Victory Coalition for Spirit of America Project
This little-bitty blog is participating in the Victory Coalition to raise money for Spirit of America‘s project to raise money for small projects started by US military soldiers/sailors to help rebuild Iraq. One major project is designed to create 7 TV stations in the area around Fallujah to show more balanced TV reporting than Al Jazeera.
Go HERE to donate today!
These sites are part of the Victory Coalition:
Remember, go HERE NOW to donate! The first thing I’m gonna do after hitting Save is to hit that link and make my own donation.
Vacation
I’m on vacation next week, so this blog will probably be a bit light on new information.
Here’s my “to do” list:
1. If the permits come in early enough, the solar panels for the house will be installed. Not likely.
2. Sleep. Get over the cold that I have now.
3. Update my resume – work is just too weird right now with impending reorganization. I need to have it ready to go in case I need it.
4. Weather permitting, empty and hose out the garage floor. Too much mud on the floor from this past winter.
5. After cutting the lawn once, take the lawnmower for it’s delayed annual service (should have done this in February).
6. Relax. Read. Watch TV. Rent a movie.
7. Go through my sock drawer and pitch the really old and unusuable ones.
8. Clean up my home office (this is REALLY bottom of the list).
Electric Company Archive
Today’s site is the Electric Company Archive.
They’ve got a dozen or so videos, and LOTS of MP3’s from the Electric Company.
I’m slightly too old to have been the target audience, but courtesy of my younger brother and sister I saw A TON of this program in the early 70’s. It was designed to be the Sesame Street for a slightly older crowd – the kids starting to read and do math.
Sick
I think I have a cold coming on. I’ve got a sore throat from post-nasal drip, and I can feel my sinuses getting clogged.
Good timing – I’m on vacation next week. I’m supposed to have a flying lesson on Saturday.
To top it all off, our company has a policy that says you need a doctor’s note to be out sick on the day before or after a vacation. So, I’ll have to come in tomorrow regardless of how I feel – who’s going to run to the doctor and pay a $15 co-pay to get a note that says you have a bad cold?
Harumph.
Amazon’s A9 Search Engine
Amazon.com has come out with their new A9 search engine. This is their attempt to make a run at Google and Yahoo.
I took a look today. If you sign in (with your Amazon.com account number), it will remember your searches for you. It also knows what you clicked through them to get to and will tell you that in your search results.
This site came up 5th when I searched for “Mark Time”. That’s pretty good – I’m further down the list for Google.
All in all, A9 is worth watching but Google still has it beat for now.
Help American TV in Iraq
Spirit of America is a charity that funds small projects that help Americans overseas improve people’s lives. Currently, they are working primarily in Iraq and Afghanistan.
A new project has been started by the US 1st Marine Division to build and equip 7 television stations in the Al Anbar province of Iraq. That province contains Fallujah and Ramadi. The purpose of the project is to offset the negative bias against the US provided by current Arab media in the area (notably Al-Jazeera).
More details can be found at the link above. I’m giving some money – I suggest that you do as well!
(Hat Tip: Command Post)
An Evening at the Command Post
Last night, I participated in the Command Post chat during the President’s press conference.
This posting will discuss the chat itself – not opinions related to President Bush’s statements or related issues. If I post those, I’ll do it separately.
I was surprised at the number of participants, and I think the Command Post folks (Michele and Alan) were surprised as well. Within 5 minutes of opening the room, there were 50 people participating. I think the total peaked at about 95 during the press conference and stayed there until the conference ended.
I was also surprised at the good manners displayed by ALL participants. There were NO personal attacks against chatters by other chatters. In fact, there were very few perjorative attacks against political figures by the chat participants. I’ve participated in other chatroom settings and it’s very rare to have such well-behaved folks.
Personally, I tend to be a social liberal and fiscal conservative. I supported the Iraq war based on what I was told at the time the war started, and I feel that we need to see it through – though I am concerned at how truthful the justification was. I am a registered Democrat. I list all of that because I want to compare myself to the majority of the chat participants.
Most of the chat participants seemed to be very pro-Bush. This was displayed through opinions that the press was attacking Bush and generally positive interpretations of his responses. I did interject occasional comments that were less supportive of the President, and the responses I got ranged from “that’s a good point” to “what do you mean by that”. Very cordial, no personal attacks, but I clearly felt that my opinions (as middle-of-the-road as they are on these issues) put me in the minority. It’s not that I felt unwelcome – rather that I felt out of place.
It was also fun to joke about the side issues in the press conference. There was a strong consensus that somebody should have camera-tested the President’s tie – it caused rainbow moire effects on my high-end HDTV with DirecTV on CNN. Others likened it to the seizure-causing Japanese cartoon from a few years back. My favorite comment had to be that it was a “mind control tie”. Other “fun” subjects included the President’s hair, the wardrobe of the press corps, and which reporters are never gonna be called on again by this President.
To sum up – it was fun, but I felt sufficiently politically out of place that I’m not likely to do it again. I was encouraged by Michele to provide a counter-point to the “usual crowd”. I really think that the Command Post’s chats (and website in general) have a right-side political bias and deserve the right to feel at home in their web home.
Command Post Chat Tonight
Tonight, the folks at Command Post will be opening their chat room at 8:15pm to coincide with the press conference by President Bush at 8:30pm EDT.
I think I’m going to participate tonight. It should be interesting! Click the link above to get the address.
Neat Google Stuff
Scott Knaster posts some Neat Google Stuff that you can use in the search bar. You can get a map, check on a car, do math – all in the Google search bar.
He’s right – Google is raising the bar (pun somewhat intended) for search engines.
My Sister – the Writer
My sister, Laura Smith (scroll down – that’s her with the Phanatic), has started writing for a Philadelphia sports fan site. Here is her first article on the Lakewood (NJ) Blue Claws single-A baseball team.
I haven’t seen anything she’s written since she was using the special paper with the solid and dotted lines (the stuff that elementary school kids use), but it looks like she’s learned quite a bit over the years.
I don’t think she’s getting paid for this, but the writing gig for this website does come with a press pass. Laura tells me that they’re supposed to have FOOD and AIR CONDITIONING in the press box, so she’s looking forward to it.
Click the link and give her some more hits!
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