 | You are viewing ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} matte's journalLog in Create a LiveJournal Account Learn more | Explore LJ Culture Entertainment Life Music News & Politics Technology |
Nine socks of similar hue.
Not a single matching one.
Originally published at MattEbert.com. You can comment here or there.
Chapter One
I walk down a street and there’s a big hole. I don’t see it and fall into it. It’s dark and hopeless and it takes me a long time to find my way out. It’s not my fault!
Chapter Two
I walk down the same street. There’s a big hole and I can see it, but I still fall in. It’s dark and hopeless and it takes me a long time to get out. It’s still not my fault.
Chapter Three
I walk down a street. There’s a big hole. I can see it, but I still fall in. It’s become a habit. But I keep my eyes open and get out immediately. It is my fault.
Chapter Four
I walk down a street. There’s a big hole. And I walk around it.
Chapter Five
I walk down a different street.
Poem by Portia Nelson
Originally published at MattEbert.com. You can comment here or there.
Found here
Dear friends,
The first rule of crisis management is to get ahead of the story. Since my shameful secret is about to be revealed, I decided to break it here first. I’d rather you heard it from me than from the media:
In March 2008 I watched Rick Astley’s music video Never Gonna Give You Up on YouTube. It’s widely considered to be the most corny music video ever created. I have no excuse; I can’t even claim to have been RickRolled. I heard about the video, and willingly went and viewed it. It was me, just me, officer!
The reason for this confession is that Google is about to hand over to Viacom a complete list of every video watched by YouTube users:
[...] the judge granted a Viacom motion that records of every video watched by YouTube users, including their login names and IP addresses, be turned over to the entertainment giant.
The order prevents Viacom from using this information to target lawsuits at users. But it makes no sense to give this information to Viacom in the first place: Google could easily make this data anonymous, and they’ve asked Viacom to do just that. Viacom have said that they won’t use any personally identifiable data, but they haven’t replied to Google’s request directly. These mixed signals make me lunge for my tin foil hat: what could explain Viacom’s behavior? Perhaps, once they have the logs in their possession, they intend to ask the judge to allow them greater use of the data. Or perhaps the data will be “accidentally” leaked — after all, that sort of thing happens all the time.
But criticizing a media company like Viacom for ignoring users’ privacy is like berating a toddler for getting food all over themselves: it’s in their nature, and they’re going to keep doing it. Let’s beat up on Google instead, that never gets old. Google shouldn’t have kept this data around for Viacom to subpoena. Google deletes personally identifiable user data after 18 months, which isn’t enough to hide my Rick Astley obsession. Google’s track record on privacy is spotty in general. For example, after a lot of pressure they finally added a link to their privacy policy on the Google homepage in July 2008, not before bitching and moaning like a teenager whose parents have forced him to clean his room.
Google has some of the most sensitive data in the world; in particular, they know every search that a user makes. In their Privacy FAQ they list several good reasons why they need to keep this data:
It’s true that in order to achieve these goals Google needs to save the search logs. However, the problem isn’t that they keep the search logs; it’s that they keep personally identifiable information in the logs, which lets them (or anyone else, such as Viacom) associate searches and clicks with real people. Google keeps this information for 18 months, and that’s far too long. They could erase the personal information much sooner and still achieve all of the goals described above.
For example, Google use the search logs to find common spelling mistakes made by users, so that they can offer automatic suggestions for the correct spelling. This doesn’t require any personally identifiable information. Another use for the search logs is to detect click fraud. For this purpose it is indeed useful to look at the search and click history of individual users. However, the benefit of this personal data quickly diminishes with time. Data about click fraud that is over a month old should be considered prehistoric; the perpetrators are long gone from whatever IP they had been using.
Google’s privacy policy doesn’t say how long they keep search logs; probably forever. The only promise they make is to scrub out personally identifiable information after 18 months. Google are very vague about where this figure of “18 months” comes from; perhaps it has some religious significance. From Google’s Privacy FAQ:
Why are logs kept for 18 months before being anonymized?
We strike a reasonable balance between the competing pressures we face, such as the privacy of our users, the security of our systems and the need for innovation. We believe 18 months strikes the right balance.
