This blog has moved!
Keep up at KevinDHendricks.com.
Last Post on Monkey Outta Nowhere
March 15, 2008 | Filed under: Blogging
My blog has officially moved out. You can keep up with it at KevinDHendricks.com.
If you're using my FeedBurner RSS feed you shouldn't have to update anything (I hope). If you're using one of my other RSS feeds, you might want to update and use the FeedBurner one. Hopefully I'll figure out a way to redirect those old feeds, but I'm a busy guy.
(This post may also be difficult to read, as all my individual entries are redirecting to the corresponding entries on my new site--and this entry doesn't have a corresponding entry. I expect it to freak out.)
Blogging Turns 10
March 14, 2008 | Filed under: Behold, the Internet
Jason Kottke is celebrating 10 years of blogging today. He wasn't the first, but definitely one of the earliest. However you want to divvy up the credit, 2008 is the 10th anniversary of blogging. Amazing how it's all growed up now.
Anyway, Kottke reflects on his decade of blogging, something I hope to be doing about 9 months from now.
Yes, We're Still Waiting
March 13, 2008 | Filed under: Adoption
Lots of folks have been asking how our adoption process is going, and the answer is the same as it was two months ago: We're waiting. We've been approved, we've filled out all the paperwork and we're officially on the waiting list. We're down to something like 4-7 months to go.
The only thing to do is wait.
And raise money. Yesterday we applied for two adoption grants. I'm not very hopeful though. But free money is free money.
We're also quickly moving towards our rummage sale. The collection of rummage goods has taken over our porch, the baby's bedroom and the garage. Oh, and there are a few piles in the basement. Goodwill better look out come April and nicer weather.
And if it sounds like nothing has changed since my last adoption post, well, you'd be right. Except that we're two weeks closer.
Kevin: 2002 vs 2008; or Real Office vs. Home Office
March 10, 2008 | Filed under: Personal Pics
Speaking of hair (or the lack thereof), I thought it'd be interesting to compare my current self to my 6 years ago self:
Me in 2002:
Me in 2008:
Why compare the two? Hopefully it's good fun, and not just my ego growing as big as my hair.
Shave Your Head to Fight Cancer
March 10, 2008 | Filed under: Health
St. Baldrick's Foundation is a volunteer-driven fund raising program where people shave their heads to fight cancer. We're such an image-based culture that I love the idea of putting our image to work for a cause (I was going to say 'forsaking your image for a cause,' but I realized some consider a bald head pretty fashionable). It's kind of like Locks of Love (for those not eager to go completely bald).
While I love the idea, it's clear some have more to sacrifice than others. (via DJLitten)
Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer Gives 'Em Hell
March 8, 2008 | Filed under: Politics
Apparently a number states have balked at the Department of Homeland Security's attempts to require nationwide standards for ID cards, known as the Real ID Act. It sounds like a fairly boring story, though maybe an interesting case of state's rights vs. national security.
Boring, that is, until you hear Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer weigh in on NPR:
"We're putting up with the federal government on so many fronts and nearly every month they come out with another harebrained scheme, an unfunded mandate to tell us that our life is going to be better if we'll just buckle under on some other kind of rule or regulation. We usually just play along for a while, ignore them for as long as we can. We try not to bring it to a head. But if it comes to a head we've found that it's best to just tell them to go to hell and run your state the way you want to run your state."
Hilarious. Check out Wired for more background on the Real ID debate.
My House is Broken; or I'm Inept at Home Improvement
March 6, 2008 | Filed under: Domicile
My house hates me. Since we moved in last April things have been systematically breaking.
- The guys who installed our washer and dryer hooked them up wrong. Didn't help that I didn't properly install the drain hose on the first try. That was messy.
- The overflow drain in our jacuzzi tub failed, sending a ton of water seeping through the ceiling and dripping into the living room. We got it fixed easily enough, but we still have some stains on the ceiling that we don't care enough about to fix.
- While removing wallpaper in the bathroom we had the window open and the hot water running, and were soon smelling gas. We thought it might have been something dangerous with our instant hot water heater, but turns out it's normal. I suspect the exhaust may have been located too close to the window.
- Our doorbell stopped working.
- The toilet in our basement started leaking and soon we realized it was the main drain backing up to the toilet, the tub and the floor drain in the basement. It got to the point where nothing was draining at all. One Roto Rooter visit later we were back in business.
- When it got cold and we turned on our gas fireplace only to discover it wouldn't stay lit. Definitely not a necessity, so we opted to ignore it for a while.
- Of course then the furnace went out. Those were a cold couple of days.
- Then our wood burning fireplace (yes, we have two fireplaces) decided to clog up. I can only assume the chimney is in desperate need of a cleaning (I suggested we call that friendly chap from Mary Poppins). Another expense we decided to forgo for a while.
- And now the toilet in the basement is leaking again and this morning I determined that it is in fact the main drain clogged up again. The Roto Rooter man said the guy who came out six months ago didn't have a big enough machine to fully clear out the roots. But he supposedly got it. We'll see in six months (when his guarantee expires).
So basically we've had a problem with every major appliance in our house, except the dishwasher. And if the dishwasher goes, well, then I give up. Have I mentioned that sometimes I hate being a homeowner? Yeah, I guess I have.
Ninja Eema: My Sister-in-Law on Etsy
March 6, 2008 | Filed under: Art
My sister-in-law, Limor, has set up shop on Etsy, selling her crafty wares under the name Ninja Eema. She's made some great stuff for Lexi for various presents, and now you can get your own stuff.
I'm partial to Dudley the Monkey.
Oh, I also designed the header on the shop. Though that's not saying much, since I just used the fabric Limor asked me to use.
NextGen Summit Article Online
March 5, 2008 | Filed under: Company News
I spent my New Year's in California covering the Foursquare NextGen Summit '07, on assignment writing an article for Advance magazine. The article I wrote, "Generation Change" is now available online.
Blog Archives Now Complete
March 3, 2008 | Filed under: Site Updates
It only took four and a half years, but my blog archives are now complete. All 2,370 entries going back to Dec. 5, 1998 are now available right here. No more going back to the hand-coded pages on the utterly defunct ReALMagazine.com (may it rest in peace).
It's kind of weird reading blog entries from nine years ago. Back then I didn't even know what the word 'blog' meant.
Continue reading "Blog Archives Now Complete"
