Has anyone heard about this?

Free classified ads on Craigslist threaten newspapers. Open-source software is gaining on Microsoft (MSFT ) and Oracle (ORCL ). Now the convention business faces its own Web-inspired competition: the “unconference.”

Unconferences turn the plodding, predictable business gathering inside out. They’re a hybrid of a teach-in and a jam session, with a little show-and-tell mixed in, and they are attracting hundreds in cities like Austin, Tex., Bangalore, San Francisco, Sydney, and Tokyo. Unlike traditional, $1,000-a-head and up conferences, they’re totally unstructured—the agenda isn’t determined until the opening day of the event. Everyone who shows up is a potential speaker, and those who don’t speak contribute by posting photos, blog entries, podcasts, and video clips of the proceedings. Neckties and heels are noticeably absent. And attendance is almost always inexpensive or free. read more

It’s Woodzie-biz!

7:00 pm at Canyon High School. The play is called “Louder I Can’t Her You” and it’s very funny and I think you’ll really like it. I’ve been in the drama department for 6 years, all through Jr. High and High School, and just one time at the end of the Senior year do four Seniors get to direct and produce a play. It’s a big deal and this will be my night. I’d love to have you there and I promise it’ll be a show worth seeing. Tickets are $6 at the door, but we’re pre-ordering a bunch of tickets for family and friends who know they’re coming, advance tickets are only $3 for kids and seniors, and $4 for adults. So call us or comment on this post to tell us that you’re coming and we’ll order you an advanced ticket.

David is quite the ham! We went to NIOSA, bought a bunch of cascarones, ate cotton candy, and got his face painted on Friday. He stole his Daddy’s thunder at the King William Fair today when he stood on stage for the entire show and sang along with each song and played “guitar” with the band. Hope you might enjoy the photos!

Hillary & Mitch & David

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Happy Anniversary, Jim. I’m heading out to meet her for an anniversary lunch. Then instead of taking a trip like we usually do, this weekend we’re going to have an anniversary Woodzie.

We had a great Sunday hiking w/ the girls at nearby beautiful Friedrich Wilderness Park - only a couple of miles from Leon Springs. They were troopers during the 1.5 hour trail with their water canteens and all as Jack had taken them once before. Poor Bailey shoes hurt because she’s growing so fast & already outgrew them, so Jack carried her the last end.

Here’s the link to the awesome park:
http://www.sanaturalareas.org/fp/fpindex.html

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a diverse group of people are asked about their first impressions of each other.

She found a way to make it hip.

I have 6 of them and what I want to do is not use wood but some kind of extruded metal mesh for tops so that they can be left out in the rain. Dad’s email is down so we’re using the blog as an email substitute.

this first photo is one that still has the particle board top on it.

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Looks like lucky Mr. David got a cool new swing set at this pad in MidTown.

Listen to this before you hit the more button.

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remember being 14? It’s awesome. He’s awesome. I got him the “Across The Universe” DVD he wanted for his birthday. In this photo he looks like he could be in that movie. He’s always been a fan of the music of the great 60’s bands like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Now that he has the sunglasses and his hair is growing back and he has a girlfriend… he’s got his mojo working.

that brings one site up inside another. You can see full posts and comments here.

this is a live RSS feed of the whole woodzie site. There have been posts here about what RSS feeds are; you can use it to

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Please read my new Blog posting at http://www.blainewhipple.com on the service of Commodore Abraham Whipple to the founding of the United States. I promise you a good read and look forward to your comments.

Click on “The Whipples” on the home page. It is on the left side of the Home Page about half way down.

Blaine Whipple

P.S. The Blog on Gen. William Whipple has a few updates.

He’s doing better, Ken has been updating us and he had a really rough week. He’s going to get some physical therapy and then be going back to his house soon.

I don’t know too much other than that. Staying in touch with Ken Taylor is the thing to do. We’ll go see Uncle Jimmie this week, hopfully he’ll continue to improve. At 94 I know that everyday is a battle for him.

I was very glad to get a call today saying that it looks like he’s going to make it. Everyone asks if

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I remember the Goodwill shopping trip we made together when he found it. He would rarely buy anything at Goodwill, although I was not surprised because I can identify with his interest in this one which he bought and when we got home he ask me to hang it and I was having a little problem finding a proper picture hanger and he said he would take care of it and I never actually saw it again because he had stuck on top of the cabinet behind the mirror where he would only see when you opened the cabinet door.

Somehow he had developed a solid relationship with God through his 46 years of life and he included him in everything he did and the stories I remember and could tell about him would prove it. Somehow I feel he is still close by and as active in my life as I was in his. I can almost hear him talking and feel his presence at times.

Leningrad Cowboys with the Red Army Band and Choir.

on whether or not he can go a month without playing or having anything to do in any way with video games. He’s a couple of weeks into it and winning so far. I know how strong willed he is, I don’t know what I was thinking - it’s not like it’s going to cure him or anything, just give him $50 and an “I told you so” card. I think he was planning this and pool sharked me into it.

If this is going to cost me $50 then I should be able to get some jabs in there against too much game playing. Here’s a review from a guy who tested this old game called

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