Support the Commons

Yesterday Creative Commons launched a trio of fundraising badges for your blog or site. You can choose from "$5 for the Commons," "Become a Commoner" and "Support the Commons." Creative Commons needs to raise small donations from a large number of donors to maintain its charitable status with the IRS.

WV blog news

Donutbuzz is back!

WV ranked as a poor place to work

West Virginia is ranked 38th on the Work Environment Index (WEI).

Delaware ranks the best. Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas are among the worst.

Maureen Dowd on feminisim

What's a Modern Girl to Do? - New York Times

When I entered college in 1969, women were bursting out of theirs 50's chrysalis, shedding girdles, padded bras and conventions. The Jazz Age spirit flared in the Age of Aquarius. Women were once again imitating men and acting all independent: smoking, drinking, wanting to earn money and thinking they had the right to be sexual, this time protected by the pill. I didn't fit in with the brazen new world of hard-charging feminists. I was more of a fun-loving (if chaste) type who would decades later come to life in Sarah Jessica Parker's Carrie Bradshaw. I hated the grubby, unisex jeans and no-makeup look and drugs that zoned you out, and I couldn't understand the appeal of dances that didn't involve touching your partner. In the universe of Eros, I longed for style and wit. I loved the Art Deco glamour of 30's movies. I wanted to dance the Continental like Fred and Ginger in white hotel suites; drink martinis like Myrna Loy and William Powell; live the life of a screwball heroine like Katharine Hepburn, wearing a gold lamé gown cut on the bias, cavorting with Cary Grant, strolling along Fifth Avenue with my pet leopard.

Being a geek means carrying a lot of stuff

I've always had more computer bags than I do computers. I have three including two messenger bags, an aluminum briefcase, but none of them are big enough to hold everything I carry. That’s why I purchased a Targus 15.4" Matrix Notebook Backpack today at Marshalls. I got the last one they had for thirty bucks. They were twice that at Circuit City, and on the Targus website. I can’t wait to try it out.

Daylight Savings Saving Time

It's time to fall back an hour at 2 a.m. I like gaining an hour of sleep. I don't like losing an hour of daylight.

Web 2.0 starts to show cracks

Xeni Jardin over at Wired News tells us what Web 2.0 is, and what's wrong with it.

Why I was seeing word verification for blog post...

...and you probably didn't.

This blog was marked as potential spam blogs by Google's automated system. So I was seeing word verification for blog post. Today it's gone. They must have figured out this isn't a spam blog.

Blogger now requires word verification for blog post

Blogger has turned on word verification for blog posts.

Lets hope this with help in the fight against spam blogs.

Cole, Suber and Oncee on the Miers nomination

West Virginia blogger John Cole over at Balloon Juice is opposed to the Miers nomination. Don Surber supports Miers.

I am neutral on the Miers nomination. At this point, I don't know anything more about Harriet Miers than I did when she was noninated. Learn how to cast your vote over at The Truth Laid Bear here.

The NYT reports Chuck Schumer says she doesn't have the votes: "She would not get a majority either in the Judiciary Committee or the floor," he said on NBC's Meet the Press.

Senator Judd Gregg wins $853,000 in Powerball

Proving there is no justice in this word, a United States senator from New Hampshire has won the $853,000 Powerball jackpot.

Sen. Judd Gregg, R-New Hampshire is already is a millionaire. He is also chairs the Budget Committee and has a reputation as a strict fiscal conservative.

He says he has no plans to quit his job.

Wikipedia has a list of made-up words and expressions from The Simpsons

Wikipedia: List of neologisms and phrases on The Simpsons

The return of Tom McGee

McGee will return to the airwaves Nov. 7 on WB affiate WHCP. WHCP is on Channel 6 in Charleston.

State of the Blogosphere, October 2005 Part 1: On Blogosphere Growth

Dave Sifry has posted another State of the Blogosphere

So Much to blog. So little time...

I'm behind on reading my feed subscriptions. Sharon has a great wrap-up of WV links. I'm mentioned in the latest Brencast. I haven't listened to it yet. I hope to have more time this week.

