It’s interesting for me to recall my first significant appearance on the internet, but it was exactly five years ago this month, and it was in a very interesting situation. Webmacster87.info did not exist yet, my awareness of phpBB didn’t exist yet, I actually had not even touched IM services yet. However, the past way to share this would be to look at what was happening again.

The month was May 2003, and I was in sixth grade. The big story of the time was that some guy from the Bay Area named Stephen Joseph had sued Kraft/Nabisco because their Oreo cookies contained deadly trans fats, and that they were being marketed towards and sold to children, and furthermore, the public had no awareness of how bad trans fats were. Well, within a week, the suit was retracted, because it had garnered so much press that the claim of the public having no awareness of how bad trans fats are was no longer valid. Nevertheless, that suit did help to raise awareness of the dangers of partially hydrogenated oils, and helped Oreo, Crisco, McDonalds, and many others go trans-fat free, as well as convincing the FDA to add Trans Fat to the nutrition label in 2006.

But what did this have to do with me? Well, at the time that this made the news, in my English class (although at middle school, it was called “Language Arts & Reading”), we ended up being assigned a research paper based on it. We were instructed to do some research on the news and the issues and then write a short essay where we conveyed our opinion on the issue. Now, I personally went about this on the premise that what this Stephen Joseph guy was crazy by wanting to take Oreo cookies out of schools. But, as I went onto his website, Ban Trans Fats, and looked at other things about the case, my mind was changed for me and I found myself completely in favor of banning trans fats.

Not only did I complete my essay and turn it in, but for whatever reason that I do not recall, I had e-mailed Stephen Joseph and sent him a copy of what I wrote. He wrote back with high praise for it, to the point where he wanted to know if he (with my parents’ permission) could post it on his website. He gave it its own dedicated page, where it still is today. And so, when I had the opportunity to share what I wrote with the rest of my class that day five years ago, I had something to brag about.

Looking back, I obviously have somewhat higher standards of writing today than I did then, but that really represents my first free-style persuasive essay (as in the kind where I don’t have to follow “rules” and all that junk), and nowadays, I’m starting to receive awards for some of my written opinions. Plus, it represents my very first little slice of online fame–quite interesting to think about considering how much my life is dependent on the internet today.

Tags: 2003, English, essay, history, internet, memories, middle school, Oreos, Personal, Stephen Joseph, trans fats, Writing

EDITOR’S NOTE (What editor?): The purpose of this post is purely to vent. Nothing written in this post should (at this point) be considered as indicative of any future changes or announcements, but is purely for the purpose of me to vent about some stuff that has been on my mind.

I’m sure that if you’re one of the meager few whom have followed PreviewCast, you have noticed that its path has gotten considerably bumpy thus far. And I’ve got to say, I have spent many, many hours over the past weeks and months debating about PreviewCast, its purpose, and its place in life and on the internet.

Now granted, I do have to say this for PreviewCast: when we restarted it in July 2006, we really were moving into uncharted territory and had no idea how it would continue. In short: it was summer, and we were bored, and we wanted to start doing it again. We knew that in 2005, the show had fallen apart after 5 episodes when school started and life started, and so we sort of dealt with somewhat of a tension in terms of whether we would still make it when school started, and whether we would make it past the five episode barrier.

It was to our delightful surprise that this “second generation” of PreviewCast actually started to become successful and built a personality for itself. We consistently produced about thirteen episodes (twelve regular plus one special edition) from mid-July to the end of October, during which we also had one guest (Micheal Cottingham from phpBB who was on episode #006 during the AboutUs.org debacle). Then, we ended up missing about three weeks in November, partially due to the busy part of a school semester, but we re-emerged during Thanksgiving to record two great episodes (and then to completely reinvigorate a broken-apart website by rebuilding it)–including interviews with Leah Culver, and later in December, Adam Christianson. We had a lot of moments to look back on during our 2006 Best-Of episode, #018. Shortly after this, I got started on my second podcast, phpBB Weekly.

We went right on through the end of January, although some tensions did emerge as we started to tackle the question of “randomness” versus “decency.” Nevertheless, looking back, the early part of 2007 reflects some of my favorite PreviewCast memories. We had another hiatus in February due to the couple of weeks that I was sick in bed, but then we sprung back together in March when we had an interview with TalkShoe CEO Dave Nelsen, a special episode seminar at my school, and then a much-beloved April Fools Day parody of Diggnation (complete with the Stewarts Orange & Cream!!!).

