Change is a Good Thing

Nearly three years have passed since I first designed and posted the hastingsinteractive.com website. Three years equals about 50 years in Internet time, and I'm feeling a creative burst. So I have redesigned hastingsinteractive.com and am mothballing this blog in favor of a new one.

You may continue to view this blog, but new posts will be here >>

The new website home is here >>

Thank you for you attention.

Happy Birthday to me

Today is my 39th birthday.

I celebrated by spending some birthday money on a new, 5th generation iPod. It was definitely fun going into the Apple Store in Germantown and paying for the iPod and a Apple Keyboard -- which I got for use with my Powerbook when I'm at home connected to a 19" monitor -- with four, hundred dollar bills.

The 5th gen iPods are cool. Much thinner than the 3rd gen I bought two years ago, and with the ability to store all my digital images as well as play video files, I'm having fun with my new toy.

I can't believe the hard drive on it is 30 gig. My music, photos, and all my podcast subscriptions come to LESS THAN 10 gig! Wretched excess.

I also bought my first album off the iTunes Music Store. Aimee Mann created a series of iTunes Originals versions of some of my favorite songs, and that happens to be what I'm listening to as I compose this posting.

I don't feel any older, really. I only feel older -- or more appropriately, more mature -- when I'm dealing with people ten years or more younger than myself. The generation gap is so extreme. My parents and church-going childhood have had a huge effect on the formation of my personality, but my life experiences have also altered how I view the world and I mean that in a good way. People in their 20s or early 30s especially seem like such children to me. Their shallow, self-centered view of life and the world usually floor me. In moments like that, I definitely know I'm both older and more mature.

It's not like anyone ever comes up to you and says, "Today, Wayne, you're a man." Our culture extends adolescence so much longer than it ought to. And people in their 20s have no clue how to behave. It is all done in the name of sheltering or protecting children/teens/youngsters, but in the end our society is what is harmed. The issue of rites of passage in our North American culture is a sore spot for me. I feel so ancient saying things like, "Kids today need to learn some responsibility and be held to a higher standard for how they behave and for what they do..." But it IS how I feel.

In addition to the Aimee Mann iTunes Originals album and the new 30 gig iPod, I also bought myself a nice sleevecase for my Powerbook which arrived today from http://www.sfbags.com/ as well as the new CD from Nine Inch Nails -- With Teeth -- and the latest CD from Aimee Mann -- The Forgotten Arm.

Anyway... Happy Birthday to me.

Long time, no hear

I have been remiss again. Life, ya know. Man. Busy as can be at the day job.

Been sick for weeks with some bug I caught, and after two trips to the doctor, two rounds of antibiotics, two CBC tests, two strep throat tests, a mono test, and a month and a half of feeling like poo, I'm finally starting to feel normal again.

Doctors really are clueless -- our biology is too complex for a general practitioner or Nurse Practioner to be of much help. What a waste of $60 in health insurance copays and I forget how much I spent on the prescription drugs... "That's why they call it 'practicing medicine' -- noone has gotten it right yet."

I went through my e-mail inbox and have cleaned out. I finally e-mailed several people, some who were looking for random Web work, one from high school who found me through the reunion website, and other stuff.

Tomorrow is my 39th birthday. Ouch. Need a laugh...
http://www.penny-arcade.com/view.php

I did treat myself with birthday money my parents sent: I bought a 5th gen iPod. It totally rocks.
http://www.apple.com/

And I ordered a sleevecase for my 12" Apple Powerbook from http://www.sfbags.com/ which should arrive tomorrow or Friday...

"The holidays" are coming. I don't know which is worse: another birthday or "the holidays" again.

Women's Foundation for a Greater Memphis

This is a really great way to end my week...

The Women's Foundation for a Greater Memphis has a new website design and is now live!

Read the press release here:
http://www.wfgm.org/content/view/54/56/



http://www.wfgm.org/

Thanks, Bush: Part 3

Is it truly possible that gasoline has increased in price by $1.00 a gallon in the last 6 weeks?

I'm so glad we invaded Iraq to protect our access to resources.

Actually, I am glad we invaded Iraq and removed Saddam from power. And I do believe in remaining there until they can govern themselves with a rule of law that respects democracy and individual rights and freedom.

I don't believe in begin price-gouged by the major oil companies. Bush could show some leadership in this area, but instead I see him on the evening news talking without really saying anything.

Thanks, Bush: Part 2

From this article on Salon.com:
http://salon.com/opinion/blumenthal/2005/08/31/disaster_preparation/index_np.html

A year ago the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed to study how New Orleans could be protected from a catastrophic hurricane, but the Bush administration ordered that the research not be undertaken. After a flood killed six people in 1995, Congress created the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project, in which the Corps of Engineers strengthened and renovated levees and pumping stations. In early 2001, the Federal Emergency Management Agency issued a report stating that a hurricane striking New Orleans was one of the three most likely disasters in U.S., including a terrorist attack on New York City. But by 2003 the federal funding for the flood control project essentially dried up as it was drained into the Iraq war. In 2004, the Bush administration cut the Corps of Engineers' request for holding back the waters of New Orleans' Lake Pontchartrain by more than 80 percent. Additional cuts at the beginning of this year (for a total reduction in funding of 44.2 percent since 2001) forced the Corps to impose a hiring freeze. The Senate had debated adding funds for fixing New Orleans levees, but it was too late.

Cultural Development Foundation of Memphis - 2005-06 Season

Not exactly a site launch, but an update. The Cultural Development Foundation of Memphis has announced their new season. And the website has been updated accordingly.

Life happens

No real news. August is hot as aitch-e-double-toothpicks and work is busy busy busy. Hopefully a couple of new website launches to announce soon.

My roommate is growing sunflowers and wanted me to take a couple of photos. So this is as good a time as any to join the cult and create a flickr site:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/waynehastings/

Thanks, Bush

KirschAttorneys.com new site launch

I am very happy to announce the launch today of the new Kirsch Attorneys site.



http://www.kirschattorneys.com/