Fashion Designers

I just split these pages from two to three and I'm going to be spending a few days this week updating this section, adding links and details. I will probably end up with four or more pages of fashion designers...

I also added an new separate page for Prom Dresses, though really it is just a sub-set of Bridal Wear right now. I will spend some time this week adding more links there too.

Blog-like Feature, New Items

My performance as a blogger has always been spotty and early efforts consisted of too many links and not enough explanation. That is because the "blog" grew out of a page that I used to proof my new selection of links for Andilinks and was never really intended as a blog.

Later efforts added various opinions and the occasional story but I never was comfortable with it. I have a new pen-pal on the other side of the world who may collaborate with me on a blog, but the latest thing I'm doing is a new section at the bottom of my Home Page called New Items.

http://www.andilinks.com/

Alicia Keys

Not as much material on Alicia as for Britney, but enough for a nice selection. I am enjoying this celebrity section, I hope it begins drawing some visitors because I'd like to continue it for a while.

Celebrity Pages

I've completed a Britney Spears Page and while I have been moving in many directions lately this is the first time I've devoted a page to one person. I won't deny that the purpose of this is to build traffic for the site. But building celebrity pages is not boring and in that way it is compatible with the overall spirit of the site even if it is not at all the vision I had at the beginning. I will be adding more celebrities, my choice will be determined by their popularity and the amount of material available on the web.

But this is not a new direction or character for the site, it is simply another section. I will see how well this works, but I intend to get back to e-commerce and women's fashions soon.

Americanism—and Its Enemies

David Gelernter's article in Commentary is one of the most thought provoking analyses of Americanism that I have read. I have always had an interest in American history as an American and I am quite intrigued to read that Americanism is tied to Zionism through the Puritans--with suitable moments of importance given to 1776, Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, Harry Truman, and Ronald Reagan.

Viewing current events through this lens will be an interesting exercise during these coming days.

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/article.asp?aid=11901043_1

via Arts & Letters Daily

Microsoft endgame

This does look like "game over," sad to say. I guess it's why Bill Gates has finally come out and called his DRM opponents (competitors?) communists. Will the iPod market become what the Macintosh market is now? If what Russell Beattie says is true, it's only a matter of time...

http://www.russellbeattie.com/notebook/1008231.html

Ever play a game of chess and your opponent makes a move and you realize the game is over? Nothing dramatic like taking your queen, just a simple strategic move where, after you look at it for a second you think "oh-oh," and from that moment on you're basically just looking for your opponent to make a mistake because otherwise they're obviously going to win.
Well, I've been watching Microsoft's moves over the past few weeks ...

More Gadget Blogs

The CES coverage has shaken 19 more links loose in this category.

Bargain PDA
Cool Hunting
DC Resource
Dottocomu
Gadgetry Blog
Gizmonews
Howard Forums
Mobiletracker
Nechbi
PhotographyBlog
Ployer
Pocket Lint
PocketPC thouhts
PortaGame
Rihooligans World
Shiny Plastic
Shiny Shiny
ubergizmo
VGA PocketPC

I have begun adding new announcements to the top gray line on the Home Page which is similar to what I've been doing on the P2P Summary. I like this grey line but I can't let it grow beyond two lines or it will throw off the balance of the entire page.

Server Side Includes

I'll be reworking the Women's Wear and Wedding categories for SSI. This will make these sections much easier to maintain. I plan to develop these sections extensively over the next few months. I want to move slowly on the conversion though to see how the search engines handle the new file extensions and redirects.

I will not be doing much except dead-link-removal and the occasional "great find" on the balance of the site.

With all my work on the wedding and bridal sections you may ask, "are you getting married?" No, not even close. I am responding to the demands of search traffic. I still don't understand why the search engines are picking out these pages, I am certainly not an expert. But so many are arriving that this just seems to be the best place to develop new content. And I guess I'll become an expert. My career picks me.

Women's Wear Categories

This is definitely easier than posting to the blog on the Andilinks domain, so I will just replace that entirely with this. The comment feature would be especially difficult to add to the existing template. Not that I expect many comments here, but it is nice to offer that option.

I have added this Women's Wear Category listing, and I will be refining it into a summary page. The entire Women's Wear section has taken me by surprise. I added a small clothing section in September and it began getting search referrals almost immediately. I expanded it and the referrals increased and so that's how the section came to be, though I do find the subject interesting enough to keep my attention. :) It is also easier to understand than many of the technology subjects I cover.

A new blog

I registered this blog in order to post a non-anonymous comment on another Blogger blog. I may actually begin blogging here in spite of the fact that I already have a blog at http://www.andilinks.com/new.htm

THAT blog's purpose has been to document the growth of the directory there and I have been reluctant to post controversial opinions. I DO have controversial opinions, so this may be the place. Or not. We'll see.