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Juggling the BigBlueBall

My most active site remains BigBlueBall.com. The site has been live for five years now, although for the first two years, it was just a sandbox for web projects and an online portfolio. It wasn’t until three years ago that it morphed into an instant messaging news/support portal.

The name BigBlueBall still causes some confusion. I remember sitting with my friend and co-worker Jim and brainstorming domain names. We first took a legal pad and pencil and just jotted down everything that came to mind. We started checking to see which were already registered, and BigBlueBall was one of only two that weren’t already taken (the name of the other available domain now escapes me — I wish I still had that pad of paper!).

BigBlueBall was then, and remains today, a description of our planet as seen from outer space. The original logo even used one of those NASA space photos, with the clouds swirling around.

This concept still fits quite nicely with the subject of instant messaging. IM is a tool that helps bring people together. There are countless people around the world that I would never have met were it not for the power of the instant message. There are friends and past business associates that I’m able to stay in contact with, thanks to IM. Instant messaging makes the big, blue ball we live on a little smaller, and brings us closer together.

My choice of names was further validated when I later learned that one of my most respected musical artists, Peter Gabriel, had registered bigblueball.org and .net — or at least his company Real World did.

Still, there are times when the name causes some consternation. One of my son’s friends is taking a web design class down at Cal State San Diego. Somehow, as the professor was reviewing websites using a projector screen, this friend suggest he check out BigBlueBall.com. The instructor did, only after being assured that it wasn’t a trick to see if they could get him to display a giant, blue scrotum on the screen. At least I didn’t register BigBlueBalls.

What I like about the name is the implication that we are all neighbors in a global community. I like that it’s easily remembered, and easy to spell. I’ve tried to follow the rule of simplicity with all my websites. And I hope that in some small way, BigBlueBall does help bring people together.

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Movies and Hoopla

The Academy Awards are tomorrow night.

I’m not normally a big “fan” of anything, especially awards shows. I usually won’t go out of my way to watch one, but catch glimpses of whatever might be on TV (with three other people in the house, there’s something on most evenings). The Oscars are a little different. Billy Crystal is usually pretty funny, and the intial satirical bit he does at the beginning is well worth watching.

This year, my wife and daughter thought an Oscar viewing party would be fun. Watching with friends can always be more fun, but they had bigger ideas. Supposedly, everyone is coming dressed as a character from their favorite nominated movie. Me? I’ll be “Gapper #2” from Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.

We do have some family friends coming over and a menu of movie-inspired foods (I’ll have a skewer of Last Samurai Chicken Satori, please). I’m sure we’ll have a good time.

For best picture, I’m playing catch-up with the nominees. I have seen LOTR:ROTK twice, but hadn’t seen any of the other nominees. Last night we watched Seabiscuit. A good, sturdy movie. Interesting characters but ultimately very predictable. It was nice, but not Best Picture nice. Worth seeing if you haven’t.

Tonight I’m seeing Lost in Translation, the Sophia Coppola film with Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson. I’ll let you know how it goes.

My vote? It’s for Return of the King. Though I haven’t seen it, Mystic River is probably the most likely competition. The Academy seems to have disdain for fantasy, sci-fi and anything with computer-generated special effects. This works against ROTK. But there is enough popular and critical acclaim for the film that they just might give it the Oscar.

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The Lust List

So many personal blogs have a “wish list” that seems basically like little more than begging for stuff that you could probably get anyway. Come on, people! It’s a wish list for crying out loud! I doubt that many, should they happen upon the proverbial genie-in-a-lamp would be wasting their “wishes” on the latest Tori Amos CD.

Wishes, like dreams, should be BIG. So in the spirit of big wishes, here’s some real wish-list eye candy.

Now I’m off to find my tape measure — I think I’m going to need a bigger desk.

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The evil empire grows

Speaking of MessengerMods, the site is really taking off. It’s quickly getting to the point where it’s difficult to keep up with the number of new images that members are submitting on a daily basis. And this past Sunday, I exceeded my bandwidth allotment for the month. True, my free 1and1 account only gives me 5GB, but it caught me by surprise. Thankfully they only charge $0.99/GB of bandwidth over the base.

If you are a fan of MSN Messenger, share your support for MessengerMods with this groovy signature graphic:

MessengerMods.com for display pics and custom emoticons

You can use it on your website, or even as a forum signature. And it shows a random image from the site every time it’s refreshed. If you don’t think it’s as cool as I do, that’s ok. Just pick another one.

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The Lazy Man’s Photo Blog

I’ve occasionally used photos or other images in this blog, but I haven’t setup a convenient way to upload those images. Those of you who know me well, know that I’m always looking for ways to do more with the least effort possible. MessengerMods, one of my other sites, uses 4images Gallery and makes it really easy to upload and share images. Something along those lines would be great.

If any of you fellow bloggers out there know of a nice and easy way to handle the upload process, post a comment.

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When is a holiday not a holiday?

Today is Martin Luther King Day. It’s a national holiday here in the U.S.A.. Post offices, banks, schools and some government offices are closed. Most businesses remain open. It’s a holiday that goes largely ignored by the corporate world. Granted, MLK Day is our youngest national holiday, being first celebrated in 1986. It’s intended to honor the great civil rights leader, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

I don’t understand racism. I suspect that it’s driven by fear– fear of the unknown. And yet, I understand why MLK Day is a non-event for so many white people: most of us haven’t been on the receiving end of discrimination. It’s difficult to comprehend the significance of civil rights when your own rights haven’t been trampled on.

In the words of Dr. King, “…I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” I have a lot of hope for the future, but I still need to consider; how am I personally supporting equality? Is it enough to simply look past the color of someone’s skin, or am I called to do more?