And the winner is...

Yes, I'm blogging. No, my power hasn't been restored. It just so happens that I had a few hours to kill after work tonight and my favorite Internet Cafe does have power and... well... here I am announcing the winner of the First Annual Find Eric J Contest.

First of all, a big thanks to all those who participated. While there can be only one winner, there really are no losers at webraw.com... well... except for all the people who guessed wrong. But anyway, enough of that. On with the big announcement.

And the Winner is...

Steven Cavers of Cubicle Dweller fame. The only other person to guess correctly was Julia but she was disqualified for making two guesses and so by default, Mr. Cavers wins the X-Men 2 Movie Poster. Here's how he figured it all out.

That's a tough one, Eric. Here's how I figure it:

1. Too old.
2. Looks like he's using Windows, and I know you're a rabid Mac user.
3. Hmm. Maybe.
4. Doesn't look "Janssen"-ish
5. Maybe.
6. Maybe.
7. Maybe, if I could only see what kind of computer he's using.
8. Which one??
9. That's obviously Eric J. Hilton, associate curator at Natural History
Museum at U. Mass. AmHerst. Can't pull a fast one on me.

So I'm going to take a guess and say... number 5... the guy with the striped shirt and the goatee.

And yes, in fact that goofy, grinning fool is yours truly. Actually that's not really a grin. It's a facial condition. My face looks that way all the time. Some sort of undiagnosed muscle disease causes my mug to wear a goofy grin 24/7. It's a great ice breaker at parties but is total hell at funerals and when being questioned by cops.

So, give Mr. Cavers a virtual pat on the back and look for the Second Annual "Find Eric J Contest" sometime next summer.

posted by Eric J | 08:40 PM

No Power To Blog

Still without power. No electricity sucks. I now have a generator that is running a few things like the fridge and some fans but still no hot water (note to self, get a gas water heater). I just tried hooking my cable modem and Airport base station up to the generator and discovered that the cable is also out. So I have resorted to scrounging for dial-up when available.

Anyway, I'm afraid I'm going to have to take another break from blogging. They did clear our street of the downed power lines so maybe we'll get power soon (though getting the cable back is probably another matter). Did get a chance to go to a baseball game tonight after the rain stopped and had a wonderful time. Took my parents to the spiffy new ball park and they were impressed. Said it was a slightly better park than the new Durham Bulls park. Cool.

Ok, so I'm out till some other time. I promise I'll get the contest winner announced ASAP. Sorry for the delay.

posted by Eric J | 10:11 PM

A bit about me and blogs (and sap)

HISTORY: I started blogging in June of 2002. I didn't know a single person who blogged. None of my friends had ever heard of blogging and I was clueless about any "blogging community." I didn't even know who Jason Kottke was until I stumbled onto his blog to find a review of the film Minority Report. I was just looking for a tool that would simplify content publication on this site and stumbled upon blogs.

And stumbled is a pretty accurate description of how I discovered Blogger.com. I don't recall how I discovered Blogger but I first visited the site in 2001. After creating an account I realized that Blogger required my FTP username and password. From my understanding Blogger didn't guarantee the security of this information and so, being the paranoid neophyte that I was, I chickened out and didn't actually post anything to the account until June of the following year.

It was only after I began posting that I slowly became aware of what many refer to as the "Blogiverse" (I still hate that term). Over the past year I've met many wonderful people, made some friends and a couple of enemies (what's life without a nemesis or two?). However, I believe that my experience with blogging is very different from the vast majority of bloggers out there. I think that this uniqueness gives me a somewhat objective and detached view of blogging and the blogging community. My one and only motive for blogging was simply to have a space where I could share what's on my mind.

TODAY: So today I'm asking myself why I do this blog thing so regularly. What is it that motivates me daily to spend a few minutes (or hours) blogging my mind? There are really a lot of reasons and they aren't quite so simple as in the beginning but I think the main reason I keep me chugging along is a desire to share. And as sappy as it sounds, it's that desire to share that makes the Internet so wonderful and so valuable. And after you cut through all the noise surrounding blogs, underneath you'll see that what makes blogging work is sharing. Yes, I believe it's as simple as that.

