State CIO J. Clark Kelso wants to make government more accessible to the citizens of California. In an interview with Information Week's Eric Chabrow, (Nov 22, 2004), Kelso announced, "We need to start changing the inefficeinent way we provide services." The state spends between $2 billion and $4 billion annually on IT.

Kelso is the author of the "California State Information Technology Strategic Plan" (PDF), a 5-year plan presented this month to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The Plan follows a more lengthy report issued in August by the California Performance Review Commission. The Commision was charged by Gov. Schwarzenegger with figuring out how to make state government work better and cheaper. Among the ideas in the panel's $32 billion cost-cutting recommendations: favoring open-source software over proprietary alternatives for new IT purchases.

The report, titled Government for the People for a Change, is a 4-volume study with recommendations including recommendations to "Explore Open Source Alternatives." "The state should more extensively consider use of open source software," it recommends, "which can in many cases provide the same functionality as closed source software at a much lower total cost of ownership."

The CIO's most recent plan to bring efficiency to California Information Technology promotes six strategic goals including three that could be facilitated by open source RSS syndication:

• Make Government services more accessible to citizens and State clients.


• Implement common business applications and systems to improve efficiency and cost-effectiveness.


• Lower costs and improve the security, reliability and performance of the State's IT infrastructure.

Unfortunately, there is no mention of RSS news feeds or xml syndication anywhere in the plan.

California prides itself as the world's fifth largest economy, but in the world of providing syndicated news and services, it lags behind Rhode Island and Delaware. Social Commentator Jamais Cascio writing in WorldChanging wryly observes, "Some states that you'd think would be technologially on the ball (California, for example) have few if any feeds, while other locations are swimming in them."

Fully updated to reflect modern developments in the field, the Fifth Edition of An Introduction to Optimization fills the need for an accessible, yet rigorous, introduction to optimization theory and methods, featuring innovative coverage and a straightforward approach. The book begins with a review of basic definitions and notations while also providing the related fundamental background of linear algebra, geometry, and calculus. With this foundation, the authors explore the essential topics of unconstrained optimization problems, linear programming problems, and nonlinear constrained optimization. In addition, the book includes an introduction to artificial neural networks, convex optimization, multi-objective optimization, and applications of optimization in… [Continue Reading]

Our recent migration to GA4 left a lot to be desired and led us to explore for better google analytics alternatives. We tried just about everything out there, including Plausible, Fathom, and several others, all with their own pros and …

The National Association of Legislative Information Technology (NALIT) will be sharing "Web Tips, Tricks and Techniques" for building Legislative RSS feeds at their 2004 Professional Development Seminar in beautiful Burlington, Vermont, September 8-11, 2004. Panelists include key IT players from Virginia, Nevada, and Utah. Several states are now using RSS to provide users with notices of new Web content or to distribute newsletters. At least two states are now generating legislative feeds directly from databases. This article previews some of what they'll be showing from the states of Texas, Utah, Wisconsin, and Rhode Island.

Two Irish County Councils and several other Irish, Northern Ireland, and UK government agencies are publishing press releases using the new Nooked hosted online RSS publishing service.

In today’s world, journaling has become an essential daily routine for many people. It’s a great way...

In today’s world, journaling has become an essential daily routine for many people. It’s a great way...

This week, Google sent an email to some Google Ads advertisers warning that they may lose access to use Customer Match with their ads cause harm to users or create a poor user experience. Google said they are updating their customer match policy effective January 13, 2025, to enforce this. Google also posted this over here.

Navah Hopkins posted about this notice on LinkedIn after she received an email from Google about this update. The email says:

On January 13, 2025, Google will update its Customer Match policy to state that customers may lose Customer Match access if their ads have the potential to cause harm to users or create a poor user experience. We may take the following considerations, among others, into account when making this determination.

What are those considerations? Google wrote:

• User feedback
• Prevalence or severity of abuse
• Repeated violations of the Customer Match policy

Google added that "violations of this policy will not lead to immediate account suspension without prior warning. A warning will be issued, at least seven days, prior to any suspension of your account."

Here is the email:

Navah Hopkins added, "Google customer match allows advertisers to take customer lists and apply them for targeting and seed purposes in Google Ads. This is a great way to ensure folks get exactly the right messaging as well as giving us an option to exclude our existing customers from prospecting campaigns."

She explained what harm might be:

The first and most important consideration is using someone's email without their consent. I would take this signal from Google that gambling with privacy rules is getting harder.

Second, ad creative needs to pass the "not a creep" check. This means:
1. You're not targeting kids.
2. You're not making it seem like the ad is for any one specific user.
3. You're not including people in a target list who outright told you they didn't want to see your ads.

Third, and most importantly, violating customer match rules will get your account suspended. Don't mess around with it.

Forum discussion at LinkedIn.

IndieCade's Night Games returns to downtown's Music Center, bringing a host of unique and experimental games focused on communal play. And being silly.

