Greg Hartnett

Unfortunately, for reasons unbeknownst to both myself and my host (MidPhase) my blog went down last week. I got the standard Wordpress error screen that I couldn’t establish a connection to the database. I have gotten these many times in the past, and I figured that the problem would correct itself in a matter of minutes (or hours at the long end). After 36 hours of no change, I decided to escalate the issue and contact MidPhase technical support.

After just a few minutes on hold, a representative submitted a ticket to the tech department, and assured me that my issues would be addressed post haste. After a handful of hours, I was disappointed to see that the issue remained unresolved. Another phone call to MidPhase tech support brought me the same results, and further assurances.

A weekend trip to San Francisco with the family pulled me away from the computer, but I was unpleasantly surprised to see on Sunday that the damn blog was still down (now bringing up a blank page at the index). When I finally returned home, I was able to check my email and found that MidPhase felt it was a plugin that was keeping things from getting cleared up.

After deactivating each of the plugins and resetting my blog to the default WP template, I was delighted to see that I could at least access the blog. Regrettably, all data between late January and early March had been lost. On the bright side, I have been very neglectful in maintaining my blog, so I only lost a couple of posts.

Lesson learned: make frequent backups of your data. There are lots of ways to do it, and it’s pretty simple. If I was a real blogger, this could have been catastrophic.  There are perks to obscurity

Last week, Illinois Senator Barak Obama announced that he will be running for President in 2008. In the months to come, if his campaign manager does his job correctly, you’ll see commercial after commercial extolling the virtues of Mr. Obama. And if the Clinton camp does it’s job, you’ll see no shortage of commercials focusing on why Mr. Obama should not be your next Commander in Chief. One thing is for certain: nobody will be talking about where Barak stands, and how he has served to date.

Here are some key issues Sen. Obama sponsored or voted for during his eight years as an Illinois state senator:

Budget and Taxes

Crime and Gun Control

Health Care

Other

So at least now, it’s not all a popularity contest.

Source - Sacramento Bee print edition

I bought them for my kids for Christmas. At first my wife wanted to buy just one for them to share, but after we agreed that her suggestion may be the worst idea ever, we opted to get them each their own. A pink one for Téa and a white one for JR. They got a handful of games each from assorted grandparents and such. It made for the ideal gift. Suffice it to say that they love ‘em.

Unfortunately, we had to return JR’s. For some unknown reason, the battery just wouldn’t take a charge. We made the purchase at Costco and they have an awesome return policy (though I hear some of their employees are no smarter than your average dolphin), so getting my money back wasn’t an issue. However, they no longer carry the Nintendo DS Lite, so I have been trying to find a replacement.

After checking my local Target, Toys R Us, and EBGames to no avail, I have begun my online search. Instead of doing the legwork myself, I was hoping that one of my readers may know of an online spot that I can grab one - preferably around the $150 level (give or take a handful of dollars).

So pick out your favorite spot - make it your affiliate page. Help me help you

I need to get it within the next few days, so if nobody comes up with any recommendations, I’ll be forced to go it alone.

If you pay attention to the online world at all, then you’re familiar with contextual advertising. It’s a huge business, generating billions of dollars for website owners and the companies serving the ads. It’s the primary revenue stream of Wall St darling Google Inc, and online behemoths Yahoo and Microsoft, while late to the game, are making strides in parlaying their real estate into cash cows.

It’s a fantastic platform in which readers see relevant ads, website owners are able to monetize their traffic, advertisers can reach targetted visitors, and the server of the advertisement collects revenues. The primary flaw in the system appears to be click fraud, in which a user clicks on the ad without any real interest in the underlying product or service.

While most talk concerning click fraud centers on companies clicking ads to cost their competition money or the website owner clicking ads to generate income, I have yet to hear anybody speak of clicking for friends. Is it common practice, or am I alone in my ways?

When I go to a blog or site owned by a friend and I see some contextual advertising, a lot of times I’ll click on an ad or two to help my buddy out. No, I am not really interested in purchasing some new chopsticks, but if I can click on an ad and generate some revenues for him/her, why not? Likewise for a site that I come across that I enjoyed. Great new page on Digg? I check it out, read the article, and if I enjoy it, I’ll throw the site owner a bone by clicking on an ad. Hey, he made my day better with a great post, why shouldn’t I reciprocate in kind with a little clickity-click??

It should be noted that I have never had somebody ask me to click on their ads - that would be a violation of most TOS, and a bit tacky to boot. Fortunately, I seem to have friends that hold themselves to a higher standard. This is just something I have taken upon myself to help boost their revenues.

So, do you click for friends, or am I the lone miscreant?

