I don’t do New Year’s resolutions
I don’t do New Year’s resolutions. Usually.
This year I’ve decided to make one: I’m going to be myself. I’ve made progress on that over the years, but with graduation coming up in May and basically a new life ahead of me after that, I think it’s a good time to start really being true to myself. The first step in doing that is to create a place where I can express myself and show what’s going on in my head.
Welcome to my new blog. You may have noticed I’ve really been slacking on the posts over the last two months; this wasn’t a coincidence. I’ve been waiting for a special time to release this version, and this is it. After two and a half (plus) years of blogging, I’ve reached my 500th post. January 1, 2005.
I really think ‘blog’ isn’t a good description of what this will be; I’m envisioning it as part photo gallery, part political soapbox, part journal, part recommendation site, part… place for funny stuff. To do that, I’ve started to write some new blog software called PennyJar. You’re looking at PennyJar 0.1 right now; I have a lot of ideas that I want to implement into it, but I haven’t had the time to do it quite yet. The result is a pretty basic blog, but soon you’ll see features like customizable skins, accounts, better formatting, and more. I’m really excited about it… just like all of the other projects I have buzzing around in my head right now.
For you technical people, PennyJar is MySQL-based. It uses PHP, JavaScript, and CSS to get it out to the people. There is/will be support for skins, categories, versions, modules, and more.
I don’t feel I need a disclaimer for what I’ll write, but I will say this. I’m going to write as me. If you think I’m too geeky, too wordy, too concise, too random, too anything, fine; that’s your opinion. If you don’t like it, that’s fine by me; you can decide to either stay or go. If I get too technical but you’re interested in what I’m talking about, e-mail me and I’ll be happy to explain. If you agree with what I say, let me know by commenting. Likewise, if you disagree with what I say, let me know by commenting.
I’ve tried to make commenting really easy with this version of the blog (and it will get even easier). To comment, just click on the ‘Add Your Own’ link at the bottom of any post and fill in your views. Or, if the JavaScript decides not to work for you or if you’re coming from another site or RSS reader, just enter your views into the boxes provided on the individual post page (you can get there by clicking on the ‘Posted’ link under the post’s title). There’s a reason for this simplicity, and it basically comes down to a resolution for you. I love to see people commenting. I love debate, and I love knowing that people have their own views (and that they might not always agree with me). I think the best way to make progress in just about any issue is to confront the people who disagree so that you can attempt to understand another side of the story. Please, comment on posts; that’s the power of the Internet. I don’t want my blog to be a newspaper or a (*shudder*) television.
One last point: if you don’t have an RSS reader, strongly consider getting one. You can access my RSS feed by clicking the orange XML button on the bottom of the page. RSS readers (like NetNewsWire Lite for Mac and FeedReader for Windows) allow you to very quickly see the headlines of news sites and blogs without visiting individual sites. It’s really a timesaver. I think you’ll find it valuable, especially because I wouldn’t be surprised if I hit post number 1000 this year.
My first recommendation of the new year: “I Don’t Wanna Be” by Gavin Degraw. Buy Chariot on Amazon or download a free/legal/live version at the Live Music Archive.
Have a great 2005, everyone. Best of luck.
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