Some new banners on the main page for the new year are up. It was tough to pull down those old ones since they were so good but I'm learning ... change is good. It is like realitybites mentioned, change is all around. I am welcoming it now, when I used to avoid it.

I know there will be some who don't like it because it might make things uncomfortable, but this is the only way we will progress. It seems with any change I make on the site there are a few who will complain and I'll listen. There was a change in the general board format (to the UBB style) a few years ago and after listening to what people said, I decided to change it back to the original. When I switched to slashcode for the main site some people complained and after listening I stayed with the system and made some adjustments. In that case there was no way I was turning back, I knew that was the right way to go.

Now that the tour is over I think I'll have some time to work on the technology.

First off, I still need to configure the new server. There was an incompatibility with the RAID card and the OS so after some back and forth with the hardware techs I decided to change the OS to the more stable Red Hat Linux Enterprise.

Next I will look at changes for the general discussion board. I like the current one for its ease of use and simplicity but it is too easily abused. I am leaning towards going with vBulletin. Any other suggestions? This one appears to be the most powerful version and recently added threads view which is a feature I've been looking for in this type of board.

After that I plan to focus on upgrading the main page code, which is the real heart of the site and where the main Morrissey discussion goes on. This will be a major undertaking as there have been many changes since I last touched the code a couple years ago.

Dublin was a great way to end the year as I knew it would be. This trip was more about seeing the city and meeting people than about cramming in as many concerts in as short amount of time as possible.

I didn't get to see all that much of the city, just the main Temple Bar area as Tales From The Dark suggested and shopping areas. Thanks also to Gabriella for her suggestion of the vegetarian restaurant Cornucopia, we were able to find it. It served us well, as usual when on tour we are lucky to get in a decent meal once a day.

I didn't have to adjust for the time difference at all, since we would go to sleep at around 5 or 6 am and wake up in the afternoon. Didn't see much daylight at all since the days are very short this time of year. I got the brief taste and definitely plan on being back with more time to discover more of Dublin and the rest of Ireland also.

The concert itself was great, Morrissey looked good and seemed to have just as much energy as when he started the tour back in April. When he came out for the encore Morrissey said 'journey's end, journey's end, journey's end...' Simple words have such great power coming from Morrissey. We don't know when he will stop, but this tour has had more hints than any. As he was leaving after 'Last Night I Dreamt' he paused and looked at Boz and then came back to do 'There Is A Light' again. I don't know when they decided to do this, it wasn't on the printed set list. As someone on the site said a while back, it's the ultimate closer and I agree.

The aftershow at the Hub was fun also, those post concert Morrissey / Smiths themed shows are really great ideas. People in the UK and Ireland get so dramatic to the words of the songs.

Getting to know people is something I'm now more focused on. This trip I did connect more with those I traveled with and those I had met briefly before on past tours. I also met more people than I ever had in the past. A lot of this has to do with the program I am going though which I briefly mentioned before. I suddenly realized what a privilege I have to be around so many great people on this website and I haven't done much with this opportunity. I would love to meet and get to know as many other fans as I can now. The program has been one of the best experiences I've had and I would love to share it with those who are in or can be in the Los Angeles area, feel free to email me if you are interested.

Morrissey's new single "I Have Forgiven Jesus" is coming out next week. Given the marketing and timing it will do well but I don't think it is as strong as any of the previous 3 singles.

He just doesn't seem genuine as he used to. Has he ever really forgiven anyone in his life? In the song he says he has forgiven Jesus but listening to the lyrics, even that doesn't seem genuine in the song itself.

I read some comments on the general board directed at me, what my intentions are in the way I run the site and how I must be bitter or hurt for putting in all this work and then be shut off from Morrissey's inner circle. Those are valid comments. At one point I did feel some bitterness, after all, putting in so many personal hours in the last 7 years I thought some acknowledgement would be in order and instead I receive legal and physical threats. This is why I fought it and it became such a big deal. Had I been less bitter, I would likely have fought it still but would not have made it a public matter.

Recently I have been going through a great program/educational workshop which has allowed me to really look at myself and my past choices. I'll mention more about this program at a later date because I think it is important. I am a different person now, I don't cling to that bitterness anymore. I am putting in the hours on the site because I want to and I am doing it unconditionally, I do not expect anything back from you or Morrissey. Morrissey can continue to turn his back at me but instead of turning my back at him, I am now coming with open arms.

Fed Ex dropped off the new Morrissey-solo server a couple weeks ago. I just came home and it was sitting there at my door. Anyway that was a couple weeks ago. It's working and so far I just reinstalled the OS (Fedora Core 3) and I am planning to get it into the colocation place on Wednesday.

No definite date on when I'll be moving stuff over as that will take a while. Finally a short break in the touring schedule to take care of it. I also plan this week to go through all of the masthead / banners that MBB321 gathered in a contest from a while back and create a new rotation for the main page.