For now I'll leave you with some funny pictures:


Gosh!






I look soo flippin' sweet.


I hated looking like than then, but it's funny now.

Also check out my new car.



Getting that car is another post. For now let's just say it took all day, and I missed Marshall's homecoming.

Spam blogs grow

Chris Pirillo says Google: Kill Blogspot Already!!!

Tim Bray weighs in as well.

Dan Gillmor says Spam-blogs: Google's Mess Harms Everyone

Dave Winer says:

I may have a better perspective on this, having spent much of the last year watching the quality of weblogs.com go down as spam-blogs (mostly from Blogspot, as Chris notes below) filled the pipe with their nonsense, and of course we pass the junk right on down the food chain to Technorati and PubSub. Good news about that, I had lunch with Niall Kennedy at Technorati on Thursday, in SF, and we're going to do some work to help get better data to flow into Technorati. I know how to bootstrap cooperation, even if people don't necessarily like me, I know how to get them to help each other. I'll explain later. In any case, here's something to memorize. Links are now devalued. Page-rank is under attack and the attackers are winning. It won't be long before Google itself is infested. Tim Bray is right, below, it's time for Google to get on top of this. They're both the victimizer and the victim. The spammers found a huge hole in Page-rank. You could drive a truck through it. I was the early warning system on this, the canary in the coal mine. They don't like to listen to me, maybe they'll accept Verisign's help.

So what does this mean for those our us who use Blogger to host our blogs? I'm not sure, but it's scary. My advice is to report spam blogs using the "Flag" button to report the blog to Google. Let's hope Google does something soon like using word verification for posts, or our little blogs will be lost in the spam.

Update: Jeff Jarvis says F the spam bloggers.

West Virginia Podcast

My friend Brendan is podcasting: Brencast: Podcasting from Wild and Wonderful West Virginia.

Bloggers not making money from ads

Kevin O'Keefe over at Real Lawyers Have Blogs points to a study from Qumana that says 69% of bloggers are making less than $20 a month from their blogs.

I haven't looked for a couple of days, but I think I've made around four dollars in the last 30 days via my Google Ads on this blog and on Law Firm IT. While bloggers like Darren Rowse say there are making tons of money and want to show you how you can buy a house with all that ad income, that kind of crazy income just isn't there for most of us.

I use Google Ads as a hit counter more than anything else. I'm thinking about taking all the ads off of all my blogs. In the first few months of using Google Ads I received around $70.00. Over the last three or four months the number of people clicking on ads has fallen.

Ads on my blogs were an experiment. Who doesn’t want to make some extra money?

I guess at lease Google Ads will stay around for now. At least victims of recent disasters can benefit from them.

Watch your music

The video iPod is here:

15,000 songs
25,000 photos
150 hours of video

Starting at $299.00

Ships in white and black

On Capitol Street with Rick Lee

I ran into Rick Lee walking down Capitol Street this morining. It's good to see people in real life behind the blogs we read.

We really should have a local blogger gathering.

Best Google Map hack ever

UFO Maps

Slurpee Zen

Speaking of slurpees where are some cool slupree links:

• Slurpee.com - History
• My Slurpee Cup - Everything About Slurpees, including nutritional info, Slurpee facts, pictures, stories, and much more.
• Slurpee Tips
• Slurpees [bradfitz.com] - Slurpee etiquette, pictures, funny stories, and bizarre experiences.

Would you like a slurpee what that?

The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) reports: The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)

Would you buy a Madonna special edition iPod?

New Order edition iPod would make me happy. The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) reports a Madonna special edition might be in the works. A U2 Special Edition has been around for a long time.

New York Times on blawging

The New York Times on lawyers that blawg: Opening Arguments, Endlessly

Did this morning earthquake do what the U.S. military hasn't?

John Cole at Balloon Juice says what I've been thinking all morning: " I wonder if it crushed that bastabrd bin Laden in a cave (if he is even still alive)."

Watch me surf bird flu stories

I'm tracking birld flu stories today you can watch my progress via my del.icio.us links.

