February 22, 1980. A day that will live forever in history, especially for hockey fans.

Do you believe in miracles?

{edit -- it's not Al Michaels, but it's a great commentary. AND it's got every US goal scored in it.}

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 01:14 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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One of the really fun things I've found in studying history (and yes, there are several) is reading letters. When someone is writing for publication, they are much more polished. There's a sense that 'this is going to last. People are going to read this years from now. I'd better make it a good one.' There's good material in those kinds of writing, to be sure, and you can learn a lot. They are valuable resources, and important to doing history.

But in letters you get much more personal. You meet the writer as they are -- they're not worried about people reading the letter decades from now, they're not thinking about the public record. They're just putting some words on paper for someone they know, giving them advice or telling stories or encouraging them -- whatever the purpose, they're very much in the moment, not concerned about the longevity of the letter. Some of my favorite books are collections of these letters -- these things people never thought would be widely read. I find myself learning a LOT more about the writer, and their time, when I read their letters.

This post at the Thinklings blog got me thinking. Actually, it got me thinking again about something that I've discussed with my wife (the American Revolution scholar). "What are historians going to do with the late 20th-early 21st centuries?"

We don't write letters much any more. (Of course, my wife will tell you that I never write letters BEFORE I got the computer and Internet access, but I digress). We email, and email is a very fragile thing. All I have to do is hit one button, type one command, and it's gone. DELETED, as StrongBad would say. Computer forensics could find some of them, but fifty years from now they'll be gone, unless we save them all. And I don't know many people that keep all their email -- I've even deleted email from my "bottomless account" at Gmail.

Will historians of the future wonder about us? Or will they be so used to electronic communications that they won't think twice about it? Will they be amazed at the amount of paper correspondence that we still do have? Or maybe they'll just spend a lot of time poking through server records, wondering why the ruler of Nigeria spent so much time trying to get people to hide his money.

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 08:40 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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... is a date I am looking forward to. REALLY looking forward to.

Why?

Speed Racer was must-see-TV for me when I was a kid. They tried to revive the series in animation not long ago, but it just didn't work for me -- I've missed the original ever since MTV aired it and then dumped it. Speed, Pops, Mom, Trixie, Spritle, Chim-Chim, Sparky, and (of course) Racer X were a huge part of my childhood. And now it's coming to the big screen.

Speed's brother Rex didn't run away in the movie -- he died (at least according to the synopsis -- I'm still holding out hope for a Racer X/Rex Racer connection). So far, everything else seems very faithful to the original, so I'm optimistic.

It seems like Hollywood is taking '70s and '80s properties and trying to revitalize them, to get the Boomer crowd into theaters. So far, I've not bee impressed with their efforts. They'd better not mess up Speed Racer, too.

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 02:21 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Maybe this will become the next blogosphere meme -- and it will have started right here!! Cool, huh?

I'm going to think of 5 numbers, 1-10 (if you're cool, you can roll a D10 for this, but my dice are missing and presumed lost). I'm going to start at my blogroll, count down the first number, and go to that blog. Then count down the next number on their blogroll, and so on. +NOTE -- the numbers CAN duplicate, and you should use the first blogroll on the page as you scroll down.

My numbers are: 3, 8, 2, 9, and 4. So here we go!

more...

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 07:52 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Agent Tim was interviewed on the Al Mohler program on Tuesday. He did an outstanding job -- except for not mentioning the SBC aggregator. That's OK, Tim -- I sent Dr. Mohler an email. ;-)

If you haven't read Tim's blog lately -- WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? An invitation from God?

Would you settle for an endorsement by Al Mohler?

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 11:00 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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So I finally managed to upgrade my computer so that I've got enough RAM to run Google Earth. It's fun, but I've already found some problems.

There are places that they have in the wrong place. {I'm tallking about where the label is and where the actual place is if you select "schools," for example}. Stockbridge High School and Stockbridge Elementary School (in Georgia) are two or three miles away from where they actually are. Southern Seminary is at least five miles further west than it's supposed to be -- looks like they have it at the OLD location (pre 1929!!).

The beauty of the thing is that I can look at the satellite picture and see where these places are. If I was trying to get directions? Forget it -- I'd be in the WRONG place.

Problem is, I don't know who to contact. Anybody know who I need to tell so that this gets fixed??

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 06:52 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Briefly for now -- I've been busier than I thought I would be the past couple of days!

