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aneclecticmind.com Goes Live

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Ready for prime time!

This morning, I decided to take the new version of my Web site online. I did all the DNS and server stuff necessary to make the change and I expect that within 48 hours, anyone entering www.aneclecticmind.com in their Web browser will see this new site.

All the bLog entries aren’t online yet, but there’s enough here to keep people busy. I’ll finish importing the old bLog entries during the coming weeks.

I also need to add links to information about my books. Right now, the only thing you’ll find online is a list of the books.

I’ve decided to let some old content go: my old photo galleries (I’ll make new ones), essays (aren’t the bLog entries enough?), and a few ancient articles (who wants to read that old stuff anyway?). Out with the old, in with the new. It’s a new year and I consider the removal of that old stuff very early spring cleaning.

Comments? Use the Comments link. I’d love to get feedback about the organization and content of the site. If you’ve got something to say, don’t keep it to yourself.

Land of the Free?

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Think again.

Another example of how our rights are being questioned or stripped away from us.

On September 20, a high school student and one of his teachers were questioned by the Secret Service about a poster the student had created for a class project on — of all things — The Bill of Rights. The villain here is clearly a Wal-Mart employee — yet another reason to avoid the store. You can read the details here, along with over 200 comments by outraged readers.

Matthew Rothschild, the author of the article for The Progressive magazine and Web site, has been keeping a list cases on his “McCarthyism Watch.” If you’d like to get angry, be sure to check out some of the articles there.

I guess you don’t need to be a blogger to get in trouble for speaking your mind.

Bumper Stickers Wanted!

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I begin to “personalize” my golf cart with bumper stickers.

When I first got my Marketeer golf cart (which I wrote about in a previous bLog entry), I realized that looks were not one of its fine points. And I decided early on to cover all its ugly paint and rust spots with bumper stickers.

Making a decision to do something and actually doing it are two different things. But my comments about the bumper stickers did not fall on deaf ears. John and Lorna, friends of ours from Maine who visit Wickenburg in the winter months, began looking for stickers for me. And when Mike and I arrived at their place in Maine last week, they presented their two finds: “Save the Maine Blackfly” and “This Car Climbed Mt. Washington.” While we were there, I added to the collection with “Slow Minds Keep Right” and “Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History.”

StickersThis morning, I put the stickers on the cart, as shown here. (The Blackfly sticker is on front.) I used a Sharpie to change “This Car Climbed Mt. Washington” to “This Cart Climbed Mt. Washington.” (John and Lorna’s idea, not mine.)(Mt. Washington, to you west-side-of-the-Rockies people, is a “mountain” on the east coast. Although I’ve never been up there, it’s evidently a big deal to drive up the road to the top. (I can’t imagine it being such a big deal, having climbed Pike’s Peak — over 10,000 feet — in a rental car.) There are lots of cars on the east coast with these bumper stickers.) Of course, I had some other personalization options in mind. Gus, the Fuel Manager, had gotten an orange and white checkered flag for his golf cart. It’s the standard airport “Follow Me” type flag. I decided I needed a flag, too. But I wanted something different, something that said something about me. I got that in Maine, too. A Jolly Roger.

My MarketeerSo now my cart is starting to look like something special, something I’m proud to drive around the airport. But I need more bumper stickers! Do you have a bumper sticker you think would make a unique addition to my cart? If so, send it! If it’s appropriate, I’ll stick it on and take a new picture here for this bLog. Please don’t send anything crude, tasteless, or politically incorrect. I may not be the most popular person at the airport, but I don’t want to be universally hated, either.

You can send your bumper sticker to me at:
Maria Langer
c/o Wickenburg Municipal Airport
3410 West Wickenburg Way
Wickenburg, AZ 85390

I look forward to seeing what arrives and sharing it with the folks who read this bLog — not to mention the folks at the airport.

On Blogging and Podcasting

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Episode 7: On Blogging and Podcasting.

Everyone has a different idea of what blogging and podcasting is for. I thought I’d take a few bytes to explain my views. It’ll help readers and listeners understand what motivates me to share the information I share.

Transcript:

Hi, I’m Maria Langer. Welcome to Maria Speaks Episode 7: On Blogging and Podcasting.

Everyone has a different idea of what blogging and podcasting is for. I thought I’d take a few bytes to explain my views. It’ll help readers and listeners understand what motivates me to share the information I share.

My blogs and podcasts are separate and, in most cases, do not overlap. This entry is one exception; it’ll appear in both.

My blog, which is called Maria’s WebLog, contains over 270 entries written since October 2003. These entries cover a wide range of topics dealing with my everyday life and opinions about what I see going on around me.

I consider Maria’s WebLog to be an online journal. My main purpose is to share my experiences and views with readers. Part of it is to journalize my life so I can remember events in the future. The other part is to let my friends and family members know what’s going on in my life. I’m surprised when I meet someone and they tell me they’ve read my bLog. They’re welcome to read it, but they need to understand that I’m not writing it for them. I’m writing it primarily for me.