(Cue sappy symphony music building to a crescendo only to be drowned out by wild applause)

posted by Eric J | 08:11 PM

FUTURIST: Mobile Technology

The future is mobile. I'm convinced that we will soon see an end to desktops and a dramatic evolution in laptops (not the PC-Pad) if not an end to them as well. That's my epiphany after spending a week in the sticks with a multitude of self-proclaimed "Computer-Illiterates."

How do I know this? Technology for the masses is always about usability. How complicated is the system and how long will it take Grandma to learn how to use it? The simpler the system, the more likely it will become adopted. Other factors include actual usefulness and cost but usability remains the driving force behind mass adoption of new technology.

While on vacation I stayed at a private club in southern Arkansas. This community consists of several hundred residents from a variety of social backgrounds and none of them regularly use their computers. When they do turn them on it's to check email, look up an air fare or balance a checkbook. However, almost every single club member had one of the latest cell phones sporting cool features like email, games and PDA capabilities.

I'm not saying anything new, the Japanese and Europeans already know that the future is mobility. I'm just commenting on my recent observations. My own grandmother won't use her brand new PC, no matter how many times I show her how to check email. Yet she will use her cell phone, where she also gets email. That's the future. Grandma checking email on her cell phone.

Well, there's nothing wrong in stating the obvious.

posted by Eric J | 08:36 PM

Back in Black - Literally

I returned home from vacation this afternoon to discover power lines blocking the street immediately in front of my house. That's never a good sign. Apparently, while I was chillin' at the River, the Storm of the Century blasted through Memphis resulting in a surge in candle, ice and crowbar sales.

Anyway, I did think it was nice that someone took a moment to string some yellow caution tape around the downed lines but nobody bothered to actually remove or repair the power lines. Needless to say, I have no power at home and absolutely no idea when the juice will start flowing again.

So, I'm back but living Amish-style and so the Net withdrawal symptoms continue (a rash and nervous head twitch).

CONTEST OVER: And about that goofy contest... well, it's over. I honestly don't know who the winner is because some submissions were sent via e-mail and I can't get to my inbox (see above). I will give one hint, I'm not a llama. Once I figure out who the winner is I'll reveal my true identity and send that lucky devil his/her special prize.

PS: If anyone has a spare generator in the Memphis area, drop me an email. Thanks. And tip your waiter.

posted by Eric J | 08:37 PM

Scrapraw Tip of the Day #3

I used to have trouble getting a straight edge from small pieces of cardstock (like my Jay Z ticket stubs). My solution? If I use removable tape to adhere the ticket stub to the paper trimmer, I always get a straight edge.

posted by | 05:54 PM

Scrapraw Tip of the Day #2

If you're afraid you might ruin your keepsakes by attaching them to your pages with glue or tape, you might want to use the same plastic pages that sports card collectors use. This way, you can display your protest buttons and court summons in neat pockets that you can rearrange for every petition drive.

posted by | 12:08 PM

Scrapraw Tip of the Day #1

Use pinking shears to create a fun, sassy edge on your pictures, postcards, and bar tabs before putting them in your scrapbook.

posted by | 09:40 AM

Flash Mobs: Coming to a city near year

Next time you're in a large department store and about 200 people show up, make a scene for about 10 minutes then disappear, you've been flash mobbed. Basically, the mob receives a message electronically (email or SMS) with instructions on where to show up and how to act and then do it. This has some interesting implications for political demonstrations or public performance art. Read more about flash mobs in this article from Philly.com.

posted by | 08:18 AM

Introducing Scrapraw - a quiet coup

As Eric has left the net on his vacation, I am taking over Webraw and dedicating it to the art of scrapbooking. Webraw is now Scrapraw. You will find that the old web related webraw and the new scrapbooking related scrapraw have many themes in common. The new scrapraw will discuss the usability of scrapbooks, picture cropping techniques (whether to use scissors or a straight edge), archival quality of materials, color use and typography.

posted by | 09:37 PM

Well, it's that time of year

It's finally time for a vacation. A break from the Net, blogging and anything technical. Time with family and... well... more family. Summers are like that. Anyway, take it easy and I'll see you on the flip side.

