Dan Hauk's blog and online portfolio

“Don’t Be Evil” — The motto of Google, the multi-billion dollar company that turned 10 years old this week. *Sniff* They’ve grown up so much.

I was listening to NPR the other day on my way home from work. I think I’m getting old. The only people I know who listen to NPR and other talk radio are my dad, future father-in-law, and future grandfather-in-law. Oh well, just the price I pay I suppose. Anyway, one of the stories on there was about Google and how they turn 10 this week.

Apparently it’s really hard to find out which exact date they began operations from their garage in California. Some say September 4 while others say September 7. The reporter said he couldn’t find the information, even by Googling, so he did the old fashioned thing and used a telephone. Archaic, I know. Being the humble folks they are, they told him they claim the entire month of September.

He included interviews with people in his report. In these interviews people were talking about how they don’t remember too much about “life before Google,” name-dropping less popular, out of date, search engines like Lycos and AOL. They are still around though.

Google went public back in August of 2004, which subsequently made co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin multi-billionaires. From that little garage, they have built an empire with web apps for email, maps, and everything else you could imagine, a huge campus in Mountain View, California, and giant computing centers as big as football fields. The campus is so big that workers are issued electric scooters to get around.

They have also worked hard to reduce their carbon footprint, which is wonderful for the environment. Big chunks of the roof on their campus buildings have solar panels, installed in 2007, help power everything. These solar panels also charge the hybrid electric company cars.

So here’s to you, Google. Congratulations on all your accomplishments, including getting into Webster’s dictionary. Happy Birthday, my friends.

This past weekend my fiancé and I traveled to Lancaster for a huge art fest. It was all outdoor in Long’s Park. The scenery was beautiful and the art was fantastic. Probably between 75 and 100 artists I’d say. Each got a lot along the path to display and sell their art. There was also a wine/beer tasting stand for Iron Hill, a local brewery.

We signed up for a free raffle after paying for our tickets, but for the life of me I can’t remember what it was for. They did have a separate tent with pieces of art that some donated, but for those tickets you had to pay. All kinds of artists were represented from all over the country: painting, photography, digital art, sculpture, fabrics, glass, metal, etc. Anything you could think of it was probably there.

While looking at the first photographer we came across I started thinking about how much I miss photography. I would definitely like to get back into it, but it’s difficult with little time and no access to a darkroom. But, Dan, you say, why not digital? There’s no need for a dark room, just a computer.

Here’s the thing. Digital photography can be great and quick, but I’d much rather be in the darkroom working with my hands and developing the film myself. It gives more of a sense of satisfaction having to wait to see the pictures. And then working manually to get the exposure just right. I feel like more of an artist rather than sitting at a computer. I loved spending hours in the darkroom at Millersville.

However, it is expensive. And one thing I don’t have a lot of these days is money. Some day soon I will get back into it because it is a great passion. If I could make a living from it I could die content. To be able to make enough money from photography that I could travel abroad to get amazing photos of other places in the world would be absolutely amazing.

If I start back into photography, would anyone buy my art? Even if no one does I’ll do it anyway. The photos in this post are mine, by the way.

‘Sup doods.

So I got a new car the other day. It was about time. A part of me will probably miss the little Chevy Metro with its lack of power anything, including steering, and horribly slow speeds. But with 140k miles on it, it was time for retirement. The new ride is a beauty.

I’ll get some pictures up at some point (maybe some “artsy” ones). A 2004 Charcoal/gun metal gray VW Jetta with black interior. I love German cars, built like tanks. Manual transmission which is hella fun to drive. Only thing lacking is the pickup. Not the greatest pickup, but definitely better than the Metro. I can always mod it with turbos and all that jazz.

Love it.