It's great to hear a couple people I know who were thinking of going to the Dublin show commit to going. I encourage everyone else who has thought about it to do it also if the thought has crossed your mind. This will be great way to end an amazing year. If you don't have the means, find a way somehow.

In the past I would try to go to as many shows in a short period. That was great, but tiring and I never got to see much of the cities I was traveling to. So this time I am not planning to go the last UK shows and instead spend a couple days in Dublin. I've never been to Ireland so it is something I'm looking forward to.

On my way to Vegas, to the same venue Morrissey started the tour with back in April. That seems like years ago. Someone asked me yesterday what my favorite shows have been and I couldn't think of a specific one as there are many. The second Vegas show in 2002 came to mind today. What makes a show great? I don't know, they all seem pretty good to me. I look for intensity from Morrissey and also in the fans as the main factors. Thurs. night at the Universal was one of those nights also.

I have talked to some people that have not been able to make it to all of these shows and ticket prices are definitely a factor. The Vegas show is $72 + $10.50 convenience charge and I think there is also some other service charge. I remember back in 1990, someone thought I was nuts for paying $50 for a general admission Stone Roses show from a ticket agency. The concert had sold out within a few minutes but it was cancelled later and I got my money back.

One thing you may not know is that as the admin I can see who is doing what moderating. Most people use it as intended, but there are some who will target certain users and go through their comments and mark them down, regardless of the actual comment. Someone just did that to a few of my replies in a recent journal.

One more Q&A:

Mr Delaney: One question - aren't you, now you're becoming more visible, afraid that the usual shadowlurkers are going to lay into you?
Yes, that is a risk I'll have to take. I realize there will be some using this as ammo but I think more positive will come out of it than negative. I have recently realized I am not setting much of an example by not participating.

Thanks for all the questions and supportive comments. Here are my answers:

Marisela: And I also hope to you see you at the Nov 12th show, will you be there?..
Marisela - yes, I will see you there. I am planning to go to the 2 LA shows and Las Vegas and also Dublin. Earlier in the year I saw Las Vegas, Anaheim, the 5 LA/Wiltern, 2 in NY/Apollo, May 22 in Manchester, Louisville, Kentucky and the KROQ make up.

Gabriella: It seems like you make lots of time/energy/financial sacrifices and don't particularly get a payoff! Is running an excellent site good enough in itself? I am very curious as to how detached you are from Moz's inner circle. Were you ever a part of Moz's inner circle?
Gabriella - the reward for doing the site is, exactly as you stated, in itself. It is not a perfect world, but the world of Morrissey is one I am honored to be a part of. I love the music, the concerts and all of the fans that are part of the site. There are many indirect payoffs - I've learned a lot doing the site and this helps with me career wise as I've been working with similar technology at my full-time job with LAUNCH, the music site on Yahoo!

Currently I am detached from any inner circle people. I get an occasional email or call from Sanctuary when they want something posted or have some problem with something on the site. As for being part of his inner circle, no, I never have been. I was on a friendly basis in the past but since starting the website the relationship has deteriorated. I think there has always been a lack of communication, with fault on both ends. I think I am seen as approving all of the comments written on the site by others. I have always maintained that I am not responsible and choose not to censor. Other people and Morrissey himself are generating these comments, not me.

ScottyK: I'm curious about what other artists you enjoy. Someone once told me that you Only listen to Smiths/Moz, and I was wondering if this was true?
ScottyK - I don't listen to music as much as I used to but I have been known to put in a CD from an artist besides Morrissey / The Smiths in rare occasions. Recently I Like the Camera Obscura and British Sea Power cds and a local LA band called The Like. Otherwise I listen to artists recommended by Morrissey and 80s music in general.

Tales From The Dark: ...has Morrissey personally ever contacted the site/you and do you therefore know if he himself ever visits it or not?
He has stated that he has never actually logged on but I know that people have printed out pages from the site regularly for him so I would say yes but I think he would say no. I've not had any contact with him lately so I don't know for certain if he visits or not.

I've been comfortable in the background all these years running the site but now I plan to be more present and visible. So I will start with this journal feature that I have not used much in the past.

So to begin, if anyone has any questions about the site, myself, or anything else, ask here in the comments and I will answer them in the next entry.

A short site hardware update - an upgrade will be coming soon. The site has been under tremendous load this whole year and the nearly 5 year old server has survived and is still going strong. The data is backed up daily but if there is a hardware failure, that could mean the site would be down for a long time - maybe weeks.

So I have decided to buy a new server (upgrading from dual 700Mhz to dual 3.2Ghz) and keep this one as a backup to gain at least a little peace of mind. I anticipate installing the new server in about a month or so.