man.. slower than before, the pictures I'd uploaded are all gone.
of course they say that if you upgrade to Club speeds are better.. but seeing is believing and unless I see a preview I'm not believing much.. especially after they deleted my photos!
hmmphhh
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Quote of the moment
This country has come to feel the same when Congress is in session as when the baby gets hold of a hammer. - Will Rogers (1879 - 1935)
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
On content management systems
I'm not reviewing every single CMS available, just the ones that in theory are the fastest/easiest to install and get up and running with that are still installed and being 'tested' on a private server.
I'm down to two now. e107 from http://www.e107.org/ and Joomla, (created by the dev team that originated mambo), from http://www.joomla.org/ .
Off the mark they're both fairly easy to install provided you've already installed PHP and MYSQL. You'll need to be sure that which ever CMS package you go is compatible with the versions of PHP and MYSQL you've got installed.
Before we go on let me say this about MYSQL. There are all sorts of flavors of this, some customized by third party developers to make installing and getting the basic configuration done. I highly advise you look for something like that if you've never tackled this type of install before. Secound the people that develope the main branch have an excellent freeware gui tool for administering MYSQL. Lastly choose non-trivial passwords for the root access admin to MYSQL. You really don't want someone finding a backdoor into your database.
Ok, back to the CMS packages. After you've got them installed they both give you the option of loggin into the admin page or the front page of your new web portal site. Since you haven't done any configuring in the admin section yet the front page is going to be the default page so it's better if you dive into the admin area first.
Here's where these two packages depart company. In e107 you can with fair ease get the framework of your site set up, add in extra functionality with plugins from http://www.e107coders.org/ [free registration/access]. Add new 'themes' ie layout and color templates. The builtin help is minimal but sufficient and there's plenty of info and help to be found at the main e107 site.
Now joomla.. joomla looks really nice from the sites that I've seen running it.. well, ok.. from the sites that took the time to do a nice job of setting up. But having installed it, and that was a breeze, we ie I came to a near dead stop. The admin area is baroque in it's terminology and setup requiring you to stop, read, study and then read and study some more.
You get the idea. There's a 20 page pdf manual you can download to get you started on the road with joomla if you have the patience and time. Joomla looks like it could potentially be more powerful and perhaps more friendly to a wider group or web browsers. That's just a first impression though.. I've only read up to page 5 so far and it gave me a headache so I'll go back to it later.... or not.
I'm down to two now. e107 from http://www.e107.org/ and Joomla, (created by the dev team that originated mambo), from http://www.joomla.org/ .
Off the mark they're both fairly easy to install provided you've already installed PHP and MYSQL. You'll need to be sure that which ever CMS package you go is compatible with the versions of PHP and MYSQL you've got installed.
Before we go on let me say this about MYSQL. There are all sorts of flavors of this, some customized by third party developers to make installing and getting the basic configuration done. I highly advise you look for something like that if you've never tackled this type of install before. Secound the people that develope the main branch have an excellent freeware gui tool for administering MYSQL. Lastly choose non-trivial passwords for the root access admin to MYSQL. You really don't want someone finding a backdoor into your database.
Ok, back to the CMS packages. After you've got them installed they both give you the option of loggin into the admin page or the front page of your new web portal site. Since you haven't done any configuring in the admin section yet the front page is going to be the default page so it's better if you dive into the admin area first.
Here's where these two packages depart company. In e107 you can with fair ease get the framework of your site set up, add in extra functionality with plugins from http://www.e107coders.org/ [free registration/access]. Add new 'themes' ie layout and color templates. The builtin help is minimal but sufficient and there's plenty of info and help to be found at the main e107 site.
Now joomla.. joomla looks really nice from the sites that I've seen running it.. well, ok.. from the sites that took the time to do a nice job of setting up. But having installed it, and that was a breeze, we ie I came to a near dead stop. The admin area is baroque in it's terminology and setup requiring you to stop, read, study and then read and study some more.