So you have finally realized that the country is going to Hell in a hand basket. Corrupt politicians who pander to corporations, legislation that doesn’t reflect your values, tax dollars being spent obscenely. It all seems like too much to think about - it would be so much easier to just sit your ass on the couch and watch CSI. But that’s what they want you to do.

Below I provide a dozen ways for you to get involved. None of the ideas are meant to be partisan in nature. Regardless of which side of the aisle you sit on, you can still get involved. It’s not a difference of opinions that will bring down the empire - it’s apathy. So get off the couch, and get involved.

1. Attend a Rally - There’s nothing to make you feel more involved with a cause than attending a rally. Mingling with people who share your ideas and are working towards a common goal can be truly inspirational.
2. Get Your Coworkers to Vote - This can be as simple as encouraging Sally in cubicle 5b to get out and vote. Or you could post flyers in your break room explaining the virtues of voting to the less socially concious. If you are the boss, give your people some time off to go out and vote. The work will be there when they get back…
3. Create an Online Petition - Gone are the days of going door to door to get people to sign a petition. With the advent of the Internet, getting people involved is a breeze. A few resources: Petition Spot; The Petition Site; and Petition Online.
4. Volunteer for a Campaign - Running for office requires a lot of work, and a lot of people to help. There are plenty of things you can do to help: hand out literature, host a reception, help with mailings, and more. Just find somebody you like and contact them - they’ll tell you how you can best help with their efforts.
5. Alert the Media - Mainstream media is obsessed with sensationalism and fear, at the neglect of stories that should be getting attention. If you know of something that isn’t getting the attention it deserves, say something about it. Let ‘em know, maybe they’ll surprise you. Contact CNN, call FOX at 888-369-4762, contact ABC News, call CBS at 212-975-3247 or send them an email. (Information for NBC and MSNBC was not readily available - their contact page was experiencing problems).
6. Host a House Party - Open your home to host a fundraising party for your candidate. These intimate gatherings can be ideal for sharing information and getting people involved. The casual setting of a home, and the spirit of a party make it less stuffy. For more information check out Meetup. They’ve got info for any city you can think of.
7. Write Letters to Congress - Tell your representatives exactly what you are thinking. For best results, write from the heart, and try a personalized letter, instead of a form letter. Contacting your representative is easy - see Contacting the Congress for a full set of contact details including phone, website, mailing address, fax, and more.
8. Involve Your Family - Getting your family involved with your activities can go a long way to keeping you active. Introducing your kids to the political process and getting them active will help keep you going (as a role model) and will set your kids in an active mindset.
9. Fight the Power - Attend your town hall meetings, and let your local representatives know how you feel. Need a new traffic light to help reduce speeding in your neighborhood? Tired of your public school’s lack of funding? Find out when City Hall has it’s monthly meetings, and attend. The floor opens up for new business, and you can make your opinion known.
10. Freeway Blog - For as little as a couple of bucks, you can reach hundreds of thousands of people. Not only is it your right to do so, but in today’s day and age, it’s almost your obligation. Find out more from the master.
11. Give Money - When all else fails, you can always dig into your pocket and provide financial assistance. There aren’t any organizations that couldn’t use a couple of extra bucks to help with their cause. There are no shortage of places to donate - find a cause that you agree with and send them $50 (or whatever you can afford). It’s easy to do and your donation will go a long way.
12. Speak out Online - There is perhaps no better way to reach so many people on a shoestring budget. With a global audience, participating in the discussion online can cause ripple effects for years to come. Start a blog (zero to little cost) and get writing. Find some popular blogs of writers you disagree with, and present a dissenting point of view. There are always two sides to an argument (at a minimum) so get in there and present your view - it will always be there for others to see, and you could help in forming an opinion. The Technorati Top 100 and the BOTW Blogs Politics category are great places to start looking.

You don’t need to try to tackle each of the above ideas. Pick one or two and start there. Now that you have some ideas, it’s up to you - get involved or stay complacent. The choice is yours.

I have set a goal for myself of 40 days on the mountain this season. With the month of December behind me, I’m on target to hit my number. Currently I’ve got 9 days on the hill - all day trips to either Sugarbowl or Northstar. Most of them were solo runs, with a few trips up with the wife and kids.

Getting my kids boarding was a primary concern for me this season, and thus far they are doing great. JR has 4 days under his belt, and Téa has three. They have both taken a few lessons, but definitely still need some additional instruction before I feel comfortable letting them rip it up. They both really need to get their turns down a bit more, and they need to work on their control. My son in particular needs to get some respect for the mountain, and not just point his board straight downhill.

