August 16, 2008

"You aren't Lonewacko!"

"Yes, Guillaume, I am Lonewacko," I informed the key member of Team Lonewacko, now known as Team 24Ahead, who had rushed into my office in a tizzy. "I am simply in a new guise."

"Bbbbut... the sign on our building has been changed! I thought that you had 'flown the coop' as they say! What has happened? Why didn't you tell me?"

"It was a surprise. The 'lacrosse practice' I told you about does not exist. I knew you would drive past our building, see that the signage had changed, and do what you're doing now. I planned all this, as a surprise."

"But, '24ahead'? What does that mean, in English?"

"Yes, I imagine many people - not just speakers of foreign languages - will wonder about that. Then, they'll realize this is a news and politics site. Then - in a flash - they'll realize it means we're at least 24 hours ahead of other sites in reporting on things. And - due to that flash - this site will be seared in their memory forever. It is psychology, mon ami. Also, everyone thinks about time zones when traveling or contacting persons in other states, and they know that, for instance, the East Coast is three hours ahead. Every time they think of such things, the neurons in their brains will associate those thoughts with this site and they will come back to check on what's new!"

"You are clever... like a fiend! But, if I may, the name it is five syllables!"

"It's also only seven letters. Plus, it passes my Hillary Test."

"Oh, you and your Hillary Test. You will never..."

"Yes, I will. One day, I will get to ask Hillary Clinton a question. If I said I was from 'lonewacko.com', the best that would happen is I'd get laughs from the audience and a nervous twitter from Hillary. With this new name, Hillary would assuredly pretend she's been to the site. Her reaction matters to me."

"But, the Team! What will become of the Team?"

We're still Team!" I assured him, "Dale is still Research Director. Gwendolynne Fritz-Ruffalla is still our intern. The Team is still strong. It is just Team 24Ahead now."

"But, will there be changes?"

"Nothing major. Over time, certain things such as the tagline will change. But, we'll still be covering immigration and politics, plus occasional forays into sports, celebrities, and music."

"That's it?"

"Well, eventually there are going to be blocks."

"Blocks?"

"Yes, Guillaume, blocks! Sidebar blocks. Drupal blocks, made with PHP so they're dynamic!"

"Oh!!!"

"And, that's not all! Eventually," I painted the picture for him, "perhaps tomorrow but more likely months from now, there will be effects!"

"You mean, Javascript effects?" Guillaume was hooked.

"Yes, that's what I mean! In fact, I might make things fly across the screen at some point in time! Now," I joked, "get out of here and get back to work!"

Posted to Bloggage at August 16, 2008 11:16 AM