The Grand Tour of Our New Home
“It’s about time.”
That had to be the first thought in your head when you clicked the link to come on over. (Don’t forget to subscribe to our new RSS feed!)
Regular readers know that we’ve been promising a new look, layout, theme and domain name for a couple of months now.
Finally, here it is. Let’s give you the grand tour…
The theme is Revolution Magazine from Brian Gardner. (If you love the theme, get yours here – and make it different than ours, will you?) We’re damned pleased with the clean coding Brian used to build our home. I can actually manipulate some of the code myself and figure things out, now that all the unnecessary clutter of our previous poor coding isn’t there to impede me.
(Free tip: If the coding on your blog fills five pages to carry out one function, something is very wrong. Good coders like Brian minimize the crap.)
Brian was also incredibly patient while I changed my mind a million times and made myself a general pain in the ass. (Harry will tell you that I like to rearrange furniture multiple times before settling on where I like the sofa best.) Brian was great about helping us customize whatever we needed or wanted.
(Bonus tip: Brian’s a great coder. Hire him.)
Harry created the design of the banner. For that, I thank him a million times over. I think it looks pretty damned sharp and captures the exact image we wanted. He nailed the great looks and perfect brand image for us in one shot.
(Extra tip: Harry’s a great designer. Hire him, too.)
Ah, yes… image. You’ll notice that our new image comes off stronger and more assertive than our old image at Web Content Writer Tips… and that old image is, unfortunately, no longer on display. Some unforeseen act of nature destroyed the theme recently and we’ve replaced it with a much better theme – again, one of Brian’s.
At any rate, we wanted an image that fits us better than the business casual (if it was even that) going on at the old site. This new look is a little edgy, a little cocky, a little assertive… Yeah, looks good. Feels right. Fits us well.
Another look that is new for us is the portal-style of layout on this blog. It means that you get a buffet of content to choose from when you land here. Our less-recent posts get the attention they deserve because they’re not pushed back out of sight as the days go by. Navigating the blog is very easy.
Speaking of navigation, check out our bar up top. We have five categories for you to choose from: better blogging, better writing, better design, better business, and just way off topic. We came up with a new tagline (see our cool banner!) that reflects what this blog is all about. We also have a Best of MwP category that we’ll fill up with our best, most popular posts as time goes by.
We’re offering advertising now, too. Plenty of great sites have taken advantage of this offer, and we only have two banner ad spots left for the month of February. March is wide open, so feel free to apply, and we’ll help give your business some exposure.
If you need a banner ad designed, Harry’ll be happy to help.
We also have a new section in the right sidebar called “We Read It; You Need It.” This is reserved for books that Harry or I have read and books that we recommend to other readers. Right now, we have a couple of our current favorites posted, so check them out.
Last but not least, we’re still offering Write for the Web, the ebook written specifically for people who have always dreamed of becoming a writer or wondered how to start a web content writer career. And as a bonus offer, we’ve discounted the price to less than $20! Write for the Web is all you need to shortcut your learning curve and get on the fast track to becoming a paid freelance writer.
If you find any glitches or problem areas while we settle into our new home, let us know. Tell us what you think of the look and feel free to suggest changes. Comment on what you love and hate. We want to hear what you think, because we built this site for you, too – not just us.
So, that’s it, folks. Feel free to click around and enjoy the site. Welcome to our new home.
71 Responses to “The Grand Tour of Our New Home”
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Woohoo! I love it. I noticed Mens With Pens over on Entrecard, but I didn’t realise it was yours (my bad for not clicking). I will certainly be updating my subscription and will continue to follow your great blog.
Sharon Hurley Hall’s last blog post..What Keeps You Writing?
Good stuff, Sharon – it’s nice to have you around and reading, and I’m glad you like the new look!
Hey guys,
Nice digs ( not Diggs),
Didn’t know you were .ca. Most of the big blogs are from Auz.
I am both: kinrade. ca and kimkinrade.com
Question: Is there a lake out front?
Cheers,
Kim
Nova Scotia
We like our digs. And Diggs. And Stumbles, too – please give us lots to help us rebuild all that we have to (unfortunately) leave behind!
