My phone rang sometime before 6 am. I was wanted on a radio program to talk about some "Catholic issues" in the media right now. So, I got on the phone with the producer of Bill Bennett’s morning radio show, one of my favorites. I am an occasional contributor.
You never know what is going to happen in a day.
So we started the morning fast and intensely.
Mass. Office. These staples followed.
Then I got down to making sure that my weekly article for The Wanderer was complete, and sent, and readable, made coffee and breakfast, got on skype with my thesis director, and started in on some posts for the blog and digging through some of the over 500 e-mails I get each day.
The phone kept going all day, with various things. And I was being perpetually annoyed by squirrels outside (thank God), the window, as they profitted near the birdfeeder from the leavings of the chickadees.
I went through some books that came in through inter-library loan: the thesis is not too far away, no matter what I am into.
I was able to follow some of the Holy Father’s penance service today, via CTV. I simply can’t stomach the awful English voice over through EWTN. Only as a last resort. I have to have the live feed. I spent some time translating for you the Holy Father’s sermon at the penance service.
At a certain point I felt I had everything under control. Into town I went to fetch necessaries from the grocer, to go to the post office, and to drop books at the library.
On my way to the library, my phone rang.
A close friend informed me that the blog was down.
Not just down.
And, oh yah… my domain had expired.
Great. "Try refreshing", quoth I on the phone, "Close and reopen your browser."
My mind raced. What is this?
SMS’s started to come in from Europe. Phone calls from the UK and the USA.
I raced home.
"Perfect. Now people will think I am running a dating service from the Sabine Farm. And WHAT’S WITH MY DOMAIN!?" I knew I was paid up.
And so I began to dig into the problem, telephonically.
"Need a used car? I DON’T!"
You veterans of WDTPRS will remember the horrors of February 2007 when the growing traffic of this site crashed the server my former provider had me on. They just, click, shut us off. A kind soul, at Joyent, came to our rescue and gave us space and so we are happy ever since.
Alas, that former provider still was the register of my domain name: wdtprs.com.
That ever so competent former provider, a reseller for domains, had failed to inform their "parent" domain provider that wdtprs.com was fully paid up and not, in fact, expiring in any way.
In the meantime, people seeking wdtprs.com were getting the idea that I was actually trying to find them a date, … or something.
You know… with all the news these days of the downfall of the Governor of New York I have been thinking this afternoon, in the face of that cyber suggestion that wdtprs was now also a dating service, that maybe I should see this as an opportunity!
The young "lady" whom the soon-to-be former Governor visited apparently is now getting pretty impressive traffic on her website. Over a million people have crowbarred from their cyber-wallets ¢99 for some song she created and peddled on her site. Hmmm… $0.99 x 1,000,000. Let’s see….
Could this wdtprs.com dating thing make some cash?
Perhaps not. I have a donation button on the left side bar. I suggested already that people might think about a guerdon for the PODCAzTs.
Should I let my domain lapse again and shift gears?
Hmmm…
As I mused on folding up my tent and moving on, I got online and began to read e-mail.
A seminarian told me his bishop had forbidden him to learn the older form of Mass… and, well…
The trumpet sounded between my ears.
So, wdtprs is back. One way or another. For good or ill.
Did you miss us?
Sorry about that.
I think it was Han Solo who said "It’s not my fault!"
BTW… vote for us over at the Blog Award thingie…. and don’t forget the donation button.
Let’s see…. 2.3 million visitors x .99…
But I digress…
Nothing could be more appropriate than to do an inpromptu "Where you at?" installment, after this day.
At this time of day, I think most of you will be in the USA, since it is about 3:24 in the UK.