While Mike Heroux worked professionally as a financial planner, he always had a financial blog side hustle. It took some time to finally make the decision to go all-in, but he eventually dove headfirst into blogging. In fact, he grew…

The post How Mike Heroux’s Membership Site Earns +$500k/Year appeared first on Niche Pursuits.

Jamie Penney’s entrepreneurial adventure began when he was in university.  He dabbled in niche sites and a travel vlog on YouTube successfully until the recent Google updates, but he really found his groove when he focused his efforts on a…

The post How Jamie Penney is Growing a +$4000/Month Flipping Furniture YouTube Channel appeared first on Niche Pursuits.

When Dave Chesson was in the US Navy, he would spend lots of time away from his family. And he hated it.  He decided to create a portfolio of niche sites in an attempt to earn enough to quit his…

The post How Dave Chesson Earns Up To $14k/Month Publishing Books on Amazon appeared first on Niche Pursuits.

Gary Arndt is a pretty unique individual.  He’s a polymath who triple majored in college and then went back to study additional subjects. He started an early internet company and then sold it for 7 figures before he turned 30. …

The post How Gary Arndt’s History Podcast Gets 1.5 Million Downloads Per Month appeared first on Niche Pursuits.

Jamie Northrup is no stranger to the “make money online” scene. He’s been doing it for almost 20 years with varying success, depending on the strategy.  For years he has been developing different income streams, focusing particularly on side hustles…

The post How Jamie Northrup Earns +$6k/Month From Multiple Income Streams appeared first on Niche Pursuits.

I'm excited to announce that you can now use the power of artificial intelligence with your internal link building! As the founder of Link Whisper, I've always tried to make building internal links faster, easier, and smarter. And now we…

The post AI Enhanced Internal Links are Here with Link Whisper! appeared first on Niche Pursuits.

Google Chrome is phasing out support for third-party cookies. Discover how this change impacts virtually every stakeholder in the digital ecosystem.

The post Should You Be Concerned About the End of Third-Party Cookies? appeared first on Portent.

Fr. Stephen speaks at length about the place of Orthodoxy within the modern world. Orthodox history is unknown to most Americans but has something to say to them and to help them in the healing of their own culture.

With this podcast, Fr. Stephen begins a small series of reflections on the character of the modern world and the particular difficulties it presents to the Orthodox faith.

Continuing his series on the "Modern Project," Fr. Stephen looks at the role "choice" plays in the modern world and contrasts that with older disciplines in the Christian life.

The frightful pressure felt by the young as they struggle to find their vocation is deeply enmeshed in the Modern Project. Fr. Stephen looks at those expectations as well as the true vocation of Christians.

Fr. Stephen Freeman looks at the "burden" created by the emotional and spiritual debts of things that others have done to us and how they can be forgiven.

In this podcast Fr. Stephen looks at the importance of "learning to sin," meaning the importance of learning what it is as a Christian that keeps us from the Kingdom of God.

The ability to share secure links for video calls is just one of the privacy-focused messaging app's new features.

The post 18 Lessons I’ve Learned about Blogging appeared first on ProBlogger.

In November 2002 I first heard the word blog after a mate e-mailed me a link and said I should consider starting one. Within 24 hours I’d created my first blog (a blogspot blog that doesn’t exist today). Since that time I’ve run 20+ blogs (most have survived, some have ...more

The post 18 Lessons I’ve Learned about Blogging appeared first on ProBlogger.

The post What Can Bloggers Learn from Pickleball? appeared first on ProBlogger.

I may be late to the party but I’ve just discovered Pickleball! And after playing almost daily since my first hit, I have to admit I’m a little bit addicted… Pickleball, a sport that combines elements of tennis, badminton, and ping-pong, is not just a pastime with a quirky name—it’s ...more

The post What Can Bloggers Learn from Pickleball? appeared first on ProBlogger.

The post 8 Secrets to Crafting Blog Post Titles That Will Set the Internet Ablaze appeared first on ProBlogger.

Titles change the destiny of your posts. Those few words at the beginning of your blog post can be the difference between the post being read and spread like a virus through the web like a wild fire and it languishing in your archives, barely noticed. This month we’ve been ...more

The post 8 Secrets to Crafting Blog Post Titles That Will Set the Internet Ablaze appeared first on ProBlogger.

The slower-paced tempo of summertime raises questions about how we relate to leisure as Orthodox Christians. In this episode, we talk about down time and our culture's sense of entitlement towards rest and relaxation. At the end of the episode, I'll also share some changes coming to "Time Eternal" this fall.

oday, I'm talking with friend and author Angela Doll Carlson about living the liturgical year. From logistics and practicalities to marriage and community, there's a little something for everyone in this episode (yes, even men!).

Nicole looks back on the biggest thing she took away from the 2017 Ancient Faith Conference, and discusses some changes that will hit the Time Eternal podcast in the fall. Have a blessed summer!

