Michael Ashby | mashby

December 23, 2003

A Toast To Dan Westman

Men, raise your glasses high! Today is a happy day for a couple of my good friends – Dan and Rachel. That’s right, they are getting married tonight! It’s one of those happy and unexpected stories of love lost and found again. Boy meets girl. Boy and Girl drift apart. Boy meets Girl again in a new city. Boy is surprised he still has feelings for Girl. Girl is just as surprised. Boy and Girl begin dating again. Boy and Girl move in together. Boy and Girl get married and move to Guam. Who hasn’t experienced the exact same story in their own lives? Especially the Guam part. 😉 I may be making light, but today is a very big day for my buddy Dan. I know that Dan and Rachel are very much in love and I know that they are going to do great as husband and wife.

Last night was his bachelor party and he put me in charge. Luckily Dan is a low key guy and wasn’t looking for the “typical” bachelor party. I’ve mended my ways since then and all my oats have been sewn, so instead we had a nice relaxing evening of cigars, scotch and male bonding. We went to the Havana Lounge downtown and enjoyed a few limited edition Arturo Fuente Opus X cigars and a few glasses of Macallen Scotch. It was a well spent evening as we talked about where we’ve been and where the future seems to be heading and all the fun we’ve had along the way.

I believe that there are some standards that have to be met when a good friend is getting married. It doesn’t matter if it happens at the bachelor party, or not, but it’s important that these “rules” be followed at some point during the process of getting married. These are not rules that I found in some book and adopted, these are rules that I have lived and continue to live by. Allow me to explain.

December 22, 2003

Holidays Have You Stressed Out?

This time of year is one of the most stressful times of all. Christmas parties, shopping at packed malls and getting together with family can push anyone over the edge. Today is a stressful one for me. I had some shopping that had to get done this morning. I have Holly’s office Christmas Party tonight […]

December 22, 2003

Managing Links With MovableType

Links In my last entry, I hinted at the fact that I was going to create a Wish List utilizing MovableType (MT). I had this idea to create this feature of this site based on some work I had done for the Palm OS User Council web site. I had just completed installing MT not as a weblog tool, but as a full fledged Content Management System (CMS) for the entire web site. Yes, that’s right, MT can be used for a lot more than just weblogging. 8)

Since I began using MT for the weblogging software for mashby.com, I’ve found all sorts of interesting applications for it’s use. Anything from links management to task lists, to total content management. I’m still anxiously awaiting the release of MovableType Pro, but until then, I’ll keep bending MT to my will. 😉 To help illustrate just how flexible MT can be, today I’ll show you how you can manage your Links page through some small changes in how you normally use MT.

December 20, 2003

My Letter To Santa

I Need Sleep I’ve been working for about three days with very little sleep. I’ve found a neat way to create a Wish List for the weblog, but I haven’t had a chance to configure it yet. With Christmas just around the corner, it’s now or never, so I’m posting it here for starters. I hope that I’ll be able to get the Wish List weblog configured this weekend, but since I may not, here’s the Internet based version of my letter to Santa.

Levinger
   » Receipt Folders ($12.95)
   » Lamy Vist Ballpoint Pen ($16.95)
   » Lamy Vista Pencil ($16.95)
   » Lamy Vista Rollerball Pen ($19.95)
   » Three-Way Organizer ($19.95)
   » Briefcase Folders ($19.95)
   » Levenger Mach 6 Fountain Pen ($24.95)
   » Time Traveler Clock ($29.95)
   » Private Library Kit ($29.95)
   » Pad Backer, Letter in Toffee ($79.95)

December 18, 2003

Becoming Santa

Me As Santa Claus Tuesday, I performed as Santa Claus for Holly’s Youth Choir. It’s the first time that I’ve ever performed as Santa for children and I really wasn’t sure what to expect. I kept thinking, “At what age do kids start not believing in Santa?”, and I had visions of kids staging a mutiny and saying things like, “That’s not Santa!”, or “I know who that is,” and pulling off my bead. For some, playing the role of Hamlet may be the role of a lifetime, but Tuesday, it was me playing the most well known and beloved holiday character in the world – Santa.

How I Got The Suit
There was a department store in Baton Rouge called Godchaux’s (pronounced “god shaws” ). It was the premier store in town and also was a local store to boot. Even when Dillard’s and other stores came to town, everyone still shopped at Godchaux’s. Godchaux’s was fancy and was very tied to the community, so it was more ingrained in the local culture than any other store. Founded in New Orleans, Godchaux’s had several stores, the largest in Baton Rouge in fact, and it was a mainstay of Louisiana life. Unfortunately, the store eventually fell on hard times, or the owners wanted to sell, I don’t know which, but in the late 80’s Godchaux was sold and went out of business.