We had a few episodes in April, but didn’t get anything done in May (again, busy with school, end of semester, etc.). However, we got going again around Memorial Day weekend, and had a nice set of episodes in June, including episode #035, which featured my favorite back-and-forth argument with Larry: a 30+ minute argument over Safari for Windows. Then, we had two episodes from the day of the iPhone launch–a day which I’ll never forget–in which Robert and I talked about the launch outside our Apple Store on a park bench and I then interviewed the folks in line. Looking back, I was really proud of my interviewing the folks in line, which gave me practice for some episodes some time later. July continued with our one-or-two year celebration, a Matt Mullenweg interview, plus an excellent experience covering WordCamp and interviewing people there. And then, we reached the peak of this running streak with our forty-second episode on August 7th when we covered the iMac/iLife/iWork special event one-hour after the keynote ended.

And that’s when it plateaued. School started. People got busy. I spent many weekends online trying to record an episode, but with no one becoming available. Sometimes, I didn’t really have time to record. We did manage to pump out three episodes in late September–one of which was an amazing interview with Lorelle VanFossen and my most favorite interview ever, but after that, we went back down into the ditches. Our feed was entirely silent for two and a half months. Although he was the co-host, Larry had only been on PreviewCast twice since April. Not that I blamed him–I understand more than anyone that as teenagers, we have a lot happening in our lives, and have significant time constraints to deal with. Nevertheless, it was somewhat irritating to me, and Larry and I exchanged numerous IMs and e-mails over the possibility of ending PreviewCast. But, we never really had the will to do so.

Now, it’s interesting how this plays out–the feelings that I had and still have over ending PreviewCast somewhat reflects the feelings that I had in mid-2006 regarding my commitments with the phpBB MOD Team. I haven’t talked very much about the details on why I left the MOD Team in August 2006, partly because they were somewhat embarrassing circumstances. But it’s important to remember that at that time, I was in a very interesting situation. I had only become familiar with phpBB in June 2004, written my first very basic MOD in October 2004, doing a slightly more substantial MOD in February 2005, and then in November I grabbed an opportunity to apply to the MOD team, and I was accepted. However, I was only 14 years old, a freshman in high school, and with only a small amount of self-taught PHP experience, I was probably the least experienced person on the team and I was certainly the youngest person ever on the team. Plus, I had a very committed life–I look back on my freshman year as such a difficult year for me partially because I really overcommitted myself that year. By the time 2006 came around, I wasn’t being very productive towards the teams, I was having conflicts with other team members, and I was starting not to enjoy it very much. But at the same time, i was very reluctant to quit because there were some ways in which I liked being on the teams, and I certainly enjoyed having the status of being a MOD Team member. Nevertheless, things continued to deteriorate, up until the point where, two days before my sophomore year started in August 2006, I was asked to step down.

Quite frankly, I was only heartbroken about that for about a day. School started, I had recently gotten going with PreviewCast, and quite frankly, sophomore year was so crazy that I probably managed to survive because I wasn’t committed to the teams anymore. I ended up starting phpBB Weekly five months later, and I feel that I make a much better contribution to the phpBB community through that venture.

But I have a very similar feeling with PreviewCast too, and I think Larry does as well. We know that PreviewCast is not doing well. We’re all getting very busy, and as such, general interest and commitment in keeping PreviewCast going has been declining. Larry has not been able to make it to our usual 4:30 PM Eastern recording time on Sunday afternoon since last June (he was on once in late-December for a Boxing Day episode, when we recorded really early in the morning to adjust to his schedule). Even I have had to skip out a number of weeks because of things going on in my life, plus a number of our regular PreviewCasters have had life move on. Plus, we’re all growing older, and a number of things are coming over the horizon. Larry and Skoker are graduating in June (and congrats to them, by the way), and they’ll likely be moving on in life. I have ever-growing commitments in my life, plus my time to start college-searching has begun.

But yet, we really don’t want to let go of PreviewCast for whatever reason, and I really think that it’s because we have never done it for the subscribers, we have never done it for ad revenue, we have never done it for any self-serving reason whatsoever other than the fact that we have enjoyed doing it. PreviewCast has more or less been fun for us. In fact, sometimes when I tell friends or teachers about the things that I do, they often ask me what I do for fun–well, blogging and podcasting is what I do for fun. That is my hobby. And that’s why we have both been so hesitant to end PreviewCast or to disassociate with PreviewCast: we love doing it.

We have tried to restart the show back during Winter Break in December, and we’ve recorded a few shows, including a special Macworld 2008 set of interviews (#049), and an excellent fiftieth episode that we did in January. And then, once again, we have gone dormant. Part of that can be blamed on my recent Sojourn trip which has usurped a significant amount of free time, but then again, I have tried for these past few weeks to assemble PreviewCast episodes, and again have been met by a silent, already-committed internet.