You get the idea. There's a 20 page pdf manual you can download to get you started on the road with joomla if you have the patience and time. Joomla looks like it could potentially be more powerful and perhaps more friendly to a wider group or web browsers. That's just a first impression though.. I've only read up to page 5 so far and it gave me a headache so I'll go back to it later.... or not.
Monday, April 17, 2006
joke du jour
A Doctor was addressing a large audience in Tampa. He said, "The material we put into our stomachs is enough to have killed most of us sitting here, years ago."
"Red meat is awful. Soft drinks corrode your stomach lining. Most chinese food is loaded with MSG. High fat diets can be disastrous, and none of us realizes the long-term harm caused by the all the chemical runoff in our drinking water."
He paused and looking very grave said, "But there is one thing that is the most dangerous of all and we all have, or will, eat it. Can anyone here tell me what food it is that causes the most grief and suffering for years after eating it?"
After several seconds of quiet, a 75-year-old man in the front row raised his hand, and softly said, "Wedding Cake."
"Red meat is awful. Soft drinks corrode your stomach lining. Most chinese food is loaded with MSG. High fat diets can be disastrous, and none of us realizes the long-term harm caused by the all the chemical runoff in our drinking water."
He paused and looking very grave said, "But there is one thing that is the most dangerous of all and we all have, or will, eat it. Can anyone here tell me what food it is that causes the most grief and suffering for years after eating it?"
After several seconds of quiet, a 75-year-old man in the front row raised his hand, and softly said, "Wedding Cake."
Saturday, April 15, 2006
The Joke of the day (authors unknown)
A man decided that he was going to ride a 10-speed bike from Phoenix to Flagstaff, Arizona.
He got as far as Black Canyon City before the mountains just became too much and he could go no farther.
He stuck his thumb out, but after 3 hours hadn't gotten a single person to stop. Finally, a guy in a Corvette pulled over and offered him a ride. Of course, the bike wouldn't fit in the car.
The owner of the Corvette found a piece of rope lying by the highway and tied it to his bumper. He tied the other end to the bike and told the man that if he was going too fast, to honk the horn on his bike and that he would slow down.
Everything went fine for the first 30 miles. Suddenly, another Corvette blew past them. Not to be outdone, the Corvette pulling the bike took off after the other. A short distance down the road, the Corvettes, both going well over 120 mph blew through a speed trap.
The police officer noted the speeds from his radar gun and radioed to the other officer that he had two Corvettes headed his way at over 120 mph. He then relayed, "...and you're not going to believe this, but there's guy on a 10 speed bike honking to pass."
He got as far as Black Canyon City before the mountains just became too much and he could go no farther.
He stuck his thumb out, but after 3 hours hadn't gotten a single person to stop. Finally, a guy in a Corvette pulled over and offered him a ride. Of course, the bike wouldn't fit in the car.
The owner of the Corvette found a piece of rope lying by the highway and tied it to his bumper. He tied the other end to the bike and told the man that if he was going too fast, to honk the horn on his bike and that he would slow down.
Everything went fine for the first 30 miles. Suddenly, another Corvette blew past them. Not to be outdone, the Corvette pulling the bike took off after the other. A short distance down the road, the Corvettes, both going well over 120 mph blew through a speed trap.
The police officer noted the speeds from his radar gun and radioed to the other officer that he had two Corvettes headed his way at over 120 mph. He then relayed, "...and you're not going to believe this, but there's guy on a 10 speed bike honking to pass."
Friday, April 14, 2006
Quote of the day
Of all forms of tyranny the least attractive and the most vulgar is the tyranny of mere wealth, the tyranny of plutocracy. Theodore Roosevelt (1858 - 1919)
Couldn't sleep...
..so I re-installed e107 on my machine, I had really torture tested the original install until it broke. It took all of about 3 minutes for the install process to complete on my mac. Painless!
