csummers.org

I can't stand MySpace. Ugh. I just hate it. Here are some of my reasons:

• Fosters poor web design. Just about every profile looks completely atrocious. You would think that a company that sold for $580M could implement a simple theme system? I'd love to see a unified theme across a person's profile, blog, pics, etc.
• The wall is a circa 1995 guestbook reborn. People posting nothing of value just to "holla atcha, baby, woot!"
• The blog is lame. I think the number one reason a person might come back to your site is the blog. Make it better!
• Security problems
• Due to the security problems, MySpace is recommending users upgrade to Flash 9. This means that Linux users are left out in the cold for anything that will require Flash 9: currently, only Flash 7 is available for Linux users. Also, the Flash 9 player for Intel Macs is not released yet (it's in Beta). [update: As of 8/8/06, Flash 9 is available for Intel Macs.] (The irony in all of this is that you probably don't want to add to the visual chaos with any additional Flash-driven content, so maybe this is a good thing?)
• And, my number one gripe: MySpace tarnishes the meaning and value of the word "friend".

So, do I have a MySpace account? Yep. Pffff. I can't believe it. I wanted to see what all the fuss was, and I was researching the "social networking" aspects of it for a site I'm working on. However, I've tried to minimize the MySpace visual pain. WARNING: If you use Internet Explorer, I recommend not visiting MySpace.com ever.

http://www.myspace.com/curtissummers

Am I way off base here? What compels people to do the MySpace dance?

UPDATE: If you can't get to MySpace, they are apparently having some problems today. Maybe I broke it. Or, maybe they decided I was right and took it down for the good of mankind.

Also, if you're using Firefox in Windows and MySpace asks you to download a file named "exp.wmf", DON'T! It's a virus. Thank you MySpace!

There is a weird web crawler going around called Linkie Winkie. It's somewhat of a mystery, but from what I gather it crawls the web looking for references to itself. If it finds it on your site, it might wink at you–which means linking to your site. This, in turn, drives traffic to your site. Very interesting.

The Linkie Winkie website says its a "social experiment". I haven't been crawled just yet. Maybe I will be. We'll see. I'll report back.

This happened driving back from Dallas the other day. The tire had been shaking a bit with what I thought was just a balancing problem. Instead, the tire was coming apart! When it gave way, it made a terrible racket. I was able to pull into a gas station and replace it with the spare before it shredded itself and blew out.

Thankfully this happened while I was driving, so my wife didn't have to deal with it. As of yesterday we have four new Michelins on the car.

Changed to a new theme. I used Electric Brown as my starting point, then changed it up a bit to my liking. Nice.

After a long trip and a few days of travelling around to see family, we docked at our new home yesterday evening. It's good to be home.

Of particular note is a new play corner for Abby containing a play kitchen set (fridge, oven, sink, and pie counter) that she got from G-G-ma for Christmas but we couldn't take to Michigan. And, despite us arriving after her bedtime last night, she managed to squeeze in a Dora the Explorer go-cart ride around the house. (This will soon become an outside toy.) She's in heaven.

The trip went very smoothly with the exception of a guy in a Denali that side-swiped the rental truck on I-70 between Terre Haute, IN and St. Louis, MO. The rental truck was fine with just a scratch. The Denali had a broken side mirror and a fresh coat of tire rubber painted onto it's side. The guy in the Denali was a little miffed with himself.

Well, I've waited as long as I can. The cable modem needs to go back to the cable company, so I'm beginning my internet silence after this post until next Tuesday. Our 26' truck is completely packed full from top to bottom and side to side. The girls fly tomorrow, and the long drive starts early Sunday morning. Our long awaited return to Texas is upon us! It's a happy day!