Midnight Musings

Blogger customer support -- in Spanish

I just received an email support message from Blogger.com:

Subject: Información de la cuenta de Blogger

Tu blog,  se ha asociado al nombre de usuario de la cuenta de Google xxx@gmail.com . Utiliza este nombre de usuario de la cuenta de Google para acceder a Blogger y a tu blog.

Si has olvidado tu contraseña, puedes restablecerla haciendo clic en este vínculo:

Si experimentas cualquier problema o tienes alguna pregunta, visita nuestro sitio de ayuda en http://help.blogger.com/

Atentamente,
El equipo de Blogger

As I don't speak Spanish, I loaded this into Google's Language Tool and it came out perfectly translated, as follows:

Subject:Account information Blogger

Your blog has been associated with the username of the Google Account xxxx@gmail.com. Use this user name of the account to access Google's Blogger and your blog.

If you have forgotten your password, you can restore it by clicking on this link:

If you experience any problems or have any questions, please visit our website help http://help.blogger.com/

Sincerely,
The team Blogger

Curious, isn't it. This is one of those rare instances when I actually hear from Blogger/Google, and when I do, it's in a language I don't speak. At least they provided the tools with which I could understand them.

Renewing my driver's license online - wow!

I just got a notification to renew my California driver's license and this year, there was the option of renewing it online. The key criteria are that you can't have changed your address. So I figured, it sure beat standing in line, or even mailing in my renewal with a check. In all, it took about 3 minutes to do from start to finish. Wow. I've been a pessimist of government's adoption of technology, but no longer -- this is just too cool. The added benefit is that I can keep my old photo and stay "forever young".

Why a blog?

I've been blogging professionally for almost a year and have been tempted to venture into it on a personal front. And herein begins that adventure!

So why blog?

- I have something to say that I think others might want to hear, be it my mother or just another like-minded person on the other side of the world. I'm often tempted to write about something that I've come across, but realize that the readers of my other blog wouldn't be interested in the cute thing that my kids just did!
- It's a place to try new stuff. Everything from podcasting to actually making money via ads.
- It's a journey into self-discovery. There is something about the discipline of writing that helps develop and the thoughts and ideas that I hold so dear. My hope is that I begin a dialog with others that will push those ideas further.

Just to be *absolutely* clear about what this blog is not. It is not an extension of any other blog or publications that I may write -- especially not the one I write for my current employer. I will not write about technology topics that I would normally write about as part of my job. But I will write about technology -- I'm too much of a geek to stay away from the topic! In any case, all of these ramblings reflect my personal views and should not be associated with any other employer, group, or individual.

And why call this blog "Midnight Musings"? Just check out the time stamp!