gconf has posted an article on how to add trackbacks to your blog. So, what in the world is a trackback? Here's a quote from Movable Type's Beginner's Guide to Trackback:

In a nutshell, TrackBack was designed to provide a method of notification between websites: it is a method of person A saying to person B, "This is something you may be interested in." To do that, person A sends a TrackBack ping to person B.

And why would person B be interested in what person A has to say?

• Person A has written a post on his own weblog that comments on a post in Person B's weblog. This is a form of remote comments--rather than posting the comment directly on Person B's weblog, Person A posts it on his own weblog, then sends a TrackBack ping to notify Person B.
• Person A has written a post on a topic that a group of people are interested in. This is a form of content aggregation--by sending a TrackBack ping to a central server, visitors can read all posts about that topic. For example, imagine a site which collects weblog posts about Justin Timberlake. Anyone interested in reading about JT could look at this site to keep updated on what other webloggers were saying about his new album, a photo shoot in a magazine, etc.

Alright, so lets give it a whirl. Following gconf's instructions:

• New blog entry (which would be this one) ... check!
• Find a long textbox titled "Trackback" ... check!
• Copy trackback url into the textbox on the edit entry page and click the "Send Trackback" button ... check! To see this action, take a look at the screenshot. The Trackback box is at the bottom highlighted in yellow.
• After pressing the "Send Trackback" button, you should see a green status box. (screenshot)

Now if you go look at the comments on gconf's post, you'll see that this entry had been added there and prefixed with [Trackback].

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Published: (2005-06-17 09:18:42.0)

Near sunset, I noticed strange light filtering through the house. I was puzzled, because it had been raining, and well, there shouldn't be any light. Intrigued I headed outside was immediately awed, the light was fantastic. The clouds had broken and the mother nature was putting on a light show. I ran inside and grabbed my camera. When I came back out, a magnificent rainbow had appeared. "Sweet!" I exclaimed. Then I ran inside and grabbed my daughter who was getting ready for bed. "Rainbow!" I told her as I scooped her up. We headed outside and I pointed up to the sky to show her. The rainbow was beautiful and clear, taking up most of the sky. "Oooohhhh pretty" she said. "I want to touch it" she said as she reached up. "I think it's too far away" she said as she put down her arm. "That's okay, sweetie, you keep trying" I told her smiling. We spent a few moments in silence, enjoying the show. Finally we headed in, and she told the rainbow goodbye. So to mother nature, thank you ma'am, I rather enjoyed that.

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Published: (2005-06-17 00:13:44.0)

So, here I am, hunched over and doing my best impression of prehistoric man. My spine seems to be curved like the new swooping S-curve Sun design. How the body puzzles me so. So, pop the motrin, and I'll continue to strain in effort to straighten, straighten, almost ... straighten ... nope, back to the distorted reality of the day. Sit up straight! I can't sir, really I can't. I suppose you could lend me a steel rod and some clamps, and a few bolts. That might do the trick. But until then, I'll have to walk the halls in shame, and try not to think too much on how I look like an ass. I'll close my eyes, and try to ignore the thoughts of those I pass by, "what's with him? He's walking around like he's got a stick up his ..." No, no, no, my temporary hallway companions, never mind my smirk and slip of the giggle. For it is not you I besmirch, but that I imagine myself as Dogberry:

"Dost thou not suspect my place? Dost thou not suspect my years? O that he were here to write me down an ass! but, masters, remember that I am an ass; though it be not written down, yet forget not that I am an ass. No, thou villain, thou art full of piety, as shall be proved upon thee by good witness. I am a wise fellow; and, which is more, an officer; and, which is more, a householder; and, which is more, as pretty a piece of flesh as any in Messina; and one that knows the law, go to; and a rich fellow enough, go to; and a fellow that hath had losses; and one that hath two gowns, and everything handsome about him. Bring him away. O that I had been writ down an ass!"

So, remember kindly, that if you think I am, know that I am. I am what I am. Right. I'm off to whimper quietly in my office. Behind a closed door, mind you.