I’m really trying to decide where to go and what to do. I really don’t feel like I can continue to work like this: trying to ask a bunch of people to try to come together for an episode, set aside my own time to prepare and be here to record an episode, and then see no results. At the same time, PreviewCast is a part of two networks that will only let the show stay around if we are somewhat reliable at actually producing content, which has not been happening. I really feel tempted to want to throw in the towel and say that PreviewCast is over due to a lack of commitment. But at the same time, I still want to be able to have some sort of a podcast where I can be able to offer my comments and opinions on tech stuff in a way that I can’t do it on a blog–but I want to be able to do it with someone and be able to do it regularly.

So, at this point I’m frustrated because of where PreviewCast has been going and yet continuing my continuous desire to have some sort of a teen-based tech podcast, regardless of whether or not it’s modeled after PreviewCast. I hope to be able to figure something out soon.

Tags: comments, discussion, episodes, friends, frustrations, guests, history, MOD Team, MODs, opinions, Personal, phpBB, phpBB Weekly, Podcasts, PreviewCast, rant, tech, venting

These are diary entries that I wrote throughout my ten-day Sojourn to the Past trip on February 14-23. Each entry is posted here two weeks after it was originally written, due to the provision that I didn’t have any computer or internet access during my trip. Be sure to check out my other Sojourn to the Past coverage. Enjoy.

Today was another long day. After our 8 AM breakfast, we started with what was titled “The longest lesson of our life.” Personally, I’m not sure of the validity of that statement, but I thought that it was certainly worth it. The lesson was about the Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954 and about the Little Rock Nine’s integration of Little Rock Central High School. We met each of the nine (through a movie) and were introduced to their struggle to get into Central and what they endured. We then went into how the students there could permit such atrocities hapening in their school, and thus, the dangers of being a silent witness.

Then, Minnijean Brown-Trickey (one of the Little Rock Nine) spoke. She talked about how a lot of what goes down in history is unimportant to teenagers because the historians are old people, and she discussed how the events surrounding the Nine were really a fight about who had the power and the law: state government or the federal government. She then answered some questions, and then we did a “give back” session, where we shared with Minnijean the words we used to describe her and why.

We then had a lesson on Medgar and Myrlie Evers, who were voting rights leaders from Mississippi. We learned about the deplorable voting rights laws in Mississippi and learned about the horrendous things that its state government did to spy and cause the systematic killing of black voters and their sympathizers. It was shocking and amazing to learn that the same things that this country criticized Nazi Germany, China, and the Soviet Union for took place here in this country.

Finally, after dinner, we went to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Historical Museum. We had exclusive access there tonight, and got to take a very close look at the six major exhibits there: Segregation, The King Family, Call to Lead, Visiting the Mountain Top, Expanding the Dream, and Overcoming Loss. It was a very interesting and very interactive museum, with lots of pictures, words, and videos. We were also permitted to take pictures, which you’ll be able to see on my Flickr account once I get them posted.

Tomorrow we’re in for another lesson-filled day at the hotel, but already, in only two days, I have learned so much, and am looking forward to what’s still to come.

Tags: Arkansas, Atlanta, Central High School, civil rights, diaries, Dr. King, Georgia, history, King Center, Little Rock, Little Rock Nine, Medgar Evers, Minnijean Brown-Trickey, Mississippi, Myrlie Evers, Sojourn to the Past, Sovereignty Committee, voting rights

Good morning everyone, and Happy Valentine’s Day (even if I haven’t been paying any attention to Valentine’s Day this year, for obvious reasons). It’s about 3 AM as I’m writing this, and I’m getting ready to head off for my Sojourn to the Past trip. I posted my itinerary a week ago, and so I’ll be back online again on Sunday, February 24th.

However, as I leave, I thought that I’d leave one final thought, which was from Bill Moyers a month ago.

See you all in a week and a half.

Tags: Bill Moyers, civil rights, history, Lyndon Johnson, Martin Luther King, Personal, Sojourn to the Past, trip, Valentines Day

UPDATE: I have completed fundraising for Sojourn. However, if you are still interested in supporting the organization that sponsors the trip, you can get donation information on Sojourn’s website.

Hello everyone,

I’m going to break away from the regular content on Webmacster87.info to make a more personal post and a request for assistance. I have been invited to go on a once in a lifetime journey with students from my school, called Sojourn to the Past. Sojourn is a ten-day academic tour through major civil rights sites in Atlanta, Georgia; Montgomery, Alabama; Selma, Alabama; Birmingham, Alabama; Hattiesburg, Georgia; Jackson, Georgia; Little Rock, Arkansas; and Memphis, Tennessee. In addition to visiting such sites as Stone Mountain, the Edmund Pettus Bridge, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Civil Rights Memorial, Little Rock Central High School, and the hotel where Dr. King was assassinated, I also have the opportunity to meet a number of speakers who are a part of the civil rights movement.