I’d love to have the .com for this name. However, a very nice group of Aussies has claims to it for many years to come, and perhaps they’ll get some nice traffic due to some people remembering that there’s a whole world outside of the .com zone!
There is a lake, yes. It’s probably 4 km square in size and is wonderfully stocked with red, rainbow and lake trout, with a few ouananiche thrown in for good measure.
James, Harry,
VERY nice place you have here – I look forward to visiting, on a regular basis. I might even have to bring some Quebec liquor…
Thanks everyone, glad to have you here!
@Sharon: I’m happy to hear that little square is catching people’s attention
Yeah, domain names are getting harder to find these days, many of the .coms are taken. This name we just had to have.
@Kim: Every time I see Nova Scotia I think smoked salmon
@Brett: By all means, bring the Quebec liquor!
*can’t type because he’s laughing so hard about the salmon in Nova Scotia*
COD, Dude! The industry was COD fish!
That may have been the industry, but down here we have Nova Scotia smoked salmon – I swear!
*kicks off his shoes and makes himself comfortable.*
Nice place ya got here.
I’m working on my revamped freelancing website so hold an ad spot for March…preferably the one at the very top with the gold trimming and blinking arrows pointing towards it. ;oP
Jay F.H.’s last blog post..Generating Blog Traffic – From “Hello World!†to “Hello Subscribers!†– for Beginners
@Jay: *hands him a beer* Thanks. Gold trim and blinking arrows, eh? Sounds like some of the casino signs I see out here. All you’re missing are a couple of showgirls and a magic act
If you can provide that for my advertising dollars you’re golden.
Jay F.H.’s last blog post..3,413 Resources for Inspiring Creative & Intelligent People – The King of All Lists
This is awesome! I’ve purchased a layout from Brian Gardner for one of my client’s blogs. This looks very slick!
@ Jay: No problem. I’m sure I can recruit Naomi as a showgirl since she wasn’t shy about posing for James
. And I bet James knows a magic trick or two. Yeah, you’re all set. I’ll start on that as soon as the check gets here.
It is in the mail, right?
Cheers, James and Harry,
It all looks great! (The link in my email to update subscription didn’t work, but then I clicked on over to the old site and saw you’ve fixed it there.) And you’ve added the very, very cool CommentLuv, which is spreading like wildfire right now. (Not available for TypePad, I’m completely jealous.)
May your readers and comments (deservedly) go through the roof of your new digs.
Regards,
Kelly
P.S. As I’m about to hit “submit” I notice that my submit button is quite ugly (Mac, Safari). You might want to check on that.
Kelly’s last blog post..Experience Design 101: Part the Last
@Kelly: Three words for you: Get Word Press.
I do like the CommentLuv, that’s a great plugin.
Could you send me a screen shot so I can see what it looks like (harry at menwithpens dot ca)? I don’t use Mac and don’t have any way of checking that.
Harry,
Sent.
Three words for you: Get a Mac.
; )
Regards,
Kelly
Kelly’s last blog post..Experience Design 101: Part the Last
*chuckles* Believe me, if I could afford to get a G5 I would. Problem is, it’s going to cost me well over 3K to get that and all the Mac versions of the graphics programs I have. Maybe next year I’ll be able to do that. In the meantime, you may be jealous of our Word Press, but I’m jealous of your Mac.
@Chad: Cool! I can’t wait to see what you do with the new theme. Keep us updated!
@ Kelly and Harry – Don’t get a Mac. Get a bigger envelope.
@ Harry – Plan for 2025, not 2009
@ Chad – Ha, show us your stuff!
@ Jay – “*kicks off his shoes and makes himself comfortable.* Nice place ya got here.”
If we achieved that sense and feeling, then we nailed it. That’s *exactly* the image and feeling I’d like to convey.
@James: Not if this computer explodes before then, lol. I’d be happy if it makes it to 2010.
As I said… buy a bigger envelope
@ a bigger envelope, yes. I really don’t want to have to get a new comp any time soon, believe me. I don’t relish the idea of starting over, whether it’s a new computer or reformatting. I’ve thought about another PC when the time comes, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to get something with Vista on it.
@ Harry – Then you may want to get a PC now before XP is completely phased out. I don’t think it’ll be easy to buy a new comp with XP a year from now. The only supplier that offers XP is Dell, as far as I know.
