2010 CraigMaas.net News
I decided to cut way back on my on-line activities this year. This is particularly true for the blog, which is going on hiatus this year. I'm still enthusiastic about photography so those links are still getting updated all the time. If you ask, I'll send you access to the Private Photos and not just the boring Public Photos.
January 8: Cruise
Ray and Char went on a cruise through the Panama Canal. Here is the itinerary. I also posted their photos when they came back at Picasa.
January 9: VCR Repair
I got a DVD Recorder for Christmas. I was copying my vast collection of VHS tapes. Some tapes have issues. The information on this guide(s) helped me modify a screw driver, which allowed me to adjust the roller guide height so the picture would clear up on select older tapes.
February 2: Books
I managed to read 62 books in 2009 for a total of 18,767 pages. Here is the list.
2009 News: CraigMaas.net
January 07: EffectiveConcepts.net
I changed EffectiveConcepts.net from a static site to a blog. The old design was very functional but looked like it was coded in 1998, which it was. I started a blog on Wordpress.com for the company about a year ago. Now is the time to move the blog to our web site and make it the centerpeice of the site. I converted the old content into blog entries or content pages. Wordpress works great as a content management system. It goes to show you don't have to use Wordpress strictly as a Blog. It also gave me a chance to try out Wordpress 2.7 before I update my other blogs. And it let me try out the DeFusion Wordpress Theme- I like it. I made one small change to the background image- using our logo. I didn't have to change much else. I hope to fine tune the site this month.
January 08: Bookmarks
I like to update my Bookmark page a couple times a year. I use it as my default home page. As such it clearly shows what I'm reading and looking at online. Today, I review all the bookmarks in Firefox on my three computers. The links get added to a database where I add a description, a grouping, and a grade. The best links get an 'A' and end up on the final Bookmark page. I also review all the current Bookmark links to make sure they still work. Many links drop a grade and fall off the Bookmarks page. The page was been fine tuned, so I can find what I want very quickly. There aren't many search engines to be found on my Bookmarks page, because I use Firefox's built-in Keyword Search feature. One letter tells Firefox which site to search followed by a space and then the search terms. I have it set up for Google (g), IBDB (i), Technorati (t), Zap2it (2), Dictionary (d), Wikipedia (w), and RateYourMusic (r) .
Char wrote a letter about our adventures during 2008. Single page PDF.
March 17: Eagles
I found this collection of eagle photos taken online. I thought it needed some formating.
May 11: Panarama From Dobbins Dock
I stitched together some photos from Paul and Suzanne's new lake cabin. It uses Java to pan around. Dobbins' Dock
August 12: Cameras
A topic about the cameras that have moved through my hands.
I added photos and additional comments to a piece I wrote on 5/15/1999.
August 17: Panarama From Peterson Dock
I stitched together some photos from Jim and Carol Peterson's lake home. It uses Java to pan around. Peterson's Dock
October 17th: Love
I helped Suzanne with a photo, for a fundraiser. It features photos of Sean's 7th Grade Class spelling out 'Love'. 149kb PDF
2008 News: CraigMaas.net
Feel free to email me with any comments, suggestions, questions or requests. This is particularly true for the photos. If you ask, I'll send you an invitation for Flickr.com which will give you access to the Friends and/or Family photos and not just the boring public photos.
January 04: Books
I've posted my 2007
reading list under
Books.
I hope to have Suzanne share her reading list with us. (check back).
January 05: Lawnmower Man
A silly story I wrote after playing with my friend's PDA.
October 01: New Blog
I started a new personal blog in October so check that out if you want to read about my adventures. If you just want to watch, check out my Flickr photos. Be sure you get an invite or else there won't be much to see.
November 23: Open House
Char had a Mary Kay/Christmas Open House. 5k PDF Flyer
2007 News: CraigMaas.net
Feel free to email me with any comments, suggestions, questions or requests. This is particularly true for the photos. If you ask, I'll send you an invitation for Flickr.com which will give you access to the Friends and/or Family photos and not just the boring public photos.
October 27
Grandma Bertha (Meidinger) Letcher died today at the age of 87. I have a post on
my blog. I also have a post about her funeral. I also created a little tribute
page on my blog. The page has a little slide show and links to
her obituary and guestbook at the Haut funeral home.
October 24
I started a personal blog on this web site. The content is for family and friends.
It may also deal with technologies that interest me, but I'll try
to
tone it down. See link at left.
June 06
I've moved my web site to a new host. I didn't copy everything over. I'm debating
about how I want to display archival material. There are so many cool technologies
on the web it doesn't make much sense to replicate them all here. It makes more
sense to host just a few items here (Books and Music) and then link to my content
elsewhere (Blogs, Photos, and Notes)- using this webpage as a traffic cop.
March 21
I got a neice today! Her name is Clare. I posted photos on my Picasa site. However,
the photos are in a private folder, so if you would like to view them please
feel free to email me
and I'll send you an invite. Suzanne is doing find. Paul, Sean
and Tim are excited by the arrival.
January 05
I've posted my 2006
reading list under
Books. I asked Suzanne to share her 2006 reading
list with us, which I've posted
in some detail.
I've started posting some photos on Google's Picasa site.