I don’t know how many people actually read my blog because it’s hosted on my .

Mac account and there isn’t any stat software for me to track it. But it appears that it is widely read by people all over the world. (If you’re reading it now, you might want to take this opportunity to use the Comments link to check in with your name and location, just for kicks.)

Some people read my blog entries and are offended by them. I think that’s pretty funny. There are so many things in this world that are far more offensive than anything I could write. But these people focus on a comment or observation or opinion I made in these blogs and use it as evidence that I’m some kind of evil person. Whatever. I think people like that need to get a life.

I made an entry the other day that left people wondering whether my entries were truth or fiction. What do you think?

One more thing about the bLog. I maintain it using iBlog software, which is a Macintosh-based blogging client. iBlog is a really cool little software package because it runs on my Mac and does not require access to the Internet to use. Instead, it keeps a database of all my blog entries as I write them. When I’m ready to publish, I connect to the Internet and click a button. This was really useful when I took my laptop to my place on Howard Mesa, which is off the grid. I’d just hit the coffee shop in Williams a few times a week and use their wireless access to update my blog and check my e-mail.

Maria Speaks is my podcast. For the folks reading this transcript in my bLog, here’s a brief definition. A podcast is an audio recording saved in a format that can be listened to on a computer or MP3 player, like an iPod. I call my podcast Maria Speaks because it’s me talking and I couldn’t think of a better name.

My idea of a podcast is that is should share useful information with listeners. After all, that’s why I subscribe to and listen to podcasts.

For example, I’m a big fan of NPR and now that I’m not tuned in all day, I like to listen to NPR stories as podcasts when I’m driving or flying.

I’ve tried a bunch of podcasts that I thought were a waste of my time. I don’t listen to them anymore. If there’s no value in what I’m listening to — if I can’t learn something or be entertained by something I can’t hear elsewhere — then what’s the purpose? There are too many podcasts full of talking heads that aren’t saying anything worth listening to. I don’t want my podcast to be like that.

So when it came time for me to do my own podcast, I had a choice. I could either vocalize my existing bLog entries by reading them — like I’m doing here — or I could create new content of interest to listeners. Since I don’t think my bLog entries are informative enough to attract listeners, I decided to go with new content.

I make my living writing about computers and there’s always some tip or trick I could share. So I decided to focus on computer-related topics, including tips and tricks for being more productive. I’m primarily a Macintosh user, so most of my podcast entries are about Mac computing, although I did publish a cross-platform episode about Microsoft Word yesterday. And because I’m not comfortable recording without a script, each episode has a transcript available online, complete with screen shots if necessary.

Please don’t get the idea that Maria Speaks will only be about using computers. I hope to come up with other interesting topics to enlighten listeners. I also encourage all listeners to visit the Maria Speaks home page and leave comments about what they’ve heard. Was the episode helpful? Not helpful? Boring? Interesting? What do you want to hear? All I ask is that you be gentle with me. Harsh comments don’t get results.

You can find links to the home pages for Maria’s WebLog and Maria Speaks on my Web site, www.aneclecticmind.com. Those pages include links for subscribing to the RSS feeds for both.

Well, as usual, I hope you found this episode interesting. You can read its transcript on Maria’s WebLog. Thanks for listening. Bye!

Too Old for a Helicopter Ride, Part II

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An update to an earlier entry.

If you read these blogs faithfully (although I’m not sure why you would), you may recall my “Too Old for a Helicopter Ride?” rant about two weeks ago. This is an update to that saga.

When I received the letter starting “Due to the age of our members…”, I was outraged. I mean that in the real sense of the word. It ticked me off that someone in Texas should play “daddy” to some retirees at a park in Arizona.

I wrote a letter to the editor of the Wickenburg Sun. It was printed in yesterday’s edition.

So far, I’ve received about eight comments from people who have read it. Two of them live in North Ranch, where folks are “too old” to enjoy helicopter rides (according to the President of their Association, not me). One of those people actually looked up my phone number in the phone book and called me.

All comments were in the same vein: how could he write something like that? Aren’t these people able to make their own decision about what they’re too old for? Besides, a helicopter ride sounds like fun.

Some comments showed disbelief. One person actually wanted to see the letter. I’ll bring him a copy this week.

I’m sure I’ll get some comments from people who aren’t happy about my letter to the editor. I always do. There’s always someone out there who misses the point entirely. In this case, someone will probably think I’m attacking North Ranch, rather than the sorry attitude of the man in Texas who makes all the decisions.

Perhaps Bud Carr will call. What will I say? Nothing. I’ve said it all. Besides, it’s a waste of time to talk to someone with a closed mind, and I’ve got a sneaking suspicion that his is as closed as a steel trap.