Oh, and be sure to send me your guess for the "Find Eric J Contest."

posted by Eric J | 07:37 PM

While on the subject of contests

I received the runner-up prize in the now infamous Cubicle Dweller (formerly End Of Line which was formerly Cubicle Dweller) Blogiversary Contest. I am so honored. I really am. Thanks much Cubey. I really had fun writing it. Can't wait till next year.

posted by Eric J | 11:25 PM

The First Annual "Find Eric J Contest" Begins

CONTEST OVER: Thanks to all who participated. Check back for more info soon.

Today is the beginning of the much anticipated "Find Eric J Contest." The excitement in the air hasn't been this palpable since the first Fleetwood Mac reunion. So, since I can't stop thinking about tomorrow let's go ahead and get this thing rolling right now.

The Rules: Look at the pictures below and select the photo that you think is the real Eric J. No cheating. If you know what I look like then you are automatically disqualified. Also, to throw people off, I've asked a few friends to guess incorrectly, just to keep it confusing.

How do you enter your guess? Well you can send me an email or just post it in the comments attached to this particular post. It's that simple. The person who guesses correctly wins. If more than one person guesses correctly then I'll select a winner from all the correct entries by drawing a name, at random, from a genuine Deerstalker hat. Please limit yourself to one guess.

Prizes: It wouldn't be much of a contest without a prize. The winner will receive an authentic X-Men 2 movie poster. What's that? You don't like the X-Men? Me neither, that's why I'm giving it away kids.

Why? This contest was inspired by something I read on some blog (I can't remember which) several months ago. The statement mentioned that it's kind of nice to be able to put a face to the writings we've become familiar with over a period of time. While I've purposely avoided plastering my mug on this site, I think it may be time to at least briefly put a face to all the nonsense.

Alright, enough of that. On with the photos:

1	2
3	4
5	6
7	8
9

Contest ends July 26, 2003. And please, no wagering. posted by Eric J | 11:33 PM

What's next for browsers?

While Netscape may or may not be dead, we can all agree that it's not altogether the healthy Killer App it was during the mid-90s. However, the reason for Netscape's apparent demise has less to do with any evil Microsoft plot and more to do with the fact that Internet Explorer built a better browser (for a while at least). And that's good news for Netscape and the newly reborn Mozilla (and all those Mac browsers).

You see, browser dominance on the Web is really just about who builds the best browser. I'm not naive and I understand that other market forces can shape the browser landscape (funding being the most dominant) but in an open, cross-platform system like the Web, the best browser can't help but rise to the top. And I believe that's exactly what is beginning to happen with the alt-browsers.

I've seen the numbers. Depending on who you ask, IE owns between 90-98% of the browser market. Maybe so, but I don't believe those numbers. There's not a single Mac OS X user who browses with IE. Why not? Because it sucks. And that's why more and more PC folks are moving to IE alternatives like Mozilla. My Windows-evangelist IT friend (who believes Bill Gates is the Messiah) uses Mozilla because he loves the pop-up blocking and tabbed browsing. He's found a better browser.

In fact, it's these beloved features that will only improve as the new Mozilla Foundation gains steam and funding. The result will be a ripple effect that improves other alt-Browsers and increases competition for the now-stagnant Internet Explorer.

What we're witnessing is what I call a "Browser Renaissance." Features and standards compatibility are what will fuel the success of tomorrow's browsers. I even have a few suggestions. In addition to wonderful things like tabbed browsing and pop-up blocking I'd like to see the following:

PDF Blocking. Or at least a dialogue box that pops up asking if I'm sure I want to commit to loading a freaking PDF.

CSS display. All browsers should have things like Favelets built into the interface.

And finally, of course, news readers. I know everyone puts this on their list but really, there's no reason that I should need to use a separate app as my newsreader.

