Why Am I So Passionate About A Piece Of Software

heartwpI’ve been sitting back in the chair today thinking about the events that have taken place within the past 48 hours. I really bit my tongue before I decided to go through with publishing the post regarding the removal of themes. I checked out the developers IRC channel, I checked out the forum, I looked high and low for an explanation as to what happened and I couldn’t find any. While Thord of the BlogHerald was successful in contacting Matt, I assumed sending an email asking for an explanation was fruitless because I assumed his inbox is swamped with mail, why bother. After confirming that the removal of themes did happen, the only thing I had to go on was Justin Tadlock’s post and David Coveney’s post. That isn’t a lot to go by but because I didn’t see an announcement published on the developers blog, I went with the story as factual after witnessing a number of others reporting that the theme removals did happen.

I don’t want to dwell on the event because it is now a wait and see game with a detailed post by Matt being the only thing that will straighten out this mess. However, I am beginning to wonder if I over reacted? It sounds corny, but I seemingly have a passion for WordPress. The software, the people, the community. Plugin authors, theme authors, those who create patches for bugs, core developers, everything that makes the entire system tick. I want to see everyone that is part of the equation win without any unfair treatment. Make no bones about it, I support Matt and the rest of the team to the fullest extent but if I come across something I disagree with, I’ll make it known.

I feel odd that I’ve entrenched myself in this situation. I believe emotions got the better part of me last night when I wrote the post. I’m not a theme author nor am I a plugin developer yet, I still find a way to get involved with the issues surrounding each topic. I try not to be the one to always bitch and moan. Instead, I try to lend constructive criticism when I can. I’ve always described myself as no expert but simply an end user.

The basis of this post was to try and get my thoughts down on paper to figure out why something that happened with a piece of software ignited an emotional trigger. I wonder if I am too involved with the project, with the people. Do I need to back away? Can one be too passionate about something that it causes one to act and think irrationally? What the hell is wrong with me?

To Think That

Damn Gray Cable

I sit here in my room, otherwise known as my office staring at my computer monitors. That cat 5 network cable which extends from the back of my desktop machine travels along the wall and eventually finds itself connected to a device known as a router. Just inches away from the router is the modem. From there, I gain access to just about the entire world. All I need to do is type in a few words into a search engine or into the address bar in the browser of my choice and browse the enormous amount of information that is just waiting to be consumed. In mere seconds I can share photos, videos, and audio from my neck of the woods that others may never experience. I am somebody on this big blue ball known as Earth.

However, if I unplug that gray cable from the back of my computer, I lose access to the entire world. I become a nobody. Sure, I have a cell phone in which I can call people, but the feeling of being disconnected is simply too much. The feeling of living life at the pace of a snail sinks in and becomes unbearable. I read a book to make my mind feel at ease but it’s useless. As I read the book, I wonder what tweets I have missed, what’s in my inbox, the struggles of what it will be like to regain my momentum and catch up. I go for a walk to enjoy life but it’s not enjoyable because I am not connected. I grab the latest issue of Wired Magazine which has been sitting on my dresser ever since it arrived and begin to read it. After reading the first few pages, I realize that all of this information is old and has probably been published to the Wired website a month before I received the magazine.

I once again take a seat in my chair and stare at the computer monitors and think about what having that cable connected to my computer has enabled me to achieve in life. That cable has provided career opportunities, lasting friendships, endless hours of entertainment, and the ability to live life in more than one place in near real-time. The data traveling through this gray cable has provided a means of life for me. It’s become a huge part of who I am, what I do, and what I will be. After relishing the top down perspective of the cable and what its meant to me, I plug it back in and get back to work.

Six Apart Kills Pownce

In surprising news today, Six Apart has announced that they will be acquiring Pownce for an undisclosed amount of money but Pownce will cease to exist come December 15th. As VentureBeat points out, this looks like a move to acquire skills and people rather than the service. A quick look at the Pownce timeline showcases some unhappy users which is to be expected.

Pownce Users Not Happy

Pownce Users Not Happy

The official Pownce blog contains instructions on how to export data from a Pownce account. The tool will create an export file that can then be imported into Vox, TypePad, or WordPress. As for those who purchased pro accounts, looks like they will be receiving an email with additional information within the coming days.