@James: No thanks. I’ll save my money and get a Mac when the time comes.
Nice new place, gents!
–Deb’s last blog post..MM: Titles
@Harry – you’re on, I’ll pick up some good stuff at the dépanneur on the way to your place…
PS – by all means, get a Mac, and if you can find a copy of Server 2008 on the cheap (*cough* TechNet *cough*), it is much nicer than Vista – almost livable, actually, even in a VM.
Guys, glad to see the site is live!
Dave
Dave Navarro – Million Dollar Leverage’s last blog post..Christine O?Kelly Made Me Do It ?
@Dave: We’re pretty pleased about it too. We couldn’t wait to start writing on it and I still find myself clicking the bookmark just to look at it.
Very nice boys! I loved the article on saving $700..great. I recently had a similar situation.
I found out that some tablet pc’s are going for what we geeks refer to as a ‘steal’ as compared to what they normally cost. Now, I just purchased, in cash, a brand new Toshiba last year; great laptop, but what I had really wanted was a tablet but couldn’t afford it at the time.
when I saw the newer, lower prices tablet I about died; I just had to have it. But alas, my budget wouldn’t let me give into my wants and I am rather glad. I look back now (this was just last month) and realize I don’t really ‘need’ the tablet. Yes, it would be nicer and easier for me. Doing graphics with a tablet much easier than plugging in the graphire tablet.
Now that I have had to wait I know I can wait. I can wait until I really ‘need’ it or at least until I have enough money where I am not questioning whether I should get it or not.
You guys are AWESOME! Men with Pens huh? I almost didn’t read it the correct way the first time I saw it; wewh, my old age is catching up to me. Either that or I just have a dirty mind…oh…a little bit of both.
Laura’s last blog post..NY Giants vs. New England Patriots: What a Game?!
@ Laura – They say people should choose names that are both memorable and reflect them…
Then it definitely fits you boys to a T doesn’t it? *blush*
@Laura: People not reading the name correctly the first time around is what had the both of us chuckling for a week or so after I jokingly tossed the name out to James.
BTW, the Giants ROCKED on Sunday! I’m not a big football fan. In fact, I don’t watch any sport that has a ball in it. Hell, I didn’t know the Giants made it to the Superbowl until my mom mentioned it to me. Having been born and raised in NY, I had to watch the game. I can’t remember the last time the Giants made it this far.
My roommate was convinced the Pats were going to win. So for the hell of it, I bet him $10. The game was incredibly close and I couldn’t believe it when the Giants made that final touchdown.
The sports books out here aren’t too happy though, they all lost a record amount of money. The Giants were at 2 to 1 odds and a lot of people here bet on the underdog. Man, this is the one time I wish I had gone to the casino and laid down a chunky bet.
There’s something very odd about sports on fields and astroturf when it’s…
HOCKEY SEASONNNNNNN!! WOOOHOO!
*ahem*
@Harry Yes I was a fun game to watch. One of the best I have ever seen. We are Cowboy fans, but my husband loves sports; especially the ones with balls.
@James Well, that speaks volumes; anger issues James? teehee
Oh to comment on the other comment on JCME, 37 (but getting younger), so not far behind Harry…come on James, buck up, what is your pre-senior age?
Now get to work boys!
oops, meant ‘it’ on the comment to you Harry.
@Laura: I was working, but I keep getting distracted! It’s all your fault!
That’s okay, comments are always a welcome distraction.
36. But then I counted and I realized that I wasn’t. I’m 37… and yes, I have really crappy math skills
Very nice, guys. I love the new place. Nice colors, good graphics (props to Harry), and very modern looking. It was a nice surprise when I clicked the RSS and found myself here.
I do have to say I think “Men with Pens Shooting from the Hip” is pretty obvious what the relation is to. I read it a few times to make sure I was reading it right! LOL. It’s a definite, uh, . . . branding!
I spent some time clicking through your site and learned more about you guys. I thought both of you lived in Las Vegas, my surprise! That’s pretty cool you guys are able to make it work from so far away.
As for the site, here are some thoughts I had as I surfed through your site.
