October 31, 2001
Am I this out of touch??
I feel like the last person on the planet to know that Wil Wheaton (yes, that Wil Wheaton) is a blogger. It's very cool - the guy is quite the comedian and doesn't take himself seriously at all. That is probably why he survived his teenage stardom and came into adulthood apparently normal.
Permalink | Comments (0)October 30, 2001
Adam Curry remembers the MTV days...
Adam Curry is remembering his VJ days. He is posting stories about his VJ days, some of these are quite funny. It's always nice to see that the "stars" are just as insecure and screwed up as the rest of us!
Permalink | Comments (0)October 29, 2001
Happy Halloween
Pumpkin cleaning by Chris, carving by Michelle.
October 27, 2001
OK, Now I'm scared
Clear and Present Danger (washingtonpost.com) - I've been pretty much tuning out all the Anthrax news here in DC as I believe the threat is being blown way, way out of proportion. Smallpox, on the other hand, could kill millions in this country from an initial infection of 100 people. And we are at least 1 year from having enough vaccine on hand to stop a major outbreak. If your my age you were vaccinated as a kid, however the vaccine "wore off" about 20 years ago.
Permalink | Comments (0)October 26, 2001
Blog Spam
I don't who this bozo is, but he entered this reply to "The Ghosts of Websites Past" post:
"thank you SOOO much for this link. I used to have a website and it happens to be archived. I thought I had lost it. check it out: ww.ihatestarwars.com
Posted by Jonathan W. @ 10/25/2001 01:06 PM EST
I took out a "w" in the link - its a porn site. Add it back in manually if you need to take a peek. What really pisses me off is that I clicked on the link. Its kind of like opening a piece of non-anthrax infected mail only to discover after the fact that it is junk mail. On one hand you have to admire the company that fooled you into opening the mail, on the other hand...grrrrrrr
I deleted his post too. My web site, I'll post the porn links around here ;)
Update 10/27 9 AM
Jim has let me know that Jonathan W is a good guy who used to own ihatestars.com and it is since been picked up by a porn operator. I did try to look it up in the archive but the archive was not functioning properly so I just assumed the worst of Jonathan. My bad...and my apologies to Jonathan for smearing his good name. I can't imagine how any reasonable person could hate Star Wars, but we'll save that discussion for later...
Permalink | Comments (2)October 25, 2001
The Ghosts of Websites Past
The Internet Archive - Billions and billions of web pages, most no longer exist on the live web. The have ODonnellweb pages back to early 99. Unfortunately, the archive doesn't seem to have the very early incarnations of my web page. I started working on my first web site on Dec 31, 1995 with a goal of getting a page on the web before year end. I taught myself HTML by looking at code on existing web sites and figuring out how stuff works. The page was on a web server before midnight on Dec 31, 1995, but as I remember it, it was about 3 AM before I had figured out the Unix chmod command and made the pages viewable to the world.
Permalink | Comments (1)October 24, 2001
Music reviews for those of us with a short attention span...
ADDReviews - Music reviews in 20 words or less. Brilliant!
Permalink | Comments (1)Reason #1,004,456 why the public education system is failing our children
Do the following questions come from a test in sixth grade, ninth grade, 12th grade, or a teacher certification exam?
Question 1: Which of the following is equal to a quarter of a million? (a) 40,000 (b) 250,000 (c) 2,500,000 (d) 1/4,000,000 or (e) 4/1,000,000? Question 2: Martin Luther King Jr. (insert the correct choice) for the poor of all races. (a) spoke out passionately (b) spoke out passionate (c) did spoke out passionately (d) has spoke out passionately or (e) had spoken out passionate. Question 3: What would you do if your student sprained an ankle? (a) Put a Band-Aid on it (b) Ice it (c) Rinse it with water.
The answer probably won't surprise you....
Permalink | Comments (0)October 21, 2001
Airport Security Run Amok
Meet Neil Godfrey, United Airlines apparently doesn't like his choice of reading material.
Permalink | Comments (0)October 20, 2001
How to Gain Power at Work Without Getting Promoted
Mark Gallagher's Tips to Success at Work - I'm not really sure how I ended up at this page - but most of his 10 tips make a lot of sense. I think my title is a little more descriptive of what he is really suggesting...
