One of my favourite time-killers on the internet is the "Urban Legends Reference" site, snopes.com. I just read a new listing about New Year's superstitions. Some are familiar ("Kissing at midnight"), and some are a little more obscure ("Nothing Goes Out"). One that I've heard of before - "First Footing" - has an odd requirement: First footers must not be cross-eyed or have flat feet or eyebrows that meet in the middle.
My favorite magazine, Esquire, is running a little survey over at their site. It's a single-elimination-tournament featuring the 64 "best" bands in the world. I'm a little dumbfounded at who did and did not make the cut, but it was fun regardless. As of now, the band I moved into the finals - R.E.M. - has a pretty sizable lead over the field at 12%, and those hacks U2 holding the 3rd slot with 8%. If you've got some time to kill, go check it out.
Well, it's been almost 3 weeks since I announced my upcoming web site launch. Since then, I've been hard at work on the design and structure of the site. I've also been taking notes and writing about various topics related to web development. My problem? I know too much. I've got mounds of notes and random clips of content everywhere. And I'm really struggling with pulling it all together into a cohesive piece. Maybe I should just write a book. It's by no means "done", but I have completed the design. From here out, it's a matter of finalizing my content and making some visual tweaks. I've given myself a deadline of Monday. Wish me luck.
A little more than 2 years ago, I traded in my Apple laptop for a desktop PC. I had always been a Mac person, primarily because of my design background. But, as I found myself sliding more into the development side of the web, I also found myself being more productive on a PC. So, I had my good friend Dan put together a box for me, handed over a fistfull of cash, and went to town. Since then, I've replaced just about every component that he initially installed - new processor, more ram, new video card, new hard drives, a tv card... Basically, the only original pieces of hardware remaining were the case and ...
I received the January 2005 issue of Esquire in the mail today. I haven't had the time to read through it yet, but it's potentially the best issue ever. I thought *last* month was the best ever - an interview with Bill Murray, and a piece on Ricky Williams. It's the annual "Meaning of Life" issue. What's usually a one-pager, they've taken my favourite part of the magazine - "What I've Learned" - and made it the lead. So, where you typically get insight into one person a month, this month you get like 10. The masthead of the cover reads "Enlightenment, illumination, Sandwiches". How great is that? Clooney. I'm greatly looking forward to giving it a read. Maybe next ...