I noticed the ads weren’t over powering, nice. Like I mentioned above I love the colors and overall feel. Men with Pens shooting from the hip, my first impression was what I think you guys were expecting but I also felt it might suggest in a way you guys are a . . . umm, a couple. Have you gotten that before?
I really only have 2 constructive thoughts:
About the target audience – taking a look at the awesome graphic at the top right I noticed who the target reader is but I didn’t see anywhere that shows why this is for them and why here. Does web business tips include how to manage your web business’ taxes, for example, or does it show how to properly structure your corporation?
Why is your site the place I should subscribe to over the other guy? I noticed your home page is a different landing page than what my RSS reader takes me to (the posts). Maybe focus your home page a little more to attract more subscribers. Once I’m signed up, I no longer need to see that page, I just want the good content. But maybe it would be helpful to express a little more information there for new site visitors. Answer all those questions you need to for those people with low attention spans.
And second, the only other real thought I have would be to make the “Submit Comment” button a little prettier. Make that button just as cool and hip as the rest of the site (hey, I should take my own advice!).
Anyway, those are just some thoughts that went through my mind while checked out your site. Thought you’d like to peek into my head . . . but just a peek, the rest is classified!!!
Very cool.
John’s last blog post..8 Drawbacks to Free Web Hosting
@John: I was wondering when you were going to make your way over here. How was Disneyland? Hope you had fun.
You had the same response to our tagline as James did. I didn’t think like that at all when I first heard one of our readers use that a few months back. I’ve always equated that saying with the gunslingers of the old west. That’s why I looked up the definition for James to put on our About page.
Nope, we’ve never gotten the couple thing before – at least not that I know about.
I’m pleased you like the graphics, that made my day. Yes, we do include tax tips and structuring tips from time to time. We’ve both written a few posts on the subjects on the old blog.
The home page for the JCM site is different. That was made to blend with the old blog template. We’re working on updating everything else, but thanks for mentioning it.
The Submit Comment button has gotten a few thumbs down from people, James included. That’s a coding issue. If it were an image I would have changed it out long ago. Never fear, we’re working on it.
As for the peek into your head, well, it’d be a shame if you had to kill me for knowing too much.
Hey Harry! Glad to hear from you. Yup, we’re back and had a great time at Disneyland. I mean, how can you not like Disneyland? Our trip was focused on my 2 year old son having fun, which I think he did.
Anyway, love the site – excellent work on the graphics! I’m impressed (and a little jealous). Oh and don’t worry, I don’t kill, just hurt people LOL.
Ok, time to go, wife is telling me she’s pregnant and I need to finish dinner!
Take care and good job.
John’s last blog post..8 Drawbacks to Free Web Hosting
@John: Disneyland is geared for fun, even for 2 year olds our age.
You know, if you and I were to face off, it would be an interesting match considering we both have some training. Should I go ahead and pencil us in for Pay Per View? Maybe book it at the MGM Grand? It’d be great publicity.
Hmmm, the content writer in one corner against the web host in the other.
Hey, I like it. I bet it would get LOTS of YouTube hits (and Pay-Per View orders). That might be an interesting online idea!
It’s been awhile since I’ve actually practiced what my brain remembers doing in martial arts. I’d probably throw a few jabs and then shoot for the take-down, though.
John’s last blog post..8 Drawbacks to Free Web Hosting
@ John – Welcome back, and I am so envious of your trip. Then again, I have a fear of rides, so perhaps Disney isn’t the best place for me to go. Still, it’s the Canadian dream of all little Canucks everywhere, so I have to make an effort to get there before I die.
For the top right clip on “web business tips,” it’s tough to fit a whole concept into less than 8 words. Space is limited. However, considering we stuck “writers and freelancers” in there, I think it shows people what sort of topics we might cover: writing and freelancing. Both of those are businesses.
And you never know. We might just post one day about structure of corporations. We’ve also covered accounting for writers and freelancers over at JCME in our Money Matters series.
For the submit comment, what are you seeing? People have been complaining, and what I’m seeing is a white button with a grey border around it. I’m like, what’s wrong with that?
James,
I’m looking at the site on a PC this morning so that I can tell you, it doesn’t help that submit button much (sent screen shot of it on Mac to Harry, admittedly worse.