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Published: (2005-06-16 06:10:00.0)

Savage Chickens (via Drawn!) is an online chicken cartoon by Doug Savage.

"Like some sort of haunting supernatural force, the chickens bubbled up from the darkness of Doug's subconscious mind. In a trance-like state, he drew them on office whiteboards. He drew them in notebooks. He drew them on anything that sat still long enough. People started asking, "Who's drawing those damn chicken cartoons everywhere?"

Doug tried to stop but he couldn't. The chickens were unstoppable. To retain his sanity, all he could do was grab a stack of sticky notes, and release the Savage Chickens."

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Published: (2005-06-15 17:23:05.0)

What would you say, given one free minute of anonymous, uncensored speech? A very cool idea indeed. I highly recommend watching the video - the setting up part is intriguing onto itself. The first call grabs your attention: ""I have cancer ... and cancer sucks"

I had a vision that this would take the place of the raving lunatics that spout obcenities and other random interjections at no one particular in the Tenderloin. Welcome to modern world, where you too can be a madman without the being revealed as such. But on the other hand, you could be brilliant, and profoundly impact a stranger with words that snuck out the back door of your heart.

So, what would you say?

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Published: (2005-06-15 09:45:31.0)

Vince Clark was a member of Depeche Mode when they first hit the music scene. He left in 1981 and went on to form Yazoo with Allison Moyet. Yazoo is probably better known as Yaz here in the states. Their Upstairs at Eric's debut album was amazing, combining synth pop with Moyet's powerful vocals. And in my opinion, her voice is what makes the music so wonderful.

For the song choice I'm going with "In My Room", which is one of the more quirky pieces.

"i stand alone and watch the clock
i only wait for it to stop
and in the room locked up inside me
the cutout magazines remind me
i sit and wait alone in my room

and in my room against the wall
there is picture very small
a photograph i took some years ago
it shows a picture of the room i know
i sit and wait alone in my room

the walls are white and in the night
the room is lit by electric light

i stand and watch the clock
i only wait for it to stop
the doors are shut and all the windows lock
the only sound is from the clock
i sit and wait alone in my room"

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Published: (2005-06-14 16:10:23.0)

Here's a blurb of who Don was:

Don was both well known in the HCI community outside Sun, as well as a vital part of the UI design community at Sun. One of his last projects at Sun was the Java Look and Feel Design Guidelines that won a whole slew of awards.

There's an amazing journal of Don's struggle with a brain tumor. The tone is overwhelmingly positive, and of someone who has said "right. Well, let's get down to it." I feel privileged and grateful for Don and his wife letting me read what they went through. It's something to admire and take as a very powerful lesson - to be that strong and at peace with one of life's hardest challenges.

Don's story strikes a chord with me, in that I've had some of the problems he faced at the beginning. I suffered dizzy spells, and fell down a few times. Frankly, they scared the crap out of me. Losing control of your body like that is a frightening experience. I went and saw my doctor, who is normally a jokester and laughs a lot. I began describing what I was going through, and the smile left his face. "You need to get tested. Now" he said very seriously. Which just made me even more frightened. The specialist wanted to have some scans done. For the scans, they strapped me down, and stuffed me into a small tube (my shoulders hit the edge on the way in) and told me not to move for 45 minutes. Then they pulled me out, injected a dye into me, and put me back for another round. The only thing that kept me from screaming was thoughts of my wife.

So the results? They didn't know. Nothing was obvious. They tried a few more tests. They gave me a drug that turned me into a babbling 12-year old. I had to struggle with effort to form every word I said. They still didn't know.

So, at least I didn't have a brain tumor. And I'm grateful beyond words for that. Because I am very sure that I would not be as graceful or as strong as Don was.

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Published: (2005-06-13 16:49:08.0)

I'm going with a theme for this week in my picks - women.

