Last Post Here

The previous post was a bit lengthy so here's a (really) final post for this site:

Reset your bookmarks for http://www.gowinfamily.net.

Do it today. Tell your friends. This is it. Really.

This Site Does Not Have a Future

I said changes were coming and I meant it (Luzio). Yapebe will be terminated.

I've jumped into blogging with both feet and have decided to separate my personal and professional blogging interests. I've been buying domains, setting up sites--you know: doing all that stuff to get into the late 90's just prior to the dot com bust. At the moment, then, here's what's happening:

• Personal and family matters are being handled on the new Gowin Family Blog. My wife and my brother and his fiancee will (may) also post there. Updates on most anything related to my life can be found here. In a sense, this site replaces Yapebe minus the technology and business content. To that effect:
  
• A professional blog on customer service resides at 5customers.com.
• I've got another pro blog planned to address parenting and child-raising issues.
• Another secret pro blog is already in progress. That site will likely go public within a few weeks.
• And I'll probably do a blog related to my academic work and interests.

Does this sound excessive? My apologies to the four people who visit this site regularly--I've now complicated your lives by giving you more sites to sift through. That is, of course, if you plan to continue following my life and interests. Sorry. All of the sites have or will have RSS feeds, so just add them to your favorite reader. I use and recommend Bloglines.

So that's the story. I'll probably leave this site up for a time but don't expect to add any new posts. Thanks for making Yapebe what it's become in the last two-and-a-half years. I'm going to get a little weepy now.

Changes On the Way

Check out what is likely to become one of the most frequently visited sites on the Inkernet. It's not much to look at--yet. But just wait, my friends.

Dylan in Des Moines

I saw Bob Dylan in concert last night.

One of my colleagues, Bob Lowery (a self-confessed Dylan addict), had tickets for Friday's show in Des Moines, IA and invited me to join him. Bob has seen Bob perform "over a hundred times;" this was my first Dylan show. We sat within 10 feet of the stage--not bad for your first Dylan concert.

I know the Dylan material that everybody knows ("Like a Rolling Stone," "Rainy Day Women," "Mr. Tambourine Man," "All Along the Watchtower," "Positively 4th Street," etc.). I also own Oh Mercy, which I was exposed to in college. The rest of the catalog--which is vast--is largely unknown to me. That's not to say that I don't appreciate the guy: after all, this is an American icon we're talking about. I've played "Like a Rolling Stone" a time or two in a coffee house, I just haven't followed his career with the same interest as others.

So what was my first experience with Mr. Dylan like?

• Merle Haggard opened. I appreciate honky tonk and the Bakersfield sound as much as anybody. At 70 years of age, Mr. Haggard's voice is silky smooth and he runs the show with veteran authority.
• This will make me sound old, but Bob's band was stinkin' l-o-u-d. Granted, we were in the front but I think a couple of my fillings rattled loose.
• Bob's band was also stinkin' good. Excellent musicianship all the way around. It was a treat to watch the guys--they rarely took their eyes off the band leader, following his lead and anticipating his cues.
  
• Bob likes to play with the arrangements and the vocals. Bob (Lowery) advised me of this beforehand, and even though I recognized about a third of the songs that were played, I didn't recognize them as the arrangements I grew up hearing.
• Bob doesn't interact with the audience with the exception of an occasional "thank you." Bob (Lowery) indicated that Bob (Dylan) is both shy and he doesn't feel the audience has come to hear him tell jokes.
• He looks old and tired. Again, this was my only personal encounter with the man--and maybe he was tired. Heck, doing a show in a different town every night is hard work. And he's nearly 65. How much longer can he keep this up? Don't know, but I'm glad I got to see him.
• The audience loved the show.
  
• The round trip took us nine hours from Lincoln. Bob (Lowery) and I had some great conversation to and fro.
  

My recommendation: if you get a chance, see a Dylan show. And, if possible, see it with Bob Lowery.

Oklahoma! Photos

Speaking of photos, shots from LCC's production of Oklahoma! are now in my SmugMug site. In the shot above, you'll see Suzanne on the far left.

Ten Years Celebrated

We got some time to ourselves this past weekend and spent Friday night at the Timbercreek Bed & Breakfast in Paxton, IL. Very nice place, quiet, friendly--recommended. Saturday afternoon we bummed around Chambana, buying Suzanne clothes and looking for a case for the iPod Nano (in black) that Suz gave me as a gift. Couldn't find one I liked so I ordered one later in the weekend.

We took a few pictures and Suzanne obliged while I shot. Check 'em out.

Ten Years of Wedded Bliss

Today I and the bride of my youth celebrate our tin, aluminum, or diamond anniversary--depending on how you keep score.

Send Suzanne your condolences at sgowin @ gmail dot com.

The Times They Are A' Changing

Soon...

Photos For Sale

I've recently joined iStockphoto, a "micro stock" photography service. Photographers and graphic artists upload images that designers can then download for use in their publications and web site designs. For designers, this is an inexpensive way to add stock images to their compositions; for photographers, it's a nice way to earn a few bucks. You can access my iStock portfolio by clicking the ugly orange logo, also preserved for posterity in the sidebar at right.

Facebook Pits Students Against Administrators

Students at the University of Dayton are trying to keep school administrators from using evidence disclosed in Facebook to identify and punish students for illicit behavior.

The resolution says the aim is to “Prohibit the use of facebook.com pictures, messages, associations, profiles and opinions as singular evidence in cases of misconduct by an individual student or group of students.”

Students around the country often use Facebook to post pictures and messages relating to a variety of extracurricular activities including underage drinking parties.

The logic behind the students' concerns appears to be this:

1. We want the freedom to engage in illegal activities
2. We want the freedom to publicize information regarding those activities
3. We don't want to get in trouble for 1 and 2

Makes perfect sense.

OK: Overheard

Tonight Suzanne had her stage debut: Oklahoma! runs tonight, tomorrow, and Saturday. On my way out the door from lunch today, I asked what time I needed to be home so Suz could get to the college on time. The following exchange then took place:

S: (looking surprised) Oh! My stomach just turned.
M: You know what I do when I feel like that?
S: What?
M: Throw up.