It’s time we told Google: 18 months is too long. One month would strike the right balance between privacy, security and the need for innovation. With one month of personally identifiable information, Google will be able to catch all the fraud they are ever likely to catch. After that, it’s time to anonymize the data. The anonymized data is still useful for improving their search engine.
Go to Google’s Privacy Feedback page and ask them to reduce the amount of time they keep personally identifiable data in their logs. You could use a message such as this one:
Google isn’t alone in this. Microsoft also anonymizes its logs after 18 months. Yahoo makes do with just 13 months (how did they come up with that number? Perhaps it also holds occult significance). Ask.com, the fourth-largest search provider, gives its users the option of making completely anonymous searches. But we should focus on Google: where the market leader goes, the rest will surely follow.
Originally published at MattEbert.com. You can comment here or there.
The world shall miss your wisdom.
In memory, “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television“:
Originally published at MattEbert.com. You can comment here or there.
That’s my boy!
Gina says (12:43 PM):
matte is at the end of the bed..
Gina says (12:43 PM):
kinda leaning over
Gina says (12:43 PM):
he sat really still and farted REALLY loud
Gina says (12:43 PM):
then looked at me
Gina says (12:43 PM):
threw his head back
Gina says (12:43 PM):
and laughed harder than ever before!!
Matt says (12:43 PM):
BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
Gina says (12:44 PM):
he has his tounge hanging out..
Gina says (12:44 PM):
and the cat keeps trying to swat at it
Originally published at MattEbert.com. You can comment here or there.
Why Spend It In Canada?
Because Bush Didn’t Say Otherwise!
And even if he did, do you do everything George Bush says? Bush seems to think that every American must spend their tax rebate in the United States. Do you trust this guy?
Originally published at MattEbert.com. You can comment here or there.
My Gina,
How do I begin to tell you how lucky I am
to have you in my life?
I’ll start by saying what a gift you gave me
the day you became my wife.
You’re my best friend in the good times
and my rock in times of sorrow.
You’re the reason for sweet yesterdays
and my promise for tomorrow.
I never thought I could feel this loved
until you became my wife.
You made this year and every year
the best one of my life.
Love always,
Your Matt
Originally published at MattEbert.com. You can comment here or there.
It was 29 days ago today that I took the most amazing woman to be my bride. It is amazing how one month can feel just like yesterday.
Gina - I love you more with each passing day. Here’s to a lifetime of passing days with my love. Happy One Month Anniversary!
-Your Matt
Originally published at MattEbert.com. You can comment here or there.
Way back in the month of October I made the easiest decision of my life by asking my beautiful girlfriend to be my beautiful bride. I knew that I did not want to could not spend a single day without her again. Little did I know of what was laying immediately in front of us: Wedding Planning
To make a LONG story very short, I was not the world best fiance when it came to wedding planning. Luckily, I had the most amazing and understanding bride-to-be who somehow found the sanity to deal with my eye rolling, clenched teeth, panic attacks, fetal position rocking, etc. Almost all of my issues were financially related. Big shocker, I know.
We picked a wedding date of October 11, 2009. My initial thinking was: "Yay, a fall wedding, I love the fall….plus it is a whole year away and so I would have plenty of time to figure out how to pay for it." If only reality were as comfortable as the thoughts in my head. First we started looking at places locally. Then we started thinking about how cool a wedding on the beach in Hawaii would be. Some quick research found that it would actually cost us less to get married on the beach in Hawaii. Unfortunately, we did not take into account the cost it would bear on our friends and family who we really wanted to be there. So back to locally it was. Gina found a great grange hall that was recently renovated locally that was a reasonable price. It was such a great setting. But there was still the looming cloud of the cost floating over my head. The smallest we were able to trim our guest list was 100, and with trying to cut corners where we could without making any major sacrifices was still making it pretty pricey.
All I could think of though, beyond the money, was how I just wanted to marry this wonderful woman.
