Ghosts of the past, conflicts of the present

There’s lots of new changes on the site whether you see it or not. For starters, the site is “skinned”. I’m in the process of making a back-end CMS (content management system) that controls my links, fonts, and now the guestbook.

As you can see, I haven’t added the “Sign my book” function yet. And as you can tell FROM the most recent date… it’s been awhile. It’s almost painful to read some of the entries and remember what they were for.

A lot of history here.


No, I’m still off until March… and with a series of brand new redesigns. But a few things have come up…

A ghost FROM the past has come back to haunt me in the form of a legal action next month that requires my undivided attention. The fact is, this case shouldn’t be. Of course, you know how the court system in PA works:

  1. Plaintiff open his mouth.
  2. Judge looks at defendant.
  3. Defendant has to prove their innocence.

I’ve never seen such stupid horseshit in my life. I have to prove this dickhead has no case, rather than the judge asking what evidence the plaintiff has to justify wasting our time. Otherwise I have to deal with my stuff being auctioned again to pay whatever the judge awards this clown just for filling out three forms and showing up.

Oh yeah, and he’s in a wheelchair too. Tell me how my odds are.


I’m torn here…

I’ve always been enamored by the concept of us all HAVING a sense of “community”. Aside FROM the typical things that communities do, like get together, have barbeques and block parties and good times…

… there comes times when you have to take out the trash.

Some people rise to the occasion, and some people don’t. I remember the outrage when we heard that a married adult blogger asked an underage girl to masturbate on her web cam, when another turned out to be a manipulative prick that hurt people and hid behind their charisma, when another led us to believe she had a daughter dying of cancer…

The list goes on over the years. The offending parties end up being chased to the outskirts of town with torches and pitchforks… and we never hear FROM them again.

In a strange, ironic twist… a post FROM a dear, sweet friend showed up in my referrals today to remind me that there are people that care… and there are people there for you when you need them.

There’s more to it though. Lots more. You can ask anyone that gets involved… there’s a price to pay. You get the “Why don’t you mind your business?” email harassment. You make enemies for life. If you don’t get enough backup, you get the shit kicked out of you for all to see.

Been there done that. More times than I care to remember.

It’s a big-ass community now. The stakes get higher and higher.
Do we start taking the “mind your business” route?
Do we take it when we stand more to lose than gain?
Do we do it even after we’ve been burnt so many times in the past?

I don’t want to give out particulars just yet (it’s not political, ok?). I’m very interested in what you think.

Is it worth it to get involved in the web community anymore?
Is it time for some of us to hang up our badges as “Net Police”?
You can even post anonymously and/or not leave an email.

Reasons for Christmas, FREE Hanukkah & XMas E-Cards… and STILL no damn newsletter.

Oh man… another season flying by this year. It seems like only yesterday that the Christmas Season started in September… where does the time go?

I’m going to try and squeeze a newsletter out before Christmas… but no promises.

Free Hannukah and Christmas E-Cards here… I’ll probably be making them Flash next year.

Photos FROM Dec 11th’s Reasons for Christmas live show are up on their site. I have to add a new review FROM the L.A. Times and I believe we’re going to wrap it up over there for now. Plans are being made for it next year to not only raise money for Pocono Area Transitional Housing… but it will be re-packaged with a new INSERT and raise money for a Pentagon Memorial for the victims of Sept. 11th.

A few people have asked here how well the sales went. I know the goal was to raise $300,000. I have no idea how close they got, but I know some major companies kicked in FROM the community:

  • East Stroudsburg Savings Association not only fronted the money for all production costs, but bought a copy for each employee and sold them at every bank branch.
  • The PA SKI Association bought a copy for each member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
  • Aventis Pasteur footed the bill for the live show.

For those who have been too polite to ask where the copy of Reasons for Christmas that you won back in November. Please don’t take it out on your mailman… the embarrassing truth is, I haven’t been able to mail them out yet. I’m really sorry, and your gift will be coming to you later than expected.

Which brings me to the rest of the post…
I need to take up something with someone privately, so I ask that unless you’re a jolly dude dressed in red, or one of his helpers this is the end of the line for you guys. (Which I realize is a dumb thing to say considering I’m asking for privacy on a web page… but it’s something I need to get off my chest and will probably DELETE afterwards or I’m going to have a nervous breakdown.)
Continue reading “Reasons for Christmas, FREE Hanukkah & XMas E-Cards… and STILL no damn newsletter.”

What’s coming up in 1984… uhm, I mean 2004

My stats are ridiculously low… at least here on WHUZZUP. I hear that same complaint on a lot of blogs I visit too. Like people went off on summer vacation, and never came back. (Most likely it’s “Supply and Demand”. I couldn’t *possibly* visit every site I link to in one sitting. And I’m sure I’ve pissed off everyone at this point to insure I’m not a “must read” anywhere.)