Permalink | Comments (0)October 18, 2001
Bomb Threat, Anthrax Scare...Just Another Day at the Office
I was in Crystal City today for a client meeting. Crystal City is a collection of office buildings just east of the Pentagon. As I pulled into an underbuilding parking garage, I was greeted with a military checkpoint. They allowed me to pass so I guess I am no threat! When I came up the stairs into the lobby of the building I was greeted by 4 or 5 armed soldiers, a metal detector, and a few more armed soldiers outside. I'm not sure who is in that bulding but they apparently are quite important. My meeting was around the block. As we were chatting waiting for somebody else to show up, my client mentions that the building was evacuated for the third time this week today. Monday was a bomb scare, yesterday was an Antrax scare, and today he was not sure about as he was out of the office and missed the excitement.
What is the proper etiquitte for deadly bacteria scares? Should he have called us and given us an option to reschedule? The meeting was not particularly time sensitive, we could have done it next week with no negetive consequences. I'm not particularly worried about anything, but the building is in a cluster of office buildings that house many, many military personnel. I do feel like I should keep an eye on the news just in case anything turns up in that building though...
Next question...why am I living in here? DC is only the primary target for just about anything bad that might happen. Moving back to Indiana is sounding better every day...
Permalink | Comments (0)October 17, 2001
5 songs I could never get tired of hearing
Several other bloggers (see hotdogblog, Ladydusk, and Jim Hart, among others...) did this, so I jumped on the bandwagon too. In no particular order, and not neccessarily the definitive list, 5 songs I'll never get sick of:
1. Pink Houses - John Mellencamp
2. Straight to Hell - Drivin N Cryin
3. Nobody's Gonna Stop Us Now - Starship
4. One - Metallica
5. Margaritaville - Jimmy Buffett
I started thinking about why I picked these particular five - and I don't really have an answer except for the Starship song. It is in our wedding video, with a bunch of video of us just after the wedding, doing pictures, the cake, etc at Waimea Falls. HI.
Permalink | Comments (2)October 15, 2001
Save Fenway Park
I'm a member of the Save Fenway Foundation - a group in Boston trying to convince local authorities, and Red Sox management, that Fenway park can be renevated at less cost than building a new statdium, with the result being a first class baseball park that will remain relevant. This article by Peter Gammons describes on a plan to save it, and the group trying to buy the Red Sox so they can implement the plan.
I'm in favor of saving Fenway for several reasons:
1. As a general rule, we are way to willing to tear stuff down and rebuild in this country. This is especially true when he builders are spending somebody else's money.
2. Massachusetts citizens are already are among the most over taxed people in this country. Granted, it is a self-inflicted wound as they keep electing Kennedy's to public office, however in general I oppose public financing of sports stadiums. In a case like liberal Boston where the government is damn determined to waste taxpayer money on a stadium, they should at least look for an option that doesn't also include stealing private property from the rightful owner to facilitate the new stadium.
3. History. 5 generations of O'Donnell's have seen the Red Sox play at Fenway (my great grandfather, grandfather, my father, myself, and my kids). Knowing that my father or grandfather enjoyed a game at Fenway years ago is very cool. Realizing that Ted Williams, Babe Ruth, etc.played on this very field is even cooler. We are talking about a place where the Citgo gas station behind the Green Monster has been gone for 20 years, but the sign remains, and is lit up at night, beause it has always been there and people coming to Boston to see the Red Sox expect to see the Citgo sign over the Monster. Actually, people really don't go to see the Red Sox, they go to see Fenway. And that is whole point.
Permalink | Comments (0)October 12, 2001
Why Legos are so cool
Jeff Bates - cofounder of Slashdot - contributes a very interesting perspective on Lego's. I've had this same issue myself - trying to find Lego's and Lincoln Logs for the kids that aren't designed to just build one thing. The whole point of Lego's, as Jeff says much better than I can, is to work within, or around, the system to build whatever it is you want to build - not to buy kits with detailed instructions.
I think I'll sit down with the kids tonight and play Lego's :)
Permalink | Comments (1)October 11, 2001
Scott McNealy shoots his mouth off
Sun Micro CEO Sees More Support for National ID - I've officially lost all respect for Scott McNealy. The hijackers all had valid ID...
Permalink | Comments (0)I am a hotty
I read it on the Internet so it must be true :)
From: "laura s"
To: chrisodva@yahoo.com
Subject: you are a HOTTY!
Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2001 22:44:37 +0000
Dear Chris:
I'm not that much of a fan YET! But i absoulutly fell in love with you when i saw your hot looks in batman and robin. I just wanted to say that i would be sooooo happy if you wrote back to me and tell me evrything about you i just cant believe your soo cute. My friend told me i looked like alicia silverstone as batgirl, so we got the DVD to watch at my house that the first time i ever layed eyes on you and im so happy i did. Please if its really you couls you PLEASE write back heres my e-mail:
laura_s_129@hotmail.com
i love you!