From the beginning I had been dropping subtle hints about just flying to Vegas and getting married. However, Gina was not down with this. Having never been to Vegas she could only picture Elvis standing there performing the ceremony. To her credit, all the while, she had quietly down research of her own on Vegas weddings. She found that we could have a classy ceremony while staying on a budget. So one day in early January she came to me and said "How about we get married in Vegas?" Really? Had she just asked me this on her own??? She laid out her plan which included chapel, where we would stay, and how we would get there….all along with costs that I could not argue with. I was for the first time in the wedding planning process starting to get comfortable with it all. We decided to not tell anyone but those in our wedding party, and tell them they were not expected to be there, but we would love for them to be there if they could.
Everything started to fall together quickly. A beautiful dress was found for the bride. Matching dresses were found for the bridesmaids. My parents made their plans to be there. My brother Doug was coming out from Virginia. My brother Bobby and his girlfriend Kristina were flying down from Seattle. Her mom and sister Megan both had their tickets in place. It was all really happening.
Like I said, this was the TRULY abbreviated version. No need to go into the dirty details of it all. But once again, I must give it to Gina. How she put up with my crazy neuroticism between October 19 and February 18 I will never know. But the one thing I do know is how much I love this woman!
Check out just a few of the pics and video in the Photo Gallery
Upcoming: The trip down the aisle - Part II
Originally published at MattEbert.com. You can comment here or there.
</a>
License to kill gophers by the government of the United Nations. Man, free to kill gophers at will. To kill, you must know your enemy, and in this case my enemy is a varmint. And a varmint will never quit - ever. They’re like the Viet Cong - Varmint Cong. So you have to fall back on superior intelligence and superior firepower. And that’s all she wrote. - Carl Spackler
That’s right, it is officially gopher hunting season. The first hole popped up last night. I am guessing there will be two more when I get home later. Not happy! So it looks like my upcoming weekend will consist of crawling around the backyard with a hose, a shovel, and a cooler full of beer, or at least that is what Google is telling me to do. On the upside, I already know whose yard that I will be disposing of the aforementioned varmint. Wish me luck!
Originally published at MattEbert.com. You can comment here or there.
More to come!
Check out just a few of the pics and video in the Photo Gallery
Originally published at MattEbert.com. You can comment here or there.
The time of year has come upon us where we reflect on just how blessed we are. Hang with me here for a moment while I get all kinds of sappy on ya’ll.
2007 is wrapping up to be such an amazing year. This is the year that I came to truly know the love of my life, the woman that I want to spend the rest of eternity with.
This woman rocks me to my soul in a new way each and every day. Not only does she have time to raise a manage the day to day operations of our family, she also makes sure that she is there when I get home after my insane schedule AND puts up with my every idiosyncracy and neuroticism. I am guilty of not giving her enough credit. I am truly truly truly (yes, I typed that 3x!) blessed to have her in my life.
We have just taken possesion of OUR first home together. It is out in the country where the air is clear and there is room for the kids to run around outside. Again, she has taken the lead to not only manage the family but also manage our complete move. I love this woman!
Then there is this boy:
He is getting sooooooo incredibly big! He is 3 1/2 months and already 16 pounds. The doctors say his is going to level out at 5′11″. HA!!!! This boy hangs on my every word, which makes my heart grow one size bigger with each laugh. I guess I never believed how amazing parenthood could be. All the laughter and smiles make up for every tear.
I am also so blessed to have the chance to become a parent to Gina’s older children. I have not really mentioned them here previously, out of respect to Gina and the kids. But man, I just love them more with each day. Not to say we do not have our hard days. But I am learning more with each passing day.
From the left is Ayanna (2yo going on 16), Alexander (4yo), Jaxon (7yo), Matthew (3.5mos), and Caleb (4yo).
It is hard to believe I am a family man now, but these kids are helping give me a crash course. They are really great. Of course, I had a really great role model growing up.
I just hope one day I can pass on to all my children the wisdom and care this man gave me.
Thank you Mom and Dad for all the support you give us each and every day.
I told you that there would be a boatload of mush in this post. So I will end it with a cuteness photo:
Originally published at MattEbert.com. You can comment here or there.
Yesterday I got caught in the snow with someone…
…and I cannot think of anyone I would rather it be.
