I am well aware that this site is barely functioning and has been subpar for months now. That’s why I bought a new, better, faster server with more memory. The new machine is a Core 2 Quad Q9400. It has the following characteristics:

4 GB DDR2 Memory
1 x 250 GB SATA
10 Mb Port Speed
3.3 TB Bandwidth

It will soon be replacing the Powerline 64 Series server we’ve been using, which is a dinosaur by comparison. Hopefully, pages will load much faster, new diaries will open before the next new year, and you’ll be able to edit your work before you turn gray.

The new server is half-again as expensive as the Powerline 64, so I have a 50% bump in monthly costs. I was hoping to upgrade and actually pay less, but performance is most important and I’m tired of battling my server every day.

Thanks to everyone who contributed ideas for the new blogroll. I’ll be updating that over the weekend. Which reminds me, it’s CabinGirl’s birthday on Monday, so we’ll all have to remember to console her.

Finn decided today was the day to climb stairs. He started with the two stairs up to the patio and then graduated to the four steep stone steps in our front-yard. He just went right up both of them like they weren’t even there. It’s pretty impressive considering he’s still cruising and hasn’t yet walked on his own. Then he chilled out at the top of the stairs and had some cereal and lemonade. And when he was done, he crawled back down. I have video of his snacktime, but missed the rest.

In any case, I try not to bother you all more than once a month. It was your generosity in April that allowed me to upgrade the server, but now I have to ask for your support again. Advertising alone doesn’t suffice to keep the Frog Pond operating.

Earlier today, I wrote a piece about the new chairman of Alabama’s Democratic Party. Here’s what he had to say about the media and messaging advantage of the Republicans.

[Chairman Mark] Kennedy said Republicans can rattle off their core issues by rote — “low taxes, less government, strong military, more patriotic, on and on.” And, he said, they have a powerful vehicle to communicate their message: “The worst thing going for Democrats in America is Fox News,” he said.

“How many times have you gone in the drug store or the dentist, and they have it on? They’ve got their talking points down pat, and they are being broadcast all over the country every day,” he said. “What we’re not doing in Alabama — and I can’t really talk about nationally — we don’t have that same five-finger test. We don’t have a strong, understandable message.”

The Republicans can get their message out because they have big money on their side. Meanwhile, progressives and Democrats have to try to scrape by. When you support Booman Tribune, you help keep a couple progressive voices in the mix. Thank you for your generous support.