Now I'm trying to avoid the actions that lead to the collapse of the first install... (no, no.. don't load that highly experimental plugin for a Flash mp3 jukebox!)
We'll see how long I can resist the temptation!
Now I'm trying to avoid the actions that lead to the collapse of the first install... (no, no.. don't load that highly experimental plugin for a Flash mp3 jukebox!)
We'll see how long I can resist the temptation!
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Quote of the day
I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than those attending too small a degree of it. -Thomas Jefferson, December 23, 1791
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
The Grand Canyon
We just got the pictures * back taken when we were up at the Grand Canyon, in Arizona last month.
Here's one of us with the canyon as a backdrop.
(*using cheap disposable kodaks so the quality is what it is.. sorry )
I wish...
... that I had a poll in here now.. I just thought of a cute question.
Of all the blogs being posted that are critical of the prez and his boys how many do you think are being tracked as being 'dissidents' for 'unamerican' sentiments?
Of course that question is too long for most of poll systems I've seen, (too many characters).
I shall have to.. investigate. Poll systems for Blogger, not the other question... I'm much too lazy to persue that!
Especially since I'm sure it'd be duplication of effort.
]=P
Of all the blogs being posted that are critical of the prez and his boys how many do you think are being tracked as being 'dissidents' for 'unamerican' sentiments?
Of course that question is too long for most of poll systems I've seen, (too many characters).
I shall have to.. investigate. Poll systems for Blogger, not the other question... I'm much too lazy to persue that!
Especially since I'm sure it'd be duplication of effort.
]=P
Quote of the day
Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock. - Will Rogers (1879 - 1935)
--------------------------------------------------
(ya gotta love this guy's wit... too bad he's not around now!)
--------------------------------------------------
(ya gotta love this guy's wit... too bad he's not around now!)
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
in a word: flexibility
So far I'd have to say that Blogger offers more bang for your fee free blog than you see on LJ.
I've only started looking at it though. Of course the people don't have the same kind of financial captial as that which supports Blogger so I guess offering a 'premium' level makes good sense for them.
More to come as I go foward.
I've only started looking at it though. Of course the people don't have the same kind of financial captial as that which supports Blogger so I guess offering a 'premium' level makes good sense for them.
More to come as I go foward.
Quote of the day
Ten men in our country could buy the whole world and ten million can't buy enough to eat. - Will Rogers (1879 - 1935)
Monday, April 10, 2006
Another spacey desktop
Ok, this one isn't by me, (don't remember who the artist is!).
But I think it's cool. :)
Freedom of expression
We* all take it for granted that we can say whatever we want and wear whatever pleases us to express our opinions.
Well, lately people have been discovering that that's no longer true.
You can't tell a joke about the prez that involves any type of malice. That'll get you a visit to an interogation room and a file started on you tracking every breath and fart you take. You certainly can't wear anti-bush t-shirts in certain states.. not that you'll be arrested, no you'll just be harassed and possibly given a ticket.
Bumper stickers can realy get you into a situation, pulled over, harangued and ticketed for expressing your opinions.. nice, ehh?
But it could be worse, you could live in england where an 80 year old man was arrested on terrorism charges.. because of the anti-bush/blair t-shirt he was wearing!
You're free to express yourself, yes you are uhh huh... so long as that opinioun isn't critical of those in power.
That leads me to my point I guess. This is the first time in the modern history for these two nations that the governments seem to be so insecure and the leaders egos apparently so fragile that any dissenting views by the general public are actually being regulated.
It used to be that if the leader of one of our nations was persuing goals not in line with a portion of that nations populace, those people could assemble and make their voices heard. Usually within view of the official residence of the leader.
No longer.
Now your only hope is that the people officially elected to represent your state/district will have the guts to actually say what's on their constituents minds.
But these are polliticians we're talking about and they seldom run for office because they truly have your best interests at heart. To quote one of my favorite people: "Whenever a man has cast a longing eye on political offices, a rottenness begins in his conduct." - Thomas Jefferson, May 21, 1799
It's a brave new world. Buckle up!
