shellen dot com: January 2005 | Sincerely, Jason Shellen

A Picture Share!

It's another boy! Welcome to the world Miles Jay Shellen. All 9 pounds of you. Allie is recovering nicely. More later...

A little baby update

Allison and I are at the hospital in the labor and delivery ward. We have been here for 12 hours now and it looks like it's getting close. This experience has been way different than with Drew. Drew was a marathon 30 + hours. I should go, but I'll keep you posted - I've got a baby to catch.

My attempt to end the war in Iraq

Photo: GETTY IMAGES PHOTO/CHRIS HONDROS

I really don't know what to do. I do however know what to say.

The election has come and gone. We are no safer, no better off, and Bush is handing out medals and cabinet posts to the folks who have helped keep us in a country half a world away to PROTECT US FROM NOTHING. NO WMDs, kids. Not one. I don't know about you but I'm done with all of it.

I am tired of seeing images that will haunt me till the end of my days. The picture above is of two children who's parents we killed because of a roadside misunderstanding. As a parent I just can't fathom what hell those kids will go through in the future. It doesn't surprise me to hear that folks in foreign lands don't like us when they see such pictures. Self-loathing aside, this is not about making us beloved worldwide it's about doing the right thing - picking up and heading home. For that matter, pick up and head to Thailand or Sri Lanka or any country that could use strong men to rebuild a country that doesn't involve guns, missiles or embargos on pictures of caskets.

I have written my congress persons. I have called my Senator. I have given money to campaigns. I have used TrueMajority, MoveOn and just about any other grassroots call-to-action sites. It's not working.

In a recent conversation with my Dad, a Vietnam War vet, I asked him what he thought about the war back when he was serving? Did he think they were doing the right thing? He told me that he read the 'Stars and Stripes' paper and talked primarily to other servicemen. In Honolulu where he was stationed when he wasn't trawling the Pacific, the local news did little to report on protests and the mood on the mainland.

I hope that's not true today. I hope our soldiers know that we support them, and in supporting them - want them to know what is really going on back at home. That there are growing problems, that the administration is taking every opportunity to divert focus to invented problems like Syria and Iran. I hope they know what is going on in all areas of Iraq. Many soldiers and reporters are keeping blogs and staying in contact via email. Perhaps they should let their superiors know how THEY feel. If you know a soldier, I hope you tell them the truth. That their lives are too valuable to be wasted in this war and that we would rather have them home.

A geeky post for fellow developers about comment spam

We've been discussing the comment spam problem at Google quite a bit. Preventing Comment Spam is our post describing one piece of the anti-spam puzzle. Blogger hasn't been bitten by the comment spam bug but as they say an ounce of prevention...

The fact that it went from suggested idea to implementation by 10+ companies in about 36 hours was pretty cool, but that's just the beginning. Before Blogger had native comments I wrote a comments script for this site, recently they were spammed to death and I had to pull all comments. I know my friend Kevin Fox just had a similar thing happen. Shutting down open communication channels doesn't feel good. If you are a web developer, I urge you to support the rel='nofollow' tag as soon as possible in all current and future projects. Give spammers no reason or power to spam again.

Some naming advice from Derek Baird

Via private email that I haven't asked to permission to republish, yet:

...Congrats in advance on the impending arrival and latest edition to the Shellen clan. Just remember that most the *cool* celebrity names are taken. So there will be no Apple Shellen (thanks Gwyenth), or Rocco Shellen (thanks Madonna, er, Esther), or Finnegan Shellen (thanks Eric Macormack), or the grandaddy of them all, no JerMajesty Shellen (thanks Jermaine Jackson.) Seriously, he named his kid JerMajesty. But are we shocked? No. I mean his brother named his kid Blanket. Hey.....Blanket Shellen. Nope. Scrap that one too. Oy!

Thanks Derek - will reconsider Apple and Rocco as the front runners. Though perhaps we should go old skool and go with Madonna or Jermaine?

Rock on(line)

If you're not too busy stuffing your pockets full of Mac minis or iPod shuffles, check out the official website of the band you didn't even know you needed: The Flying Eyes.

(And if you play bass and could make weekly band practice in Fremont, check out this page.)

I have been over-ruled

Specialty's is the spot and the weather is agreeable. Chevy's is off.

Macworld lunch update

So...it's raining. We are going hit the Chevy's near the convention center in the abscence of a cooler idea. We have the place reserved at 1pm for a party of 400. You are all still coming aren't you?

Macworld SF 2005 bloggers lunch

After seeing the keynote address and placing your advance order for the new $499 iMac with companion Motorola iPod video phone you will have worked up quite an appetite. Come have lunch with fellow bloggers at this years Macworld SF to unwind. It's an annual tradition for Mac and PC lovers alike.

Let's meet at 12:30pm on Tuesday the 11th at the top of the South Hall stairs at Moscone Center. Everyone is welcome (you don't even need a Macworld pass). Bring a friend and if you live in the Bay Area come out for the event and link this invite. If the weather is good, we will probably walk to the nearest Specialty's for sandwiches and fresh baked goodies and then head back to Yerba Buena Gardens to eat. Last year some folks found a burrito joint too. If you miss us at 12:30PM, YBG is where you can probably catch us around 1PM. If it looks like rain, check back here for contingency plans. Will you be there?

ps: Our second child is due on the 21st, but you never know. In case of baby, look for Biz Stone and Eric Case.

[update]: 1/11/05 - It looks like it may rain on our parade. Contigency location will be decided on the spot at 12:30 with a high likelyhood of picking some big restaurant like Chevy's to gather at. Brilliant ideas should be emailed to 'cellphone' at this domain.