I am David Gaines

Moving Into The Master Suite, Finally...

Thu, 11 Nov 2010 21:09:46 -0400

When I first started blogging, it wasn't known as blogging. I had just learned how to build a website thanks to my homeboy Daz teaching me via telephone. Things were easy back then. All you had to know was how to create links, post photos and type whatever you thought people would have the patience to read. I was at North Carolina A&T State University and I created my site called the Realm of David Gaines. And I'm amazed it's still available online!

Then I moved it to my own domain. My first domain was realmofdrg.com [which is no longer online] since DavidGaines.com was being used by someone to post some weird stuff about "big brother is watching." Then one day when I went to renew my domain name, the website I was using asked if I wanted DavidGaines.com which luckily for me just became available.

Since then I've been playing with different looks, different layouts and never a specific theme to anything I posted. I did a Redskins blog called Skinsaphrenia; a blog about Washington, DC stuff from a BlacKorean's point of view; a DC events site with nightclubs, restaurants and things to do; a site about turning 30 and what I needed to do to stay young and hale [that one didn't last long]; and who knows whatever ideas I came up with.

Finally I settled on I am David Gaines and this is what's on my mind. That's this one, of course, a site I did for several years until I figured out what I wanted my site to be about. And after more than a decade has passed, I've come to the conclusion that there will never be just one thing I write about. I did motivational stuff, financial advice [I should start taking some of my advice], stuff about health and food [like what's really used to make a Twinkie], politics, humor, world events, and so on and so forth.

So, with that said and really saying nothing new, I've moved [well, sorta] the blog to DavidGaines.com, without the "/nucleus/" directory. Nothing elaborate, mainly technical, but mostly a note on where to find my continued babbling if you found this page.

Photos From Najwa's "Hello World" Moment

Tue, 2 Nov 2010 17:59:26 -0400

Ever since I started blogging at NajwaGaines.com, I've neglected this site. Then again, I've always gone through spurts of writer's block. But just to get some traffic to this site, I'm sharing some photos I finally got around to posting after the birth of Najwa Gaines [which coincidentally are posted on the other site!].

BaByQ Shower DC Photos

Sun, 15 Aug 2010 22:12:28 -0400

Thank you everyone who came out to the BaByQ Shower/Cookout in both Charlotte NC and Washington DC!

Check out all the photos by clicking here!

The Greatest Sports Celebration of All Time?

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 23:31:59 -0400

Chad Ochocinco? Nope. His new teammate T.O.? Nope. Try the Iceland soccer team...

Then again, check out Danish superleague-club FC Nordsj�lland...

You're Invited to Our BaByQ Shower/Cookout!

Mon, 5 Jul 2010 19:16:44 -0400

It's pretty amazing how two blue lines can change your priorities. Instantly. Nearly seven months ago Nduku and I decided we wanted to have a child. In two months we'll be welcoming a baby girl into the world. We were planning a trip to Puerto Rico, but that's been replaced with a tour of Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, DC.

Many people have said life will never be the same. We say life has yet to begin. With a due date of September 16 [for the fellas, that's week 2 of the NFL season] we're looking at only a couple of months before the first day of the rest of our lives. We are retiring from 8-hours of sleep each night, spontaneous road trips to wherever the wind blows and living life on the edge with reckless abandon [well, Nduku already has; I'm getting there].

To celebrate this transition and welcome our daughter into the world, we're inviting everyone to our BaByQ Shower/Cookout on Saturday, August 14, in Washington, DC. Nduku and I have moved into our new home in the Mt. Vernon Square area near the Washington Convention Center where we are welcoming all to come celebrate with us. Though it's technically an untraditional baby shower, it's more accurately a traditional summer cookout.

Though we'll never have everything we need for parenthood, hence the baby registries, I hope everyone can still come by — even for a moment — to meet the soon-to-be-mother of our baby girl. As a friend of ours once said: your presence is more important than your presents.

Get all the information and RSVP by clicking here.

Hmmm

Tue, 30 Mar 2010 00:31:17 -0400

Don't ask where I heard this from, but there's a phrase that says, "A love inspects the distorted promise."

Don't Just Talk About It, Show How You Go Green

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 00:56:59 -0400

Going green is becoming what "Just Say No" was back in the day. It started out as something catchy, something people preached but didn't always practice and something that didn't really reward you for doing the right thing. Other than your brain not resembling an egg frying on the stove.

But now you can go green, save the planet and have a chance to win an iPod Touch, an iPad or even an Apple MacBook 250 GB! Bobby Cato as usual is ahead of the game and shared with me the Get Green Video Contest. All you have to do is submit a video of how you're recycling your two cents by May 2, and you're in there. Worst case is you get to show off your videography skills and inspire others to turn off the lights to empty rooms, shut down computers when leaving work and use both sides of toilet paper to save our planet.

And don't be discouraged just because you have to be an enrolled high school student between the ages of 14-19, make your video anyway, send it to me [better yet, post it on YouTube] and I'll share it here. Especially if you show how you use both sides of toilet paper!

How Much Do YOU Know About Birth Control?

Tue, 9 Mar 2010 08:25:43 -0400

In a recent Washington City Paper article about contraceptives, the topic was brought to light about our [we men] ignorance when it comes to birth control. Apparently we think the vaginal ring is equivalent to a magic wand and wearing two condoms is more effective than wearing just one. Well, isn't it?

Seriously, how does a vaginal ring work? As I was reading the article, I started asking myself how much I knew about birth control methods, other than the most effective and least used — abstinence. And really, I'm still not sure if condoms are made out of sheepskin or latex.

And who's Jimmy anyway?

Continue Reading How Much Do YOU Know About Birth Control?

Now You Can "Call" Me and No Phone Number is Needed

Tue, 9 Mar 2010 05:54:27 -0400

At the risk of exposing my age [whatever — I'm 35], I remember that in the 11th grade, connecting to the Internet wasn't as easy as ordering an overpriced latte, an overpriced piece of cake and peeling open a laptop. We literally used a telephone keypad, dialed a long string of numbers which literally connected you to the exact machine you were connecting to [even before the days of browsers!] and waited what felt like ages before finally, a message would slowly crawl up the page saying, "Welcome." And if you wanted to see something on another server, you had to call that server directly.

Everything was nothing but words and numbers. Animated .gifs? Streaming video? Personal homepage? There were no such things, nor blogs, tweets, RSS feeds; not even pictures, sound or even color. Color! And if anyone had a webcam, it was Al Gore while he was developing the Internet.

Continue Reading Now You Can "Call" Me and No Phone Number is Needed

Congratulations to newlyweds Jenny and Michael Jackson!

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 00:18:13 -0400

Congratulations to my homeboy Mike and his wife Jenny who exchanged vows this weekend! There were times when this day didn't seem possible, but when you have two strong and dedicated individuals like Mike and Jenny, all things are possible.

[This photo is during the reception. I would've had photos from the ceremony, but I was sitting in a challenging spot to take photos. I'll see if I can get some from everyone else.]

Check Out Photos From Mike & Jenny's Wedding