Tag Archives: obama

whitehouse.gov/robots.txt

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Jason Kottke pointed out that the whitehouse.gov robots.txt file was changed almost immediately after the inauguration …

It went from this …

User-agent: *
Disallow: /cgi-bin
Disallow: /search
Disallow: /query.html
Disallow: /omb/search
Disallow: /omb/query.html
Disallow: /expectmore/search
Disallow: /expectmore/query.html
Disallow: /results/search
Disallow: /results/query.html
Disallow: /earmarks/search
Disallow: /earmarks/query.html
Disallow: /help
Disallow: /360pics/text
Disallow: /911/911day/text
Disallow: /911/heroes/text

… to this …

User-agent: *
Disallow: /includes/

Web site owners use the /robots.txt file to give instructions about their site to web robots; this is called The Robots Exclusion Protocol.

One small step towards the new attitude of openness and transparency.

Coincidence?

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I was just reading Obama’s Inaugural address and one of the phrases he used jumped out at me …

To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

… which reminded me of a line from the David Roth‘s (the folk singer) song “Dragon to Butterfly” which has the line …

A man can move mountains, a world can be turned, and the greatest of distances easily spanned, When the strength that’s invested in making a fist is transformed into shaking a hand.

I like the symbolism in both.

It’s Over

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Well, the election is over … and, as many will tell you, it’s quite a relief.

While, in general, I agree with this sentiment … however, without a doubt, this has been the most interesting & engaging campaign & election in recent memory.   The number of people who went out and actually voted is a testament to this.

Even the primaries were interesting … in my entire life, I cannot remember a primary where my vote actually made a difference.   This time everyone’s vote made a difference … down to the last state.

As most who read this blog know, I have been an Obama supporter for quite a while … but I have to say, the caliber of the Barack’s campaign was quite nice … he definitely took the high road and resisted the temptation to spread lies & rumors.   McCain’s campaign, not so much.

To my mind, this election should demonstrate to the world what our country is all about … we can put aside prejiduces, petty differences, and elect the person best suited for the job at hand … regardless if they are black, white, man, woman, etc.

I am definetely looking forward to the next four (or eight) years.

End of Vacation

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Well, it’s been a fairly busy two weeks …

  • Work on the floor is (more or less) progressing.   I got the final rank of boards cut and installed.   We still need to touch of the paint, install the base molding, quarter round, and carpet threshold.
  • Tuesday we went to village hall and cast our votes for Obama in the early voting program.   Just want to get it out of the way.
  • Wednesday we headed down state to visit my niece Melissia … it was a thoroughly enjoyable trip.   We went for a walk in the Stephen Forbes state park and saw “Beverly Hills Chihuahua”.   The state park was nice and pretty empty.   About the time we left the park, it started raining.   Perfect timing.   Did a bit of shopping and then saw the moving (which was enjoyed by all in the theater … all 3 of us).
  • Saturday both Ginny and I had checkups at the doctor … everything is in working order.
  • Started an email exchange with a woman who wants me to GIVE her a domain I own … because she’s running a business with the name.   When I indicated that I would sell it to her, she got all bent out of shape.   I wasn’t asking multiple thousands of dollars for it … I only asked $600.   Last email from her indicated she would probably sue me for trademark infringement (she doesn’t currently have a trademark on the name, but she did indicate that she filed for one).   I’ll keep an eye on the name on the US Trademark Office’s website and, if it becomes registered to her, I’ll take down my placeholder site.
  • Today I want to try and get the floor finished … at least the painting done and base molding & quarter round up.   The threshold might take a bit of time.

And, tomorrow, it’s back to work.

Well, mostly back to work … I really didn’t leave.   Like a glutton for punishment, I checked email periodically and had to address a few issues.   Nothing major though.   Hopefull, when I get back, the I18N project will be done and we can get on to real development again.

No Priuses Allowed

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In an effort to criticize John McCain’s economic policies and his apparent unwillingness to support “buy American” restrictions including Harley-Davidson motorcycles for the Secret Service, a group of American-made hybrid car owners and Harley riders rolled into downtown Grand Rapids, MI on Tuesday to support Barack Obama. The only stipulation for participation? Hybrids had to be American made, meaning no Priuses allowed.

– No Priuses Allowed at Hybrids & Harleys for Obama Rally

Darn, wish I had known about this before … would have been cool to roll along with in my Ford Escape Hybrid (built in Kansas City, MO).

Nimoy supports Obama

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I’ve always thought that Leonard Nimoy and I had a fair bit in common … and I can add another item to the list …

  • He was raised Jewish, but seems to have lost religion … check
  • He’s a photographer … I’m a shutter bug
  • He’s a great actor … I’m … well … ok, maybe not so much in that area
  • And now it appears that he supports Barack Obama for president!

Ginny pointed me to the latest “In Character” piece on NRP that highlights Mr. Spock. Pretty cool article … although I have to wait another hour to actually hear it.

Obama Takes Iowa

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Barack ObamaWell, it seems that the Iowa Caucuses are over and Obama has won.

I, for one, am quite pleased with this result. I have to admit that I was worried about Clinton. I’m not going to get into why I don’t like Clinton … that’s for another post.

Aw heck, I will get into it … it might annoy some people, but so be it.

In my opinion, Clinton has absolutely NO RIGHT to her position as Senator for New York. She was basically appointed to the position by the Democratic party. They wanted her to be in the congress and had to figure out where she could run. She didn’t even live in NY when she ran for office. Yes, she won in a free and fair election … but people were not voting for her because she could represent them … they were voting because she was famous (same reason, btw, that Schwarzenegger won in California). The fact that she (and Schwarzenegger) just happen to do a reasonably good job is just happenstance. I don’t know who said it … but I stick by the adage: Any decision, made in haste (or for the wrong reason), is invariably flawed.

The only thing I really want in the primary season is for the final candidate decision not to be made before the Illinois primary … so I have a chance to make my choice known.

Of course my choice is going to be Obama … and it may be a forgone conclusion by February 5th … but I at least want some semblance of a say in the matter.

On a slightly different note … I am REALLY confused by the Iowa Caucuses process. It seems so labor intensive … almost as if it’s designed to keep people from participating. I like the primary process Illinois uses. It’s a lot easier for people to participate in (not that they do).

Obama & Copyright

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As a believer in free content, I salute Senator Obama for his request to license the democratic debates under the Creative Commons (Attribution) license.

I am a strong believer in the importance of copyright, especially in a digital age. But there is no reason that this particular class of content needs the protection. We have incentive enough to debate. The networks have incentive enough to broadcast those debates. Rather than restricting the product of those debates, we should instead make sure that our democracy and citizens have the chance to benefit from them in all the ways that technology makes possible.

– Obama’s Letter to Howard Dean

Bravo.