Sinead O'Connor was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Rock Vocal Performer, Female", for her stunning debut L.P. The Lion And The Cobra. She lost out to Tina Turner, but "a terrible beauty was born." I remember asking myself "what's with the shaved head?" but then I heard her sing, and then it really didn't matter.

I saw her live at the Berkeley Community Theater, and it was one of the most amazing shows I have seen. Recording media does not do justice to her voice. I remember when she first let her voice go, letting it soar, I was floored and chills went down my spine.

For the song pick, I'm going with "Jackie", a mournful Irish ballad with the an escalating urgent electric guitar. It's a song that affects me every time I hear it. I can feel the sadness, I can smell the salt of the sea, the sand of the cold beach as I search the horizon, the biting wind drying my bitter hopeless tears ...

Jackie left on a cold, dark night
Telling me he'd be home
Sailed the seas for a hundred years
Leaving me all alone
And I've been dead for twenty years
I've been washing the sand
With my ghostly tears
Searching the shores for my Jackie - oh

I remember the day the young man came
He said, your Jackie's gone
We got lost in the rain
And I ran to the beach
And laid me down

You're all wrong, I said
And they stared at the sand
That man knows that sea
Like the back of his hand
He'll be back some time
Laughing at you

And I've been waiting all this time
For my man to come
Take his hand in mine
And lead me away
To unseen shores

I've been washing the sand
With my salty tears
Searching the shore
For these long years
And I'll walk the seas forever more
Till I find my Jackie oh ...

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Published: (2005-06-13 11:11:17.0)

The inspiration for today's pick come from eBay:

Now you can own Green Day's very first tour van. On there way of becoming the Kings of Punk, before they were signed, before the Bookmobile, they did two U.S. tours in this van. Enjoy the graffitti, stickers, and the stories this van could tell you behind every dent of this one of a kind vehicle. This is the 1985 Ford Econoline 150, still running and just as the band left it.

Talk about a sweet Father's day gift!

Green Day's Dookie was the right album at the right time, and pretty much single handedly revived punk music. I remember when they were still playing places like 924 Gilman, and I wanted to head down and check them out. My friends told me "dude you don't want to go there." I asked why not. "Total hardcore punks man, they'll kick your ass." I thought "yeah whatever" and went anyways. I had a good time and no one hassled me, altough I did kinda stick out. But I was there for the music, and not to gawk at the young angelheaded hipsters.

When I first caught the video for "Longview", I was entranced. "Wow" I thought. I was hooked, and went out and brought the CD. And now I have all their CDs.

Today's pick is "Welcome to Paradise", a not so pleasant commentary of a place in Oakland where Billy Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt lived as teenagers.

Dear mother,
Can you hear me whining?
It's been three whole weeks
Since I left your home
This sudden fear has left me trembling
'Cause now it seems that I
am out here on my own
And I'm feeling so alone

Pay attention to the cracked streets
And the broken homes
Some call it slums
Some call it nice
I want to take you through
A wasteland I like to call my home
Welcome to paradise

A gunshot rings out at the station
Another urchin snaps and
Left dead on his own
It makes me wonder why I'm still here
For some strange reason it's now
Feeling like my home
And I'm never gunna go ...

... Dear Mother,
Can you hear me laughing?
It's been six whole months since that
I have left your home
It makes me wonder why I'm still here
For some strange reason it's now
Feeling like my home
And I'm never gunna go ..."

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Published: (2005-06-07 16:56:03.0)

The title is in a sarcastic tone in regards to my daughter. She woke up again last night, crying and telling us she had a bad dream. Nothing will wake you up quicker than your child's sudden screaming in the middle of the night. You'll find yourself in their room before you are really aware of what you are doing.

So where do the notions of monsters come from? I was startled when my daughter started to talk about them, because I had never mentioned them. A revelation came when we saw the cover art for Where the Wild Things Are, my daughter pointed and told me the name of the book. I raised an eyebrow and asked "how do you know about that? Do you read that at school?" She nodded yes. That explained alot.

