Hey readers, I'm one step away from opening my virtual doors. The Allen Tartan site domain is in my hands as of this weekend. All I have to do is change some preferences and then Allen tartan dot com is alive. I'll be doing some last minute tweeks this week, but it'll be up by Friday. (I promise to post again when it happens.)

Happy Monday folks. I hope you all had a good weekend. If any Midwesterners are reading this, I hope that you enjoyed the snow over the weekend... I'm no meteorologist but that sure seems a little odd. It's not right that I'm wearing a sweater today.

Posted by Colin J Allen at 10:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In this dream nothing happens.

The angry mustached Bolton does not set up shop in Manhattan's little block of international territory that is the U.N. The wisdom of the masses prevails as they realize that private accounts might not be that hot of an idea. With inflation popping up again, and the prospect of a shaky fiscal year ahead, a majority of the masses — and their respective representatives — realize how Bush's Social Security plan would make them more individually insecure. The plan crashes into the ground, rendering the President a lame duck just in time for the all the Supreme Court justices to retire. The filibuster survives, Frist retires, Lott resigns, and all the moderate judicial appointees pass smoothly through the floor.

My God, all my thoughts of obstructionism make me feel slimy, a bit Newtish perhaps?

Posted by Colin J Allen at 1:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

That was an awful way to spend the weekend. I got hit by a 48-hour bug Friday evening and was out of commission this weekend. Lots of sleeping was had, yet not much frolicking in the beautiful spring weather occurred. It is such a shame to be stuck indoors at this great time of the year.

Fortunately I am starting to feel better and I am trying to forget that I ever felt bad in the first place.

I can't say the same for my girl, whose close weekend proximity to me has her now her feeling under the weather. Now it's my turn to be making the tea. How quickly the tables turn.

In my state of illness, I read this great piece about the Marburg virus. I must say it is not something I would want in my neighborhood. Nothing like a virus that makes you bleed out of all your orifices to put things into perspective.

A shout out to the new Pope and to Chris Petroskas.

Posted by Colin J Allen at 3:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I refuse to assign an oracular status to professional blog critics; I read what I like, not what has been well-reviewed.

I periodically meet up with my readers of this site. This happed this last Sunday when James Baker, who happened to be a few hours away from my house in a small town in Pennsylvania decided to dive over to my place and say hi. Actually, my roommate and I wanted to give him a box of goodies for him to take on his trip to visit Meegan, Eric’s sister, in Panama where he is headed, starting tomorrow, in a early eighties Rabbit VW filled with trail building tools where he will build a better path to the local waterfall for all to enjoy.

But here he was, in my house complaining about the frequency of my postings. Why no, I have not made my sand and box sound effects yet. Why no, the Allen tartan site is not up yet – it’s damn close, by the way. And yes, I am a slacker for not writing more. I promise to do better. Really, I do. I just need to find some sand…

Have you ever contemplated which is better, Outside or Backpacker? I do this on a monthly basis thanks to my parents hooking me up with a subscription (Thanks M&D!). Backpacker wins hands down. I think that I am going hiking soon, hopefully this month or next. A camping collective may form soon. TBA. A possible goal: Canada by foot. If you are interested, be in touch.

Well folks, I have to get back to work. There is code that needs to be coded, a job that, thankfully, never seems to be done. I won’t bore you with the details.

Soon. I will talk to you soon. Really, I will.

Posted by Colin J Allen at 11:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Last seen: Sunday, March 25 2005

Description: White, Brown hair, artist

Mr. Eric March was last seen on at an Easter Brunch before he left, according to witnesses, to participate in an art related activity. He has been known to frequent the Arts Student League and the Metropolitan Museum. Also he has been reported to often visit Queens where, according to reports, his girlfriend resides.

Due to a high activity level on the part of Eric and the reportee of this incident, Mr. Colin Allen, their time in concurrent locals has been diminished in recent months. Mr. Allen also has been spending less time at his house due to work and his relationships. Even so, it is quite unusual for the two to not spot each other at least "once in a while," says Mr. Allen.

It is expected that Mr. March will be seen Monday evening after work hours. "I'll believe it when I see him," says Mr. Allen.

Posted by Colin J Allen at 12:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I need to find some sand.

And a bucket.

Then I will make your sound effects. (See previous entry.)

I now have a good list of sound effects that I will attempt to make with a bucket of sand and a pair of shoes. I'll first try with those instruments, but if those fail I will use anything else that is in my house. Fortunately, I own many pairs of shoes and at least a dozen containers that can be broadly classified as a "bucket." This'll work I tell ya.

Fun, fun...

In other news, I received a proper letter from James Bakner this week. What sites do I stare at? Now, usually I keep personal correspondence mano a mano, but in this case I think that there is nothing wrong with a public response. The list follows after the break.

News sites:

For those seeking to overcome bias, liberal or conservative, they should sit their ass down, and start reading more news. Read. Absorb. Analyze. Make up your own mind.

The New York Times
The Old, Grey Lady of Times Square remains my fav. Hate it or love it, in this era of shrinking newspapers and shallow 24-hours news, its remains strong.
My Way
This is a personalized web page, a.k.a. Yahoo, but it is without ads. Spend the time personalizing your page, and you'll come back here
Drudge Report
Matt Drudge has gone off on a conservative streak in the last year, but he is the first place to look for breaking news, especially if there are pictures of carnage and/or nudity involved. Think Janet's breast, Abu Ghraib, tsunamis. You know it is tasteless, but you still want to look...
The Note
For political junkies, more to read.

Blogs:

Gawker and it's ilk
This is a media site for media folk. They also have a tech site for tech folk, a poli site for poli sci folk, a travel site for travel folk and a few more. Find the links to the others in the right menu...

Posted by Colin J Allen at 5:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)