The Life and Times of the Watters Family

Hello World

Ok, so I’ve finally put something up on this site. I think I’ve had the domain for nearly three years and nothing substantial has ever been hosted here (for those that might be curious, h2os is a really lame pun of sorts on my last name).

I’m using Moveable Type to maintain the site. As time goes on, I’ll enable things like comments, trackbacks, and I’ll try to resolve any issues with the design or functionality as I go along. I’ve tried a number of times to sit down and set up an entire site all at once, but I don’t really ever have the time to finish it, so I give up. This time, I just put SOMETHING up and I’ll let it evolve over time.

Credit Where Credit is Due

I used Mark Pilgrim’s MT templates to help me better understand the template system and my options. I didn’t actually use any of his templates verbatim, just as a reference.

The simple layout was inspired by John Gruber’s Daring Fireball and, slightly less so, Dave Winer’s Scripting News. I should point out, however, that I had the layout concept developed BEFORE Dave redesigned Scriping News. I just liked the photo-as-a-banner idea.

Speaking of the photo used for the site’s banner, thanks much to Doug Ford for allowing me to use his work on my site.

Anyway, content will continue to come, slowly at first as I spend some of my time working on the site’s structure & features.

Google Stalking Myself

I recently received an e-mail from a friend with whom I hadn’t spoken in a few months. In his message, he mentioned that he’d done a quick check on Google to see if I’d been up to anything lately (”Google Stalking” anyone…). Anyway, he noticed this article in a local newspaper for which I was interviewed, which served as a launching point for a long overdue conversation (I think I’m still waiting to here back from him…). This prompted me to do a similar search on myself. Historically, I’ve periodically searched my own name on Google just to see what it says, but I hadn’t done so for quite a while.

This time, I was a little surprised by what I found:

First, A little more background. Back on July 18th, Dave Winer announced that the RSS 2.0 Spec had been transferred to the Berkman Center for Internet & Society and that an advisory board made up of Dave, Brent Simmons, & Jon Udell had been formed. In the months prior to this, the ATOM Project had been gaining momentum (at least in my opinion). I believed Dave’s move to be an empty repsonse to that with the possible goal of slowing the momentum of the ATOM Project as a potential competitor to the RSS format that he developed, so I, being the opinionated person that I am, decided to comment as such in the comment thread that had been set up. Let’s just say that I wasn’t very pleasant with my comments.

Here are all my comments (first to last):

first comment
second comment
third comment
fourth comment

In my first comment I described Brent Simmons and Jon Udell as Dave’s “patsies to serve as puppets so that the status quo can continue while operating under the auspices of independant governance”. It was wrong to paint them so negatively without knowing them personally. The invective (as pointed out to me in the thread) was wrong. I’m sorry. In subsequent comments, I accepted correction and then tried to make my point without being so insulting (it was a little long-winded, though).

This brings me to the crux of my point (which might not actually seem to be very insightful so some). When I made them, I never imagined that my comments would be promoted to the top of Google’s list of links for a search on my name. Now, when anyone searches for my name on Google, the #2 link in the list is me being an ass. Boy, that was stupid.

A New Chapter

I’ve recently re-ignited my desire to write (previously dormant for nearly 6 years). I truly enjoy writing, so I’ve decided to begin writing a journal of sorts as a way to collect my thoughts. I’m also finishing up the framework for a new website that I hope to launch before the new year. I’m starting to write now, before I launch it, so that there will be something there when I do launch it. And honestly, I’m don’t want to wait until I’m done with the site to start writing.

I’ll be writing about a lot of different things. Know that my interests are wide-ranging and varied. I’ll write about whatever, whenever. Technical. Emotional. Factual. Political. Musical. Philosophical. Spiritual. Familial. Past. Present. Future. All of it. Each is a part of me. And that’s the subject here — ME.

Read if you like. Don’t if you don’t. Tell me if you like it. Tell me if you think it’s crap. Feel free to e-mail me or comment regardless.