Do lawyers use weblogs?

Instant Messaging: How I Use it and Why I Love It

I find IM to be an indispensable tool and I've been using it long enough to have a 6-digit ICQ number. I am logged in to 4 IM networks constantly and my friends, clients, and colleagues are there with me.

My company makes extensive use of IM. We work in a close, deadline driven environment and IM is great for sending links, short questions, and wisecracks. While a co-worker is on the phone with a client, I can send a quick IM with an additional question to ask without interrupting the flow of the conversation. Or, if I'm on the phone I can ask other questions of my co-workers without having to put the caller on hold.

Aside from my co-workers I am connected to many resources who are more than happy to assist me when I need help. This assistance is a two way street as I make myself available to others as well. Need a pointer to a technical reference; feeling rusty on some arcane JavaScript method, help is just an IM away.

IM is also a great networking tool. I have made myself available to total strangers in need of technical assistance, answering questions about Macromedia Flash, Apache, PHP, etc. Some of these people have become good friends and I have been able to ask them for help as well. It's also interesting to meet people from other countries. I have IM friends from Australia, England, and India.

I make my IM information to anyone who wants it. There have been very few instances of people abusing IM and if it does happen it's very easy to add them to my ignore list. I use Yahoo! and Imici to manage my IM environment. I like the Yahoo! interface the most so I always have that open. I didn't like the clutter of having 4 clients open in the tray so I use Imici to connect to AOL, MSN, and ICQ.

IM etiquette is a big part of why IM works for me. These points may not be universal, but I have found the following to be true:
It's ok to ignore an IM until you have time to respond.
It's ok to say 'brb' and not come back.

Subdeatechate, a band that misses old-school video game sound tracks and loves HomeStarRunner.  Sounds like a winner to me.

I completed Gridlock, all 40 levels. I was bummed that there was no fanfare at the end. The game just waits for level 41 to load. It was a lot of fun and levels 39 and 40 were definitely the hardest. I've been a big fan of the Binary Arts games for a long time and Crystal New Media did a great job recreating this game.

I received this nice email from my better half.

Dear Tech Support:

Last year I upgraded from Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1.0 and noticed a distinct slow down in the overall performance – particularly in the flower and jewelry applications, which operated flawlessly under Boyfriend 5.0.

In addition, Husband 1.0 un-installed many other valuable programs, such as Romance 9.5 and Personal Attention 6.5, and then installed undesirable programs such as NFL 5.0 and NBA 3.0.

Conversation 8.0 no longer runs, and Housecleaning 2.6 simply crashes the system.

I've tried running Nagging 5.3 to fix these problems, to no avail.

What can I do?

Signed,
Desperate

Dear Desperate:

First keep in mind, Boyfriend 5.0 is an Entertainment Package, while Husband 1.0 is an Operating System.

Try to enter the command: C:I THOUGHT YOU LOVED ME to download Tears 6.2, which should automatically install Guilt 3.0.

If that application works as designed, Husband 1.0 should then automatically run the applications Jewelry 2.0 and Flowers 3.5. But remember, overuse of the above application can cause Husband 1.0 to default to Grumpy Silence 2.5, Happy Hour 7.0, or Beer 6.1. Beer 6.1 is a very bad program that will create Snoring Loudly.

Whatever you do, DO NOT install Mother-in-law 1.0 or reinstall another Boyfriend program. These are not supported applications and will crash Husband 1.0.

In summary, Husband 1.0 is a great program, but it does have limited memory and cannot learn new applications quickly.

You might consider buying additional software to improve memory and performance. I personally recommend Hot Food 3.0 and Lingerie 7.7.

Good Luck,
Tech Support

Is this the home of the future?

Initial D Arcade is another great resource for this awesome racing game.  The site also features listings of where you can find the game.

Get on over to Photoblog Awards and vote for The 2003 Photobloggies.

I played a new racing sim from Sega this weekend at the Sony Metreon.  It is called Initial D and it's super cool.  Here are a few links with more info about the game.  Around the World, D-Initial World, Sega Rosso (in Japanese).

Chris has posted some really nice emoticon ideas for Yahoo! Instant Messenger. Take a look and see which ones you like. These are my favorites.

Icon	Text	Description
	<^>	Give someone the finger
	:-#	Cut throat smiley