Get Your Thermal Underwear Out!
Just got back from seeing "The Day After Tomorrow". What a fun flick! The science is horrible, the plot unbelievable, and the events just don't stack up. But, I would see it again in a New York minute. This is probably one of the best disaster movies that I have seen in a long time. While a lot of movies cover one disaster or another, this one is TEOTWAWKI. Sinclair and I discussed a lot of things that we would have done differently (what do they do with the nation's prison population?) and some hokie parts of the movie (wolves climing aboard an oil tanker in downtown NY to eat people), but again - it was fun.

Okay, reason number 2 why I am moving. I just downloaded "Hello" from Picasa (sp?) and Tripod won't load the pictures. This is a terrific photoblog plugin for Blogger that I really want to use. Bummer! One more thing that we will be looking to incorporate into the new site once it is up.

We're Moving!
Before anyone freaks, I am talking about the web site. I have enjoyed doing some searching this weekend and feel that the time has come for us to move to a new host. The good folks at Tripod have been generous for many years, but I have really become frustrated with the intrusive nature of their ads. They do this neat little strip on the side and also have ads on the top of every page. I respect your time and will be moving to a site without all of this.

The really funny thing to me though is the intelligent nature of the ads. You may have read that the state of California has sued Google to prevent some features of their up and coming G-mail service. I am anxious for the start of the service because it will allow me to store up to a GIG of e-mail. With Hotmail I find that if I take a trip for more than 4 days that my inbox gets overloaded. The downside of G-mail is that they use a Bot to look at the contents of the e-mail and then place ads on the page that correspond with the e-mail contents. I don't mind this! It sure beats looking at singles ads that Hotmail does most of the time. The ads that I see on Tripod use this same technology, that is why the ads are usually photography related or Biblical. But, I know some people that are rather serious about privacy and they are the types that have joined California in these efforts.

Okay, time for an apology. I made a statement that inferred that a preacher at a church where I used to attend downloaded his sermons from Sermon.net (only $29.95 for a year). Last night I decided to do a little hunting and it turns out that I have made a wrong accusation and I am the first to admit it when I am wrong. He does not down load his sermons from Sermon.net and it was unfair for me to say so without any actual knowledge. He downloads his sermons from Sermon Central. For those who read this site here is the Father's Day Sermon. Go ahead and download the message and bring it to church so that you can read along. Here is Memorial Day (a rather young looking preacher wrote this one - cool!), and here is a really good one that is planned for the end of June. I am glad that I can set this issue at ease in my heart and correct this error.

And for the rest of you who think that your preacher is safe, sorry. I did a little poking around on him as well and I have found his sources for sermons as well. So now you know, you decide.

Today is a perfect Saturday in many respects. It's raining, which means yard work is off. The s all just left to take care of grandma and 2.0 spent the night at his cousin's house. That leaves me with the Pokster, which means lots of X-Box NASCAR. Poke loves NASCAR because he races the wrong way and tries to hit me head on. He usually succeeds about every 3rd lap. He just loves to watch us fly in the air and explode. Boys!

Graduation weekend for many. I have a neice and nephew who are graduating. I will soon have a grand-nephew (or I suppose grand neice). That makes me feel just a little old. My time to be having grandchildren will likely be here in the next 10 years. Hopefully not too much sooner. But, such is the season of life.

I have battled with something on this Blog. How much do I share? I suppose that it has everything to do with what I want this blog to be. I really want it to be a site on the excellence of using digital cameras, but since my baby is broken and the new one is still months away I am religated to making this site somewhat personal. Since Blogger isn't allowing me to us a page counter I cannot be sure that anyone is even reading it. Not sure that I want to know. I suppose that if I were to know that 100 people a day were reading it I might wax poetic or climb on my digital soap box to espouse my political and philosohical views. Surely that would being the readership back down quick. I am a minority. I am an endangered species. I AM A WHITE MALE. I don't think that people of the same gender should be married, I don't think that babies should be killed while still being knitted in their mother's womb. I think that the constitution allows (and encourages) the right for me to keep guns - so I do. I think that it also allows for me to consume alcohol, but I don't. I am glad our country forbids censorship, and I think that most journalists are evil. I that American's are dragged through the streets in Iraq and no one is outraged, but we abuse some prisoners (something that is horrible as well) and the world s us. I think that George Bush has a lot to learn and could have done things a lot better, but John Kerry is much worse.

Okay, now that I got that off my chest I have to go dodge a racecar approaching me at about 300 miles an hour. Better take some Tylenol first.

Early here in KY, heading to TN. Love the new look of Blogger, can't wait to mess with the templates later tonight at the hotel if I get the time.

Got a call from the preacher at the church where we have visited a few times. Wow! Couldn't remember the last time that I got a call from the preacher of the church we used to attend. 4 years on staff and he wouldn't even visit my mother-in-law who is sick with cancer. Thought about the "shepherding groups" that they had. Five years ago the former preacher started these groups to help keep the people in touch. Five years and the "shepherd"/elder never visited. I had to look once to even see who it was. But, not his fault, I know that is how the majority of the "shepherding groups" are there. I think at time that Christ must cry.

Off to Tennessee then West Virginia!

Took a look at some of my past blogs and noticed that the counter that I inserted is not working. Seems that everytime that I publish that it goes back to its native format. Some people have gotten around that, looks like I need to spend a little time doing some backwards engineering of some sites.

Something else that I saw, Blogger takes out offensive words! I was talking about some digital photography sites and used the term that describes having a small picture on a page that represents a larger picture: thumm nayl. Well, I spelled it correctly and it was taken off. Turns out that is a trigger that is used to refer to the same thing on porn sites. Blogger couldn't see the innocence of what I was writing and took it out.

Latest Reading. I think that you can tell a lot about a person by what they read. Here is a list of my current reading list:

The Bible, and various devotionals.
Leadership Challenge. This is an incredible book and has already taught me a lot about leadership. I finished reading everything by John C. Maxwell and was really hungry for more leadership material. This is very satisfying.
Kane and Abel, by Jeffery Archer. It seems that Mr. Archer's personal life is also very interesting having spent time in the Parliment, attending Oxford, and doing time in prison.

Just finished Dan Brown's Digital Fortress. Awesome book. Will probably do another one of his after I finish the current tome. But, I have convinced myself that I am not broadening my reading so I will probably just pick up another author. We will have to see.

I spent a good amount of time this afternoon surfing some British photo sites. Yuck. Some where okay, but the sites usually had small s and didn't allow for much more. Got me thinking of the site that I am in the process of developing. I think that a site needs to have something that it offers to visitors. Not exactly sure how to rank this, but here are some of the things that bring visitors back:

Information (the site tells people something that they don't know and want to know)
Education (the site tells people how to do something that they want to know)
Entertainment (there is something amusing that causes them to rejoin the site)
Commerce (the site sells a service or product that people desire)

I think that pretty much sums up every site. So, given that set of objectives, what will TheDigitalLife become? I hope a little of all. I want to have daily information on digital photography, how to's on photographic technique, good pictures that people download as screen savers and wallpapers, and maybe even sell a few prints. Still waiting to get the new camera though. Hoping that Canon settles on the new this fall when I plan to purchase. If anyone wants to send me a 10d or EOS Digital Rebel now I will be happy to use that too.

I am home! After a long couple of months on the road I am finally home for a while. I finished up April in Kansas City. Applied for a new position in the company, but it was not to be. I will still apply myself and hopefully someone will notice someday.

In the mean time I am going to spend a few weeknight hours getting the boat ready. If all goes according to plan I will be on the lake this coming weekend. Love the boat!