06:16 UTC
“All right, wise guy!” you exclaim. “What on earth is an ooker?” Well, I’m not referring to the name of a golden retriever or a gospel chorus in the Netherlands. And I’m not sure why it shows up on so many Estonian blogs; I can’t find a translation for it. I am simply referring to anyone who frequents this site—“ook” being short for The Oo Kingdom, natch. A lot of people visit us on a daily basis, maybe to use our metric conversion tools and calculators, or to find a particular joke, recipe or inspirational piece. The site is so diverse that many people enjoy browsing various parts of it. Several people have contacted us and told us as much. So I ask again: “Are you an Ooker?” If so, may the joy be yours! If not, you’re cordially invited to explore all the nooks and crannies of The Oo Kingdom.
06:24 UTC
Yesterday I scanned 36 slides and 30 prints with the intention of adding most of them to Ummamum’s Picture Place. I also have about 25 digital pictures to add. Many of the pictures are recent, but some are from spring and summer of 2003, so it looks like several new sections will be appearing in UPP in the next week or so.
Happy Easter to all!
05:25 UTC
I worked at the local supermarket Saturday from noon to 9 p.m. The place was horrendously busy all day; we sold tons of ham, some turkey, loads of candy and who knows what else. Customers were hurried, often frantic, and quite a few showed definite signs of frustration. It was every bit like Christmas time. The liquor store was also very busy. Outside the store, the parking lot was a crowded maze of hubbub and noise. Even the city streets were unusually busy at 9:30 p.m.
I was always under the impression that Easter was primarily a religious holiday, observed by devout Christians and not much of anyone else (except for the children; who can forget the Easter bunny?). When I was growing up, we colored eggs on Saturday; I received a sensible-sized basket on Sunday morning; then we went to church, came home and had Sunday dinner. That was it. Today the holiday has become a festival rivaling Christmas in its magnitude. You don’t even have to be a Christian to join in the celebration.
Holidays throughout the year have become little more than occasions to party. One of my co-workers put it succinctly: “This is the celebration generation.”
05:30 UTC
So far we have only one Easter page in Seasons & Holidays. It is entitled Easter: A Celebration of New Life. Last year, someone read the page, was impressed by its content, and asked me to link to their Easter e-card site; they would link to my page in return. I checked out the site; it looked nice, so I agreed, and we made it so. A short while later, a second webmaster emailed me, and we too exchanged links.
So far this year, I have received three more requests from similar sites—so similar, in fact, that my suspicions were aroused. I did a bit of research and learned that all of the sites were owned by the very same software consultancy firm in India. No wonder they all looked nearly identical!
Since my page only presents my personal take on a few elements of the holiday, I decided that such redundant external links only serve to detract from (and cheapen) my intended emphasis. I removed the links and restored the page’s content to its original 2001 state, then emailed the last person who requested a link exchange to inform that person (and any affiliates) of my decision. They will probably remove their links to me from their sites as well; that is okay.
05:42 UTC
I am not yet finished with the new pictures for Ummamum’s Picture Place. There turned out to be more than I figured: a hundred and six photos in all, spanning 2002, 2003 and part of 2004. Target date for completion is Wednesday, April 14, but that’s subject to change. I’ll keep you posted.