Those are just some of my suggestions and other, smarter people have compiled even better lists. Now, a better browser may not topple IE from market dominance but it will definitely increase the market share we are currently seeing.

posted by Eric J | 12:58 PM

PSA for a Friend

By some weird set of circumstances you can now find the updated Not All Who Wander Are Lost at This Temporary Site. It's a long story.

posted by Eric J | 09:47 AM

I hate PDFs

Have you seen all those Adobe PDF commercials lately? You know, the ones where they ask "is it better to give a PDF or to receive one?" And each PDF is represented by a large, gift-wrapped box with a bow. Anyway, if you haven't seen them they're pretty stupid in my mind but what do I know, I'm just some shmo with a goofy Web site.

Well, the PDF is getting advertised all over the place and therefore in the public's mind now, more than ever. Inevitably, our Usability Guru has issued a declaration that PDFs are evil. His phrase was actually "Unfit for Human Consumption" and I totally agree. I hate PDFs. Hate them with a passion. While browsing the Web there is nothing worse than clicking on a link and suddenly discovering it's a link to a PDF. It's worse than pop-up ads. Worse than spam. Worse than slow loading java applets. I can't think of anything more annoying. And it's so awful because people link to them as if they're just another Web page, often without any indication that the link will cause the cumbersome and sluggish Acrobat Reader to begin an eternal launch sequence before finally displaying... an update message.

I understand the utility of PDFs and actually use them pretty regularly. But I have never linked to one without accurately representing the link. So, Nielsen is right, again and maybe someday, not far from now, Macromedia will develop a better PDF technology.

posted by Eric J | 01:01 PM

Cleanest interstate bathrooms

I unhooked my Internet IV for a week and come back to find that Eric went AWOL and someone's been posting random wierdness under his username and now there is this big picture of a urinal in the middle of webraw blog. The funny thing is that after visiting numerous gas stations between here and Florida with my four-year-old son that I decided that there needed to be a national online directory of the cleanest/dirtiest bathrooms on the interstate. Has anyone seen a similar website?

posted by | 10:55 AM

Google can't find WMD either

Apparently Google has lost track of the Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), just like the CIA and President George W. Bush. Try typing in Weapons of Mass Destruction (no quotes) into Google and click the I'm feeling luck button and you'll end up at a slightly altered error 404 page.

posted by | 10:46 AM

Sometimes I do things

Hey, I've entered the endofline/cubicle dweller Blogiversary Contest and actually wrote a little script thing. Spelling and grammar errors aside, I think it turned out pretty good. Not quite the same style as the other entries but I've always been a bit different than the rest.

On another note, I just started something really... uh... interesting. Yes, I've gotten myself involved in another project and this one just might end up turning into a real monster. If done correctly it will most surely piss some people off (and God I love pissing people off) so I'm pretty excited about it. It's basically a satire site of a specific blogworld celebrity. I won't give more details now but if you want to know more, and possibly beta-test the site, then drop me an email and I'll hook you up.

Have a happy Sunday. No Memories this week.

posted by Eric J | 10:04 PM

The View From the Top

The pictures below are of a gas station/souvenir store at exit 143 of I-40 in Tennessee. You'll notice that the men's restroom in the last picture has a mirror strategically positioned above the urinals. Whether by accident or design, this position allows urinal guests to get a wonderful view. I've always used these urinals alone so I've thankfully never experienced this view.

posted by Eric J | 01:44 PM

A Blogging Experiment Explained

I got the idea for this project after reading Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud. One of the things he points out in the book is that all the action in comics happens between the panels, in the gutters. As comic readers, our minds fill in the gaps to create a connection between each panel. My idea was to try to do this with just words, instead of images and words. My desire was to see what sort of connections were made between each of three random phrases framed inside of a blog post. Some people would make no connection while others might try to find some sort of similarity between each phrase so that the post made sense as one specific idea.

The second goal was to just see what types of similarities existed between the random phrases. Would each phrase contain a distinct and unique voice or would conversational similarities become apparent and possibly indicate a "blogging language" in a similar way that sub-cultures develop their own "language" (Hip-Hop, Geeks, MotorHeads, etc.).

Lastly, I just wanted to see if people would recognize any particular phrases from their daily blog readings because I just thought it would be fun.