I wasn’t going to make two comments about one button, but since you still wonder what’s wrong with it:
(a) very ugly
(b) doesn’t switch to a little hand icon to tell you it’s clickable
(c) on Mac especially, not obvious enough even to realize it is the submit button, which the first time I visited, resulted in scrolling right past it, looking for the submit button
(d) looks unsophisticated/ unfinished, and on such a slick, finished site that’s a shame
Design and usability. I tell you this only out of love… everyone who comments is going to have to focus on it for a few seconds, and it just sends out funny little subliminal messages.
Regards,
Kelly
P.S. That message others got from MwP and Shooting from the Hip… I never got that at all. I got what Harry intended. The Old West concept. Does my mind not go there?
Well, it does now. Eeeek.
Kelly’s last blog post..Experience Design 101: Part the Last
@ Kelly – I appreciate that information, thank you. We were sitting here this morning trying to figure out exactly what’s wrong and what to change, and that’s invaluable input. All suggestions are welcome at any time.
Actually, the only one on my end who put the two concepts together to make one rather graphic mental image was my teen daughter, but she’s hypersensitive to those things these days. I think it’s rather good that you didn’t go there with your mind, because that certainly wasn’t our intention.
Oh well.
@James and Harry – thanks for the warm welcome back. It is that kind of personalitly and kindness that make people like you guys special.
@Kelly – Dang, I’m sorry for the mental image I put out there
I’m just offering up what first came to my mind when I first read it (and my wife’s when she took a look – though she also understood what you meant) and thought the input might be insightful. Maybe if Shooting from the Hip was placed in a bullet or something? I honestly didn’t get the relation or fully understand the meaning of the phrase until I read it in the About section. I’ve never heard of shooting from the hip and gunfighting and maybe that’s why.
@James – when I see the comment button, I see regular text typed inside a border. As a web designer myself, I see it as if there’s suppose to be a picture there but your tag isn’t pointing to the picture and as a result just an alternet text is showing.
I took a look at how my Comment button works on my site (I forgot) and it’s nothing special but does stand out from regular text. My mouse pointer doesn’t change to a hand but when you hover over the image but the button does light up to let you know it’s clickable.
As for what I envision, I think it would be cool if that button matched your site’s color scheme. Maybe a little black and a little of the page’s background color. Or maybe a graphic similar to the one at the top right (torn paper tacked to the web page, angled slightly and says Submit Comment or some other custom phrase). Or what about a picture of a pen used in some way? If it were me, I think I’d make my life easy and just use the same font as Men with Pens at the top but reduce the size and have it say “Submit Your Comment.” That would tie it all in.
About the web business tips comment – I recently got a VERY harsh critique of my site (I showed Harry) and one of the things the poster said (and I agreed with him) was that I told people what it is I am and what’s on my site but did not necessarily tell them immediately why my site was the site for them (new entrepreneurs and people needing to get online). Thus, that critique was running through my head – the why factor. It’s just something to think about and maybe it’s there but I missed it.
About Disneyland – the nice thing about Disneyland is you don’t have to be a big “rides” person. Plus, if you take your kids, it makes it all that much better. They have “easy” rides like Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted House which I’m sure you’d like. Just don’t forget to bring your wallet as they have a tendency to price gouge you on EVERYTHING. But hey, I’m from Vegas, all our hotels/casinos do that too, so I’m use to it. Also, speaking of traveling, I LOVE to travel. I’ve never been to Canada but will one day. I was thinking Toronto but any thoughts? Remember I have two young children. Thanks!
John’s last blog post..8 Drawbacks to Free Web Hosting
@ John – It’s good to have you back. I think being recognized and welcomed home is just one of the simple pleasures in life
Thanks for the details on the button. Those were similar to some ideas we had and we agree. If we’re going to make it cool, it should match the theme. Coming up within a day or so – and everyone, thanks for your input on this. The little things count!
As for the “why”, I do think that it’s clear – web business tips, and that implies improvements to your business. No need to list the benefits. Businesses aren’t companies or corporations, so that defines our niche as tips for the small guys and the individuals. Who for? Writers, freelancers and entrepreneurs.
I’d point you to Copyblogger.com, FreelanceFolder.com and Ittybiz.com, all three of which use the same standard as we do.
