Just a quick update, I added the Twitter widget (thanks, Doz) to my blog.  It is in the sidebar on the right of the page under “Twitter Updates”.

For the uninitiated, Twitter is a microblogging platform that allows you to post quick blog entries under 140 characters from the Web or cell phone.  It is like your status update for MySpace—but, less lame.  I really don’t update it often, but that might change if I get an iPhone or Bold.  I am an extremely slow text messager.

Anyways, if you are bored, check it out and follow me.

Having one of the most common names in the world is tough.

While doing a vanity search, I found an article concerning Pennsylvania House Bill 1900.  This bill is meant to prevent “political cyberfraud” which includes:

A knowing and willful act concerning a political website that is committed with the intent to deny a person access to a political website, deny a person the opportunity to register a domain name for a political website or cause a person reasonably to believe that a political website has been posted by a person other than the person who posted the website, and would cause a reasonable person, after reading the website, to believe the site actually represents the views of the proponent or opponent of a ballot measure.

Apparently a Pennsylvania State Representative, and fellow Matthew Smith, was one of the signers of the bill.  At face value, it appears that the bill tries to restrict the registration of domain names that are also the names of political officials.  As noted in the article, the Pennsylvania State legislature probably does not have the authority to enforce this bill, but it is troubling that this is on the minds of lawmakers.  Hopefully, with the future influx of new Top Level Domains (TLDs), domain name problems will be a thing of the past.

Regardless, I wanted to make it clear that I am not that Matthew Smith.  And, I wish him the best in his political career.  Although, I do not look forward to having to pay the hosting fees for bandwidth if he runs for President in the future.

Apparently, John McCain hates me and a bunch of my friends, as well.  Harsh.  And, I was naive enough to think that he wouldn’t even be reading this.  This stands in stark contrast to Barack who has a twitter and flickr account.  I see little wrong with anyone (well, anyone that can use a computer) being able to voice their own opinion via a blog.  Freedom of speech is a founding principle of our country.  Now, I am not going to make my voting decision based on the candidate’s acceptance of social media, but I do think that his track record so far on technology is pretty concerning.

Note: It is possible that this quote could have been taken a little out of context.  John McCain himself does have a blog.  He could have been talking just about political bloggers and pundits.  Regardless, McCain needs to be a little more cautious about what he says if he wants to get any younger voters to vote for him in the fall.

What do you think, Mike?

The redesign for matthewsmith.com is live now.  I probably should call it a design (as Dozier suggests), because the first version did not really have much thought put into it at all.  For this design, I really wanted to experiment with fixed positioning and alpha transparency, so I am not supporting IE6.  So, if you have been putting off upgrading (for the last year or so) or are forced to use it at work—I am sorry.

Expect more to come in the future.  I definitely am going to add flickr, last.fm, xbox360, and twitter widgets when I get around to it to make this thing feel more like a blog.

Anyways, let me know what you think.  I am sure it will be constructive.

I spent much of last week studying for a finance midterm, and I ignored everything else (including this blog).  But,  I am back and I will try to throw a few posts up this week.  So, to start out the week, here are a few things I learned over the weekend.

1. The 4th of July in St. Louis is really fun - There are few places to enjoy the 4th of July that are better than St. Louis.  You can watch the Cardinals, hear music at Live on (off) the Levee, shoot off fireworks in the county, and see fireworks down by the Arch.  It is a great time.  I am still recovering from the festivities.

As an aside, the picture above was taken of the fireworks by the arch.  Apparently, the “fireworks” mode of my camera did not work as advertised.  But, I thought the light trails from the long exposure seemed kind of cool anyways.

2. Apparently, bedazzled shirts are in (even for guys) - I don’t care how trendy it becomes, I will never own a shirt that has glitter or jewels bedazled onto it.  This officially goes on the list of things I will never wear; which now includes: bedazzled shirts, crocs, bluetooth headsets, popped collars, and sunglasses at night.

3. The Blackberry is definitely better to type on than the iPhone - I did a side-by-side test at the bar on Saturday night.  The Blackberry was the clear winner.  With that said, the iPhone still has the better browser and some pretty cool Apps.  It will be a tough call between the Bold and the iPhone if I ever decide to get a new phone.

