February 01, 2006

Photo Slideshow & Upcoming Site Changes

I don't usually mix photos between my two main blogs (halfpress.com being my other one), but I thought this might be a relevant post worthy of breaking my own personal rules. :)

I've been experimenting with some new slideshow tools for use on my other blog and will likely begin offering my photos galleries in both the traditional HTML and flash forms (the user chooses their preference).

I used the recent three galleries from Tim Kaine's inauguration as my first test set and you can find it on halfpress if you're interested in seeing the work in progress.

You might also notice on halfpress that I'm using a more up-to-date version of the MovableType blogging engine and I plan to performs those upgrades here on DocDem very soon. This will herald the return of the comment feature (it got spammed to death in the last year and had to be shut off) as well as other refinements. I'm also working on a facelift for DocDem including a new logo banner. More details soon...

Keep your eye out for changes and any feedback is appreciated. :)

Thanks!
- Aaron

Posted by amahler at 03:28 PM | Comments (0)

March 16, 2005

Tim Kaine Kicks It Off (and DocDem stirs from its slumber)

Many DocDem readers (and quite a few local fellow Democrats) are probably assuming I was abducted by aliens or ran off and joined the circus. The relative hush on these pages has really been nothing more than a somewhat prolonged recharging of the batteries and a much needed return to life, work and family after running so ragged last year. While this blog is a cooperative endeavor, it is also a non-funded, grassroots and otherwise volunteer effort that will probably always tend to ebb and flow relative to larger events. Things are heating up, though, and it's time we got back underway...

My thanks to Rick Howell and Barnie Day for their continued contributions during these semi-silent last few months. We all look forward to more of your great insights and well-crafted words.

I started this blog around photographs last July, so it seems fitting to get things moving again with a new gallery of photos from a very important event for Virginians:

Select photos by your connection speed:

Roanoke: Tim Kaine's Campaign Kickoff - March 16, 2005 (slower)

Roanoke: Tim Kaine's Campaign Kickoff - March 16, 2005 (faster)

There is more writing to come and new faces to meet on DocDem. It might take a few more days or a week for the momentum to return to these pages as we get situated, but this is a collaborative process and I wish to put the call out again to Virginia democrats to send their contributions in the form of essays, news, photos and links.

One important note: the comment system WILL return. It was turned off in the winter after the blog spammers hit it very hard with advertisements for online poker and erectile dysfunction drugs. I have new updates to the software to put in place, part of which will tackle this problem and make our comment system usable again. I certainly never wanted anyone to feel silenced or remove the interactive nature of the site... but the insidious spammers won the first round.... (grumble)

More to come, and thanks for reading!
- Aaron

Posted by amahler at 05:48 PM | Comments (0)

June 29, 2004

Documenting Democracy

The name 'Documenting Democracy' is apropos. Democracy should be documented and archived - recorded locally, regionally, statewide, and nationally - encouraging civic involvement at all levels, a participatory democracy. Promoting communities and the activities of the civilians within them.

Those records can then be used by those involved, their friends and family, those considering being involved, reporters, and historians, etc. The contributions to this website will be from the citizens involved, giving their perspective on the activities from the engaged point of view of a participant. We will take democracy from the passive mode of spectator sport to being the civic privilege and celebration it is.

Each contribution will promote activities from that locality, prompting more awareness of those activities - leading to a momentum that will stimulate more activities by more citizens and the documentation of them by more contributors. An evolving fabric of record documenting and promoting the evolving civic activities of our communities.

Each individual and each community is able to weave that fabric of civic involvement, document their activities, then use their document when looking back at their event. Engaged people making a difference, then being able to point out their role in that initiative from a historical record.

Posted by wally at 08:10 AM | Comments (1)

June 28, 2004

Lots of work to do...

The site is born. Lots of work ahead of us...

Posted by amahler at 10:49 PM | Comments (0)