Be Good Not Bad : Web Design :: Brian Warren : Denver, Colorado

Good Gravy, this has been a big time of creativity here in the world wide web this New Year’s Eve.

Vance Reeser has announced the release of his amazing short film, The Bear Hunt. This is well worth the wait of the download folks. Trust me, it’s incredible.

The Bear Hunt

I highly suggest you check out contributing editor Aaron Orr’s first podcast (known to be, as far as we can tell, the first podcast from Iraq). He details frustrating and funny things from his life in the Army, currently deployed to Iraq.

Check it out here: Ajo Journal – 30 Dec 2004

Good work, Aaron!

Five days ago I wrote a few posts about UPS and the fact that we just kept waiting for and waiting for a package that just wasn’t arriving. You’ll note the package did arrive. We had it sent 2 Day Air, but it took 9 days. That’s right. Nine Days. Why, you ask? Well, it’s due in no small part to this enormous snow storm that hit Arkansas. Oh and a little thing I like to call the complete incompetency of some, not all, UPS workers. Here’s, briefly, what happened.

Christmas Eve (Dec. 24): We noticed on the UPS Online Tracking that our package wasn’t going to make it to us, so I called them. I told them I understand about the weather and all, can they just get it to me in Colorado. They said they didn’t know why I didn’t get it, but, basically, sure. For whatever reason, someone requested that it be delayed till the 3rd.

Dec 27: We are in Colorado and notice that it’s not getting anywhere and Anna calls them. They say ok, not sure what happened, but we’ll get it to you, in Englewood, …

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This Article was written by Aaron Orr, Watchtan’s part-time contributer.

Christmas day kind of came and went here in Iraq. At least for me.

I did get the day off, which was really nice, though it just wasn’t really Christmas.

Every Christmas for as long as I can recall, with the exception of the one I spent in Kuwait (2001) and this one, I have gone to church, or been involved in the Candlelight Service at JBU.

There was no window shopping in New York City like I remember doing with my family nearly every year growing up. There were no get-togethers with friends, no carollers, no snow nor the silence that comes with it.

Maybe that’s why it didn’t feel like Christmas. I sat in a tent and watched water seep under the sides from the 24 hours of rain we were in the midst of. I didn’t sit on a couch in my parents’ warm, cozy living room and watch “A Christmas Story,” or “It’s a Wonderful Life,” or any of the myriad classics that help make it feel like Christmas.

I took …

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This Article was written by Aaron Orr, Watchtan’s part-time contributer.

I’ve become a remorseless coffee snob. Perhaps I’ve been one for a long time and have only now realized it.

Those of you who know me know I don’t do anything half-heartedly. I also don’t accept less than the best when it comes to my things.

Having said that I give you the following facts: The only places I’ve ever had coffee or coffee-based beverages (aside from the hardware store coffee I couldn’t get enough of at age 8) have been at my parents’ house, Brian’s, Casey’s, or at coffee shops. The aforementioned places always have great, freshly-ground coffee. Anything less is unacceptable.

I have come into near-ownership (possession being 9/10ths of the law) of a fairly new Starbucks Barista Athena espresso machine. Ever since I was up in Kirkuk toward the beginning of 2004 and began using said machine I’ve had access to many different kinds of vacuum-sealed whole beans, mostly from Starbucks. Needless to say I’ve not been drinking the sludge produced at the chow hall.

I have one bag of Starbucks House Blend …

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Our trip home was great. We had lots of fun riding in the car and enjoying hours and hours of podcasts. I’m so glad that I was behind on listening to them, as it gave us lots of good content to enjoy on the trip.

I have to say that Apple really came through for me on this trip. Many of you know I’m kind of a computer geek and I have a particular affinity for Apple’s stuff. That said, I try not to be a blind follower, and I try not to be annoyingly vocal about it either. So, disclaimers aside, I sure enjoyed using Apple’s stuff on this trip.

First of all, the iPod was a real trooper. We have one of the 30 GB ones that we got about a year ago. I use the thing every day walking to and from work, listening to tunes and podcasts. We listened to it on the way down, off and on. Coming back though, we listened to podcasts nearly the entire time. It gave out around 13 hours of use. Of course we just plugged it into the computer …

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We leave in mere minutes for a 16 hour drive back to Colorado. It begins in snowy and icey Central Arkansas. Yuck.

Merry Christmas everybody. I’m thankful for you for coming to this site and contributing. Thanks for making this time and place special.

For you I am offering some small token of thanks. Here’s some download treats for you.

I’ve put a few desktop pictures together for you, just download the ones that are particular to the resolution of your screen. If you don’t know the resolution of your monitor, well, just pick the middle-sized one. Click on the links with the resolutions to get the pictures (or right-click the link and choose “Save”; or on a Mac with Safari, option-click the link and it automatically downloads it).

Also, Google has deemed me worthy of giving out 6 more Gmail invitations. If you’d like one, let me know.

Rusty the Dog

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My Desk

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Current Weather in Haines Alaska
38°F Overcast with lows tonight around 25°F

Current Weather in Little Rock Arkansas
20°F Clear with lows tonight around 8°F.