What I'm Doing

Thursday, May 31, 2007

YouTube Spam

So, as you'll notice from the below post, I recently started a YouTube account. This is part of my attempt at incorporating a mobile blog into this one. Just as I can upload photos from my cell, with YouTube, I can also upload videos.

Anyway, today, I receive my first message from another YouTube user. The entirety of this message was, "hi, please upload all your videos to [site removed to protect the...um...I just wanted to be nice]."

Having done a search on that website, I have found that I am not the only one to receive this (at the same time, the author claims to be doing these messages "by hand," and not using an automated bot). Others have received this as comment spam (perhaps the backlash against that is the reason he's moved to private messages now). In addition, a video uploaded to YouTube about this site points out the "odd" similarity in site design to YouTube. Looks like a total rip-off.

I'm not really concerned about that; it's the Wild, Wild Web, after all. What I found the most interesting is that this guy is blatantly advertising his site on Youtube. He has a YouTube account, obviously, but has no videos posted, and, from what I have seen, says nothing in his comments or messages but, "please upload all your videos to [his site]."

Totally classless? Ignorant? Gonzolas the size of basketballs? Given his comments on some blog postings complaining about his spam, I'm going to assume the...err...best about him (i.e., that he's being honest in those comments) and go with "ignorant." He doesn't seem to get why people might be annoyed by this.

I mean, seriously, I'm all for the little guy, but if someone, for example, started up a new soda company, visited the World of Coke (yes, we have a museum about Coca-Cola), and did nothing the whole time he was there other than tell other visitors to buy his beverage instead of Coke, he'd probably get escorted out rather quickly.

Monday, May 28, 2007

Dexter Trip at Georgia Renaissance Festival


If I remember correctly, he had 200 Black Cat fireworks duct-taped to his chest. I think I started "filming" just after he lit the fuses. Oh, and, yes, he lived.

Friday, May 25, 2007

Which Church Father Am I?

Got this quiz from Wezlo and Dr. Q...






You’re St. Jerome!


You’re a passionate Christian, fiercely devoted to Jesus Christ and his Church. You are willing to labor long hours in the Lord’s vineyard, and you have little patience with those who are less willing or able to work as you do. Your passions often carry you into temptation zones of wrath, lust, and pride.


Find out which Church Father you are at The Way of the Fathers!




Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Google Reader

I think I'm going to give Google Reader another go. I tried it out back when it first appeared, but the interface was absolutely horrid, and I ran straight back to Bloglines. More recently, I discovered that the interface has been redone, and looks much better. The only thing keeping me from trying it out again was that I didn't see a mobile version. Well, I finally found that, so I'm going to try it out, and see how it goes. If I like both interfaces better than Bloglines, I may be switching...

Chrismation

So, on the heels of our engagement, Kristen and I now have another announcement: Sunday morning, we were received by Holy Chrismation into the Orthodox Church. I would have posted this earlier, but I was waiting until I had told my parents; I didn't want them finding out by reading it on our parish's website again. That was how they discovered that we had become catechumen, and it didn't go over well.

They are genuinely concerned for me and Kristen, and I understand why. Please pray for them, whether you think Kristen and I are right or wrong in joining the Orthodox Church.

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Engagement

(Note: This is a cross-posting from a journal entry I posted over at Christdot)

Well, I've been rather busy, so I'm a few days late posting this.

Anyway, Kristen and I are engaged! I proposed this past Saturday, May 5. Now that the initial announcement is over, here's the story:

I decided to propose on May 5 because it was the three-year anniversary of our meeting. It was also my birthday, which some people seem to think is noteworthy. In addition, I wanted to do something reminiscent of our first summer together, and, in particular, one day that we spent together that was probably as close to a "first date" as we have.

On that day, we had gone to a nearby state park (Kennesaw Mountain) to hike, as we were wont to do (sometimes with friends, sometimes alone). Afterwards, we went to Waffle House for lunch. Then, I wanted to go put a slinky on an escalator at the mall, and after we did that, we went to see Spider Man 2.

So, with that background out of the way, here's how it all happened:

Kristen had known that I had the ring for a while, and she'd been bugging me about when I was going to propose. Concerned that I might give away my plan if I kept trying to fend her off, I devised a game.

If you have read The Hobbit, I'm sure you, at least vaguely, remember the part where Gollum and Bilbo have the riddle contest, which ends with Bilbo's wondering aloud what he has in his pocket (he'd forgotten he'd picked up the ring), and Gollum's mistaking it for a riddle. So, I gave her a riddle each day from that sequence that she had to solve in order to get a hint. I had it timed so that the last riddle, "what is in my pocket?", would fall on May 5.

As it happens, we went to a late showing of Spider Man 3 on May 4 with some friends (that wasn't originally part of my plan, actually), and then, on the 5th, we went to lunch at Waffle House, and I took her up to Kennesaw Mountain. We found a slightly secluded spot, and, after waiting there for a moment, I said it was time for the next riddle.

By this point, Kristen had figured out where the riddles were coming from, and she knew that I knew. So, when I asked her what was in my pocket, she thought I might try to fake her out, and guessed a few different things. After 3 guesses, I took out the ring, gave a little impromptu speech, and asked her to marry me. Apparently, I didn't phrase the question correctly, because she made me "ask her properly." And, of course, she said "yes."

We then made the rounds to visit both sets of parents, and have been slowly informing everyone else since then.

Oh, and I took some photos in the aftermath of the proposal, which you can see here.