How did I determine which phrases to include? Well I followed specific guidelines for each of the three phrases. The first phrase was gleaned from following links from a high profile blog (such ask kottke.org or scripting.com) and then lifting the first few lines from the top-most post of that day. The second phrase was pulled from a random blog at the top of Weblogs.com. I tried to pick one that wasn't familiar to me so if I saw Instapundit at the top I'd pass over that and pick the next one. The third phrase was pulled from a blog in my browser favorites. I pretty much just picked a blog at random but it wasn't scientifically random at all.

So, where did all the phrases come from? Here is the list numbered by the Experiment post and in order displayed:

-5-

http://buttonmonkey.com/mindset/

http://reddywit.journalspace.com/

http://angelasue.blogspot.com

-4-

http://www.rageboy.com/blogger.html

http://www.bananaflip.com/

http://www.sunnyplaceforshadypeople.blogspot.com/

-3-

http://blogs.salon.com/0000014/2003/07/03.html

http://radio.weblogs.com/0105501/

http://www.houseofmirage.com/blog/test05.php

-2-

http://www.stevenberlinjohnson.com/

http://radio.weblogs.com/0126062/2003/07/02.html

http://www.theparagon.org/main.shtml

-1-

http://dew.blogspot.com/2003_07_01_dew_archive.html

http://hikki.blogspot.com/

http://www.crazyapplerumors.com/MacOSXBlog/

posted by Eric J | 10:46 AM

Will you just shut up

If there is a Blog God, and I suspect there is, then would Jason Kottke be the Messiah?

posted by Eric J | 10:05 PM

This is not a blog post

This is not a link

posted by Eric J | 06:47 PM

A Blogging Experiment (Installment #5 - The Final Installment)

Look at yesterday’s photos while I try to figure out why I keep having all of these automotive problems. Cars must hate me.

So I've been spending some time checking out some other journals and trying to learn some of the cool things journalspace offers. You know, I like my plain old journal. Plain text, plain background.

Should I feel guilty for being disgusted? Should I try to smother what I really think about people and things and things that people do?

posted by Eric J | 04:26 PM

I never win anything (good)

I just won tickets to a Justin Timberlake concert. Know anyone who wants to go? I sure as hell don't.

posted by Eric J | 11:25 AM

Attention CSS Freaks!

Just discovered the the beloved css-discuss mailing list has an online archive. I've been a subscriber for over a year and it's good to know that I can go back and read those deleted emails online. This page says the archives are only available to members (which I am) but I was able to access them without logging in so I think they may be open to all. If you can't get in let me know.

posted by Eric J | 08:48 AM

About the Web and travels

During my "time away" I realized that the Web is no substitute for actual human interaction. Yeah, I know that's sort of obvious but almost all of my conversations, debates and intellectual exchanges about Web-related topics take place within the confines of a keyboard and monitor. It was so incredibly refreshing and stimulating to "talk Web" face to face with someone under a smiling yellow sun (I never claimed to be a poet). Note to self: do more of that face to face thing.

I was also reminded of how much I love the Web and how out of that love stems a desire to share the joy, excitement, wonderment and energy that I receive from the Web almost daily. I can't keep something that amazing to myself so when I learn or experience something on the Web I MUST immediately share it with everyone who will listen (or see).

So anyway, it was great to actually meet someone that I previously only knew through the Web (my first such meeting was with Kevin). Curt and I met under a giant obelisk that sits in the middle of Asheville. I'm early for everything so as I waited my mind kept drifting to that scene in 2001 where the apes are jumping around and throwing bones in the air while the monolith makes some humming sound.

Topics of discussion included: Strong Bad. Jeffrey Zeldman and Web standards. Memphis and the Elvis counter-culture. Design vs. Art. Plans and Dreams and much, much more. All in all it was a wonderful time and many thanks to Curt for taking the time to hang out with me for a couple of hours.

While he's not an "official blogger" I'm making him an "honorary blogger" (yes, I can do that). And hey, he's only a permalink away from blogging right now anyway. It could happen.

posted by Eric J | 10:38 PM

Clutter

Found my newest computer time-waster recently: Clutter. It's a freeware application from Sprote Research that complements iTunes (sorry Windows folks). When you run Clutter along with iTunes, it queries Amazon for each song's album title as it plays and pulls the cover art to display. You can then drag the image to your desktop to serve as a bookmark for your favorite albums. Clutter integrates with iTunes so that you can use the images as a starting point to play your favorite jams, just right click and pick your song.

