Last week at some point I took the subway to the Union Square stop. When I left the station it smelled like a combination of B.O. and garbage. It must be summer.

Over the weekend I went to Central Park to play frisbee with a few friends. There were probably a thousand people in Sheep Meadow. Most of them were half naked. It must be summer.

Every single corner in my neighborhood has been ripped apart and repaved. The jackhammers are really loud. It must be summer.

I'm sure that more of these will come to me as we get deeper into the summer months. Add your own in the comments.

Six Apart wants to know how I'm using Movable Type. So, here you go.

Currently, I am running my personal site using weblogs. It is non-commercial and I am the only author. I have another weblog, Summer Movie Extravaganza that is personal and is no longer active. It was for a finite time and didn't even work out for that. I have a weblog for an old law class that I used to study for a final exam. It had three authors (including myself). Finally, I housed a blog for a friend of mine for a short period of time, which has been inactive since October 2003.

I am also planning, in a very short time, to create a group blog for a movie group I'm a part of. It would be non-commerical and would have anywhere from 5 to 15 authors.

I occasionally create weblogs purely for testing purposes, but I have nothing in my system right now.

An Update on Pricing

It is worth noting that Six Apart has changed the pricing for Movable Type 3.0 in response to concerns from customers. That's fantastic. The new plan is that every personal license will start at $69.95, which will include five weblogs and five authors. You can purchase an add-on that allows one additional weblog and author for another $9.95. That's pretty reasonable.

My only concern is the way this effects group blogs. If I were to start a blog for my movie club, I would be paying $10 for everyone after the first four who join up. I don't know if that seems right, but I'm guessing that Six Apart is working on this.

Yesterday morning I read about Movable Type's plan to charge for version 3.0. I was a little surprised. I knew that I'd have to pay for MT at some point in the future, but I didn't realize it would happen so quickly and would be so expensive. As others have pointed out--done succinctly by Jason Kottke--it's not so much the concept of paying that's troubling, it's the cumbersome restrictions put on personal licenses.

For instance, I have 8 blogs and 5 different authors on my system right now with plans for more of each. Today, I would have to pay $119.95 to run MT 3.0. This plan allows for 8 blogs and 6 authors and the next and highest personal plan, which goes for $149.95, allows 10 blogs and 9 authors. So, if I launch a new blog and invite some friends, which I have been planning to do, I could quickly be without an option for personal license.

The lowest level is currently $69.95, which is an amount I would definitely be willing to pay if it allowed unlimited, or at least a much higher, number of blogs and authors. And since I have already donated $45, it would only cost me an extra $25.

Additionally, there are a couple things included in the paid version of MT that I don't need. These are "professional support from Six Apart" and "access to fee-based services such as installation, advanced support, other services." Shouldn't there be an option for people who just want the software without support? I'd rather not pay for it if I don't have to.

It's worth noting that a free version will always exist. Currently, you can install MT 3.0 for free and have up to three blogs and one author.

That's it. I've had it. Twice now, I've been a victim of sexism and I'm not gonna take it any more. Granted, the sexism has been relatively tame and has only been an annoyance, but it's time I shared my problem with the world.

For the second time in the last six months or so, I have been forced to check my bag. The first time, I was at a Yankees game and they told me I couldn't bring my bag into the stadium. I complained as I saw women carrying similarly sized bags through the gates with no problem. When I asked a security guard why I couldn't bring my bag in, he explained that purses are allowed but bags are not. I told him my bag was a purse and he asked if I was a woman. "If being a woman means I can bring my bag in, then yes, I am a woman." That didn't work.

Tonight I went to see the Stills at Irving Plaza with my friend/co-worker Elana. When I entered, the security guard told me I needed to check my bag. I told him that I didn't want to, but he didn't seem to care. I pointed out that Elana's bag was the exact same size as mine.

"Why can she bring her bag in but I cannot?"
"She's a girl. They have...personal issues."
"I have personal issues."
"No, I mean, they have monthly issues. They bleed."
"I bleed."
"Now this I want to see."

The man leveled with me and told me that he couldn't let me bring my bag in and it wasn't his rule. He was nice enough to have the coat check guy comp my bag. That was nice, but I was still miffed.

In this age of metrosexuality, why can't a man carry a murse (man purse) around with him? Is the fact that I lack the need or ability to menstruate enough to keep me from having my books, magazines and iPod at the ready? Clearly, I think not. It's time for equal bag rights. I want to keep my bag at my side and you don't need to know why. It's my man purse, God dammit, and you can't take it from me.

If this doesn't let up soon I am going to boycott institutions that don't allow murses. Myself and all the other downtrodden and afflicted shall take to the streets and from the depths of our bellies we shall chant our war cry, "We don't want to curse, now give me back my murse!"

Although I am being a bit melodramatic, I do think this is a very silly rule. I don't mind if ladies have their bags but I see no reason why I can't have mine.

