| 2008 Has Begun! |
[Dec. 2nd, 2008|05:52 pm] |
Actually, it began over 2 weeks ago, but I'm just getting around to posting now. I do have more to do, and expect to do an update tonight.
First major media mention was on MSNBC.com - http://testpattern.msnbc.msn.com/
Not sure about the poker tourney this year. Let me know if you're interested. I can still get it set up.
Ho ho ho! |
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| First post of the year! |
[Sep. 17th, 2008|06:18 pm] |
... and it's only September 17. Odd how time flies.
Anyway, I will, of course, be starting the 2008 collection in the beginning of November. I will actually have plenty of pictures; I don't think I updated after Christmas last year. I'm looking forward to what this year will bring!
And, yes, the poker tourney will be on, and possibly for more money.
Ho ho ho! |
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| 13 picture update |
[Dec. 13th, 2007|10:40 pm] |
Just did a large update with a lot of contest entries. However, there are two that I wanted to specifically mention.
First, "Temples of Syrinx". If you don't get this one at all, go read the lyrics to Rush's mammoth song, 2112. Better yet, give it a listen.
Second, "No SUV's here!" (ok, I was at a bit of a loss for that one). I normally would not put this up because it looks to be asking for donations, which, I'm assuming, are for the less fortunate. I have refused to put up similar pictures in the past because of the fantastic message. However, this was a self-submission, and for the contest, so it's there.
Remember to sign up for the poker tourney! |
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| The Third Annual UCL Freeroll on Poker.com |
[Nov. 29th, 2007|11:33 pm] |
Yes, I'm doing it again.
The tourney is on 12/16 at 9 PM ET. You need the poker.com / carbonpoker software, which can be downloaded from here. Once you have it, set up a username and password, and go to Tournaments -> Private -> Scheduled, scroll down to the 16th, and it will be right there.
THERE IS NO OBLIGATION TO DEPOSIT OR GIVE ANY KIND OF CREDIT CARD INFO. THIS IS COMPLETELY FREE.
The password is hohoho. The total prize money is $50, plus there will likely be a bounty on me.
See you there, and good luck! |
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| Welcome to... |
[Nov. 12th, 2007|11:33 pm] |
2007!
Sometime this week, likely tomorrow night, the 2007 Collection will begin (using leftover pics from 2006). I have 7 e-mails with pictures that I didn't put up. At least two have multiple pics, so expect 5-10 pics soon. I have to judge their worthyness, after all.
Tell your friends! Wake the neighbors! Change your underwear! Well, you should do the last one anyway.
A total aside. Gmail's "newer version" is horrible. I realize that people may be downloading thousands of e-mails and slowing down their servers because of IMAP, but this is ridiculous. I log into my e-mail, and wait a minute to click on "older version". Ugh.
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| It's been a long time... |
[Aug. 3rd, 2007|06:13 pm] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | North Pole | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | jolly | ] |
| [ | music |
| | White Christmas | ] |
...since I posted here, yeah.
I am alive. There's not much going on with the site, except that I am being barraged by people asking for ads. I find it odd, although I guess we'll be in light season soon enough, and the page is on the first page of hits for every major search engine under "Christmas lights" (and #1 on google).
I did not originally put the site together as a money making venture; far from it. However, I'm not going to lie about it. The site has funded the purchase of quite a bit of computer equipment.
Currently, I have the google ads as well as the Christmas Lights Etc. ad (and they're great people over there - use them!). I've also been invited by and accepted to Adify, and a few others have asked me about ads on specific pages. In fairness to CLE, I'm likely not going to take any light-related ads on the main page (except if they come up in Adify, in which case they'll pay more for it anyway). I really do have to look at what others are asking, though. A text ad for people finders on the Where's Waldo page? Sure. No viagra ads on the applicable pages for that one, though!
The truth is that the site is bigger than I ever imagined it would be. I get more hits per day now in August than I did in December of 2002. I never thought I'd get interviewed by major newspapers and news organizations, but I have been. I know for a fact that the site has been mentioned in newspapers all around the world.
Who woulda thunk it? |
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| Yahoo |
[Dec. 25th, 2006|10:11 pm] |
So.
I was having a bit of problems connecting to the main machine that the site is on (not where the pics are hosted). I took a few more pics, and I was going to do a site update with them and some others.
I checked my google stats and noticed that I had a good amount of hits at 3:00 PM PST. I had no idea why. I first went to Google news, and, while the site was mentioned in India, I didn't think that that would do it.
Then I went to yahoo, and my jaw dropped. Not often that you site is THE featured site. Velvet Rope was featured. The site is also part of The 9 today, which is a show that does quick reviews of sites. On the poll after the show, it's easily the most favorite of those that voted.