But the real why? Because – with one quick glance – you can see that we boys are just too cool.
Toronto is big city. Personally, I’m a country boy and the best place I’ve ever traveled to and fell in love with is Tadoussac. Where else can you wake up in your tent in the morning, walk out to admire the view of the St-Lawrence in the morning mist from the cliffside, enjoy the whales jumping and Belugas swimming by (yes, you can see them), kayak in the afternoon… love it.
However, BC is incredibly beautiful. Hm. So is NFLD, though that’s more Highland cliffs kind of thing.
Yeah, I see what you’re saying and I agree. It was just a thought.
When we plan a Canada vacation, I’ll have to keep in touch with you and through out some suggestions and see what you think. Thanks.
Congrats again on the new site. It’s very clean and professional looking!
John’s last blog post..8 Drawbacks to Free Web Hosting
Actually, now you have me staring at that little clip thinking, hmmm hmmm… there should be a benefit there… hmmm…. how to word it…
LOL!
I’m currently working on my site’s why and maybe that’s why I mentioned it. I think I do a good job of telling who I am, what’s on my site, and how we are different than other web hosts but I don’t feel I really convince people why they should host with me quickly –> especially since there are other hosts providing the same features but with more disk space and bandwidth. Why should they pick me over them? What is the immediate benefit I provide?
Maybe I need this because my site’s not just a blog but an actual old fashion website with LOTS of competition (though you guys have lots too). Before you mentioned Copyblogger I thought about exactly what you said above. Brian has a pic at the top stating what his site is about. He upsets me (not in a bad way, I love his site). He upsets me because he gets to cheat and still win. Everything I know about marketing and web development tells me that you only have a few short moments to either keep that person on your site or they will click away. No where on his site do I see the real benefits his site gives me over yours, for example. Everything I know tells me it’s best to be different from my competition but yet Copyblogger looks like many other blogs out there. It’s no fair. But . . . as an entrepreneur, I know for a fact life is not fair, especially in business.
Is there something you can do that’s different? Something that sets Men with Pens way apart from the others? The way I see it, you guys provide lots of great content, like Copyblogger, but you also provide many other benefits, such as you get more personally involved with your site’s visitors, you do guest posts which benefits the postee’s website because you may bring your visitors over, and you provide some web services. All great benefits/features you provide.
But again, it was just a thought to provoke a conversation and thought process.
Maybe you could write a post and create a contest. Who can come up with a great one line benefit you could put somewhere on your site or something?
John’s last blog post..8 Drawbacks to Free Web Hosting
You did provoke conversation and thought, and these are good points (flattery aside LOL) We worked hard on the site as we built it but that often means that the most important little details get set to the side as we work on bigger stuff.
It’s very valid, and you have excellent ideas. I appreciate this and I’ll be thinking on it for the next 24 hours or so.
@ John – Toronto is my favorite city in the whole world, but I haven’t been there with my daughter. Mine’s eight and a serious foodie so if she did go with me she’d be demanding a tour of world cuisines, which is delightfully authentic there. I’ve visited a lot of places, and always lived near big cities, and still Toronto is tops.
If you take the kids, make sure to notice the squirrels. I know it sounds odd, but if you’ve never been that far north your kids will get a kick out of them. They’re black. All the squirrels I’d ever seen were grey, brown, etc. James will have to tell you about the rest of Canadian squirrels (we’re not too far OT are we?). Kids like little marvels like that.
(Don’t tell me that squirrels in LV are black and what’s the big deal?)
Regards,
Kelly
Kelly’s last blog post..Experience Design 101: Part the Last
*blink* Wait a minute… you people don’t have black squirrels?? I have about eight in my backyard, one with a white-tipped tail who sits on the fence, one who climbs the stairs up to the neighbor, one who comes to sit on my porch… There are two big fat grey squirrels too and we have two small red squirrels. But… black squirrels aren’t everywhere??
@Kelly: Believe it or not, we don’t have squirrels out here. Pigeons, yes, because some genius thought *every* city needed pigeons and actually brought them here. We have ground squirrels (that look more like chipmunks), jackrabbits, coyotes, rattlesnakes, scorpions, wild burros, various lizards, hawks, tortoises, and road runners.
