This too shall pass.
Yet another reason to stop using Norton Antivirus. If you want good, free virus protection that doesn’t bog down your system’s resources, use AVG Free. I would recommend ClamWin, the open-source AV tool, but its realtime file scanner isn’t ready yet.
It’s best to stay away from the big guys: Norton (Symantec) and McAfee.
Failed Redesigns is a well-written article by Joe Clark regarding the failure of web developers to use the tools at their disposal. It unabashedly mocks so-called professionals who choose to ignore Web Standards and crank out utter crap. Go boyee!
Punk Gets What He Deserves…Too Late
Marcus Vick was kicked off the Virginia Tech football team today as a result of the blatant unsportsman-like conduct vs. Louisville I mentioned last week. The sad thing is, he was pulled over for drunk driving two weeks ago, and shouldn’t have been playing in last week’s bowl game in the first place. VT’s president had explicitly stated that he would tolerate no more messups from Vick after his 2004 suspension. Punk.
Google’s Next Step Towards Dominating the Desktop
Google announced Google Pack today, which is a collection of free software to help your computer work better and boost your productivity. It’s nothing you haven’t seen before in separate packages, but it is nice to see they are including Firefox. Not so thrilled about the 6-month version of Norton Antivirus (they should have chosen the free, open-source ClamWin), but everything else looks good.
I still stand by my prediction that Google will deal the final blow to Microsoft after Windows Vista turns out to be a nightmare for sysads everywhere (assuming it is ever released in the first place), and no one buys it.
I got WordPress 2 installed, in case you haven’t noticed the changes. So far, I like the new look of the admin side, but I really haven’t noticed anything yet that blows me away. There are some things here and there that make writing posts easier, and things are a little more organized, but overall, it’s nothing to write home to mom about.
Still, WordPress rocks and blows away any other blogging software I have tried out.
Soon I will be creating my own layout. What you see now is just a prefab template someone made. Well, as soon as I find time I will do this. Time has been quite limited lately.
I’m going to be upgrading the software that runs this site (WordPress) over the next few days. Version 2 came out recently and it looks too cool to resist.
You will likely see a default theme for a while until I can come up with my own.
Pardon our dust.
So its 2006, and it has already been a long year.
We have seen the worst Windows security flaw ever, which effects millions of people with fully patched and protected systems. You are most likely one of them. Oh, and there is no fix from Microsoft yet. This all but seals the deal for me to convert to Macs.
The Louisville Cardinals football team lost the Gator Bowl yesterday to a nasty Virginia Tech team who was not above bumping referees and stomping on the legs of their opponents when no one was looking.
The Chatham family is doing well though. Gray is still adjusting to life as an older brother, but seems to be taking the new role well. Dax is huge still, already over 15 pounds as a six week-old. So far, he has been relatively mellow, sleeping rather well and just enjoying the scenery. Don’t know where he got that from.
We became famous yesterday.
So Alicia made me join the gym (YWCA) a few weeks ago and I have been going there 2 to 3 times a week.
Today I achieved a milestone on the treadmill by walking a 2 mile cross-country course, then running a solid mile, walking some more, then running another half mile. That’s the first time I have run a mile since I was in the USSR and was allowed to run on the Olympic stadium track in Moscow. That was in 1990.
Hopefully this will continue.
Hey. Did you know that Chuck Norris’ Tear Cure Cancer?
Brilliant.
I’ve been doing a lot of reading up on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) over the last couple of months. I find it an interesting field with lucrative potential. Naturally, I find myself being aligned with the Lighter side of The Force, thus more interested in the ‘ethical’ search engine practices.
The reason behind all of this is that I had a web design client who got tangled up with a shady SEO firm and spent a lot of money for services that could be summed up as ‘Spam’.
Just read this to save yourself a lot of money and headaches:
From “Beginner’s Guide to SEO“:
If you choose to outsource to an SEO firm, be well aware of the many pitfalls that await the uninformed. SEO has classically been an industry that has attracted many untrustworthy and dishonorable firms, resulting in an unfortunate perception from many. Pay particular attention to the following:
- Manipulation & Search Spam – Overly aggressive tactics can get you banned from search engines.
- Link Exchanges & Free-for-All Links – While the promise of easy link building through link exchanges or link farms is tempting, these tactics often achieve subpar results. Natural, organic inbound links from sites that your competitors can’t get links from are the best way to rank well in the long term.
- Optimizing Pages for Search Engines vs. Visitors – Professional SEOs should have specialist copywriters who can craft well-written pages that attract both users and search engines. Repetitive keyword use (as noted above) is largely useless, but compelling, intelligent dialogue is a great way to get both searchers and engines interested in your content.
- Guaranteed Rankings – Guaranteeing rankings is often one of the first indications that you’re dealing with a less-than-reputable firm. No SEO can guarantee rankings, because the search engines are responsible for the results and are constantly changing. Be wary, too, of promised success at “thousands of engines†(remember that the top 4 account for 95%+ of all search traffic), daily submission (completely unnecessary) and other “tricks†or “secretsâ€Â. Great rankings come from having great sites with quality links – no tricks or secrets required.
- Investigate – The firm you work with should be able to provide references, preferably from both customers and industry folks that will let you know their skill and ability. Use your best judgment here – if a review or response seems canned or fishy, it probably is.