Generally these are events with lots of photos- as opposed to what I'm posting
on Flickr. Most sets are public but there are some private sets.
I will mention two: The Steve Maas-Sarah Rowe Wedding, and The Gene & Norma
Maas 45th Wedding Anniversary. Send me an email and I will invite you to view
them. I'm also thinking of moving this web site to another host in the near future.
I don't expect it to make any major changes, but I may decide to drop some older
material. I also plan to start a new blog then... stay tuned!
2006 News: CraigMaas.net
August 03
I've been busy with work this summer but I did go to the air show at the Grand
Forks Air Force Base and saw the USAF Thunderbirds. In addition to Flickr I also
set up a Google Picasa photo
site. The
air show photos are there. My music review project is going strong on my Wiki.
July 2006 is my latest completed month- give
it a look.
May 02
For those of you who enjoy my Reading
List I've been review all the music I listen to this year. It can be found
on my Wiki. April 2006
is my latest completed month- give
it a look.
April 23
I'm using a number of web technologies this year. Also known as Web 2.0 these
technologies make it easy for anyone to have a web prescence without have to
buy anything or learning HTML or other languages. Many of the links to the left
go to other web sites where I have content stored. For more information on these
technologies read the "Left Hand Menu" below.
February 13
I'm not writing a blog this year- too much work. I am writting a personal journal
which is even more work. I tried to stop in 2003 but I find I need to write even
if it is boring. I was going to overhaul this web site too, but I decide I sort
of like it the way it's structured so I just changed the style a little.
2005 News: CraigMaas.net
December 31 My blog (online journal) is updated through the end of the year.
December 10 I've been playing around with a personal Wiki. Come 2006 I may put one on this web site but for now I'm using www.pbwiki.com. I have my Christmas List on there right now.
December 2 The blog is updated; covering Thanksgiving, the blizzard and a bulletin board.
November 20 I've updated my blog with details of the ECI warehouse move and closing. I also chronicle my weekend as mom takes over the house with her Mary Kay Christmas Open House.
November 10 Dad and I are in the process of selling our
warehouse downtown. Dad purchased it in 1976. We ran ECI there until 1983. When
we sold ECI to Baker Wholesale in 1983, dad kept the building. Baker rented the
space. Baker was going to buy the building but this fell through when the old
management was replaced and dad and I found ourselves without employment. We
rented the building to Metro P&H for a number of years. After they left we used
the building. More details are in my November blog and in the October
Blog Archive. (Updated to the end of the month)
I also talk about Halloween. Char
dressed up like Carmen Miranda. Coming up Char has her Mary Kay Christmas
open house. I wrote a parody of "Twas The Night Before Christmas" in honor of
the event.
October 22 Paul and Suzanne sold out their ownership
in PD's On First it. At first they were expanding by partnering into
the clubhouse at the new golf course- only a couple blocks from their house.
The partnership turned soured. More details are in my October blog and in the September
Blog Archive.
Mom remodeled our basement, turning the under-used general utility room into
a second family room. Details are in my blog (September too.) Dad and I did much
of the work ourself. I'm convinced it would have turned out better if we had
done it all, although it might not have gotten done at all. :-)
August 5 My blog is current through the end of July. I've written about the family, friends, movies, The Fargo Airsho (Blue Angels), headaches not limited to the Dell 6000 and ARS2500, The Petersen Reunion and the upcoming PDs On First move.
June 5 My computer died last week, so I've been busy recovering. On top of the recovery I've also changed platforms. My ARS2500 running Windows XP is now my primary computer and my remaining Mac is a secondary computer which I'm looking to replace with a Dell 6000. More on this in my Blog. (some of the details are in the Blog archive for May.)
I posted some photos of Sean's last soccer game of the season. I was shooting film and a had a couple frames left, so I shot this nice photo of mom and dad.
May 15 We're mourning the lost of my Grandmother Anna Maas. She died Monday May 9th at the age of 100. We buried her in Jamestown on May 12th. I have more on her passing in my April and May Blog entries. I also have the following photos and links:
- Sign the guest book and read Anna's Obituary
- In Remembrance of Anna Maas- Program with biography, photo, and prayer. (PDF file)
- Summers in Sydney- A remembrance of grandma and the Maas Store
- Photos of the Funeral
- Jamestown Sun Obituary
April 25 I think somebody stole my Mojo. It's possible
I've misplaced it, so I'm going to wait a week before I offer a reward. I have
a suspect in mind, and no it's not Victor. I'm thinking Dr.
Evil from "Austin Powers." He's been trying to steal Austin Mojo for three
movies now.
I haven't been much interested in doing anything. Even reading is getting to
be a drag. Art and Music have dried up on me. I think I've scared my muse away.
Maybe she stole my mojo! I wouldn't be surprise if she stole my keys too.
I've been doing some writing, but not much as you can tell if you've looked at
my web site recently.
I posted some more blog entries. Nothing terribly exciting. The downtown Fargo Renaissance project is important as it impacts Paul and Suzanne positively. It will help them out with PDs On First. I also posted some new entries for March- almost a month late. They're in the Blog archive for March.
March 20 Okay, posting excerpts from my blog is a dumb idea. So I'm just going to post updates about my web site here.