I have a bunch of pictures of the kids on the mountain - check out the day sets at my Flickr account. Additionally, I’ve got a quick clip of JR coming down the bunny hill. Most of it is him flopping around, trying to get up (a very important part of the learning process). Check out his little jumps - a “trick” he taught himself

If you haven’t yet figured out a plan to tap into the traffic at StumbleUpon, I would suggest you do so - pronto. I think I read recently that their userbase is approximately 2.5 million people. That’s a lot of eyeballs, and some of them could be yours.

I have been a fan of StumbleUpon for awhile now. As a user, I like how they feed me sites that are of interest to me - and should a site pop up that I don’t like, I can voice my opinion about it with a simple thumbs down. As an online marketer, I love the traffic they send me. In my presentation at PubCon Vegas in November, I recommended that users try the advertising option at StumbleUpon. It’s a great way to send cheap traffic to your site. One of the audience members took my advice, and seems to have had a very positive experience - read all about it here (great job Everett!).

Yesterday, the folks at StumbleUpon rocked my world, sending me almost 6000 unique visitors. For free! That’s right, I didn’t add an extra zero in there - six thousand visitors from StumbleUpon in one day. And today is shaping up to be another banner day - as of this writing, they have sent me over a thousand uniques, and the day is just starting. I have included a snapshot of my top referrers from yesterday for all of you Doubting Thomases:

So head on over to StumbleUpon, download the toolbar, and get started. Start by stumbling around a bit to get a feel for it. Once you are feeling comfortable, recommend your own site, and let your fellow stumblers know that you did. Once you receive a handful of thumbs up votes, your site will get thrown into rotation. If you get more positive feedback, they’ll display you more often. Then the fun begins…

Every once in awhile one of these viral, online tag games sprouts up. Kind of a geeky way of saying hello to your buddies in the blogosphere, and a nice way to kill time and come up with something to post. A couple of my friends, Dave and Adam, hit me with a link, thus calling me out to reveal 5 things that most people probably don’t know about me.

1. I have been fired from just about every job I ever had.
2. I voted for George Bush Sr. What can I say? I was young and thought that I had to be a Republican to be rich.
3. I bartended at a gay bar. And not just any gay bar, but an after-hours, leather, bear-crowd bar.
4. I dropped out of college. Not because I had some awesome business idea, but because I was afraid of growing up.
5. I was hit by a car just before I was three - it nearly killed me, and left me with permanent scars (physical and mental).

So there you have it. Probably more than you needed (wanted) to know.

I am going to branch out of my circle of friends a bit with my choices of who to tag. Why not - maybe they’ll bite. Some of the blogs that I read that I’d love to learn more about the authors: presenter extraordinaire, Guy Kawasaki; whiz-kid, Aaron Swartz; fighter of the good fight, The Freeway Blogger; Yahoo troublemaker, Jeremy Zawodny; self help guru, Steve Pavlina.

Courtesy of Flickr, a very cool easter egg for the holidays. Just insert the text “ho ho ho hat” or “ho ho ho beard” into a note and presto - some holiday cheer. I showed JR and he insisted on adding hats and beards to everything.

I have my iTunes set this morning to shuffle through all of my Beatles and John Lennon tracks. It’s a special day for me, as it is for music fans and peace activists the world over. It’s a day for remembering and reflection. 26 years ago today, on a quiet Upper West Side street, Mark David Chapman took the life of one of the most talented musicians of our time. With four hollow point rounds, Mr. Chapman was able to extinguish the light of a generation.

For so many at that time, John Lennon embodied the peace movement. The US was coming to terms with the devastation of the Vietnam era, the civil rights movement was making great strides, and we had yet to enter the All-About-Me 80’s. In the nexus of this movement stood John Lennon; constantly reminding the world that there was an alternative to perpetual war for perpetual peace. Lennon’s bold message rang true for millions, and he was able to touch them in a way that few others had before him.

At the time, I was just a boy of ten. I recall the sadness of my mother, and my own lack of interest. “What’s the big deal”, I thought. “He’s just some past-his-prime singer” was my general attitude. My immature mind was incapable of grasping the magnitude of the loss. As I grew and learned more about Lennon I discovered all that he had done for society and over time the loss began to resonate.

What is it about peace and pacifists that scare so many people? To be sure, Lennon wasn’t he first pacifist executed: Jesus was a pacifist; Mahatma Gandhi was also a pacifist; as was Martin Luther King Jr. All great men with a vision of peace for mankind. All murdered for their message of love and equality. Is that to be the fate of any pacifist making strides?

When will the time come when we can truly give peace a chance?

Holee shit. These have to be the craziest SOBs I’ve ever seen. Makes our extreme sports look pretty tame by comparison. Supposedly, they’re cruising along at 65 MPH and those are sandals on their feet. Our allies in the mideast sure know how to party.