I've been noticing a lot of hits through Google that have come because people are asking questions. I know exactly where this is coming from, because I've seen it before -- school's in session, and kids are doing Web Quests.

more...

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 09:13 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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One of my reviews over at Blogcritics was picked to be sent to advance.net. That means it's been distributed to several different web sites. So far, I've found it at Cleveland.com, NJ.com, NOLA.com, SILive.com (Staten Island), and Syracuse.com. There are more in the advance.net group, but not all of them run the book reviews they get from Blogcritics, but I'm pretty excited that someone out there likes what I've written.

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 03:17 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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So by now, you've all heard about Google Talk -- Google's entry into instant messaging.

I have it. I've actually stopped using Skype and switched to Google Talk-- there was only one person on Skype that I actually talked to anyway, and I needed to free up some hard drive space (can't believe I've filled 40GB. When I bought the computer, I said we'd NEVER need a bigger drive than that).

I haven't actually talked to anyone on it yet. But I like the software. You can customize the status messages so they say more than just "Off Line" or "Busy." Mine say "Sleeping," "Podcasting," and things like that. The actual instant messaging is easy to use -- I spent a little while talking to Bill Wallo. I'm ready to get rid of MSN Messenger (if my sister would accept my invitation!).

I'll still have a VOIP program, but I'll be using Gizmo Project, pending a test later today. It offers me the one feature that Skype doesn't have, but that I need -- the ability to painlessly and seamlessly record phone conversations. I can do it with Skype, but I have to have separate software to do it -- and the free version of that software doesn't support MP3 encoding (of course, I could just pay the $15 it costs to get the pro version. Have I mentioned how cheap I am?).

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 01:25 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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1 At Jeremy's (American Warmonger) suggestion, I signed up for Google Talk as well. Of course, I had to sign up for a gmail addy to go with it. I had successfully resisted up until now. I'm addicted to IM programs, though. I use Trillian so I can be signed in to AIM, Yahoo, ICQ, MSN Messenger and Google Talk all at once now.

Posted by: songstress7 at August 27, 2005 06:50 PM (ie93s)

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Matt Hall. Not only did he get one of those free iPods that you keep seeing goofy ads about, he also got a free Mac Mini from a similar offer.

All I've won online so far is $249 from Blingo. But I'm hopeful, one day, to be as lucky as Matt.

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 12:18 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Update on the Christian Post situation. They've posted a correction on their site:

We apologize for the article by Cindy Lee that was posted on Wednesday at 3 a.m. The article was unknowingly posted during the testing of a recently launched section on ChristianPost.com, in which freelancers and trainees were given an open forum to post article samples. We sincerely regret any inconvenience the article may have caused to all those involved. We thank you for your continued support.

I still think an email to the original author is in order, though. The apology sounds sincere to me, though a bit late in coming -- it sounds like the folks at The Christian Post didn't really know what happened, or how it happened. I know at three in the morning, I'm not usually very coherent.

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 11:14 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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OK, so Nick Queen over at Nick Queen.com runs a blogger fantasy football league each year. I didn't do FF last season at all, but I'm going through withdrawl, especially since there was no fantasy hockey at all this year (no league, no fantasy league). So I'm ready to rumble.

AND since I just KNOW all my readers will be waiting with baited breath to see how well the Pewie Podcasters do in this years action, I'll be reporting RIGHT HERE on all the fantastic fantasy action.

In other news -- posting has been light because of the myriad of other projects I'm working on. I'm reviewing at Blogcritics, and the past week and a half I've also been filling in as books editor since Pat's computer went up in smoke (or something like that, anyway). I've been working on the Pewcast (that podcasting stuff is hard work!). AND I've been invited to contribute to Cinema Veritas (thanks, Bill Wallo). And I've got some things going on in "real life" (whatever that is). I've been busier than I have been in a while, and I've enjoyed it. I'm hoping that this week I can get on a schedule that lets me blog more often here, AND get the podcast done sometime SOON.

Thanks for putting up with that little rant. I WILL have some more intelligent writing coming soon, I promise.

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 10:09 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Someone is emailing people telling them they have won a Power Sellers account on Ebay.

Unfortunately, you can't WIN a Power Seller's account, you have to earn it. When you DO earn it, you automatically get the logo, etc.

Also unfortunately, they've sent the email to an address that I don't have registered with Ebay, and isn't attached to my Ebay account.

So be warned -- someone's trying to steal your Ebay information. Probably to buy one of those laptops that people are selling as scams. Wouldn't that be ironic? A scammer gets bitten by a scammer? Sounds like P-P-P-Powerbook to me!