{* if your over 30 years of age, at least. I can't say what's on the minds of people under that age... they seem to just accept things as they are.. so long as they're comfortable.}
Well, lately people have been discovering that that's no longer true.
You can't tell a joke about the prez that involves any type of malice. That'll get you a visit to an interogation room and a file started on you tracking every breath and fart you take. You certainly can't wear anti-bush t-shirts in certain states.. not that you'll be arrested, no you'll just be harassed and possibly given a ticket.
Bumper stickers can realy get you into a situation, pulled over, harangued and ticketed for expressing your opinions.. nice, ehh?
But it could be worse, you could live in england where an 80 year old man was arrested on terrorism charges.. because of the anti-bush/blair t-shirt he was wearing!
You're free to express yourself, yes you are uhh huh... so long as that opinioun isn't critical of those in power.
That leads me to my point I guess. This is the first time in the modern history for these two nations that the governments seem to be so insecure and the leaders egos apparently so fragile that any dissenting views by the general public are actually being regulated.
It used to be that if the leader of one of our nations was persuing goals not in line with a portion of that nations populace, those people could assemble and make their voices heard. Usually within view of the official residence of the leader.
No longer.
Now your only hope is that the people officially elected to represent your state/district will have the guts to actually say what's on their constituents minds.
But these are polliticians we're talking about and they seldom run for office because they truly have your best interests at heart. To quote one of my favorite people: "Whenever a man has cast a longing eye on political offices, a rottenness begins in his conduct." - Thomas Jefferson, May 21, 1799
It's a brave new world. Buckle up!
{* if your over 30 years of age, at least. I can't say what's on the minds of people under that age... they seem to just accept things as they are.. so long as they're comfortable.}
Quote of the day
The death-knell of the republic had rung as soon as the active power became lodged in the hands of those who sought, not to do justice to all citizens, rich and poor alike, but to stand for one special class and for its interests as opposed to the interests of others. - Theodore Roosevelt (1858 - 1919)
Sunday, April 09, 2006
News Links
I've added some new links for less biased news sources, (recommeneded to me by Keen Eddie.. thanks Ed!).
And something I think is cool also given to me by Ed. Gullible info!
Also Ed has pointed out that this blog has an overlap problem when viewed with Safari.
I recommend using Firefox or Shiira, (which is based on the Safari webkit*).
These browsers seem not to have the css interpretation problem.
[* I find it strange the Shiira which is based on Safari's code isn't exhibiting the same error though]
And something I think is cool also given to me by Ed. Gullible info!
Also Ed has pointed out that this blog has an overlap problem when viewed with Safari.
I recommend using Firefox or Shiira, (which is based on the Safari webkit*).
These browsers seem not to have the css interpretation problem.
[* I find it strange the Shiira which is based on Safari's code isn't exhibiting the same error though]
Quotes of the day
Quote #1
The love of liberty is the love of others; the love of power is the love of ourselves.
William Hazlitt (1778 - 1830)
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Quote #2
If people let government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny. - Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826)
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Quote #3
And finally
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Shake off all the fears of servile prejudices, under which weak minds are servilely crouched.
Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call on her tribunal for every fact, every opinion.
Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason than that of blindfolded fear. - Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826)
The love of liberty is the love of others; the love of power is the love of ourselves.
William Hazlitt (1778 - 1830)
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Quote #2
If people let government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny. - Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826)
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Quote #3
And finally
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Shake off all the fears of servile prejudices, under which weak minds are servilely crouched.
Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call on her tribunal for every fact, every opinion.
Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason than that of blindfolded fear. - Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826)
Saturday, April 08, 2006
Desktop images
I threw this image together to use as a desktop image on my mac.
I thought I'd share it here. The @ stays with me but the image is free for personal use.
I'll post more if there's interest,... eventually.
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