What a Day - The first day of classes at my university job was stressful mixed with mishap and disappointment - louplummer.lol/what-a-da… #Blaugust2024
https://louplummer.lol/what-a-day/
A friend and I have a hand curated blog directory and we are looking to add more personal blogs of all types: Art, Gaming, History, Links, Music, Photography, Resources, Science, Tech, Travel, Writers and Poets. Please stop by and add your blog to the list!
https://blogroll.club
Free Roaming Horses in the Eastern US - There are wild horses in several eastern states in the US which can be seen and visited by those interested. - linkage.lol/free-roam… #Blaugust2024
https://linkage.lol/free-roaming-horses-in-the-eastern-us/
Learning Lessons, Lessons Learned - Lessons learned from organizing in a totally different era help navigate the current political climate. - louplummer.lol/learning-… #Blaugust2024
https://louplummer.lol/learning-lessons-lessons-learned/
"Moderates, liberals, progressives and radicals need to keep their eyes on the prize and not their fingers pointed at each other. If you think tearing down statues is wrong, then don’t tear down any statues. If you think fighting fascists in the street is wrong, then stay on the sidewalk but stay in the struggle. Conversely don’t impose any purity test on middle aged folks who are frightened but still committed to ending white supremacy and the abdication of presidential responsibility. We are all in this together and the enemy of our enemy is our friend. - Me in a 2020 organizing letter"
The Golden Age of Piracy - The Golden Age of Piracy was a 70-year period during which men like Blackbeard terrorized the seas. They have been memorialized in books and film. - linkage.lol/golden-ag… #Blaugust2024
https://linkage.lol/golden-age-of-piracy/
Brand Loyalties - I examine the effect of marketing on my tech, car, eating and clothing purchases. - louplummer.lol/brand-loy… #Blaugust2024
https://louplummer.lol/brand-loyalties/
"Bitcoin is 15 years old.
To put that in perspective:
The web started in 1991. 15 years later, in 2006, we had youtube, twitter, amazon, ebay - the world was unrecognisable.
What have we got in that timeframe from #blockchain? Ashes.
“A thriving market for magic beans doesn’t make the magic beanstalk real." - lib.rs"
https://labnotes.org/r/fc4adcbf?m=4ecc18dc-d591-42d4-b3af-847b6e74b093
Making a More Accessible Web - Making your website more accessible is a process you can start today with a free shortcut and a couple of good guides. - linkage.lol/making-a-… #Blaugust2024
https://linkage.lol/making-a-more-accessible-web/
The Random Joy Blogging Brings - Completing a blog post is much more than checking off a task on a to do list, it’s a chance for all types of joy. - louplummer.lol/random-jo… #Blaugust2024
https://louplummer.lol/random-joy-blogging-brings/
"Unlike cynicism, hopefulness is hard-earned, makes demands upon us, and can often feel like the most indefensible and lonely place on Earth. Hopefulness is not a neutral position either. It is adversarial. It is the warrior emotion that can lay waste to cynicism. Each redemptive or loving act, as small as you like, such as reading to your little boy, or showing him a thing you love, or singing him a song, or putting on his shoes, keeps the devil down in the hole. It says the world and its inhabitants have value and are worth defending. It says the world is worth believing in - Nick Cave"
Free Software from an Indy Superstar Developer - Indy Developer Sindre Sorhus is a full-time open-source developer of many free Mac and iOS apps - linkage.lol/free-soft… #Blaugust2024
https://linkage.lol/free-software-from-sindre-sorhus/
School Days - Seeing all the kids going back to school sparked good memories for me - louplummer.lol/school-da… #Blaugust2024
https://louplummer.lol/school-days/
The Story Behind My 100 Strangers Project - Over 100 days I published a collection of street portraits taken in six different cities where I interviewed each subject. - louplummer.lol/100-stran… #Blaugust2024
https://louplummer.lol/100-strangers-project/
"England is a cup of tea.
France, a wheel of ripened brie.
Greece, a short, squat olive tree.
America is a gun.
Brazil is football on the sand.
Argentina, Maradona’s hand.
Germany, an oompah band.
America is a gun.
Holland is a wooden shoe.
Hungary, a goulash stew.
Australia, a kangaroo.
America is a gun.