I'm quite thrilled about the whole thing. The site had below average traffic for December due to the power outage and resulting loss in coverage. Yahoo has been nothing but great for the site. |
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| .. .and we're back |
[Dec. 19th, 2006|11:46 pm] |
Been back for 2 days, actually. Power outage really screwed things up, though.
I do have to do a site update; maybe tomorrow night. |
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| Power outage |
[Dec. 15th, 2006|11:50 am] |
Ack. 10 days before Christmas, and there's a power outage. Nothing I can do but wait until the power company puts the lights back on. |
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| Caption it #1 2006 |
[Dec. 9th, 2006|10:09 pm] |
OK, I have no idea what to do with this picture. Blown up, it's blurry. At 600x450, it's not terrible, as far as sharpness goes.
Give me some ideas! |
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| Theme song |
[Dec. 9th, 2006|09:20 pm] |
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the UCL theme song:
http://www.thesneeze.com/mt-archives/000570.php
While this is safe for work, it is NOT safe to play at loud volumes. I don't know whether to laugh or cry, so I think I did a little of both!
Also, I'm in the midst of an update; at least 8 pictures, probably closer to 12. I haven't gone through all of them yet, but I just felt that I HAD to post this. |
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| I may actually repeat a house |
[Nov. 29th, 2006|08:22 pm] |
So, I drove by a house tonight that has actually made the site before - this one actually.
http://www.uglychristmaslights.com/2004_collection/yeti_vs_snoopy.html
(someone remind me to shrink the pic to my now standard 600x450)
Anyway, I am very tempted to take it again. I almost took it in 2003, but it wasn't bad enough. Obviously, I took it in 2004, and it wasn't bad enough to repeat in 2005.
I passed it again tonight. They have something special on the lawn that may just make me take it twice.
They have: a projection screen.
Showing National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.
It's rare that my jaw drops when I see a house. It did this time. |
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| Announcing the 2006 UglyChristmasLights.com freeroll on Poker.com! |
[Nov. 26th, 2006|10:18 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | jolly and feeling lucky | ] |
Yep, you read that right. Oddly enough, I've already received two e-mails about it.
UPDATE: The time has been fixed! If you had already registered, you must re-register. The tourney will be on December 17 at 9:00 PM EST.
The total prize pool is $100, but there will also be a $5 bounty on me! If you knock me out, even if I come in last, you get $5. I will tell whoever it is that they earned it.
THERE IS NO OBLIGATION TO DEPOSIT MONEY OR GIVE A CREDIT CARD NUMBER TO JOIN THE TOURNAMENT. I WILL NOT RECEIVE ANY OF YOUR INFORMATION.
First, download the software. To do that, go here. You will have to set up a username and password for yourself.
Once the software is downloaded, log in. Then, click on the Tournaments tab, and then Private. Scroll down and double-click on the UglyChristmasLights 2006 Freeroll. Click on Register, and enter the password of "hohoho" (no quotes).
That's it! See you there! Tell your friends! |
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| Site down.. |
[Nov. 16th, 2006|12:18 am] |
... due to a power outage. Hopefully back up tomorrow.
It's a shame, too. I had an update to do. |
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| Coming soon... |
[Nov. 1st, 2006|08:39 am] |
The 2006 Collection will be started on Saturday. I have plenty of pics left over from last year that I received after my last update.
5 years of ugly Christmas lights! |
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| Pictures on the move |
[May. 23rd, 2006|10:00 pm] |
The pictures are currently being moved to dreamhost.com. Everything is actually set up except for the DNS. It should be back to normal soon.
5/28 EDIT: Pictures are working! |
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| Beginnings of the 2006 collection |
[Feb. 24th, 2006|11:28 am] |
So, it turns out that I again received pictures after January 15th (and some before that I didn't know what to do with). I may start rolling out the 2006 collection early; perhaps start with 5, and then add one per month until November, where it will begin in earnest. With this, the site will also have a new host for the pictures.
Also, the site is now affiliated with poker.com, the site that was nice enough to host my freeroll tourney in December. Click the link, look around, and sign up! |
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| Hotlinking |
[Jan. 4th, 2006|02:38 pm] |
So, I was taking a gander at my January stats on the picture site.
Now, in looking at the referers, they should all be from the actual site itself; the pages from the site refer to the pics site to bring up the pictures.
Except that my #2 referer was myspace.com. This is a problem. I actually ended up speaking to two of the worst offenders. Both, surprisingly, apologized.
However, in light of this, there's no more hotlinking from the pics site. Hotlinking from the main site was shut down a bit ago.
Also, in an unrelated note, I do have an update to do. I was going to do it last night, but I took the night off. I'll probably get to it tonight. |
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