WWdN: In Exile

Wil Wheaton has moved his blog while he tries to get help from Six Apart to get WIL WHEATON DOT NET fixed. Wil's recent attempt to upgrade his site didn't go so well.

The greatest thing about blogging

The greatest thing about blogging is to complain about a product and have someone actually listen. I posted about poor treatment from a Findlaw representative last night, and it looks like they took notice. Many thanks to Kevin O'Keefe who took notice of our problem and posted it to a wider audience.

Many thanks to Doc Searls and the other authors of The Cluetrain Manifesto who taught us markets are conversations, hyperlinks subvert hierarchy, and many other wonderful things. Go read the 95 Theses yourself.

Weblogs.com sold to Verisign

Jason Kottke reports Weblogs.com has been sold to Verisign. No comment from Dave Winer the last time I checked. I'm sure the reported millions will make Dave a happy guy. Jason's source on the story is Silicon Beat.

Protecting anonymous bloggers

Robert Ambrogi reports: "The Delaware Supreme Court yesterday handed down an important ruling that protects anonymous bloggers from attempts to unnmask them through libel lawsuits."

Bob Coffield at Health Care Law Blog says: "I haven't read the full decision issued by the Delaware Supreme Court in the matter of John Doe No. 1 v. Patrick Cahill and Julia Cahill, No. 266 (October 5, 2005). You can check out the latest news articles on the decision here."

Tagging at Web 2.0

Great post from Jeff Jarvis over at BuzzMachine about tagging tagging at Web 2.0.

I use Del.icio.us to keep track of bookmarks for my own use. My Del.icio.us feed is here. Today I've been tagging a lot of bird flu news stories.

That's funny right there. I don't care who you are...

Hiring Managers Reveal This Year's Most Bizarre Reasons Employees Gave for Missing Work

-- "I'm too drunk to drive to work."
-- "I accidentally flushed my keys down the toilet."
-- "I had to help deliver a baby on my way to work." (employee was not
in the medical profession)
-- "I accidentally drove through the automatic garage door before it
opened."
-- "My boyfriend's snake got loose and I am afraid to leave the bedroom
until he gets home."
-- "I'm too fat to get into my work pants."
-- "God didn't wake me." (employee didn't believe in alarm clocks and
thought a higher power would wake her when she was ready)
-- "I cut my fingernails too short, they're bleeding and I have to go to
the doctor."
-- "The ghosts in my house kept me up all night."
-- "I forgot I was getting married today."
-- "My cow bit me."
-- "My son accidentally fell asleep next to wet cement in our backyard.
His foot fell in and we can't get it out."
-- "I was watching a guy fixing a septic pump, fell in the hole and hurt
myself."
-- "I was walking my dog and slipped on a toad in my driveway and hurt my
back."
-- "My house lock jammed and I'm locked in."

I think I like "I'm too drunk to drive to work" and "I'm too fat to get into my work pants" the best.

GAO tells government official that buying news coverage is illegal

The GAO slapped the Bush administration for paying Armstrong Williams to spin for them. The GAO said, " the administration had disseminated "covert propaganda" in the United States, in violation of a statutory ban."

Dan Gilmor says nobody will be charged with the crime.

So which government official or officials will be charged with a crime? Who will go to trial?

My prediction: nobody. The administration, so tough on "law and order" in other contexts, will ignore this report. The attorney general and the other Bush cronies at the top of the Justice Department will pretend this report does not exist.

The only people who have suffered even a tiny amount in this scandal, apart from taxpayers whose money was used for illegal purposes, are the pretend "journalists" who served their government masters so sleazily. They are now known for what they are. I doubt they care.

WVInc Online

I just noticed WVInc has a website. It should be time for a new issue, but I don't see news of one on the site. One good thing I notice is they do have rss feeds.

Airplanes and helicopters

The Sunday Gazette-Mail asks, Is state's new helicopter safe to fly? Offroute over at Fifth Column weighs in.

Sorry for the lack of posting

Sorry for the lack of posting yesterday. I've been quite ill, but I'm on the road to being well again.