Japan is a thermal spring.
Scotland is a highland fling.
Oh, better to be anything
than America as a gun.
by Brian Bilston"
The Quest Guy, an IndyWeb MVP - The many web sites and adventures of an IndyWeb stalwart and all-around good guy, blogger and quester, R. Scott Jones - linkage.lol/the-quest… #Blaugust2024
https://linkage.lol/the-quest-guy-an-indy-web-mvp/
Our Community - My surprised delight to find myself in the midst of creators and thinkers and being accepted and welcomed on the IndyWeb - louplummer.lol/our-commu… #Blaugust2024
https://louplummer.lol/our-community/
From my 100 Strangers Project - for the last time. John, watching his friend lose to a Budweiser drinking chess hustler on the Raleigh sidewalk was the final subject in my project. I’ll be posting a link to a gallery of all 100 portraits later on today. Thanks for all your feedback.
https://amerpie.lol/uploads/2024/9ea0dffb20.jpeg
Tomorrow is the day that I will post the 100th Stranger in my street portrait series. For the first time in almost 10 years I will have an online gallery where all the photos can be viewed together. I appreciate all the positive feedback I’ve gotten. It made me feel like a photographer again
You Died of Dysentery - The origins and surprising history of the Oregon Trail computer game - linkage.lol/you-died-… #Blaugust2024
https://linkage.lol/you-died-of-dysentery/
I Just Gotta Be Me - The reasons why having a wide-open autobiographical style of blogging works for me. - louplummer.lol/i-just-go… #Blaugust2024
https://louplummer.lol/i-just-gotta-be-me/
From My 100 Strangers Project - Ricardo and his five-year old twins (yes, there are two of them in the photo) were downtown on a rainy winter afternoon looking for some hot chocolate at the local coffee shop. Sounded like a good idea to me, so I joined them.
https://amerpie.lol/uploads/2024/ricardobw.jpg
Mastodon Tools - Three tools for finding new people to follow on Mastodon and for analyzing your account activity. - linkage.lol/mastodon-… #Blaugust2024
https://linkage.lol/mastodon-tools/
Traveling Man - My past and future travel plans and all the reasons I’ve had to explore - louplummer.lol/traveling… #Blaugust2024
https://louplummer.lol/traveling-man/
From my 100 Strangers project - Mike said he was on the way back to his downtown office after a 30-mile ride out in the country.
https://amerpie.lol/uploads/2024/mikebw.jpg
A Man Shopping - My relationship with shopping from the mallrat days of the 80s through the Amazon age - louplummer.lol/a-man-sho… #Blaugust2024
https://louplummer.lol/a-man-shopping/
From my 100 Strangers project - Elise was selling art, mostly pencil drawings and watercolors, at a street fair in Raleigh. She said businesses had been pretty good, but she was hot and tired and ready to go home.
https://amerpie.lol/uploads/2024/2014-09-06raleigh-005bw.jpg
"“Without labor nothing prospers.” — Sophocles"
No celebrating the grind life, celebrating all the workers who actually make stuff, the under-appreciated bedrock of society.
A Great Search Engine for the Indy Web - Submit Your Site - Searchmysite.net is a niche search engine for the Indy Web that contains ad free user submitted content - linkage.lol/a-great-s… #Blaugust2024
https://linkage.lol/a-great-search-engine/
Tattoos Tell a Story - The story of my three tattoos, all gotten under very different circumstances - louplummer.lol/tattoos-t… #Blaugust2024
https://louplummer.lol/tattoos-tell-a-story/
Time for an update to my /now page with info on a great book by Scottish writer James Rebanks, a TV show about ancient Rome, links to all of this week’s blog posts, an alternative to streaming music and all of the pages I bookmarked this week.
https://amerpie.lol/uploads/2024/shpeherd.jpghttps://amerpie.omg.lol/now
From my 100 Strangers Project - Shayonna and her sisters were handing out flyers for a fundraiser to benefit a foundation that helps people in need in their community.
