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As I mentioned to Ian earlier today, Dave and I were discussing having the jsTrace window keep pace with whatever the most current line is spit out to it. A few hours later, here it is: jsTrace 1.3. I have some other stuff (read: paying projects) that need my attention, so I am putting jsTrace down for a bit. Dave & I will be posting a few more demos of its use in different situations, but as far as further development goes, I’m gonna be hands-off for a bit to let you all get a chance to participate.

And if you’re in the participatory mood, check out this site I built with Adaptive Path. I will be posting some details about the project and how I accomplished certain design features once Kel’s campaign’s over and life gets a little less hectic.

As some of you are no doubt aware, I am quite a political guy: often known to break into a diatribe against the Wal-Marts of this world and injustice in general. It’s odd because I despised politics as a teenager and young adult. Many events and activities in my life contributed to my relatively recent transformation into a political (I hate to use the term) “activist,” but I will save that discussion for another time. Right now I want to talk about Kelly, my wife.

Kelly is an amazing woman and her influence has, quite literally, made me a better person. She is kind, compassionate, and giving while at the same time never afraid to tell you exactly what she’s thinking. She can cut through the bullshit and get right to the point without being abrassive and also has the ability to look at both sides of an argument and suss out some common ground. These are some of the many reasons I love her and they are also the reasons I think her recent interest in helping steer our town is a good thing.

That’s right, Kelly is running for office – our town’s legislative council to be exact. The thing I find most impressive is that so many of the people in our neighborhood—no matter what their political affiliation—have come out in support of her. They obviously see in her all of the great characteristics I do.

Our town is deeply divided right now—as many Connecticut towns are—because there is not a balance of power. The Democrats have a supermajority in elected offices—though less than half of our towns voters are registered as such—and little competition from the Republicans. Any of you who live in one party towns probably know the story: the major party has no competition, so it breeds its own internally. The Dems are constantly infighting, with one faction undermining the other on a nearly perpetual basis, which does little to improve the state of our town or the use of our tax dollars. I bring this up because Kelly is running on the Green Party ticket. I think this is a good thing because third parties provide a much-needed balance to the political process, acting as both watchdogs and luminaries by keeping the two major parties on task and bringing to light issues and ideas often overlooked or simply unknown to them.

I am really hopeful for Kel’s campaign and I think she has a really good shot. The seat she is going for—in the town’s 5th District—has no incumbant and neither major party candidate is as in tune with what is going on in the neighborhood as she is. The more people she meets, the more she attracts to her cause… it’s really impressive to see grassroots politics in action. I think the main attraction is that she genuinely listens to their concerns and wants to truly represent them on the council, not just act on their behalf.

At this point in my life, I have no interest in political office. I am content to be the man behind the woman, making her a kick-ass website.

I’ve had a few interesting things come through my inbox of late and I thought I would share them with you:

• The CT Forum will be hosting A Conversation… Thomas Friedman & Malcolm Gladwell on 6 April 2006 in Hartford, CT. This should be pretty interesting to witness as Gladwell’s Tipping Point and blink. have been incredibly influential in the business world and Fiedman’s The World is Flat is also starting to make some heads turn. Not sure if I am going yet or not, but it looks to be pretty cool.
• For those of you looking for socially responsible places to donate money for victims of Katrina, Radical Reference has compiled a great list for your reference.
• I’m a little late on this one, but today is the deadline for applications to intern at the League of Young/Independent/Pissed Off Voters. There are a ton of positions availble in New York City for the fall. This is a great organization and I highly recommend hooking up with them if politics is your bag. To apply, send a statement of interest and any relevant resume to erubinstein@indyvoter.org with “INTERNSHIP” in the subject line.

In the wake of the tragedy that befel the citizens of and visitors to New Orleans recently, I’ve been amazed at the amount of support and kindness being shown to the survivors (Barbara Bush’s comments notwithstanding). Help has come from the likely places as well as some unlikely ones and I am sure most of you have already donated money, blood and possibly even a room or two in your house/apartment. While a good deal of assistance is still needed for our fellow humans, there are others in need too: their displaced pets.

I received an email from a friend in Florida who has agreed to take in two dogs that made it through OK, but there are thousands more animals that need temporary homes, be they in kennels, animal boarding houses, veterinarian’s offices, animal shelters, foster homes or rescue programs.

From what I understand, there are all breeds of dogs and cats in need of our help. Some are in family groups of 2, 3 and 4 while others are solo. And there are volunteers willing to drive them to you, no matter where you live. The current safe houses for these animals are being inundated and some of these pets will have to be euthanized if they are not moved to make room for the incoming animals.

If you are interested in taking in a dog or cat (or know someone who is), contact Lynda V. on her cell: 203-515-3024 or at home: 203-227-5308 at any time (day or night).

Congress in going back into session after their summer recess and they will be taking a vote on the Estate Tax (or “Death Tax” as some people like to call it). It is a hotly contested issue that I feel very strongly about. The truth is that a lot of public services depend on the revenue generated by the estate tax and the number of people affected by it is less than 1.4% of the population. I should be so lucky to be wealthy enough for my children to have to pay the Estate Tax.

I recently wrote to my Senators and Representative to let them know how I feel and I thought I’d share it with you. Maybe you’d like to write to yours.

Dear Senators Dodd and Lieberman and Congresswoman DeLauro,

I am a small business owner and I support preserving the Estate Tax. I owe my life and business to the America the Estate Tax has helped build.

The Estate Tax provides the needed revenue to create wonderful services and opportunities for many companies. Without the internet (which the Estate Tax helped fund), I would not be able to be the successful Web Designer I am. In fact, my career path would never have been an option. Likewise, I may not have had the education to do my job—nor my employees, theirs—had it not been for the public school system, also funded in-part by the Estate Tax. Without a stable mail service, I would not be able to send the invoices and receive the payments my buisiness depends on. Without the infrastructure our public highways and roadways provide, I would not be able to travel to meet with clients and my business would suffer. The same goes for air travel: it would not be as safe or reliable if the Federal Government had not used tax revenues (including the Estate Tax) to make it so.

If I should become so wealthy that my children would even have to pay the Estate Tax, I do not feel it would be unfair for the U.S. Government to ask for a little back to repay the society that has made my business, job and lifestyle a reality. In order to ensure future generations can acheive the success that I have, we need to keep the Estate Tax.

Sincerely,

Aaron Gustafson