of 364 to 173. With only 270 votes needed to win, the election was called at 11:00pm EST just after the last poll closed. Shortly after a gracious speech from John McCain welcoming the new president, Barack Obama gave the following speech to the world:
If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.
It’s the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.