Of course it's all dependent on how well you've tagged your music; the lookup uses the artist and album name from the ID3 tag. You get a choice of which picture to use, but if Amazon doesn't sell it, you don't get a picture. I've spent the last two days cleaning up my track names so I get the images I want. But they've built in a workaround for the most adventurous musical types. You can generate a Google query straight from the app, and if that doesn't work, even if you're listening to your buddy's garage band from Blairsville, Indiana, you can copy in your own images. Just drag in the picture from a browser and you're set.

Clutter is a definite conversation starter for parties where you covertly DJ off your Mac. Just imagine the props you'll get as the album covers from Chicken Fried Funk and X-Rated flip by as you throw down for all your neighbors. "Yeah, them's my dogs," you say, as you mouse over and delete the Viagra spam from your inbox.

posted by | 09:11 PM

I'm back (of course)

I told you I'd be back soon... and here I am in all my blogging goodness. Where was I? Well, obviously you haven't been paying attention. Yes, there was also the "turban incident" but I really was in Asheville and I really did have lunch with Curt.

It was great to disconnect for a few days and then meet up with a fellow Web-enthusiast, sit on a park bench and talk shop under a smiling Smokey Mountain sun. More about all this later. I must get some sleep. It's back to work tomorrow.

Oh, and the "Blogging Experiment" is not my writing. If it wasn't obvious before, it is now. None of the stuff posted in the Experiment is anything that I wrote. At least I don't remember writing it but then, that's part of what the Experiment is all about anyway. More on the Experiment later too. It's good to be back but Asheville is a BEAUTIFUL place. I wouldn't mind living in the Smokey Mountains.

posted by Eric J | 10:14 PM

A Blogging Experiment (Installment #4)

For those of you from other countries, Boulder is in Colorado, which is one of those big square states slightly to the left-of-center on the U.S. map. There is no political significance to this remark. Except as it applies to Boulder.

I also got another surprise today. I took my car to the dealership where I originally bought it, to find out what sort of trade in I could get, eventually. The very helpful salesman advised me to go ahead and let the guy who hit me have his insurance pay for the paint job.

And then there are the jackasses who dial 911 for the least and most petty of reasons, non-emergencies all.
Examples: to ask about a parking ticket, to report a missing dog, to pass the time of day.

posted by Eric J | 09:00 PM

webraw APB

To be honest, Lannie and I are quite worried about Eric; he's gone AWOL. He had been acting strangely for a couple weeks now. First he did that Jakob Nielsen LiveMotion thing, then he made all those weird cut-and-paste posts, and now this so-called vacation. We're not sure what he's up to. All I know is that I was chatting with him on iChat AV the other day about barbeque recipes and all of a sudden he put on a turban and shouted, "Sticky butterscotch, my grandmother's purse!" then kicked over his monitor and was gone. That's the last we've heard of him. If any of you see him out there let us know.

posted by | 09:05 AM

Be Right Back

I'm taking a break from blogging (and the Net). Be back soon.

posted by Eric J | 12:38 PM

Am I watching history?

I'm watching South Park - The Movie right now. It's uncut and uneditted. I'm hearing the F-word on basic cable. I'm hearing a LOT of the F-word on basic cable. I don't know if this is a first in entertainment television but if it is, I'm watching it. Just kind of bizarre to me.

posted by Eric J | 02:04 AM

The New Blogger Ain't Bad

In the past, I have not held back my criticisms of Blogger and while I still plan to switch to MT, I must confess that the NEW BLOGGER is pretty good. It's got a new design, some new features and some nice little tweaks. So, hats off to Blogger for the improvements. I can now feel comfortable recommending the service for newbies. Wonder what TypePad will be like?

posted by Eric J | 10:27 PM

A Blogging Experiment (Installment #3)

The candidate with a lot of money is the candidate best positioned to get even more money. The candidate with even more money is in the best position to pay for the kind of advertising that will win votes.

