Open Directory Public Forum

Just came across this. Not sure if it's really all that useful. I read some of it and decided not to register and not keep the URL even. Far too many swollen egos on both sides. At times I think there are too many persnickity nitpickers, niggling over the skimpiest details that really don't seem to matter one dot. Sometimes they seem so small minded you wonder what keeps their head inflated that big. It's very frustrating to try to get anything accomplished. These days I just give up and work along as it is.

Not all of them are frustrating people, some are human. But the few that are not (or at least don't think they are) have really spoiled things. You would not believe what a great community Dmoz once was, so long ago. I miss all that. I've really stuck with it because I've put too much into it to let it go to pot now. Not that I'm putting in anything like the effort and time I did before. You can't be that obsessed unless you feel joy along with passion.

Not that it would die off without me, I'm under no illusions in that regard. But, I like to keep my areas maintained, at least not see them become wastelands. We aren't supposed to call them "our" areas. But, when you are the only person active in maintaining an area it does become personal. I don't see how you can avoid that.

Anyway, my brother is here to use the other computer to check his email. He shoveled the snow while I made him soup but he's rearing to get online now.

Live in the Delirious Cool

Something like this might work for me. Instead of the text title and subtitle I could create a graphic and stick that in. The problem would be sizing it all up nice and happy.

I like her subtitle for her about section. "Who does she think she is?". Made me laugh.

JM Spoofe - About Me

Best About Me page I've read in ages.

"Life's more enjoyable if you pretend that you have an audience." Spoofe.

I've done that too. Why else would anyone, from the midst of the masses of the unfamous, put up a blog?

"So, that’s about it. I hate writing conclusions to things like this, so I’m simply going to stop writing. If you were expecting some sort of witty zinger to follow this all up, then I apologize."

Don't know who Jeff will become but it would be interesting to follow the journey. Understated wit is so elegant.

The Gratuitous “About Me” Section, or: Narcissistic self-promotion that does nothing by stroke my own ego… God, I love it!

Now, if you’re the average reader… well, you wouldn’t be reading this webpage (hey, it’s not like I delude myself into thinking that anyone other than a small number of friends actually visits my site). But I’ll be delusional and pretend that I have a massive audience of curious fans, just aching to get to know the real me. Life's more enjoyable if you pretend that you have an audience.

I should note that I had an “About Me” section up here before, but it was chock full of whiny, pretentious high school crap (hey, at some point, everyone thinks that their angst-ridden life means a damn). I replaced it. I re-read it recently, and thought, “Holy hell, why do I still have this on my webpage?”

In any case… I am just some average shmoe, nothing spectacular (well, I’m a little loud, and a bit odd, but isn’t everybody?). I made a webpage because, well… everyone needs a hobby, and I got tired of watching TV. I draw a lot (or, rather, I used to), I write a lot, I take pictures (just for the hell of it), and I do theatre on the side. I play computer games, I film amateur movies, and I like to participate in debate and discussion. I respect people that can speak their mind and are generally unguarded in their demeanor.

That’s the short-short version. The long version would, essentially, be my life story, which I’m not about to go into here.

The purpose of my webpage is just to make it easier for people to reference my works… no, I don’t pretend that it’ll earn me money someday (it won’t). My quote list, for instance, seems to be one of the favorite topics amongst my particular circle, and they like to reference it and check it out on occasion, so I keep it updated primarily for them. I also like to show off the stories that I occasionally write, along with the artwork that I occasionally draw.

The Imperium… no, it’s not some “club” that I formed to booster my own ego. It’s actually a literary sign of laziness… rather than create a cast of fictional characters for my stories, I just take people that I know, “tweak” them appropriately so that they are more malleable to my particular twisted brand of humor, and throw them into the plot, oftentimes at random. The Roster exists not as a “Golly, these are my chums” kind of show-off piece, but as a means of allowing random readers to know who the characters in my stories are.

Poetry… don’t read that section. The only reason it still exists – I’m going to replace it with my photo gallery – is because I forgot how I made those nifty animated GIF buttons in Paintshop Pro. Again, it’s full of pretentious high school teenager crap (well, mostly), and, frankly, I’m embarrassed I ever wrote it. “Always and forever will I love you”? What the fuck was I thinking?!?

Yes, I refer to myself as SPOOFE constantly throughout my webpage, and yes, that’s mostly just to booster my own ego. My real name is Jeff Martin, but since there are already so many of them, I decided it’d be best if I had a singular online persona that’s easily identifiable. I use this same screen name throughout the various message boards and online computer games that I frequent (although when I play Counterstrike, I often pretend to be female, so as to lay a bit of a smack on the morons who think “fag” is a clever insult). So if you see a reference to “SPOOFE” anywhere online, it’s either coming from a German-language webpage talking about IP spoofing (go check Google, man, there’s a million of ‘em), or it’s me.

Anyway, what am I doing now? I’m attending a cheap, lowbrow Junior College (nah, I’m not smart enough to hit a real university). I’m probably going to have been there four years by the time I transfer out… yeah, I’ve been taking my sweet time getting my general ed done. I’m technically a theatre tech major, but that’ll probably change. I do a lot of theatre work, but unlike the bulk of my friends who hope to make a career out of it, I view it simply as a hobby.

So, that’s about it. I hate writing conclusions to things like this, so I’m simply going to stop writing. If you were expecting some sort of witty zinger to follow this all up, then I apologize.

Modest Needs - Spread the word

An interesting theory.

Modest Needs: Small Change. A World of Difference. Welcome to Modest Needs! However you found this site, we're glad you're here.

Modest Needs launched as one man's personal project on 21 March 2002.

His goal: to create a resource for people living paycheck to paycheck. His mission: to promote the self-sufficiency (and peace of mind) of people in this position by helping as many of them as possible with these kinds of small, unexpected, and often devastating expenses. His only source of funding: 10% of his gross monthly income as a university professor - about $350 a month. Since that time, Modest Needs has grown from a personal project into a full-fledged, tax-exempt organization. The goals and mission of the site remain the same, but the site is no longer funded or operated by a single person.

Instead, Modest Needs is now a community of the world's least likely philanthropists! Most of the people who visit and help to operate this site (including the founder of Modest Needs) live paycheck to paycheck themselves. Most of them have only a little to spare. Some of them even have requested help from the site.

But we all have one thing in common: we have come to understand that if we pool our modest resources - our time, our skills, and our pocket change - we have the power to change people's lives for the better, forever - one person's life at a time.

Operating in this fashion, and with no government or corporate funding, Modest Needs has been able to distribute $115,861.00 to 605 persons with short term financial needs and nowhere else to turn. We have been able to help these people retain their jobs, their lives, their families, and - most importantly - their sanity by helping them with short-term expenses ranging from the fee for a GED or SAT test to the expenses involved in burying a stillborn child.

And we'd like for you to become a part of this community. Whether you have a modest need of your own, or whether you would like to help the site help others, you are cordially invited to become a part of this experiment in personal philanthropy.

Thank you for visiting Modest Needs. Enjoy your stay, and please come back often!

Anyone nominate me? :D

Third Annual Weblog Awards

Well, maybe 2006. By that time I might have learned enough code to sharpen up this site. I'd like to put a graphic up there to get rid of that annoying chunk of white space. Maybe on Thursday when I'm not working....

See ya! Off to work and spending time with Zack after work.