In this new, relaunched version of Time Eternal, I walk the meditation trail at Antiochian Village and consider what it is we are called to do and become in time. Listen to the end for a special giveaway that ends September 15, 2017! (For quotes and a picture from this episode, see the shownotes in the file attachment above, or subscribe to the Time Eternal blog.)

Nicole reflects on recent #TemporalTuesdays posts that revolve around the liturgical mystery of the first day of creation. Help me produce better Time Eternal content for the upcoming Church year by taking this free and anonymous survey. The intro and outro of Time Eternal are Kai Engel’s “Idea,” and “Remedy for Melancholy,” respectively. His songs “Aspirato” and “Mist and Clouds” are also used in this episode. http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Kai_Engel/

Meet some of the guests (and questions) that will feature in Season 4 of Time Eternal. Philip Roth once wrote that "in every calm and reasonable person, there is a hidden second person scared witless about death." This episode is dedicated to all those "calm and reasonable" folks out there who are secretly scared out of their minds when it comes to death. In this episode, I mentioned "Death in Orthodox Tradition," a course I am co-teaching with OCA priest Fr. Geoffrey Ready at the Orthodox School of Theology at Trinity College (Toronto). Check out our programme (Canadian spelling, people!) here: https://www.trinityorthodox.ca/ Time Eternal is now on Patreon! Find bonus content and resources here: https://www.patreon.com/nicole_roccas This episode featured upcoming TE guests Carla Moberg, Fr. Tay Moss, and Fr. Ted Paraskevopoulos. It also featured the following music by Kai Engel: "Idea" (Intro); "Behind Your Window"; and "Remedy for Melancholy" (Outro). http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Kai_Engel/

Nicole will be taking a break from the Time Eternal podcast during 2020 but hopes to be back in 2021 for more conversations about time and eternity. In the meantime, feel free to check out her other podcasts and blogs: Time Eternal blog (Ancient Faith Blogs): https://blogs.ancientfaith.com/timeeternal/ Nicole's professional blog: www.nicoleroccas.com/blog Time and Despondency book and Lenten study guide: https://store.ancientfaith.com/time-and-despondency/ The Time and Despondency Lenten Reading Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/timeanddespondencyLent/

In which Nicole shares 4 lessons from the recent Time Eternal Book Club read: Eternity in the Midst of Time by Wilfrid Stinissen. Also a strategy you can use for reflective reading, and a recent conversation with Molly Sabourin and Cynthia Damaskos on the Filled With Less podcast about simplifying time. Connect with Nicole on Instagram or Twitter (@NicoleRoccas). Mentioned in this episode: Eternity in the Midst of Time by Wilfrid Stinissen (Ignatius Press) The Time Eternal Book Club - stay tuned for details on our next meeting! Filled with Less podcast/video cast by Molly Sabourin and Cynthia Damaskos (forthcoming): ancientfaith.com/podcasts/filledwithless The intro and outro of this podcast are the songs "Idea" and "Remedy for Melancholy" by Kai Engel, available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license.

Bill's special guest was the always inspirational Fr. Luke Veronis, Proistamenos of Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church in Webster, MA. This visionary leader, and his dynamic parish, accepted the Stewardship Calling Good and Faithful Servant Challenge as they celebrated their 100th anniversary.

As the world watches the crisis in Ukraine unfold, Bill Marianes speaks with Their Eminences Metropolitan Antony and Archbishop Daniel Zelinsky about the humanitarian needs of the Ukrainian people and our common prayer for peace. The First 90 minutes of this podcast you have a wonderful opportunity to get to know the hierarchs of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA. The last half hour you will hear information on how to pray for and support the suffering people of Ukraine.and about the current war. Click HERE to support the crisis and refugees of Ukraine.

Today we present an interview Frederica conducted with Fr. Stephen Wojcichowsky, director of the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute in Ottawa. They recently held a conference that they called "The Sheptytsky Institute Study Days," and Fr. Tom Hopko and Frederica were among the speakers.

Frederica speaks at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California, about Orthodox spirituality and the Jesus Prayer.

Frederica speaks on Orthodox worship at Southern Methodist College in Spartanburg, SC.

An informal chat with the wives of two priests from Western Rite parishes in the Antiochian Archdiocese.

As Christians seek to form a community, the fitness phenomenon, CrossFit, has a great deal to teach us! Join Christian this week in exploring how CrossFit can show the Church what it means to be a community.

With the Feast Day of the Beheading of St. John approaching (August 29), Fr. Thomas examines the Prophet, Forerunner and Baptizer, John.

In commemoration of the Feast of his beheading, Fr. Tom continues his discussion of the Prophet, Forerunner and Baptizer, John.

On a beautiful fall afternoon at the family home in Canada, Fr. Tom is reflecting on the disparity between the beauty of God's creation and the tremendous suffering happening in the world.

Fr. Thomas Hopko presents a meditation on how the liturgical services of Christmas and Epiphany pattern those of the Christ's Holy Pascha of Easter.