Bsitter.com, a project that Blake and I have been working on for a while now went live a couple of weeks ago. I have delayed talking about it because there were a few things in the site we were changing up and even though it was live, it was more of a live beta than anything else.

The site is still getting tweaked with features being added nightly. We have developed a rolling schedule for getting things to work and cool features and so far it has been smooth sailing.

The center feature of the site is babysitter management. This is not a central database of all the babysitters in the country. This is a management tool centered around helping parents manage their babysitting needs and helping babysitters make the most of their time. Parents and/or babysitters sign up for the site and invite more parents and/or babysitters, who are in turn added to their network. If a parent needs to go out one night during the week, they add a “job” to the system and select which babysitters (in their network) that they would like to inform. The babysitters then receive an e-mail and a text message, if they so choose, that lets them know there is a new available job. The first babysitter to accept the job gets it. If all the parent’s babysitters decline a job, the parent can request babysitters from other parents (in their network).

It is a pretty nifty system and once it gets rolling I think it will really take off.

Byron Nelson, known to many as “Lord Byron”, passed away today from natural causes.

Mr. Nelson was not just an amazing golfer but he was humble supporter of many charities. Stories about his down to earth personality and hospitality are already coming out at the golf course where Byron worked and where a tournament was named for him.

He was a great golfer and a great humanitarian.

I returned yesterday evening from a weekend getaway to Lubbock, TX. It was a quick trip to see my brother and some friends that I have not seen since I graduated. Tech’s football team beat up on Southeast Louisiana in a 62-0 victory, something I like to refer to as a glorified practice session that people paid to see.

My car has done well on two road trips now, even though I’ve noticed a few weird noises. I’ll take it in at some point and see what they say.

After reading this I started thinking about what the article was proposing should have happened after 9/11. To be honest, yes, some of these things should have happened, but others don’t seem like they would have occurred no matter who was in office.

Quick executions? Come on, they would have had to have been moved to here in Texas and even then it would have taken at least two years to execute them.

I think the turning point in Afghanistan was the assault on Tora Bora. Not enough American troops were on the ground to capture or kill bin Laden. Instead, the fighting was left up to Afghani militia and U.S. CIA advisors. The 10 Mountain Division should have been all over the area, making sure that bin Laden did not escape.

There is a lot of ignorance out there about September 11th, terrorism, the history of terrorism, and the reasoning behind it. I’m tired of it. I am tired of hearing people call this country a rogue state. I am tired of conspiracy theories about 9/11. I am tired of hearing that 9/11 is no one’s fault but Bush’s.

Please, do yourself a favor. Read. Read as much as you can. Understand what goes on around you besides the few jaded opinions of newscasters and newspapers. Look at your country from the outside. Then look at the outside. Just take the time to research for yourself.

Actually make a difference. Instead of telling people that there is a problem in Darfur, just go and help. Getting the word out is great, but it only goes as far as your lungs will allow it.

But most importantly, love the people around you.

There is not much that can be said about the occurrences that took place five years ago today. I distinctly remember where I was when I learned of the attacks.

During my senior year of high school I had first period off and that morning I came into school around 7:55am. At this point the north tower had already been hit and above the library entrance the news was covering the situation live. I stood in the hallway with a few other people watching the news and at 8:03am, Flight 175 entered the screen and crashed into the south tower right before my eyes. At first I thought it was a replay of some sort but then slowly realized that it was live and I had just seen an unbelievable event. I did not know what to think. I know that I did not think terrorism at first but I was definitely confused.

The bell rang and I made my way to class. Up until that point no one in class knew anything about the attacks. As I entered second period the principal came over the intercom and told teachers of the events. They asked them to turn on the televisions and stay in the classrooms. By this time, it was 8:35am. The entire class watched the replays of the south tower being hit and the billowing of smoke from both towers.

At 8:44am reports started coming across the screen that the Pentagon had been hit. Everyone just stared at the television. The principal announced that we would stay in the same class through the next period. At 9:05am the south tower collapsed live on television. At 9:22am the north tower collapses.

The rest of the day was spent watching the different news stations. The halls were somber and we moved from class to class just catching a glimpse of any updates.

In 6^th period a girl who I was friends with was crying hysterically. Come to find out, her uncle was in the north tower when it was hit, he had not been heard from. We later learned that he perished in the attack.

I usually have a poor memory when it comes to events, but that day and the way I spent it are still very vivid. My thoughts and prayers go out to all of those who lost friends and family that day and to those who have fought and died to ensure that this never happens again.

May we never forget.

After traveling this weekend I can firmly say that the policy of not allowing planes that you buy in the “secure” area is extremely stupid.

The fact that you cannot buy a cup of coffee and take it on the plane with you makes it seem that maybe the terrorists have infiltrated every airport restaurant in America. I can somewhat understand the giving up of our drinks before you enter the terminal but not being able to buy them inside is very frustrating. I do not know of a substance that, when mixed with a latte makes a bomb.

The terrorists have won on that level… They’ve scared us into submission.

I am leaving for Columbia, South Carolina at 6pm to take break from Dallas and to get some work done. I will have internet while I am there.

I return to Dallas on Saturday, September 2nd.

As of late I have been writing less and less. This is not intentional, it is just that finding the time to write and a subject to focus on has become more difficult.

I was going to write a large entry on Iraq and oil and some of the problems with those two words but I have lost some interest in discussing politics with people. It seems that no matter what facts are presented on certain subjects there will still be those who keep their close-minded views (no matter how open-minded they claim to be). Instead, it easier and less stressful to write about topics that make me happy.

My time constraints have been brought about because of my recent focus on work. I may not be the biggest fan, but I will give one-hundred percent till the end.

So what am I passionate about and wanting to write about? Christianity and religion. I know what you’re thinking and I can tell you it’s not what you think. I am not going to post about repentance or damnation. Instead, I would like to occasionally write about some of the things that I have been experiencing at church. A lot of these things have to deal with the current problems with the Christian church, how we live in a somewhat scary world, and things of the like. I will try for it not to be a downer (but no guarantees) and keep it in the context of current events.

Stay tuned…

I have been slowly phasing out an e-mail address that I have had since high school and I think I am finally ready to dump it and never look back.

From about sophomore year in college I have received an extremely large amount of spam at this particular address. I found out my junior year that Texas Tech had given a lot of student addresses (read: all) to third party companies to send out mass communications with the student population. As a result, these companies sold our addresses to other places which in turn sold them to spammers. Since my @ttu.edu was tied to this e-mail account I received an even larger amount of spam.

So, over the past month or so I have been going through and changing all of my communication e-mail addresses on sites to my Gmail address. I think I have been able to get most of them, though I’ve stumbled on a few that I completely forgot about.

It will be really nice to never have to look at this e-mail account ever again.