I have been lazily searching for a new bag. My current Manhattan Portage bag is nearly four years old and is developing a whole in the bottom. I've been to their store, to the Crumpler, this Ask Metafliter thread, and to a couple general bag shops but I can't find what I want. Granted, I'm being quite picky, but I want the best possible bag.

My biggest issue is that I want to be carrying around my Digital Rebel on a regular basis. When I bring it with me now, I have the camera in a small bag that fits into the main bag, which seems bulkier than it needs to be. On top of my camera I also have an iPod, 2-3 magazines, a book, a notebook, my NFT, my lunch and my GBA. I want something that will provide adequate protection for all of these things, but still be comfortable.

The key, really, is something that can double as a camera bag and a messenger bag. You'd think that Crumpler would have something like this, but they really don't.

Anyone have any ideas? I realize this is a lofty request, so if you have a recommendation for a more general bag, that would be helpful as well.

We have another freebie in the midst. Metro is a new free newspaper that has a bit more history than AM New York. Unlike a number of the free newspapers across the country, Metro is not published by a major daily in the city (AM New York is published by Newsday, I'm pretty sure). Metro itself is published "in more than 100 cities in 16 countries in 15 languages across Europe, North & South America and Asia" (according to the press release, in PDF format). I guess that makes it more prestigious, but not so much.

Metro has the same basic format as AM New York. It is 80% AP articles with the ocassional piece written by someone they've hired and, of course, it's free. I haven't read AMNY all that much, but Metro seems to be appealling to a more educated and refined audience. In other words, AMNY is to the Daily News as Metro is to the Times (that's not a commentary on quality, just on the types of articles they publish and the way the way they present the news). Today's covers have similar content, but present it in a very different way. AMNY relies on massive photos that pop off the cover while Metro has a more laid back approach, one that allows the headlines to speak more than the pictures. After the front page, everything changes.

AMNY's second page has articles entitled, "NJ starve duo indicted," "Martha gets denied" and New cigs to help reduce fires." Metro has "Prisoner deaths rise," U.S. soldier, 15 Iraqis killed," "Bush seeks $25 billion for Iraq war," "Congress votes to slow tax" and "Cartoonist receives death threats." Essentially, Metro is reporting on real news and AMNY is looking for the salacious headline.

It's clear these two papers are appealing to different audiences. Metro claims their paper "is designed and packaged for a young, urban, active, well-educated audience..." AMNY claims their paper is "A must-read for time-poor, cash-rich 18- to 34-year-old professionals with active social lives -- a demographic that does not read traditional newspapers."

Personally, Metro is much more appealing to me. It's providing news that I'd actually want to read and I don't have to pay a dime for it. Unfortunately, no one ever hands out free papers at the Nevins St. stop in Brooklyn.

Today's editions in PDF format:
Metro
AM New York

Ahhh, another blogger event brought together by Jake from Gothamist. I went to the Photobloggers event a few months back and it was interesting, but I wasn't blown away. This was a lot more interesting. I sat up front, stroking my chin and sometimes guffawing, alongside Matt and Jeff.

First you had Jason Calcanis duking it out with Nick Denton. This was the publishers panel. The two men were debating the best model for professional blogging. Jason favors an ownership share, where the publisher and writer split ad revenue 50/50, and Nick favors giving the writer a flat paycheck every month. I think both models can work, but I think that Jason was a bit overzealous. I appreciate his enthusiasm, but he has that typical salesman-style pitch that is a real turn off for me. On top of that, I prefer the model of fewer high quality blogs (Gawker Media) to numerous blogs that can be hit or miss (Weblogs Inc.) So, Nick won in my mind.

We also had the technology and editor panels, which were interesting but there were less fireworks. I was quite interested in what Meg Hourihan had to say about technology and the future of blogs in general. After the event, at MercBar, she pointed out that blogging is a very personal experience and the real excitement won't lie in the battle between professional bloggers -- it will lie in people finding an easy way to communicate with those they care about while learning about computers and writing. After a month-long hiatus, she's pondering bringing the educational powers of blogs to an after school program. I'd love to see this happen.

I really appreciate what Jake is doing and I look forward to more of these. My only suggestion is budgeting some time for dinner between the event and drinks. A blogger's gotta eat.

More:
Photos at Bluejake
Liza is cool
Jeff Jarvis seems cool (we didn't get to talk)

Hi, I'm back. D.C. was great and I took a bunch of photos. Now, here's what I'm thinking about.

• I have just listened to what could be the worst cover of all time. "I Feel Like Making Love" by Kid Rock. It's painful. It makes me want to cry until my tear ducts shrivel up and then I'll just cry blood.
• I finally got my new credit card. I decided to get a mileage card so I can go places for free. I like free.
• Related to that, when the hell is Apple going to release a new version of the PowerMac? I want one already. Come on man.
• I'm planning to take advantage of the Mets' 2-for-1 deal on Wednesday. Anyone want to join in?