amerpie.lol
The Norman Rockwell Painting That Changed the Internet For Me - The story of a Norman Rockwell painting of a civil rights murder case that went viral after I posted it in 2017. - louplummer.lol/murder-in… #Blaugust2024
https://louplummer.lol/murder-in-mississippi/
From my 100 Strangers project - Harold wasn’t the friendliest guy I ever photographed, but he’d just gotten off work and was on the way to the subway, so I cut him slack. He did affirm that he “works on Wall Street,” something I suppose a lot of bankers aspire to,
amerpie.lol
One of my favorite mood lifters is making gratitude lists: home grown tomatoes, the first day it feels like fall, the cool side of the pillow, a good waitress, Bob Dylan, new socks, audiobooks, texts from my kids, days my knees don’t hurt, a good cuppa, a decade and a half of sobriety and you 😉
Totally Academic, Not Prurient, Look at the Internet and the Adult Industry - A look at the technological and economic impact of the adult web industry - linkage.lol/academic-… #Blaugust2024
https://linkage.lol/academic-not-prurient-look-at-adult-web/
The Guilt Industrial Complex - An examination of guilt as a motivator and a hinderance in a healthy life - louplummer.lol/guilt-ind… #Blaugust2024
https://louplummer.lol/guilt-industrial-complex/
From my 100 Strangers project - Dike, a Nigerian immigrant earning a tough living as a pedicab driver in NYC was nonplussed by the police efforts to get him to move from his location near the entrance to the Central Park Zoo.
https://amerpie.lol/uploads/2024/2015-05-05central-park-3-1.jpeg
There are many successful people who live with mental illness and have good jobs and happy lives. More have recovered from depression, anxiety and other short-term illnesses. It concerns me that we are target vulnerable people as scapegoats for our lack of gun control. Fix the real problem.
I Am From - A poem from my sister about her roots and mine, beautifully put - louplummer.lol/i-am-from… #Blaugust2024
https://louplummer.lol/i-am-from/
Moonshine - Moonshine is still made and sold where I live and our history is rife with stories about famous moonshiners. - linkage.lol/moonshine… #Blaugust2024
https://linkage.lol/moonshine/
Self Educated - Represent! - After a middling experience in public education, I managed to use books and the Internet to forge a career in technology - louplummer.lol/self-educ… #Blaugust2024
https://louplummer.lol/self-educated-represent/
From my 100 Strangers project - Mr. Ed had his very simple shoeshine stand (a folding chair) set up outside of a subway stop on lower Broadway. Larry, the tired businessman shown, said that he stops by for a tune up every few days.
https://amerpie.lol/uploads/2024/2015-05-07shoeshine-1.jpeg
Pong Took the World by Storm - The video game, Pong, revolutionized entertainment in the 70s and was once Sears biggest selling item of all time. - linkage.lol/pong-took… #Blaugust2024
https://linkage.lol/pong-took-the-world-by-storm/
The Sporting Life - Reflections on sports in my own life and in the society we live in - louplummer.lol/the-sport… #Blaugust2024
https://louplummer.lol/the-sporting-life/
From my 100 Strangers project - Shereesa didn’t want me to take her picture at first and used Chucky as a stand in. Later she let me get a few shots once I showed her some on my camera, but I have always liked this one.
https://amerpie.lol/uploads/2024/2015-04-25chucky.bwjpg.jpg
Workplace Lessons Learned - After 30 years of being an organizational IT guy, I have some opinions on stereotypes and customer service. - louplummer.lol/workplace… #Blaugust2024
https://louplummer.lol/workplace-lessons-learned/
From my 100 Strangers project - Terry was the consummate, smooth-talking salesman trying to move antiques from his place at the flea market at the North Carolina state fairgrounds in Raleigh. I asked about his hat, and he told that yes, it was for sale too.
https://amerpie.lol/uploads/2024/2015-04-13top-hat-1.jpeg
Flamed Fury - A Personal Website Well Done - New Zealander, Flamed, has a well designed and maintained personal website that serves as an example for any new Indy Web folks looking for inspiration - linkage.lol/flamed-fu… #Blaugust2024
https://linkage.lol/flamed-fury-a-personal-website-well-done/
Moving - I managed to attend 13 schools in 12 years growing up. Here are some stories about what that was like. - louplummer.lol/moving/ #Blaugust2024
https://louplummer.lol/moving/
From my 100 Strangers project - Larique was shooting strangers with bubbles like he didn’t even care. I asked him if anyone had gotten mad at him and he assured me they hadn’t. “I just smile at them” he told me.
