I’ve been thinking about this for a while. Has the popularity and ease of use of microblogging sites such as twitter or communities such as Facebook led to the decline of the weblog? The intent of this site some 13 years ago was to let my family know what was going on in my life. Now I find that I post more on facebook and twitter because they are all hanging out there. At the same time, I don’t want to stop my posts here. I have a large portion of my life in these 1′s and 0′s and I don’t think I’m ready to give it up.

I try to post but more often than not, the convenience of 140 characters is enabling. I think having my tweets fed to the site is enabling as well. I might just make it a side bar thing so that it doesn’t post to the main site or RSS feed. I’ve been tinkering with designs but so far I haven’t hit something that I feel will last. The I Heart Geeks look suits me. Maybe I’ll do something simple for the body of the site and something that can change for the masthead.

Decisions. Time to make some.

I am naturally tan thanks to my genes but I can get tanner. I don’t have tinted windows on my car and with my a/c pooping out, I tend to drive with the windows down. That of course leads to the farmers tan. It finally reached a critical point when I realized I had a tan line from my seat belt. Consequently, I now slap on some sunblock before driving home. Anyone else have to do this or am I just crazy?

Tinted windows. We’re adding that to my list of wants on my next car. Along with a working a/c. I’m just saying.

I have had a moment. I’ve finally decided to start doing stuff for myself first and then if I am able to, others. It is against my nature but helping others has caused me to hold off doing what I want to do just in case someone needed help.

In other news. Still no Mac. I’m pretty sure Josh is just against me buying another computer. My car has been having issues so we may need to end up buying one in a few months. Of course I’m still wishing for the Mercedes but I know that won’t happen. I’m too darn practical for that. I’m looking at perhaps 08 or 09 Toyota Corolla or Ford Focus. See that? My practical side is winning over my frivolous side. Blasted. Maybe next time.

Some days I wish I had a mysterious, long-lost rich uncle that left me all of his fortune. I don’t want to buy extravagant things. I like my house. I’d just want to buy the two vacant lots next door for a larger yard. Not that mine is small but I have a layout in my head that involves a few cherry trees in the yard. I like cherry trees. I miss seeing cherry blossoms bloom.

Since I don’t have a long-lost rich uncle, I’m just going to keep working hard. The vacant lots are probably a no go, due to the fact that they aren’t for sale, but I can work on the rest.

I’ve been delving into the world of Final Cut Studio at work. So far I can make a very simple movie. My logical thoughts prove quite useful as does my inquisitiveness. I’ve been borrowing a mac but I can’t borrow it every day, so the longest clip I have made was a whopping one minute and seventeen seconds! Feature films are not anywhere in the near future!

Oh, the nom o’clock alarm on my phone tells me it is time for Mythbusters! Yay!

Perhaps the title of this entry is misleading. There is no flattery, it’s all theft. I just discovered a site/company/entity is using a photo of mine. While the “credited” me, they did not request permission to use it. The copyright information is listed with the image, but it was still lifted. The annoying thing is, I would have let them use it, had they asked! I’ve yet to turn down someone who wanted to use a photo of mine that involved anything other than the kids. That decision is always theirs or their parents’. Still, I do require permission before use!

So now do I go and request them to take it down? It was apparently posted over a year ago and it’s not being used in a harmful way. Still, how hard is it to contact me? My info is listed with the photo! Perhaps that question has led me to my answer.  I guess it would have been flattery when they asked and when I would have realized they wanted to use my photo amongst the work of professional news photographers. But now it’s down right irritation and theft. Grrr. I don’t intend to name the names as I know that can cause more headache. I’ve been around the web a few times to know that much!

In other photography news. I entered one of my photographs into the employee art exhibit. I have no expectations of winning. I just wanted to do something since no one else in the office was. Someone had to represent, so why not me? I entered a photo of Sawyer. I was going to submit a photo of Hugo, but it just didn’t print correctly while the Sawyer one was really good. I showed it to some of my coworkers and they couldn’t figure out what it was at first until they stood away.

Now I think I shall prepare slumber. I have a busy morning tomorrow. I am attending a social media seminar in the morning. I’m mostly interested in the showcase prior to the discussion. I am interested in seeing the application development. That’s the coder in me trying to get out. The designer and professional sides of me have been suppressing it for too long. Run free little coder, run free.