I have no idea what Six Apart has in mind for the Pownce team members but it could be interesting. Also, this signifies that Twitter is the cream of the crop in terms of microblogging services. What will happen to Jaiku or Plurk? This situation is also a good opportunity to think about what would happen if Twitter ended up with the same fate. Hopefully, they would also provide export tools but considering their size, their userbase, etc. I doubt we’ll be seeing Twitter going away anytime soon.

As I conversed about this story with PatrickD on Twitter, he made a great point:
patrickd88@jeffr0 Twitter had the advantage of being first. Nobody could touch it. The only service to almost take it down was itself!

My Semi Black Friday Experience

My first black Friday experience went fairly smoothly. A heck of a lot better than the Wal-Mart worker who was run over by hundreds of shoppers. Girlfriend picked me up at about 12:30 P.M. and we drove to Summit Mall. After meandering around the parking lot because their were no spaces, we happened to get lucky and found one. Considering we were all hungry and I don’t like shopping on an empty stomach, we stopped by the food court. Boy was this place packed. We almost couldn’t find a table!

Once the food was consumed, then came the shopping. My main goal was to try and purchase Mario Kart for the Nintendo Wii. GameStop, FYE, and BestBuy all came up short. It looks like the Wii Fit and Mario Kart sold out at every store. So even though I didn’t get my Mario Kart, I decided to purchase RockBand for the Wii. It was only $109.00 and based on playing the game on display at BestBuy, will be a blast to play. I also purchased a rugged mouse pad which I’ve needed for quite some time. Now my laser mouse isn’t such a pain to work with considering I was using a wooden surface prior to the pad.

All in all, I didn’t go crazy by spending a load of cash and I managed to live to the tell the tale. I still can’t get over the fact that someone died because they were trampled by people running into the store but then again, half of me is not surprised. Hope your black Friday was a safe and enjoyable one.

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Personality Based On Blog Text

Typealyzer Logo
I stumbled across this site out of the blue the other day called Typealyzer. When you submit your blog URL to the site, Typealyzer analyzes the text on your blog and then provides a personality report based on that text. Just for fun, I submitted my blogs URL just to see what the site had to say about me.

According to the analysis, Typealyzer thinks I’m of the following personality:

The independent and problem-solving type. They are especially attuned to the demands of the moment are masters of responding to challenges that arise spontaneously. They generally prefer to think things out for themselves and often avoid inter-personal conflicts.

The Mechanics enjoy working together with other independent and highly skilled people and often like seek fun and action both in their work and personal life. They enjoy adventure and risk such as in driving race cars or working as policemen and firefighters.

If that weren’t enough, the site also provides a graphic that highlights which sides of the brain you use most based on the analysis.

Brain Activity

Amazing that I have any brain activity at all! With regards to my supposed personality, I find it to be halfway accurate. It is true that I enjoy working together with other independent and highly skilled people but I don’t like to seek out excitement.

Submit your blog URL to the service and let me know what your personality is and if you agree with the results

Lake Effect Snow

Here is a small video I took the other morning showing off the Lake Effect snow that my area sometimes receives.

Lake-effect snow is produced in the winter when cold, Arctic winds move across long expanses of warmer lake water, providing energy and picking up water vapor which freezes and is deposited on the lee shores. The same effect over bodies of salt water is called ocean effect snow, sea effect snow, or even bay effect snow. – via Wikipedia

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Justin.TV – Location For Streamed Suicide

I’ve always wondered if this event has happened before and if not, when it would occur. Looks like both of those questions have been answered. News has come out today via ABC News that a 19 year old Florida teen live streamed his suicide on Justin.TV. The teen had been reportedly discussing his suicide before actually going through with it. Those who were watching the stream noticed the teen didn’t appear to be breathing but only after a number of hours passed did someone contact a moderator for Justin.TV who then called local authorities. The teen was found dead at the scene.

While I’m not surprised, it turns out that some of the people who were watching the stream ended up egging the guy on to kill himself. ABC reports that things such as ‘go ahead and do it, faggot‘, were being said in the chat room. Although on the face of it, it seems as though this teen had made up his mind and he didn’t need to be egged on. However, a part of me wonders if what he read in the chatroom may have had any influence on his final decision to go through with it.

A sad story and yet another realization that the web is used by people who feel as though they can be protected by their computer screens and say anything they want without repercussion.