Wow! After looking at my blog, I realized that it has been a long time since I've written anything, let alone anything worth reading. For those of you that have written me wondering when my next sports diatribe was going to take place, just keep reading. With Barry Bonds so close to pissing off the entire sports media world, you know I'll have to contribute my $0.02. And, I'll be sure to give my own personal take on all the mayhem taking place in sports. However, before we get too far ahead of ourselves, I would like to touch on a few things that are happening here at Load.com.
Photoshop World 2007 in Las Vegas
The best convention for web designers, photographers, and graphics aficionados is coming back to Vegas. Photoshop World 2007, produced by NAPP, is sure to be a smash hit and Load.com will have a booth in the exhibit hall (#342 to be exact). We're pretty excited about the show because a number of our designers enjoy taking part in the sessions and learning from the best Photoshop gurus around AND we're going to be launching our highly-anticipated YouLoad 2.0 service. I'd love to tell you all about the features we're going to be including in the new version, but you'll just have to stop by our booth to check it out.
Boyd Martin Construction Goes Live...
Many of you know that Load.com has been creating content management systems (CMS) for a number of high profile clients. What many of you don't know is how we're modifying our software to be able to meet the needs of many small and medium-sized businesses. One of the companies that is really making a charge in Las Vegas is Boyd Martin Construction. We recently completed construction of their new site and we're very pleased with the look, functionality, and control that they now have at their fingertips. Please take a moment to check out their new website at http://www.bmcnv.com/.
NEW Clark County Water Reclamation District Website
In the past, Load.com has had the pleasure of helping the CCWRD create various online marketing campaigns that have garnered national attention and won numerous awards. Naturally, we were excited to help them also create a new website for The Pipeline, a new phase of sewer system upgrades in the east part of the Las Vegas valley. While simplistic in nature, we helped create a simple color scheme, logo, and managed to put the CMS system in place in less than a week. We're very happy with the quality of the site and look forward to using this site as a benchmark for future projects. Please take a moment to learn more about The LV Pipeline.
Yosemite - My Home Away from Home
I've been going to Yosemite during the summer for quite a few years. You'd think I'd be sick of this place by now, but I guess living in Vegas makes the beauty of the great outdoors magnificent every time I lay my eyes on it. Located in Northern California (for those of you thinking of Yellowstone in Wyoming), Yosemite is one of our great National Parks full of majestic waterfalls, lakes, mountains, sequoia, bear, deer, horse trails, camp grounds, and so much more. Better yet, every time I go to Yosemite I get to enjoy a handful of days where my phone doesn't ring, my laptop doesn't connect, and clients can't come nagging me for help. It always reminds me of a Master Card commercial. That said, by the 4th day, I started to get the itch for civilization and many of the amenities that I have become accustomed, such as clean laundry and private showers, started to make my eyes misty. However, I made sure to take a photo next to one of my favorite waterfalls (Vernal Falls) just to give all of the clients that I deal with directly an idea of how much I missed them. :) Okay, I'm just kidding. It is nice to be back because you can only go to the bathroom in the forest so many times before you start to wonder why so many Americans leave civilization to pretend they're poor.
Sports Rundown...
Barry Bonds hits 754 and he's playing the Dodgers tonight. All the talk has been centered around whether or not he deserves to be recognized by the Dodgers if/when he hits 756 to pass Hank Aaron. As a Barry Bonds fan, even I don't think the Dodgers really owe him anything major. The Dodgers-Giants rivalry is one of the great rivalries in baseball and I would expect no love lost between these two organizations. It's not like it will be the last home run he ever hits. However, I do think MLB should acknowledge his achievement when he gets back to SF in a special ceremony. Let's be honest, most people have formed their opinion of Barry Bonds thanks to the media scrutiny. Would anyone really care if talk radio and ESPN weren't ripping into this guy. I guess that's why I watch sports for the entertainment and try not to let athletes be my moral compass.
NOTE: I just took an ESPN poll that asked, "Which milestone would you most look forward to seeing tonight?" Unbelievably, more people chose Tom Glavine's 300th victory over the greatest record in all of sport. That's living proof that people can be told what to think...
Kevin Garnett is a Celtic - Wow! Instant contender in the East. Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and KG. Him, sounds like a high-scoring trio that has never won a championship, but knows how to carry a team. This will be an interesting team to watch. The big question is can Boston handle success in 3 major sports at the same time? I say, "NO." So, watch out Red Sox Nation.
Tour De France - Huh? There was a race? When? Another sport with performance enhancing drugs, but no serious coverage. Hmmm. Well that's because no American rider that mattered was competing. What really baffles me is that America completely bought Lance Armstrong's story hook, line, and sinker, but completely hates Bonds. It's why Hollywood is great. American's love impossible stories and the amazing comebacks. I mean, weren't there a bunch of you that thought OJ was innocent for a little while?
Cubbies on a Tear and on the way to the Series? - There I said it. They're doomed now!
Can Football Start Already? - Sorry, that's what everybody is saying in Vegas! If it's not fantasy sports, sports wagering, NFL, or college football, I don't know what people are looking forward to towards the end of 2007.
What's New in Nick's Life...
Well, long story short, I met an amazing woman who has done nothing but bring complete happiness to my life and it has lasted longer than 1 week. Amazingly, it has lasted a couple of months and that's saying something. I've got my fingers crossed on this one, so throw a penny in a wishing well for me if you have a chance. Seriously...she's amazing.
That's it for this post. I'll try to keep everything up to date moving forward. We've been so busy with projects that it's been tough sitting down to write my blog, but I promise to be better moving forward. Have a great week!