4. Mario Kart Double Dash seems a lot harder than it use to be.  Nickie has got me back into retro gaming, and the first thing I played was Double Dash.  I use to be dominant at 150cc class, but now I can barely place.  I forgot how much it would piss me off that everyone in front of you shot their shells backwards instead of trying to win the race and take out the leader.  Regardless, playing Double Dash really makes me want to get the Wii version.  Now, if I could only find an ethical retailer that has them in stock.

This is announcement that the next Wifflefest will be held July 19th.  Secure the date.  If you were planning on going to a wedding, skip it.  If you were suppose to have a date, bring her.  You don’t want to miss it.

What is Wifflefest?
The magical festivity, steeped in tradition, is the combination of two sports—wiffleball and beer drinking.  It was founded in the early 21st century by four guys in an apartment across from a park.  One morning while pondering the meaning of life, they thought “hey, I wonder if we could combine everything we love about beer drinking, wiffleball, and festivities into a single event”.  And so, on that morning, Wifflefest was born.  It was not but two weeks later that the first Wifflefest was held.  The keg glistened as the sun rose that morning.  If you stood still, you could hear the faint sound of tradition in the air.  As the day poured on, many games were won and lost; and, many plastic cups lay strewn across the field of play.  But, one thing remained certain—the first Wifflefest would not be the last.

Where and When?
The location is TBD, but mostly likely in a park in STC. The date is July 19th, high noon.

What do I need to bring?
Some wiffle balls, a little yellow bat, and your drinking shoes.  Although, the wiffle balls and the bat will be provided.

Can I bring a friend? Yup.

This year’s event will be hosted by the last Achiever Award Winner - Jeremy Krueger.

Update from the host:  You’ve heavily touted the wiffle ball aspect of this event, but there will certainly be something for everyone. Since the event will be held in St. Charles, we are required to have a functioning washers game on site and everyone must have at least one Busch Lite in their coolers at all times. I’m currently working on getting a tattoo artist to set up shop at the pavilion. The down side to this is that St. Charles tattoo artists only know how to apply the “tramp stamp” or cool tribal arm band as these are the only tattoos ever requested in the county.

Rengel requested me to blog about this article, so here it goes.  Rengel, you will have to clarify whether you are pro- or anti-screen savers in the comments.

This is actually a relatively heart-felt article with a lot of good intentions wrapped into it.  The problem is that the majority of the people reading Yahoo! Green already realize that a glowing monitor turned on uses a lot more power than one turned off.  They might even have one of those fancy green power management systems that cuts off any residual power to the monitor, as well.

The main problem with this article is that the type of people with a blazing fire screen saver are not the type of people reading Yahoo! Green.  They are truck-drivin, Busch-drinkin, ECW-watching, cow-tipping suburbanites.  And, they enjoy making love by the fake fire.  So, why does Don Willmott, forecast earth correspondent, want to take that away from them?  Let the people have their fun.

As a followup, turn your computer  and monitor off when you leave work or home.  It makes a difference.

I did not post this week for a number of reasons… DreamHost was having problems with Blingy (which apparently is my server), I did not sleep much, and, in general, I was quite lazy and uninspired.  I hope to come back next week with some ideas and new posts.  Have a good weekend!

I find few things more calming than spending an hour to wash the car on a nice day.  You get to spend an hour outside, you get a little exercise in, and you have a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day.  As far as tips, I only have a few:  (1) wash the car by hand with a good sponge and (2) give it a nice finish with some quick wax and tire wet foam.  If you take pride in the process, it will turn out good every time.

I picked up the new Death Cab for Cutie album yesterday as a break from my current 80s music binge. After listening to it a few times, I think it has some staying power. I really like Bixby Canyon Bridge. It is a good start to the album. The middle of the album is a little slow, but it picks up in the end with Your New Twin Sized Bed and Long Division. I have always enjoyed the subtle metaphors throughout Death Cab’s work, and this album is no exception.

I would recommend it in CD form. The album art is exceptional.