I soooooooooo love this girl!
Originally published at MattEbert.com. You can comment here or there.
Below is the txt msg conversation that I had with my brother Bobby 5 minutes ago:
Me: Dude, if Optimus Prime were free for the weekend you were getting married would you ask him to be one of your groomsmen? And if so, what would Kristina* say about it?
Bobby: Hell yeah I would. I think she would laugh at me and then let me. Why?
Me: Because Gina is telling me that if Tony Stewart says yes to being a groomsmen then I have to bump one of the groomsmen I have already selected. She will not add to her side. Isn’t that crazy?
Bobby: But that would be pretty cool.
Me: Well duh!
Note: Afterwards Gina said she would add one to her side if Tony Stewart says yes.
* Bobby’s girlfriend/SO/main squeeze
Originally published at MattEbert.com. You can comment here or there.
Get a good look at this face, for one day he will rule the world!
Originally published at MattEbert.com. You can comment here or there.
Union gives strength.
Aesop</p>
So as is par for the course I have been lousy about updating this here ol’ blog. It has been almost a month since my last post where I promised an update about the amazing baby shower that was thrown for us. Plus in this past month I have all sorts of Matte news and pictures to share. But this here post will focus on neither. Nope, not this time. Instead, I am going to point the spotlight on a big chunk of news that has happened in my life.
It all started a little over a year ago when I met someone special. It was one of those things where I just was not really looking and there she appeared. Over this past year there has been many ups and downs for the both of us. Many words were said, both good and bad…however, I am of the belief that what does not kill us only makes us stronger. In the past couple of months I had found that I could just not get enough of this someone special. She was making me happy in everything that she did and said. I came to know even more about her inside and out. When I was not with her I was thinking about her and wanting to be with her. Waking up without her smile was just not of value to me any longer.
As far back as I can remember I always thought that the hardest thing in life I could ever do was to ask someone to marry me. However, it occurred to me that with this someone special it was the easiest thing I could ever do.
On Friday night, October 19th, I asked my one true love Gina to marry me.
To my delight she replied with a resounding yes!
I know that there is a long road ahead of us, but this is a road that I have nothing but great delight in traveling down.
I got gaps; you got gaps; we fill each other’s gaps.
Rocky
Originally published at MattEbert.com. You can comment here or there.
So when I say that Matte is “The Perfect Baby©”, what I am really meaning is that he can get a bit “fussy” at times. This afternoon was one of those ‘fussy’ times. Nothing was making him happy. NOTHING! Not until out of desperation mom found a position that he absolutely loved and fell right to sleep.
This position is pictured below:
In this picture you will notice a carseat. (Happens to be MY carseat that matches MY car, but that is not an issue at this moment.) This aforementioned carseat is located in the kitchen sink. Inside the carseat you will see my son Matte, laying facedown. And if you have the attention to detail as I do you will notice that his head is at the foot of the carseat.
That’s my boy! Have no idea where he get’s it from. 
Originally published at MattEbert.com. You can comment here or there.
It has been a BUSY weekend! Big fun was had by all. I have a huge post I want to put together about the AMAZING baby shower that Mum-Mum and Tutu put together for Matte on Saturday. But I need a little more time to do it any sort of justice.
So until then I will inundate you with pics of the CUTEST KID IN THE WORLD®!
The first two pics are our first documented true Matte smiles. Gina was trying to shoot a pic with her phone to send to me at work to show me the outfit he was wearing. She tickeled his cheek a little and we got the below:
These are a couple that Mum-Mum shot. I have NO idea where he gets the ham factor from.
This here is how he spends alot of his non-sleep/non-bottle time. Just gazing at the world with bewilderment.
This HAS to be my favorite pic of the week:
Giving the GREATEST MOMMY IN THE WORLD® a kiss. 
Originally published at MattEbert.com. You can comment here or there.
Ok, I am a couple days late on this post, but making silly faces at the boy has seemed much more desirable than this whole interweb thing.
On Tuesday Matte was officially one month old. It seems so hard to believe that he is only a month old, yet I cannot imagine a time without him.