Oh, and don’t forget the wild mustangs and mountain lions.
@James: Black squirrels are a rarity. I’ve only seen them once or twice back in New York. I do remember reading somewhere that Canada had the largest population of black squirrels though.
Brown and grey, that’s all I’ve seen. Anything black and that small I think is a rat here in Vegas.
Thanks for the input, Kelly. My son just turned 2 and my wife is 7 months pregnant. That’s funny about your daughter. My nephew is the same way. When he was about 11 we all went to Seattle and he wanted to order the “Market Price Fish.” We all laughed and said, well, how about a hamburger instead!!! Kids are great.
John’s last blog post..8 Drawbacks to Free Web Hosting
Harry’s right on with what’s in Vegas
John’s last blog post..8 Drawbacks to Free Web Hosting
James, I would not lie. I used to live in Rochester, NY, right around the corner from Toronto, and never saw any black squirrels. My parents live about 150ish miles from the Quebec border in NYS, no black squirrels.
Harry, if I were a squirrel, I’d stay away from your coyotes, rattlesnakes, scorpions, wild burros, various lizards, hawks… but particularly, your heat. I can’t blame them.
I usually try to be much more relevant than this…
Kelly
P.S. No “light up” on the submit button on a Mac. No hint of clickability at all. There, a touch of relevance.
Kelly’s last blog post..Experience Design 101: Part the Last
Dang. I need a Mac!
John’s last blog post..8 Drawbacks to Free Web Hosting
Wild mustangs… wow. But no squirrels? I’d be so upset, seriously. They’re like… little friends
@Kelly: not only would they hate the heat, they’d also hate the lack of trees.
@James: It’s a trade-off, but personally, I’ll take a mustang over a squirrel any day.
If I could burn black squirrels, I could heat my house with the bloody things where I live.
“Honey, the house is cold!”
“Don’t worry, dear, I’ll just throw another black squirrel on the fire…”
Well – I probably could burn them, but the neighbours would complain about the stench, plus PETA would be after me…
Aw man, Brett, that was so gross! (and funny) We can’t kill the wee bitties. They’re our patriotic emblem of strength!
“Sic ‘em, boys… sic ‘em!”
(And you thought the CANDU was powered by natural uranium! Damn it, Smithers, the secret is out, hide the black squirrels! And while you’re at it, release the hounds!)
The fact that I know a man who could melt my country is quite enough, thank you…
Unless you work at the plant but like, in the cafeteria or something
I went to visit the plant at… hm. Diane? Can’t quite remember the name, but near TO or Barrie, I think. It was rather frightening to see the guys dressed in full suits, glass masks, and this huge room full of water under which was apparently the big do-not-touch-us. We peeked through windows (I guess I was about 10 or so) and couldn’t help thinking, “Bullshit” when the teacher cheerily pronounced this stuff the safest material for energy.
What *do* you do, exactly? unless it’s top secret, of course…
@ James -
It sounds like you probably went to Darlington, they used to run tours and it is a nice plant.
Up until the beginning of the month, I was the Facility Supervisor at the Molybdenum-99 Production Facility. The facility makes 60 percent of the world’s supply of Mo-99 for radio-imaging medicine. It uses the raw materials that come from the NRU reactor that was in the news before Christmas (and is still in the news somewhat, unfortunately).
(I didn’t do it, honest!)
The product we made – the moly-99 – does indeed glow in the dark!
I am now the Waste Management Project Officer for the whole site – so I have my work cut out for me, as we have a LOT of legacy nuclear facilities and material to manage…
Wow. That’s a lot of responsibility. No wonder you want to be a logger… That’s also very interesting work, and now I can proudly tell people about you.
As for killing me, I think Harry has first dibs. I’m sure he’s had thoughts.
Hmmm….yes…first dibs. But I’m feeling generous. He shall live another day.
I can’t complain, though, the job is satisfying. But it isn’t me. I like to write, and to help people. So I’m working on change.
Don’t worry though. I don’t think I could seriously think of anyone I’d want to “off”… unless it was in a game of Quake or something, then anybody’s fair game!!!
@ Harry – better keep him around – he’s a nice guy, and I still have to clear all the trees off his lot…