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Designing and hosting church websites

I’m not sure my readers are aware, but beyond this blog I have designed, and host, several PNCC Parish websites.

Based on that work I have been approached by Parishes in other denominations for assistance on their sites. Because of this outreach, and to stay on the up-and-up, I am adding a page for Church Website Design. If anyone is interested in my services please feel free to contact me via that page.

Everything Else, Perspective, , , ,

Using the well Vodka produces too many headaches

From PC Magazine: Windows 7 Vodka and the Microsoft Hangover: Microsoft can’t change perceptions if it doesn’t get its marketing and PR acts together by John C. Dvorak

Having followed Microsoft’s exploits since its inception, I can safely say the best anyone can hope for with Windows 7 is moderate success. For all of the fanfare surrounding the new OS, Win 7 is really just a Vista martini. The operating system may have two olives instead of one this time out, but it’s still made with the same cheap Microsoft vodka…

What I like about the article, and what many of the commentators missed, was the whole issue of attention to detail. If you can’t form a good sentence and use proper punctuation in marketing materials how can you expect to build world-class software. It really is about a corporate culture lacking in attention to detail. Like building your martini, if you pay attention to detail and spend a little more on quality ingredients you end up with a better result.

I gave up on PCs long ago and have actually saved money by switching an entire household to Mac. No maintenance headaches, no required security updates every five minutes, no anti-virus software and loads of other expensive software. I look at total cost of ownership, not just up-front cost. If TCO is low you win, and that includes the cost of not spending time with your family and friends because something needs fixing or updating.

Everything Else,

An assessment of arts education

New York State Alliance for Arts Education notes that the National Assessment Governing Board released the 2008 National Assessment in Educational Progress in the Arts on June 15th. They note:

On the whole, the report shows that Arts education has held steady but gained little ground over the past ten years. Some highlights for the report of surveyed schools:

8% do not offer music instruction
14% do not offer visual arts instruction
8% offer music instruction less than once a week
10% off visual arts instruction less than once a week

Of eight-graders who attended surveyed schools during the 2008:

57% received music instruction at least three or four times a week
47% received visual arts instruction at least three or four times a week

Perhaps most startling is the omission of dance and theatre education statistics. The reason? There were not enough schools providing instruction in these areas to provide a statistically relevant sample.

Encouraging were the comments of Secretary of Education Arne Duncan:

—This Arts Report Card should challenge all of us to make K-12 arts programs more available to America’s children and youth. Such programs not only engage students’ creativity and academic commitment today, but they uniquely equip them for future success and fulfillment. We can and should do better for America’s students.—

Here in New York, NYSAAE is working in conjunction with the NYS Department of Education on the inclusion of ten questions to gather an overview of arts education, as part of the 2009 Basic Education Data Survey, distributed to every school in New York State. It is our hope that this census will provide data that will be beneficial to the dialog on the current state of arts offerings, and their impact on student achievement…

More information on upcoming arts education programs, professional development forums, calls for papers, and job opportunities can be found by subscribing to the Alliance’s newsletter.

Everything Else,

Coffee, Kawa, Café

On the heels of recent news regarding the health benefits of coffee Erin Kennedy writes an Ode to Coffee:

As I was sipping my piping hot, freshly ground Starbucks House Blend, I thought, —ahhhh—. I’m not sure what it is about coffee, but I love it. Caffeinated or not, I love coffee. The smell, the taste, the culture. I need it, have to have it, would hate to live without it.

I am from a family of huge coffee drinkers. My parents always had a pot of it going. I loved the smell, but hated the taste of it (they drank it black). When I was 19, my boyfriend at the time drank it and, wanting to impress him of course, I started as well. My love affair with coffee continued long after college and long after the boyfriend. What a wonderful courtship it has been…

Thanks to Sharad Verma for the link to the article.

Whether you call it coffee, kawa, café, caffè, kaffee, coffi, кофе, káva, koffie, kahvi, kávé, kahve, or кава enjoy.

Everything Else,

By the numbers

For those who like stats and numbers, and for the sake of reflection:

  • I have been blogging for 47 months, nearly 4 years.
  • I have written 3,015 posts and 44 pages.
  • I have developed 2 WordPress plugins and my site uses 17 widgets.
  • My posts fall under 16 categories and 347 tags.
  • The site contains 241 homilies.
  • There are 778 comments from visitors.
  • The blog has been spammed 137,774 times.
Everything Else,

What is blogging all about

John Guzlowski writes about blogging in Blogging for Dollars!–A Self-Interview at Salon:

Let me begin this self-interview by saying that I wouldn’t cross the street to interview myself.

One of my favorite writers is Isaac Bashevis Singer, a man who gave more than a million interviews. Once, an interviewer asked him who his favorite writer was and what would he like to say to him if he were interviewing him.

What did Singer say?

He said his favorite writer was Dostoevsky (a surprising answer) and that he wouldn’t cross the street to talk to him…

I’ve met some of the most interesting, dynamic, and engaging people through this blog, people I not only respect, even though our views may be divergent at times, but people I would love to have as real-life friends, folks who will sit down with you over a cup of coffee, tea, a glass of beer, or a shot of vodka and just be. Thanks for bringing the message home John.

Everything Else, , , ,

Voices — Roots and Branches of New York Folk Music

The New York Folklore Society is holding a benefit gala on Friday, May 29th in Schenectady, New York. All proceeds will benefit the New York Folklore Society, a service organization dedicated to the study, promotion, and continuation of New York’s diverse folklore and folklife. Details as follows:

Proctors’ Theatre, 432 State Street, Schenectady
Reception/Meet the Artists at 5:30 p.m. in Robb Alley, Proctors
Concert begins at 7:00 p.m. in the GE Theater of Proctors

Please join us for a benefit event featuring some of New York’s favorite musicians – traditional as well as performer/interpreters. Featured performers (a tentative list) include ballad singer Colleen Cleveland, Senegalese drummer and dancer Fode Sissoko, singer/songwriter Dan Berggren, Abenaki storyteller and musician Joe Bruchac, multi-instrumentalist John Kirk and Cedar Stanistreet, and performer/interpreters Kim and Reggie Harris.

Reception and Concert $40.00
Concert only $20.00
(a $1.50 surcharge will be added via the box office at Proctor’s Theatre)

Tickets Available through the New York Folklore Society, 518-346-7008 or through Proctor’s box office. A portion of the ticket price is tax deductible.

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