Georgia Taxpayers Gypped!
Georgia National Guard called in to defend RSS Headquarters?
Citizens and taxpayers of the great state of Georgia are being victimized by their state government. In what promises to be the single largest syndicated feed fiasco in Georgia’s history, government employees are foisting this anemic feed upon the public:
http://www.georgia.gov/rss/headlines.xml
<rss version="2.0">
<channel>
<title>Georgia.Gov Headlines</title>
<link>http://www.georgia.gov/</link>
<description>Displays Georgia.gov News</description>
<item>
<title>Georgia.gov now offers RSS feeds for various content areas</title>
<link>http://www.georgia.gov/00/article/0,2086,4802_4961_42365606,00.html</link>
</item>
...
</channel>
</rss>
In a move sure to shock tens, if not dozens of Georgians, the anemic feed items don’t even have a partial-text description. They only have a title and a link. Neither the items nor the feed itself have a pubDate! When were they published? Perhaps only Sonny Perdue knows.
Is this what Georgia’s fine denizens deserve? Shouldn’t those hard-earned tax dollars be used to buy a few extra bytes of bandwidth? Will troops be called in to smash anyone who demands more? Can the South rise again without a full text feed?
Fear not, Georgians. Your cries of information starvedness have reached the Rocky Mountains. I will not rest* until I have tracked down the perpetrators of this paltry feed and convinced them to give you the full disclosure you so desperately seek on things like the Procurement Transformation Initiative and the timely DDS Memorial Day Holiday Schedule.
Bookmark this link and check back regularly for updates. De oppresso liber!
* Does not apply to normal sleep times, or when I need a nap… which is now.
Update June 27, 2006:
The Georgia government webmaster has updated their feed faster than the Varsity can make a chili dog. Get the full scoop here: Georgian RSS Reformed.
June 27th, 2006 at 12:08
Why didn’t I read this post in the afternoon instead of in the morning? I need more sugar to handle this kind of humor and punmenship
June 27th, 2006 at 14:28
They have computers in Georgia? I though Sherman took care of that
June 29th, 2006 at 13:17
We even have shoes!
July 3rd, 2006 at 09:58
Dude - Dont you have a life? The feed you gifted your wife for your anniversary is the lamest gift one can think of. Get a life man and stop bitching about things that dont affect you - otherwise be assured that you wont be having more of those geeky anniversaries.
Whats the next gift going to be? Virtual tags for every night you get lucky?
July 3rd, 2006 at 10:08
I just love fanmail!
You apparently take me more seriously than I do. Perhaps I should have put “This is a completely fabricated joke making fun of my own hobby” for the two people who thought it was real. No, I didn’t really create an anniversary feed for my wife. Like most wives-of-geeks I know, my wife could not possibly care less about RSS and would simply would never read such a thing. I thought a little self-deprecating satire was in order to put “what is really important” in perspective. Guess I was too subtle on that point. (Honestly, you really thought I had private Flickr photos in there? Like, ew.)