https://amerpie.lol/uploads/2024/larique.jpg
Woodie Guthrie - American - Woodie Guthrie was an American folk singer and songwriter whose music championed and disenfranchised the working people of America. - linkage.lol/woodie-gu… #Blaugust2024
https://linkage.lol/woodie-guthrie-american/
Website Fiddling - Thoughts on design from a non-designer who just wants to have an attractive site like his friends - louplummer.lol/website-f… #Blaugust2024
https://louplummer.lol/website-fiddling/
From My 100 Strangers project - Cherrelle was watching her nephews trying their hands at making free throws at a carnival booth set up in a Charlote courtyard. Like us, she was just in town just for the day.
https://amerpie.lol/uploads/2024/2char.jpg
"I have to admit, AI has saved me a lot of time. Every time I start reading about some interesting new app or service or product and see that it has “AI”, I immediately stop reading and don’t waste any more time on that thing. - bit101"
This Week's Bookmarks - New Dictionary Words, $5K Pants, Guide To Computing 45-90, Animal Misconceptions, Smart Crows, Hit Songs That Were Faked, 50 Best Romance books https://amerpie.lol/2024/08/03/this-weeks-bookmarks.html
Remembering Geocities - A look at the first web home many Gen X and Boomers ever had, Geocities - linkage.lol/remembero… #Blaugust2024
https://linkage.lol/rememberong-geocities/
A Computer Is a Hammer - Computers are tools you should use to their fullest potential so quit worrying about overburdening your new MacBook. - louplummer.lol/a-compute… #Blaugust2024
https://louplummer.lol/a-computer-is-a-hammer/
From my 100 Strangers project - I asked LuAnn how long she had been working behind the counter at Sherry’s Bakery in Dunn, NC and she told me 17 years. When asked how many hotdogs she served in that period, she laughed and said “Lord, I don’t know. Feels like a million!”
https://amerpie.lol/uploads/2024/2015-03-16diner-2bw.jpg
Eastern North Carolina Barbecue - Eastern North Carolina Barbecue refers to whole hog pork, cooked low and slow and seasoned with a vinegar-based sauce #Blaugust2024 - linkage.lol/eastern-n… #Blaugust2024
https://linkage.lol/eastern-north-carolina-barbecue/
Confessions of a Non-Gamer - As a longtime technology fan, I remain baffled by the fact that I have never been able to enjoy video gaming, despite trying - louplummer.lol/confessio… #Blaugust2024
https://louplummer.lol/confessions-of-a-non-gamer/
A True Crime Classic, Close to Home - The 1970 murders of his wife and daughters by Army Special Forces doctor Jeffery McDonald happened just a few miles from my home #Blaugust2024 - linkage.lol/a-true-cr… #Blaugust2024
https://linkage.lol/a-true-crime-classic-close-to-home/
Blaugust Introduction - An introductory post for new readers who stumble on to this blog because of #Blaugust2024 - louplummer.lol/blaugust-… #Blaugust2024
https://louplummer.lol/blaugust-introduction/
From my 100 Strangers project - Despite his fierce look in this photo, Al was engaging and funny. He was working a part time gig as a parking lot attendant in Charlotte for a Panthers game. I stuck around a while to listen to him tell stories about growing up during segregation in NC’s biggest city.
https://amerpie.lol/uploads/2024/2015-01-03charlotte-006.jpeg
Today on App Addict - Karabiner Elements to the Rescue - After an unexplained failure of a previous workflow, I used the free keyboard mapping utility, Karabiner Elements, to reenable my hyperkey and turn of CapsLock when macOS baled at letting me do it.
I use the hyperkey concept heavily in my various wo... amerpie.lol https://amerpie.lol/2024/08/01/today-on-app.html
The Greatest Generation , My grandparents both left farms in rural NC during WW2 to contribute to the defeat of fascism and I am grateful and proud. , louplummer.lol/the-great…
https://louplummer.lol/the-greatest-generation/
From my 100 Strangers project - This was one of the first photos I took when I started working on the project and I failed to get this gentleman’s name. He was busking on 6th Street in Austin if anyone remembers him, I would sure love to know who he is.
https://amerpie.lol/uploads/2024/austin-1.jpeg
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