Tuesday morning was also officially the first time that I went 100% solo with Matte. Gina had a few errands to run, so she asked me to get him all cleaned up, dressed, and escort him to his pediatricians appointment where she would meet back up with us. Not a problem! Now I have run sorta solo with him while she ran to the store, but this time I actually had a task list and schedule. Needless to say, we pulled it off without a hitch. Not a single scratch, his diaper was on correctly, and his socks were matching.
I do have to admit that the car ride to the pediatricians office was pretty…how should I say it….surreal. Picture this:
Classy, huh? But it gets better!
"Who you tryin’ to get crazy with ese? Don’t you know I’m loco?"
Oh yeah! It was not until the end of the first chorus that reality set in. Drug-reference laden rap songs from the early 90’s are probably no longer appropriate when rolling with the lad. *sigh* On the upside Gina said that I do not have to totally curtail my potty mouth for another couple of months!
On to the pediatrician. All is normal. We are in the 55-75 percentile in all areas. He has packed on another pound and an inch in length, clocking in at 10.2lbs and 22.5". Woohoo!! On the downside, it was inoculation set #2. The little man was a complete trooper!
OK, enough of my babble and onto the pics!
And I would be remiss not to share with you the view on my Blackberry:
Originally published at MattEbert.com. You can comment here or there.
Growing up I first met Matt Mechler when I made the advancement from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts. He is also probably one of the most influential guys in Troop 498 that I looked up to. He was the guy who always knew his stuff and at the same time was very approachable. Matt was also the first member of our troop to achieve to top rank of Eagle Scout. I know it sounds dumb, but without his paving of that path to Eagle Scout none of the rest of us may have made it.
(top row: Eric H., Matt Mechler, ?, John Youill (sp?), Jeff Myers, Frank Gecze (sp?), Brett Jackson, ?, ?
Middle row: Sean Young, Ian Young, myself, Randy Anson, Paul Austin, ?, Jason Koenig, Brian Pilkington, ?
Front row: Scoutmaster Tom Mechler, Jason Hauschildt, ?, Glenn Johnson, Tom Addleman)
The above photo was taken my second year in Troop 498, I am thinking the spring of 1984, at a campout in Carnation, WA. I am impressed that I was able to remember all of those names, but at the same time kinda bummed that I cannot remember the rest.
Earlier I was scoping out the website for Salmon Days in order to come up with the best strategy for parking and such this weekend. While clicking through I found Matt’s name. The Ohfishals for Salmon Days have chosen a piece of art by Matt as the Ohfishal Print for 2007. See below:
From the Salmon Days website:
“Historic Return” by Matt Mechler
The Spirit of Issaquah: A Celebration of Northwest Treasures
Mechler is a Washington native and calls Issaquah his hometown. He spent much of his childhood exploring the Issaquah Alps in search of old mines, fossils, and other hidden treasures. “I’ve always enjoyed history and love the outdoors,” said Mechler. Mechler graduated from Liberty Senior High School and attended Western Washington University where he majored in Geography. Matt and his wife live in Kent but they both spend most days in Issaquah working for the City.
“I discovered one rainy winter day that I could create some neat images by altering my digital photographs on the computer,” said Mechler “Historic Return” is a compilation of fourteen different digital pictures and images that have been enhanced. “I wanted to produce an art piece that people would associate with Issaquah and I feel I accomplished that.” “There is a lot to see but you have to look closely to find everything,” said Mechler.
This 2007 Limited Edition Print is produced by the Festival, and signed and numbered by the artist. The previous Salmon Days series became extremely popular with both long-time Salmon Days’ supporters as well as with fine art collectors.
The print is on sale at the Chamber office for $65. Proceeds assist in producing the Festival, which is the major fundraiser for the Greater Issaquah Chamber of Commerce. We accept cash, checks, Visa and Mastercard, and can ship anywhere in the United States.
Individuals who purchased the last print in the Spirit of Issaquah series have been notified of the opportunity to purchase the same number in the 2007 print.
Congratulations Matt! I look forward to picking up a print this weekend and hanging it with pride in my home.
Originally published at MattEbert.com. You can comment here or there.