{Incidentally, if you've never heard about the P-p-p-Powerbook thing, you HAVE to read it. There is some strong language (at least in the older copy I read), but it is without a doubt the funniest thing I"ve ever heard about. Click the link and read it.}

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 11:35 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I guess I had to get hit with this one sooner or later: The Literary Meme has arrived!!
more...

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 01:51 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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It's not even close to being finished, but you can get the basic idea of it here. Let me know what you think, and any suggestions that you have. My HTML is decent, but my CSS needs improvement.

Eventually, each blog in the aggregator will have its own "block." Once I get the design done, it will be pretty simple to add blogs -- just add another div tag or two, and BOOM -- there they are!

{UPDATE}: I will be changing the site URL probably tomorrow. I'm not happy with the banner ads that Bravenet is putting on the page.

{LATEST UPDATE}: The new URL is http://sbcbloggers.witnesstoday.org/ Christian hosting folks that operate as a ministry. I'm still doing some tweaking, but that's where it's going to be for the forseeable future.

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 09:10 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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I'm working on a new website project. I'm going to improve the look and functionality of the SBC Bloggers aggregator that I set up some time ago.

I found a great tool -- RSS Digest -- that helps newbies like me to insert RSS feeds into a site, pretty much anywhere we want. I'm envisioning a newspaper look for the aggregator. The 5 most recent articles posted by aggregator members will be at the top, and each member blog will have a section that shows the five most recent headlines for each blog. I'm still in the early development stages, but as work progresses, I will update everyone.

I also wanted to remind everyone to check out Blogcritics periodically. I have a post there about Pac Man's 25th birthday, as well as some book reviews. If you just want to look at my stuff, you can go here.

AND -- more of the old archives have been moved over. It's a bit tedious,but I'm getting everything set up here. I'll keep the old site up for a while, just because I still have links to old posts that go back there, and I'm still getting hits there (search engine hits, mainly). Eventually, though, it will go away.

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 03:06 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Just to let you all know that the archives from the old site are here. So far, I've published them back to the first of this year; the only things I'm leaving out are things like "Help me leave Blogspot" or "I'm moving" or something like that. MOST have categories that they are listed under as well, so you can cruise through some of my archived posts.

I don't know when I'll get the rest of the archives posted. They'd have posted automatically, but my default setting for new posts is "draft" rather than "publish." Oh, well.

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 12:22 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Got this from The Daily Whim -- sort your iTunes list by title, then list one for each letter of the alphabet.

So here goes!!! more...

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 11:16 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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We here at View from the Pew realize that it is better to recontextualize transparently than to redefine cyber-holisticly. The re-sizing factor is dynamic. Think vertical. We pride ourselves not only on our feature set, but our non-complex administration and non-complex operation. We apply the proverb "When the cat's away, the mice will play" not only to our Total Quality Control but our capacity to deploy. We invariably strategize front-end partnerships. That is an amazing achievement taking into account today's conditions! If all of this sounds dumbfounding to you, that's because it is! The power to enhance virtually leads to the aptitude to transition globally. Quick: do you have a compelling plan for handling emerging infrastructures? The metrics for convergence are more well-understood if they are not virally-distributed.

Generate your own at http://www.andrewdavidson.com/gibberish/

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 05:56 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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God is moving throughout the world! Last night I was privileged to witness 12 of those blessings. At my mother's church in Lynchburg, VA, I saw a concert by Children of the World. They wore traditional costumes of their countries and sang in different languages. You could see God's mercy on each beautiful face.

Each child is a professing Christain. Most live in children's homes in their native land. Some have been able to remain with their families by sponsorship through WorldHelp. They are absolutely FILLED with the Joy of the Lord.

I will admit to being a little partial to this charity. It is based in Forest, VA. It's offices were 30 feet away from where I used to work. I have seen it grow from 3 or 4 people to a major mission thrust. They are doing it for all the right reasons.

My Challenge to You: Please pray for this group of evangelical Christians. If you can do more, please do. You can schedule a Children of the World concert, listen to mp3s of their music and buy merchandise from their website at www.worldhelp.net They have sponsorships for $24 per month and an Education Fund designed to send these kids and others like them to college to become missionaries, doctors, nurses, teachers and pastors. Please do as the Lord leads. I assure you they keep their overhead to a minimum and are some of the finest Christians I have ever met.

May God continue to bless His church around the world!

Posted by: Thanea at 03:35 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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