Permalink | Comments (0)Defending Yourself Against Terrorism
The author makes some very good points regarding what you can do to protect yourself. Buy and gun, and learn how to use it responsibly, are tops on the list. Ultimately, personal protection is your job - you can't outsource it to the government.
Permalink | Comments (0)October 10, 2001
In case little Johnny thinks pro wrestling is real...
wwfparents.com - A parents guide to the WWF. I think they are making a giant leap of faith by assuming the target audience can actually read!
via memepool
Permalink | Comments (0)Down and Out in Boulder, CO
Tough times in Boulder, CO - I hope this is not indicative of what might happen in the DC area. I've been assuring my wife that good salespeople can always find another job....not that I'm unemployed yet - but since Qwest has whacked 11,000 people in the last couple of months, I have to be cognoscente of the possibility.
Permalink | Comments (0)October 09, 2001
Who says dot coms are dead???
Business 2.0 - Magazine Article - The 7 Habits of Highly Persistent Dotcoms (And the Two Guys Behind the Rebirth of a Bubble-Era Flameout) - Some dot coms did not completely die - they just got really really small. A somewhat inspiring story about dot com founders / employees who bought their domain names and companies dirt cheap after the fall, and are now building profitable ventures...
Permalink | Comments (0)Chris O'Donnell - Lab Rat
I got am interesting email today from a couple of researchers at the University of Texas. They are conducting research to determine how well personal websites reflect the actual personality of the owners. I agreed to help - why not? I guess they are going to download the entire site, and have a few people at UT complete a survey about me based on the site. I do the survey, and they will want a couple of friends to do the survey too. Then they compare.
They pulled their sample from Yahoo - which I believe bias the research as it has been years since yahoo paid any attention to personal sites. Anybody with a personal site linked with a description at Yahoo has probably been on the web for a long time. I've been here since 1995...
Permalink | Comments (0)October 06, 2001
A happy story from Sept 11
JD's Blog: New Media Musings - An amazing story of hospitality from a small town in Canada that saw its population double when 50+ planes were diverted to its airport.
Permalink | Comments (0)Education Free Agent
Reason magazine -- October 2001, School's Out by Daniel H. Pink - This may be the best home school related article I have read! I see these connections between the changes in the real word and my kids education everyday....
Permalink | Comments (0)So long Cal...
In the midst of all this stress and intrigue at work - I blew off Friday afternoon, turned off my cell phone, and took my son to see Cal Ripken on his next to last day as a professional baseball player. It was a glorious 80 degrees with blue sky, a perfect day for baseball. The fans singing God Bless America during the 7th inning stretch was quite touching. The Red Sox won 5-0, not that it really matters anymore for them, and Cal got a hit, so we were happy.
Especially now, the world needs a lot more people like Cal Ripken.
Permalink | Comments (1)I guess I should feel lucky to have a job, but...
On Monday, Qwest laid off 4000 people. I think the total head count is now -11,000 over the last two months. Also, I'm having some serious problems with the sale commission sytem, as in they owe me a bunch and don't seem to be in a hurry to pay me. So, on Thursday my wife gets a phone call - the male caller ID's himself as "a friend of Chris from Qwest" and then goes on to tell Michelle that he wants to warn me that "I need to pay very close attention to the pay issue as there is more there than I realize" and "I need to be careful because those that I think are my friends at Qwest may not be."
Huh? I'm expecting Sculley and Mulder to show up at my door anyday now.
Corporate HR writes it off to a disgruntled employee as several in my office were let go. However, that doesn't explain how the caller had my unlisted phone number. My gut is telling me that the caller is somebody closer to me than a random employee - at least close enough to think I would recognize his voice.
Why can't I find a interesting company run by ethical people to work for? My employers always have more issues then your typical caller to Dr Laura.
Permalink | Comments (2)October 01, 2001
Who said it - Falwell, Robertson, or Bin Laden?
Falwell-Robertson-Bin Laden Quiz - It's not as easy as it sounds (I got 10/20)
Re-blogged from Davezilla
Permalink | Comments (0)Let's make sure we are perfectly clear...
I am not willing to sacrifice any personal liberty or freedoms as a response to the attacks on Sept 11.
Permalink | Comments (0)Bruce Schneir speaks!
Counterpane: Crypto-Gram: September 30, 2001 - Bruce is a noted Internet Security expert and has compiled his thoughts and a bunch of links about the events of Sept 11. His thoughts about the ineffectiveness of all the proposed airport regulations are an eye-opener...
Permalink | Comments (0)