I was reading a couple of my favorite blogs recently and I saw a few examples of what is starting to become commonplace among the blogging community. Whether it’s somebody trying to find an obscure painting, or a well-known software firm attempting to secure an advertising contract, it’s become fairly common to see people trying to get something done via a blog post.

While it immediately struck me as somewhat lazy to outsource these tasks to your readers, I realized rather quickly that it makes a ton of sense. I’m sure that Jason at 37 Signals did his research trying to find the best marketing firm, but he’s limited to the resources of one or a few people. And I’m sure that Anthony scoured the web and Google images to try and find his painting to no avail. BEFORE they posted. But I guess that’s one of the good things about being a high-profile blog (that’s right I consider vdov high-profile) – you have the kind of distribution that makes doing something like this on your own almost selling yourself short.

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Hey there! I added some photos today, so go ahead and check those out. Included are photos from this year’s wedding season, Duck football, and a few Halloween pictures among others. There’s even a picture of my brand new car! Hope the fall is treating everyone well, before we know it it will be time for my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving. How bout those Ducks, #3 in the BCS. New Orleans, here we come!

if you’re like most americans, the most pressing question at hand these days is, “what has alex been up to in 2007.” unfortunately until recently, your #1 source for all things aboone has been seriously slacking (unlike the real aboone, of course). i have been planning a grand site update to take this site into the 21st century and beyond, so i was waiting for that before i updated my pictures; however, in reality it could be years before that happens, and a friend mentioned that the site was getting a little dated… so i spent a few hours getting the last 8 months worth of pics online for all you faithful readers out there [cue cricket sound effect]. check it out, i went to utah, cape cod, newport rhode island, and added some stuff from around here. oh, and those site updates are going to be sweet… just don’t hold your breath.

to all those readers out there, i’d just like to wish you all a very merry christmas and a happy new year!  also please check out my brother andrew’s blog, crossing out of the blue (linked on the right side).  i gave him this cross-promotional post as a christmas gift, he really needs the hits.  have a great new year!

well, i finally managed to get all of my world cup pictures online. check out the second half of my trip, including the sights and artwork in hamburg, great shots of prague at night, and views of the berlin wall, before taking in the fan mile in berlin for the final two games of the cup. the photo map for europe is starting to get a bit crowded, so i’m thinking my next trip better be to a different continent… perhaps asia or south america. but i’m fresh out of vacation days so don’t expect to see anything for a while. enjoy!

i’d like to take this time to formally introduce a new feature to the site, the photo map. using the google maps 2 api, i created an overlay of all the locations where my photos were taken. now you can use the world map to browse by location, and when you select a location, it will show you the photos in that category with a cool zoomed in contextual satellite background image. now you can check out my alaska pictures with an icy breeze blowing through your browser window, or flip through my france pictures while sitting on the riviera coastline. take it for a spin!

i was going to write a blog application from scratch but then i decided to take a look at wordpress and within minutes i had it up and running… so, why reinvent the wheel.  i have absolutely no idea why i would need a blog or exactly what i am even going to write up here but we’ll see what happens.