Done!
Man, for those of you that don't run a website with tens of thousands of pages I will tell you right now when you change the design in any way it is sort of a big deal. Well, I just uploaded the new design on RopeofSilicon.com, but the design wasn't the problem this time around. There was far more behind-the-scenes work going on and hoping that worked properly was the biggest concern. Luckily, I think I nailed it and people shouldn't experience any issues. This is one of those "Thank God" moments. Thank God!
However, if anyone out there is thinking about starting their own website I have one MAJOR piece of advice: Use the tools the Internet has to offer!
The online world is changing and the only way to survive is to adapt, adjust and embrace. This doesn't mean you should run out and start a Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and whatever else kind of account there is to create. However, it's not a bad idea. I have both a Twitter and Facebook account, but both of them were basically created out of a need to know what was going on and to learn how things work. After all, you can't really work in the online environment without knowing what the hell is going on. If you own a website and are asking, "What's Twitter?" you aren't going to survive for too long if you are just starting out. Ya gotsta know what the kids are doing these days. LMAO... ROFL...
So here I sit, finally done and ready to relax. I just finished playing a little "Call of Duty: World at War" and am now ready to end the night watching WALL-E again - this time with the couch commentary, which actually is a bit annoying (it's playing in the background). I think this is one of the first times I've ever listened to a commentary and it actually feels as if you want to "shush" these people. It has that "people talking in the theater" kind of vibe to it. Hardly entertaining.
Anyway, for those of you that visit RopeofSilicon regularly, I hope you like the design. For those of you that don't... well... okay....
The Moon Over Mt. Rainier
The two shots in this post were taken from my balcony tonight around 8 PM PST. I don't exactly have a great digital camera, but I think they came out rather well.
Making My Friends Squirm
A friend of mine runs his own marketing firm and its overall goal is to help businesses market their companies to the Asian community. His website only has a splash page at the moment and I will post a link after I send him this article only if he doesn't mind it being online.
Where the fun comes in is when I checked out his site to see what he had working there wasn't shit to do except a little link that had their contact email. So, I thought there was something to do there and I decided to send him a highly racially insensitive email to see what kind of response he would give. Here's what I wrote:
I run a small shoe repair shop in Seattle and I was sent your information. I typically work with leather dress shoes and the like, but I think upgrading and fixing oriental shoes would be good too, because my wife is good at that and she needs something to do.
We make a fair amount of money so that isn't exactly a concern, but we want to make sure we are marketing this service directly to orientals and your website says you are the audience so I am assuming you know a lot of them. Could you email me a few price figures for something like advertisements in oriental newspapers and maybe at teriyaki chicken restaurants? I think that would be a really good place to start and I bet you have some good ideas too.
Thanks,
Alan
I originally used the word "Asian" but assumed tossing in "oriental" was just too much fun and spiced it up quite nicely. I expected really no return at all or at least for him to email me asking if it was a joke. See I dick around with my friends a lot and I wouldn't have been surprised if he had guessed it was me. However, he didn't and he sent me a lengthy reply:
Blue Angels
Check it out, the Blue Angels are in Seattle for Seafair and are out and about doing a little practice. This was taken from my apartment balcony. You can click here for an UBER-sized version.
Neighborhood Hooligans
I live in a decent neighborhood. I mean, some of the houses around me go for $1 million, there's a nice little shopping square near me and so forth. It's not "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" and my apartment building isn't five star (or even four stary for that matter), but it isn't ghetto living. However, you wouldn't be able to tell by some of the shit that goes down.
First off, there is something of a phenomenon that I have started to notice in Seattle. I first saw it downtown, which is where I would expect it considering the number of transients in my area is basically nil outside of the blind guy begging outside my local UPS Store.
But, I have noticed the habit folks have of actually jumping into the dumpster outside of the mini QFC grocery store near me. Normally it is two people and one stands watch and guides the other while they sift through the waste for what I assume to be their daily calorie intake. Most recently I saw a pair that couldn't have been more than say 21 years-old. Had you seen them walking around you wouldn't have thought them homeless, at least not to the point of dumpster-diving, but sure enough, the lid opens and the male jumps in... as I walk by I hear, "That's why you don't go more than two layers deep." It made me sad... especially since this was not the first time I had seen these two and it was the third time that week I had seen a different person jump into the same dumpster... that was about a week ago and I had only seen it a couple times before then and I haven't seen it happen since and I have lived here for about a year and a half, but that doesn't mean it isn't happening every day.
Next up we have last night's events.
Crazy Old Man
I have to share this little story that happened to me yesterday.
I have a dog, a Springer Spaniel named Luke. He is small for his breed and just about as harmless as they come. He loves people and blah, blah, blah... Basically he is a nice dog and you can tell simply by looking at him.
Well, yesterday I get into the elevator at my apartment on the fifth floor... going down... stop at the third floor when the doors open and this crotchety old man is standing there looking at my dog. Obviously a little scared I tell him, "It's okay," to which he replies, "I don't like dogs," in a voice that insinuates massive hate at all things happy in this world. I reassure him and he enters, the dog makes a small move forward but doesn't get far because I pull on the leash, but this doesn't stop him from erupting, "GET THAT DOG AWAY FROM ME!!!" I reassure him again that it is okay and he has nothing to worry about.
"You know, this is an apartment, not a zoo," he says.
I answer politely, treating it as a normal, casual conversation, "Well sir, you know dogs are allowed in the building." And this is where it gets interesting...
Got a New Computer Coming
Good Lord, it is about time. I am working on a four-year-old Sony VAIO and while the computer actually isn't all that bad, my upgrade from XP to Vista shot it to shit. I know I could probably go in and reformat the whole damned thing, and while that may help a little it wouldn't solve all my problems.
When I bought this current computer RopeofSilicon was pretty much tiny. I am not sure if you have seen the About Us page on the site, but the 2003 model as you can see there was hardly anything to brag about. It didn't use a database and I designed it on Microsoft's now non-existing Frontpage. I am now using Dreamweaver to design, Fireworks for graphics, Flash for... well... flash, Sony Vegas for some video editing, Cubase for any audio and so on and so on. Basically, this computer has a hard time handling it and it was time for an upgrade.
I will now be able to take screencaptures from Blu-ray discs, design in a faster environment with less slow downs, and basically clean everything out, and it all happens next Thursday, only a couple days before I head out to the junket for The Dark Knight. However, the money was not a pleasant expenditure. 