Elsewhere, my stats dictate it’s painfully obvious that the people want escapism and entertainment.

You may think I’m out of my mind for saying this… but I’m relieved.
This takes the pressure off of me HAVING to write here constantly. I have way better things to do, like unroll a 2004 redesign (or three with a “skinning option”), make much-needed repairs on my fonts, free stuff, and e-cards sections… bring back the “The Guestbook FROM Hell”.

And most of all, not have to discuss politics. I hate talking politics.
It turns people off as much as my flame wars did.

2004 Predictions: If you thought blogland was ugly with the Iraq war… you ain’t seen nothing yet. The Presidential race will be the nastiest viper pit of mudslinging, and emotionally immature and ignorant turdfest imaginable, and the web will definitely be one of the frontlines.

As much as I’d love to slam back at all of the “bad asses” who are just beginning to be aware of world events, and are suddenly “experts”… I’d rather leave that to the pros.
Continue reading “What’s coming up in 1984… uhm, I mean 2004”

SoApBoX: Mission Accomplished… uhm, again

You know…

I *TRIED* to be nice. I figured I would stay out of trouble for the next few months so I can fix some things here, I wouldn’t get political until after the political conventions this summer…

I thought my response below was gracious and honest, and then warbloggers had to play let’s gloat and piss all over the place and litter “anti-warblogger” comments, and ruin what was an awesome day for America and Iraq.

So in keeping with the “there’s an equal and opposite reaction” law, here’s the rest of my response of yesterday’s news:
Mission Accomplished… uhm, again

Coming soon: The CyberPal Store!

Stress-Man coffee mugYou know you want one.
Admit it.

Stress-Man Coffee Mug ($10.99)

I figured for the holiday season, I would follow in the footsteps of my spiritual leader, Reverend Mykeru and open up my own CafePress store:

EricBrooks.Com Stuff! (or “The CyberPal Store”). I don’t know, I’m still tossed. Maybe both.
Continue reading “Coming soon: The CyberPal Store!”

Send FREE Halloween E-Cards via my Card Shop

Yep kiddies, it’s time to start sending all of your friends and loved ones FREE Halloween E-Cards right here at Eric Brooks.Com!

Pumpkin GraveHalloween E-Cards

  • Choice of 6 cards
  • Scores of MIDI songs, including “Thriller” and Georgio Moroder’s “Theme FROM Halloween”
  • Scores of MIDI songs to choose FROM besides Bobby Pickett’s “Monster Mash” (set as default)
  • Animated gifs
OR…

Monster Mash 2003Monster Mash 2003

  • Party on with “Frankie” and the boys in their own discGOULteque!

Why use my card shop instead of the others?

  1. I don’t sell or give away email to spammers (unlike some other places).
  2. E-Mail notification when your party has read your card.
  3. I’ll send you a “thank you” email and let you know what else is going on here, but that’s automatically generated. Your email isn’t being harvested or stored anywhere else.
  4. Completely confidential, as the database entry is removed after 14 days, and inaccessible to spambots at all times.

There’s also Romance, Humor, and Personalized E-Cards too.

EricBrooks.Com® – Because all the best things in life are FREE…
…and I think we can all agree this site qualifies as one of the “best things in life”, right?

Pocono Web Designers

Hmmm… I just did a search on “Pocono Web Designers” and found I’m only ranking #4 on MSN Search, and #22 on Google (well, I SHOW up a little earlier on the list, but it’s work-related.)

This disturbs me, as once upon a time I was king of all I surveyed.

Three years ago, three sites I made were the #1, 2, & 3 search results for “Homes in the Poconos” (Which of course drew a lot of traffic and leads FROM New York City)… now I see only one is hanging in at #8. (and that site is long gone.).

See, I know all the tricks, and the places to go for search engine placement and submission. I’ll be more that happy to share some of my secrets. Privately. Nothing I would publish publicly, or all of the other pocono web designers will do it.

The one trick I can share is using the words you want to be found for (Like “Pocono Web Designers”, for example)… on a page that is constantly updated and kept fresh will definitely advance your placement.

I certainly hope you folks don’t think that’s what I’m up to here, with my constant reference to Pocono Web Designers over and over in this post.

I’m not saying that I’m not.

I just don’t want you to think it, that’s all. :0)

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Disclaimer: The views expressed herein are solely those of Eric Brooks. They do not necessarily reflect those of his employers, friends, contacts, family, or even his pets (though my cat, Puddy, seems to agree with me on many key issues.). In accordance to my terms of use, you hereby acknowledge my right to psychoanalyze you, practice accupuncture, and mock you incessantly with every visit. As the user, you also acknowledge that the author has been legally declared a "Problem Adult" by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and is therefore not responsible for any of his actions. ALSO, the political views and products advertised on this site may/may not reflect the views of Puddy or myself, so please don't take them as an endorsement. We just need to eat.


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