On that topic, there's an interview with the book's creator available on NPR, "A Conversation with Maurice Sendak." His favorite subject? "Scaring children." From my point of view, he's got that down pat. Bastard ( *shakes fist and smiles ruefully* ). Also it looks like they are making a movie out of the book, directed by Spike Jonze. Unfortunately information is thin on the project.

And lastly, via Drawn! The Illustration Blog comes Monster Engine, which sets out to answer the question, "What would a child's drawings look like if painted realistically?" I have to say the results are pretty freakin' scary. Now I am going to have nightmares.

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Published: (2005-06-06 10:22:29.0)

Reading through Neil Gaiman's blog, I came across an entry where he lists some do's and don'ts for people attending on his book signings (which I have done.) I would have to say my favorite helpful hit would be:

"11) Remember your name. Know how to spell it, even under pressure, such as being asked."

I think I am going to add that to my morning checklist. If I can't get past that one, I'm staying in bed until things look better.

My experience on having Neil Gaiman sign some of my books (I have a very large collection os his writings) was a very positive one. He was very patient, which was admirable considering the length of the line and the number of items he was asked to sign. I was nervous, and determined to think of something witty to say (which he also comments on - I laughed.) So finally my turn came, and I handed over my Sandman #1 (see image). He gently removed the comic from the slipcase, handling it with great care, and drew some pretty cool art on the cover before signing it. He signed a couple of more books, and then I asked him a question about the ending of Neverwhere. I was curious if the feather meant anything, and he replied that the feather meant nothing, and it was just a red herring. I then told him "thank you very much." He smiled and answered "you are very welcome." Nice chap.

On a side note, I just discovered they are doing a comic version of his book Neverwhere. Very cool indeed. I'll be adding those to the collection.

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Published: (2005-06-03 11:38:45.0)

I have a few songs in the queue for Song of the Day, but it's Friday, and I like to pick a song that's fun and has energy. With that being said, Dramarama's "Haven't Got A Clue" just popped up in my random shuffle. Yep, that will do, thank you very much Mr. Random Shuffle.

Dramarama put out some pretty good music while they were around. You may have heard "Anything, Anything" or "Last Cigarette." And if you haven't, where the heck were you in the late 80's?

Well, what do you know ... just reading through John Easdale's (the group's frontman) website, and Dramarama are still around! They have a new album coming out, and are actively touring. You should definitely check them out if you get the chance.

Have a great weekend!

"...Do they wear plaid in China?
or leather in Bombay?
Oh Ohh, I really couldn't say
Oh no, I really couldn't say
Whoao-hao

Take me high on your silent wings
And I swear I'll do anything for you
Make you smile, give you words to say
And I swear I'll give everything to you..."

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Published: (2005-06-03 10:29:20.0)

So I'm looking for a cool bag. You know that thing you just throw stuff in to transport from home to work, and visa versa. I've been using the bags from the JavaOne Conferences (by the way, have you registered?) for years now, but now I have a yearning for something different. You know, something sleek and cool. And by cool I mean lots of pockets and zippers and ever more pockets to hold my stuff. I have lots of stuff. Work stuff, art stuff, books to jot down poetry, pens, pencils, wine/beer opener and even a 5gb Seagate Pocket Hard Drive.

Tumi makes some cool stuff, but they are expensive. Timbuk2 have some nifty bags, but not nearly enough pockets and zippers. Chrome is local, and their Vagrant Utility Bag is a maybe. (detour link: Cars R Coffins: Bicycle. Punk Rock. Action.) R.E. Load Baggage has some very cool bags. If you want a truly unique bag, check out their custom stock. And then there's the Office Envoy from Jansport. The description "Concealed stash pockets—spy vs. spy. Hide your secrets." made me go "oh yeah, that's what I'm talking about." And did I mention that I want the bag to be able to last through me throwing it in the back of my truck and my usual beat-the-crap-out-of-my-possessions mode. Is that too much to ask?

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Published: (2005-06-01 14:33:43.0)