All of the speakers teach lessons about tolerance, acceptance of others, non-violence, courage, compassion, forgiveness, and civic responsibility. Our group will meet Congressman John Lewis, from Georgia, who was arrested over 40 times and beaten fighting for justice and equality. We meet Elizabeth Eckford and Minnijean Brown Trickey, two of the Little Rock Nine, the first African American students to desegregate schools in our country in 1957, fifty years ago. In fact, Minnijean travels with us for part of the ten days! We also meet 85 year old Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth, who almost single-handedly desegregated Birmingham, Alabama. We meet Reverend Billy Kyles, who was on the balcony with Dr. King when he was shot in Memphis and spent the last hour of his life with him. We meet an incredible family called the Dahmers, whose father/husabnd was murdered in 1966 while leading voter registration drives. This family will share how they never gave up on justice, and continue to believe in the American system. We meet Chris McNair, whose daughter, Denise, was killed in the Birmingham Church Bombing in 1963. He is the father of one of the four little girls who were killed and shares his story of never giving up on justice and not to hate those who did this terrible deed.

The main reason that I want to go on this trip is because a lot of the extracurricular activities that I participate in are based on principles similar to those of the civil rights movement, and this trip is a special opportunity that I want to be a part of. I am intrigued by the thought of not just getting to learn more about the civil rights movement, but to actually be able to interact and meet the people that made the movement a reality. It’s a very special opportunity because these people won’t be around for much longer to share their perspectives. I’m really hoping to be able to go on this exciting trip.

The reason that I am writing this post is that I need to raise a total of $2500 in order to go, and I cannot personally afford the full cost of this trip, and so I am asking the readers of my blog, if they are interested and are able to, to donate so that I can raise enough money to go on this trip in February 2008. There are a few ways you can donate. The easiest way is through the Donate box that is on the left sidebar of Webmacster87.info–that will allow you to donate directly to me through PayPal. Note, however, that if you are donating via PayPal, a small PayPal fee is subtracted from that total (you may want to use the PayPal Fees Calculator to determine how much I’ll actually be getting), and PayPal donations are not tax-deductible. If you would prefer, you can leave a comment in this thread and I will personally contact you via the e-mail address that you specify with information on how you can send a check, which is tax-deductible (I would send you all the info on the various IRS quirks that are necessary to make it tax-deductible). In the Donation box, I have put a suggested default amount of $10, but any amount helps. If the total that I raise exceeds the needed $2500, then the extra goes toward a financial aid fund that is available for other students to attend this program.

If you would like to learn more about the trip, including the itinerary, list of speakers, and other information, feel free to check out Sojourn to the Past’s website.

Thanks in advance for any support you may be able to offer!
–Douglas Bell

Tags: assistance, civil rights, donations, fundraising, history, Personal, request, School, Sojourn to the Past, south, trip

In my continuing coverage of the week of the much-awaited-for Mac OS X Leopard release, which is probably a big joke considering that I’m spending half of this week completely out of town, possibly without internet access of any sort, I move on to Part 2 of my Tiger-to-Leopard series, which as far as I know is the only series on the entire Internet dedicated exclusively to looking at just how damn long it’s taken for Apple to get this latest cat out of its gigantic, iPhone-shaped bag. Today, I look at World News! In our rapidly changing, fairly turbulent world, what of national importance (and some things of unimportance) has happened in the last 2 and a half years?

I should mention, by the way, that this particular portion of my Tiger-to-Leopard series is brought to you almost in full by Wikipedia. Who would have thought that it could be such a useful resource for all kinds of wonderful information?

Shall we begin?
Continue reading »

Tags: history, Mac OS X Leopard, Tiger-to-Leopard, Wikipedia, world news

Us Mac users may have teased Windows lovers because it took Microsoft 5 years in between the releases of Windows XP and Windows Vista, but now we’re a little guilty of lengthy releases too. Mac OS X Tiger was released on April 28, 2005, and now Mac OS X Leopard will be released on October 26, 2007. Exactly 2 and a half years, which is half of the length of the interim between XP and Vista.

In preparation for the upcoming release of Leopard, I will be doing a 5-part series on my blog this week taking a look back at everything that has happened over the last 130 weeks. I was originally going to make this a single article, but after getting so many ideas, I have decided to split it into five posts covering five different categories of events. If you have any additional ideas of significant things that have happened during the last 910 days, leave them in the comments. (Although note that I will be out of town for a portion of this week; I have this full series pre-scheduled.)

In this first part of the Tiger-to-Leopard series, I cover the significant events affecting Apple themselves since Tiger came out. Be sure to check out the other articles in the series.
Continue reading »

Tags: announcements, Apple, article, history, iLife, iPhone, iPod, iWork, Mac, Mac OS X Leopard, Tiger-to-Leopard