Caution: the sound of the wind gets pretty annoying towards the end - you may want to adjust your volume.

When the content is good, you don’t need all the showmanship. SEOs Webmasters take note. Full lyrics here.

I have long been a critic of guns. I hate them. They scare the hell out of me, and their widespread acceptance is a disgrace to our nation. The gun control issue may be the first thing that got me politically motivated.

The attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan in 1981 left Press Secretary James Brady nearly dead and permanently disabled. For the next decade Sarah Brady championed gun control legislation, and with much fanfare President Clinton signed the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (The Brady Bill) into law on November 30, 1993. Over the course of those 10 years, I was exposed to a lot of information on gun control and gun violence. As an inquisitive lad, I read what I could find on the topic (pre-Internet). The more I learned, the more I grew disgusted with guns.

Throwing all firearms to the bottom of the sea would be ideal, but a more reasonable goal would be an outlawing of all handguns and automatic weapons. If you want to go out and shoot some deer, quail, turkey, or whatever defenseless animal of your choice with your rifle and call it a sport, then knock your socks off. But there is no need for Joe Citizen to own a handgun or automatic weapon - or some semi-automatic knock off of some military assault rifle. WTF??

I can already hear calls of Second Ammendment garbage. Drop it already. It was written to keep the King out of your living room when his soldiers all had muskets, and maybe you had to worry about a couple dozen of them showing up on your farm. The Founding Fathers never imagined the advanced weaponry that we have today. If the FBI wants to come into your living room, they’re coming in.

Boo hoo - what about home protection?? Get an alarm - or a rottweiler. Or get both, and keep a shotgun in the closet. What the hell are you anticipating that you need that Bushmaster A3?? Hey Rambo, that’s what the National Guard is for. Go get your rocks off there one weekend a month, and keep your big toys on base. Believe it or not, you’re not making your neighborhood any safer with all that firepower.

Fortunately for America, the Brady Campaign didn’t end with the Brady Bill. For over two decades, the Bradys have been combatting gun violence and the country is a safer place for it. The latest November elections are proof positive that their vigilance and determination have paid off. According to their latest report: 95% of all Brady endorsed candidates won their races; 80% of Brady endorsed candidates beat NRA-backed candidates in head-to-head match-ups; and, 18 out of 26 Senate candidates backed by the NRA lost their race.

That’s a good start - now let’s follow it up with some responsible legislation.

Now that we are out of the warm weather, it’s time for me to start thinking about winter activities. Now that I live just 60 miles outside of Tahoe, it’s tough to not think about it. In fact, I have begun taking Tahoe weather into account for my daily planning.

Yesterday marked opening day at Sugarbowl - my new home mountain. A couple of weeks ago I purchased season passes for me, Lily, and the two kids (JR is actually free for the next two seasons). The passes that I bought are actually good at both Sugarbowl and my favorite resort - Kirkwood, so depending upon conditions, I’ll have a couple of options to choose from.

The news this morning is calling for a major storm coming in off of the Pacific. It’s a bit further north, but looks to be coming straight for us. Weather forecasters are calling for 1.5 inches of rain here, and up to 18 inches of snow in the mountains. Our first big dump of the year! So after I throw some breakfast down my throat, I’ll pack up the family and head up the hill - time to get our pictures taken and get our passes. Hopefully, I’ll be able to get my legs on later this week. It’s gonna be a goooood winter.

Update: I was able to pick up our season passes and beat it home before the snow really kicked in. I uploaded the pics to a new set.

On the 10th of December, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. These rights were proclaimed inherrent to all human beings, regardless of race, religion, socio-economic status, or sex. In today’s world of polarization and nationalism, it would be wise for us to take a moment to remember all of these points.

In an effort to keep this somewhat manageable, I have decided to skip the Preamble, and jump right into listing the articles:

Article 1. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2. Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Article 3. Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Article 4. No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

Article 5. No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 6. Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

Article 7. All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

Article 8. Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

Article 9. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Article 10. Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

Article 11. (1) Everyone charged with a penal offense has the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defense. (2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offense on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offense, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offense was committed.

Article 12. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honor and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 13. (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state. (2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

Article 14. (1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution. (2) This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 15. (1) Everyone has the right to a nationality. (2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.

Article 16. (1) Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution. (2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses. (3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.

Article 17. (1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others. (2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

Article 18. Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Article 19. Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Article 20. (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. (2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

Article 21. (1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives. (2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country. (3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

Article 22. Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.

Article 23. (1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment. (2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work. (3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection. (4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

Article 24. Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.

Article 25. (1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control. (2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

Article 26. (1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit. (2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace. (3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

Article 27. (1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits. (2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

Article 28. Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.

Article 29. (1) Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible. (2) In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society. (3) These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 30. Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.