Deer Trail, Colorado
Seattle, Washington
Saint Louis, Missouri
Birkerd, Frederiksborg
Pinehurst, North Carolina
Hilo, Hawaii
Manchester, New Hampshire
Waltham, Massachusetts
Peking, Beijing
Toronto, Ontario
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Cebu, Cebu City
Washington, District of…
Los Gatos, California
Washington, District of…
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Powell, Wyoming
Littleton, Colorado
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylva…
Mesa, Arizona
Toronto, Ontario
Cincinnati, Ohio
Ooltewah, Tennessee
Columbus, Ohio
Paragould, Arkansas
Washington, District of…
Mississauga, Ontario
San Diego, California
Eatontown, New Jersey
Valdosta, Georgia
Dallas, Texas
Atlanta, Georgia
Mcdonough, Georgia
Austin, Texas
Narragansett, Rhode Isl…
Somerville, Massachusetts
Cherry Hill, New Jersey
Phoenixville, Pennsylva…
Rochester, Minnesota
Honolulu, Hawaii
Valentine, Nebraska
Bexar, Arkansas
Lincoln, Nebraska
Emmitsburg, Maryland
Montclair, New Jersey
Ridgewood, New Jersey
Emmitsburg, Maryland
Dover, Delaware
Sydney, New South Wales
Bdingen, Hessen
Halifax, Massachusetts
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Syracuse, New York
Crawfordsville, Indiana
Ocean View, New Jersey
Philadelphia, Pennsylva…
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Oslo
Covina, California
Marietta, Georgia
San Francisco, California
Gizeh, Al Jizah
Toledo, Ohio
Colorado Springs, Color…
College Station, Texas
Singapore
Beaumont, Texas
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Long Beach, California
Te Kauwhata
Irving, Texas
Corpus Christi, Texas
New York
Canberra, Australian Ca…
Beltsville, Maryland
La Palma, California
College Park, Maryland
Edison, New Jersey
Riverside, Rhode Island
Mankato, Minnesota
Leicester
San Francisco, California
Wichita, Kansas
Melbourne, Victoria
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Seattle, Washington
Richelieu, Quebec
Kansas City, Missouri
Syracuse, New York
Lincoln, Nebraska
Pinehurst, North Carolina
Texarkana, Texas
Round Rock, Texas
San Diego, California
Farmington, Minnesota
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Iran, Chahar Mahall va …
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Arlington, Virginia
Schaumburg, Illinois
Peterborough, Ontario
Lynbrook, New York
Newcastle, New South Wa…
Arlington, Virginia
San Antonio, Texas
Stillwater, Oklahoma
Sugar Land, Texas
Sydney, New South Wales
Rock Island, Illinois
Southeastern, Pennsylva…
Salt Lake City, Utah
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Carthage, Missouri
Portland, Oregon
Lansdale, Pennsylvania
Fairfax, Virginia
Olathe, Kansas
Saint Louis, Missouri
Toronto, Ontario
Vail, Arizona
Rockwell, Iowa
Kansas City, Missouri
Clementon, New Jersey
Indianapolis, Indiana
Omaha, Nebraska
Salt Lake City, Utah
Beaumont, Texas
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Bratislava
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Charleston, South Carol…
Wollongong, New South W…
Derby
Omemee, Ontario
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Seattle, Washington
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Aliso Viejo, California
Manila
Kansas City, Missouri
Birmingham
Longview, Texas
Rochester, New York
Notre Dame, Indiana
Columbus, Ohio
Oakland, California
Haslet, Texas
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Fr. Z, you have visitor even from Beijing, amazing!!!
Theodorus: And did you notice Iran? I suppose the post about the death of Archbp. Rahho got someone’s attention.
Father Z,
Thanks to your help, I bought a new home, rented an apartment for my cat who has been keeping us awake at nights, got a hot date for Saturday night, chatted for three hours with people I’ve never met before…nor ever HOPE to meet, bought a ticket to Dubai for a little R&R, planned a trip to the Great Smokey Mountains to feed my cat to the black bears, sent my wife to the city that never sleeps to make our fortune and then off to the great Hawaiian Islands to spend it all on fruity umbrella drinks, bought another used car to have parts for my current one that is on the fritz, bought the fuzzy steering wheel cover I have wanted since I was 12 along with spinners, neon blue under-lighting and a Bose Acoustimass surround sound system so that my neighbors in Massachusetts and the rest of the Northeast Corridor can enjoy my music (the subwoofers simulate a 3.5 on the Richter scale to people within a 3-mile radius), purchased a 14 inch blue tooth in my ear so I can talk to people 24 hours a day while playing baseball with my kids, cooking dinner, typing e-mails, posting on blogs and being a loud obnoxious me-monster (Brian Reagan fans will understand) at the local mall, bought an insurance policy on my new pimped out vehicle, got four new credit cards at 18.5% to pay for all my new stuff, got an accredited PhD in Massage Therapy from the Sally Struthers Institute at the Nigerian Diamond Mine University, reserved a hotel room because my wife said I need some “alone time” with my bluetooth, got my lonely brother a date for next Wednesday, and consolidated all my new credit card debt at 19.5% interest.
All in all, Father, it was a very productive day. Thanks for the help!
Gordo
“It’s not my fault” was, in fact, muttered by Lando Calrissian when the hyper-drive on the millennium falcon failed after leaving Cloud City, because Vader had his men disable it.
Slovakia (Bratislava), Egypt (Gizeh Al Jizah), Iran (Chahar Mahall va Bakhtiari) and China? Our means of communication these days is still amazing.
Maybe that young lady will go on to become the patron saint of backpackers ?!?
I got that same image when looking up a Cathedral site that didn’t exist. Do any knowledgeable people think that the backdrop behind her might be the Cathedral of St. James in downtown Orlando, FL? Looks kind of like it to me.. (not that it matters)
Joe: Or the patroness of people with 1960’s baggage?
Gordo! LOL! You are welcome!
o{]:¬)
I heard you were going to be on Bill Bennett. I have him on the radio as I scurry about getting ready for work. I don’t what stage of “getty ready” I was in, but I went from hearing that you were going to be on to hearing disconnected references to your performance. I missed you. I checked out Bill’s website, but he didn’t have any summary of your contribution. Could you favor us with a brief account?? (I also missed the Tony Orlando interview when I went to Mass this morning.)
Dennis
Carthage, Missouri – Woohoo! I made it!
Phew, I’m glad I missed getting that one.
It’s scary enough when you walk into a church and never know what you’re going to find in the holy water font…but when even Fr. Z switches to running a dating service- is there no constancy in this world?
Fr. Zuhlsdorf wrote:
ZHarmony®