December 15, 2003

What’s In A Name Anyway?

Name Tag When I first created this weblog, I always wished that I had come up with a cool name, or slogan; however I was never successful in thinking up anything clever. I’m envious of web sites like Antipixel and NotPretty. Those names are so cool and unique. Although mashby.com may be somewhat unique it doesn’t really describe anything. Well I was thinking about stuff today and maybe it’s the overwhelming amount of caffeine that I’ve had today, or the lack of sleep, but a synapse mis-fired and I may have come up with something. I’ve changed the title of the weblog to “That Reminds Me Of A Story…”

If I’m visiting with someone chances are I’m going to use that in a sentence. Someone will say something and it will remind me of something I’ve done, read, seen, or heard about. When that happens, the very next words out of my mouth will usually be “That reminds me of a story,” and I’ll then launch into some story that could be told in 2 sentences, but I’ll stretch it to 2000. I don’t limit myself to just verbal discussions as frequent readers of this weblog are no doubt intimately familiar with. Heck, I can write 2000 words on Windows Movie Maker without batting an eye!

December 14, 2003

Move Over Mr. Spielberg

Windows Movie Maker I tend to bash on Microsoft products quite a bit. This year I’ve become a Mac convert and just yesterday I was touting the virtues of giving Internet Explorer the boot. Most of my ire comes from the fact I’ve become fed up with the typical bloated, unsecured, buggy products that come out of Redmond. I’m tired of having to patch software on a daily basis and wade through features for the one simple feature that I’m looking for. I’ve got a pretty bad taste in my mouth regarding Microsoft products, so you can imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon one that I actually like – Windows Movie Maker.

Holly Needs A Video
Holly wanted to submit a video audition to the producers of Nashville Star. My past video editing experience consisted of using the pause button on our old VHS deck as I played captured video on our Hi-8 analog camcorder. I knew there had to be a better way, so I figured I would explore how hard it would be to edit the video on my computer. After a few conversations with Dan, it was clear that I needed a camera with Firewire. This would allow me to import the video directly into the computer.

December 13, 2003

Better Alternatives Than Internet Explorer

I forgot just how bad pop-up ads can be. For the past 3 years I’ve been using Opera as my primary browser, which features a built-in pop-up ad blocker. Pop-up ads were not what drove me from Internet Explorer though, what sent me looking for alternatives was speed, features and peace of mind For those of you still using Internet Explorer, there are alternative browsers out there that offer more and better features and are worth taking a test drive.

Why I Left
I never liked the fact that Microsoft tied Internet Explorer so tightly into the operating system. Neither did the Justice Department, but that’s another story. What I didn’t like about it was the fact that there were big security holes in it and if IE crashed, your whole system could be affected. To me this was ludicrous. The idea that your entire computer could be compromised by browsing a malicious web site is pure insanity, but that’s the penalty for having applications integrated into the OS.

December 12, 2003

A Little Slice Of Heaven

A Slice Of Heaven Holly and I love having friends and family stay with us. It gives us a chance to do some quality visiting, time to catch up on what’s been happening with each other and of course, enjoy some good food. As much as we enjoy it though, it can be a little draining, so we’ve developed a little ritual after everyone has left. It wasn’t planned mind you, it’s just one of those things that happen naturally, but I look forward to it as soon as I hear that someone is coming to visit.

Holly’s Mother and Grandmother were in town since last Sunday. Holly took off 3 days from work so that she could spend time with them and they clearly had a blast. I too enjoyed visiting with them in the evenings when they would come home from a day of shopping and sightseeing. Holly’s Grandmother, Inez, is a real character. She’s so full of life and quick to crack a joke. She’s a real joy in our lives. Holly’s Mom, Judie, is a gem as well. Since we don’t get to see her as often as we’d like, every time we see her Holly and I turn into 10 year olds trying to show our Mom what we’ve recently done. “Mom, look at what I did.” Mom, look at what I can do!” I may be 36 years old, but you wouldn’t know it when I try to show off my latest home project, or recent web site design. We had a blast while they were here and we were sorry to see them go yesterday morning. We all stood in the morning frost, while they pulled out of the driveway and headed back to Baton Rouge.

Author / Michael Ashby