Thanks, Mike Fast, for the cool recommendation.
Category: misc.
Music Review: Matt Wertz
So I got an e-mail from Amazon.com’s MP3 store today saying that they have special deals in music, including some free music. I’ve used Amazon’s MP3 store a lot, and I like that they sell cheap, DRM-free music.
So I logged in and found that Matt Wertz, a young musician from Liberty City, Missouri, was giving away a 7-song EP album. So I downloaded it, and it’s really enjoyable music. It’s very acoustic and poppy with a blue undercurrent, and Matt has just enough edge and conviction in his voice to really shine over the instrumentals.
Thanks for the free songs, Matt. As I listen to these 7, I really want to give something back. So I’ll probably go out and pre-order his album as a way of saying thanks. At the very least, I’m letting y’all know about his music. Here’s a link to his site: www.mattwertz.com.
Truck Rollover
Last night, an 18-wheeler with a full load of grape bins rolled over at the corner of I Street and Manning Avenue in Reedley, Calif. I assume the driver was hurt, but I’m sure I would have heard if he had been killed. The truck was successfully righted by local towing companies and the Reedley Fire Department. Thanks to the good men and women of Reedley Fire for their good work tonight and cooperation as I took these photos.
Yet another new web site
Ok, Shinnfans, I’m going to let you in on a secret here. A little bit of beta action for you early adopters. I’m working on the next version of Shinnphoto.com, and you can find it (for now) at www.shinnphoto.com/new. It’s not finished yet, so please don’t hate me if the site fails to load, spins off a large hadron collider, has ugly colors, eats your firstborn, ends the world, etc. You’re welcome to watch in fascination (or horror) as the thing evolves, leave comments and hatemail, or completely disregard this. I won’t blame you for any of the aforementioned actions (or for the Kennedy assasination).
Enjoy,
Andrew
Video Podcast Episode 3 – Liam at play
In which Liam shows he’s left-handed, plays catch with himself, plays with a stick, plays with Maggie, throws two balls, identifies the number of balls he’s throwing, and generally has a fun time.
Green Living with the Shinns
Another Blog
I’ve tried this before. There was a Shinn Photo blog awhile back, but it didn’t have a very well-defined concept and suffered from a lack of meaningful content. I trashed it after a while. Since then, photographers have gone crazy with client-side blogs, and I’ve happily decided to rip off the general idea and make a client-facing blog with photos and my professional writings. For now, you can see it at www.shinnphoto.com. It’s taking the place of my regular site while I get a new main web site online. Eventually, I expect it to end up at www.shinnphoto.com/blog. Let me know if you’re likely to read it!
Enjoy,
Andrew
Four More Years?
This month marks four years of the Andrew and Lisa blog. Here’s a screenshot from four years ago:
Anyone remember that? I looked back and found that my first couple of posts were just sharing interesting links I found. The subject matter was diverse, and included a surprising amount of technical information. I posted about things like politics and Firefox, this cool new web browser I had just found.
At some point, I decided I wasn’t going to further the echo chamber that the blogosphere can sometimes be. I decided it would be more interesting if I only posted original content. I’ve been on and off of this wagon since making that decision. A lot of this original content has hovered around two topics: faith and terrorism. Sometimes I mixed topics. I can’t easily point to a cause for this, except that these things happened to be on my mind.
Some pieces I’ve written are, no doubt, embarrassing when viewed from the distance afforded by time. That’s the hazard of writing in a searchable, accessible, archived medium. Bonus points for you, Shinnfans, for posting links to the poorly-written, immature, or embarrassing stuff in the comments to this post. As a matter of fact, I’d love to have you share links to your favorite posts, as well.
We’ve done movie reviews, humorous pieces, and lots of serious stuff. This was my first posted piece of original material of any length, and is still one of my favorites.
There have been months that I haven’t posted very often. But I’ve always returned to blogging. When I’m truly honest and listen for God’s call on my life, I often suspect that the most important thing I’ll leave behind when I die will be a piece of text. That’s one of the factors that keeps me returning: I suspect that someday I’ll have something very meaningful to say, and I want to have a pre-cultivated platform ready for the endeavor.
Many of my recent posts have been like some of the first ones: someone’s funny video intead of the early off-beat web links. I’ve posted a lot of pictures, and I’m starting to get into original video. What kind of material would YOU like to see as we continue on into the future? Should I keep going with this blog?
Most of all, I’d like to thank all of you who read on a regular basis. After 414 posts in 22 categories with 184 tags, you’ve left 811 comments. If you’d never commented, I wouldn’t have continued blogging. Comments are like food to a blogger’s psyche: when you put up a blog post baring your soul, the worst response you can receive is an apathetic silence.
Can we make a deal going forward? If YOU don’t let my psyche starve, I’ll try to be as responsive as possible and post the kind of material YOU want to see. Let me know if you’ll agree to this deal by leaving a comment below.
Thanks for a great four years!
Legal Identity Theft
Lisa was researching diapers online. She came across an offer that promised free diapers if she’s fill out a survey. Fair enough; we’re really in need of diapers, so she bit. And was dragged into a horrible cesspool of legal identity theft.
“Legal identity theft? What’s that?” you may ask. Here’s my definition: It’s when you’re tricked into a network of so-called permission-based marketing. Lisa gave up her name, phone number, address, e-mail address, and some important personal facts, such as the fact that we’re parents and the age of our child. She thought such information would be helpful to the diaper company, who would reciprocate with a little bit of free product. Sound too good to be true? It didn’t to us. But it was.
After giving out her contact information, Lisa found out that she had to sign up for a certain number of paid offers to qualify for the free diapers. These offers ranged from other baby products to life insurance. Some were subscription-based, and claimed to offer free opt-out options. That last claim rings a bit hollow to my ear. Within 30 minutes, she received the first phone call on her cell phone, this one from a life insurance agent who was insistent that she sign up for a special offer.
Your contact information is worth something. Specifically, about $40. That’s an average for people who sell data to purveyors of generic mailing lists. Other qualifying factors, such as parenthood and home ownership, can raise that premium.
There’s also a black market for identity information, and by most accounts it’s cheaper to buy your data (this time incuding credit card numbers and bank account numbers) on this market. Makes me wonder when marketeers will start going to the dark side for cheaper info.
Be careful what you sign up for, folks. I read the privacy disclosure on a recent credit card statement (the fine print, if you will) and discovered that I need to opt out of Bank of America sharing my contact info with other companies. They have a special phone number you need to call if you don’t want your data shared.
Liam at the beach
He was so happy to arrive at the beach for this morning’s photo shoot! Lisa took him down the slide for the first time today, and he just loved it! He also successfully used chopsticks today at lunch for the first time. He did have a little trouble with the noodles, though, and choked on them a few times. Nevertheless, we’re very proud.