I haven't seen this one before: instead of using the onLoad of the body to open a window, it submits a form with the target set to a new window.

Today I ate a fortune cookie and here is the fortune that was inside:
Saturdays are good days for taking care of chores

posted by Eric J | 06:57 PM

A Blogging Experiment (Installment #2)

My latest Discover column combines two themes that I've been thinking about quite a bit over the past few years: online communications and facial expressions. It's a piece about the new online community, There , which I'd been tracking for a while, but first saw demoed at the incredible TED conference earlier this year.

Apparently we have a significant number of evangelical missionaries beginning to follow US troops into Iraq to convert Muslims. Time Magazine declares that "Not for a century has the idea of evangelizing Islam awakened such fervor in conservative Christians."

I've been keeping a blog for a good couple years now. My family, along with hundreds of others, have had the pleasure of reading about my life. They get to see my good times and they get to see my bad times.

posted by Eric J | 12:41 PM

Who hosts webraw.com?

Well, glad you asked. This site is hosted by ThinkHost, a wonderful company that I've done business with for almost a year. My favorite feature is that they allow multiple domain hosting for a really low price. The service uses PHP, MySQL and Magic Beans. It's so good that partner in crime, Matt Wood, has his site hosted by ThinkHost.

Why am I saying all this? No, they didn't pay me (though I do get something if you sign up and list me as a referrer). However, they did feature webraw in their monthly newsletter and I figure this is a good time to return the favor.

So, if you are shopping for a new host, head over to ThinkHost and check them out.

posted by Eric J | 11:52 AM

A Blogging Experiment (Installment #1)

Not a titter is overheard, not a laughter is zinging along; there is only... nothingness.

So "Genki! Hatsuratsu!" for "Oronamin C"??
"Kiki! Ippatsu!" for "Kurohige" and??
"Fight Ippatsu" is - for "Lipovitan D"!!!

After the update to iSync that was supposed to let you sync Safari bookmarks to multiple computers, I was fruitless in my early attempts to do so. I knew there was a way to fix it but I didn't have the time to look at it until yesterday.

posted by Eric J | 09:53 PM

Safari Hates the RIAA

NOTICE: This is only for Safari users.

Point your Safari browsers to http://www.riaa.org and see what happens. The latest beta version of Safari just refused to display anything. You could type in the URL (or click a link) and absolutely nothing would happen. It wouldn't stall out, wouldn't pop up a 404 or error or anything. It just didn't go to the RIAA Web site.

And now I've got the 1.0 (v. 85) release of Safari and it downloads a file that OS X doesn't natively recognize. It's weird. The only thing I know about the RIAA site is that it's in ColdFusion but Safari displays many (if not all) other ColdFusion sites without any problems. I have discovered another bug in the 1.0 release that the last beta did not have but I guess that's what happens with software development. Two steps forward, one step back.

Anyway, would be interested to know if anyone else has experienced this oddity.

posted by Eric J | 08:48 PM

You choose the style

Jay Small the regional director of news and operations for Belo Interactive and owner/writer/creator of Small Initiatives web design newsletter/blog has created a Text Style Sampler that lets you see what common Internet fonts look like with different line heights and paragraph indents. You can read his philosophy on all this in his newsletter for this month.

posted by | 08:39 AM

Looking for the right word

What's it called when someone promises to provide some good or service in exchange for cash but then fails to ever provide promised good or service? Is it called fraud?

posted by Eric J | 07:01 AM

Your Moment of Zen

from the Owner's Manual of the Audiovox ME-20 Video in a bag system with 5" LCD Monitor & DVD Player.
- Apologies to the Daily Show -

posted by Eric J | 08:12 PM

Analog Asheville

So it's official. We go to Asheville, NC next week. Spend a little time with extended family and meet up with Curt for some coffee or lunch. It's going to be nice to hop into the Mighty SUV, cruise down I-40 and play highway bingo. Anyone else live in Asheville? If so I'll buy you the beverage of your choice and we can discuss why blogging and vacations don't ever seem to mix.

posted by Eric J | 07:51 PM