First, the good news: Blosxom, a small and powerful Perl script with amazing blog capabilities, got a brief mention in Andrew Skinner's "Choose the best free CMS" article (Practical Web Design, July 2008, issue 177). I actually wrote a plugin or three for Blosxom back in the day, including a web visitor logger that someone in Japan used as the basis for their own plugin.
The bad news? Skinner incorrectly spelled it as "Bloxom." :( You know your branding/marketing campaign is pretty much dead when they can't even spell the name of your product correctly. It didn't even merit being listed in the feature comparison table with Wordpress or Movable Type.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Slow and Fast Charges
I'm sure anyone with a basic electronics background is probably going to laugh at my naivete, but I think I just learned something I didn't know about recharging batteries. I guess I always figured recharging a battery was the same, regardless of whether you used a wall unit charger or one of those cigarette adapter plugins in your car.
Obviously one takes less time to get the battery to "full," but I figured it was just like filling a large bucket-- if you use the sink with the small faucet or the big old garden hose, the end result is going to be a big bucket of wet by the time you're done.
Except I've noticed that the battery charge dissipates faster when I use the cigarette adapter to charge my phone than if I use the wall adapter. It's sort of like the amount of time/use the battery will have before it dies is directly related to the amount of time spent charging the device.
In other words, if I hook the phone up to my car charger until the meter says it is full, I might get about 24 to 30 hours before I need another recharge. But, if I hook the phone up to the wall socket overnight, I seem to get something like 2 or 3 full days of use before I need to recharge-- and the last two bars of power seem to go much further in particular.
I don't know if this is a phenomenon with the battery, or with the technology the phone uses to estimate how much power is remaining in the battery, or both-- but it's an effect I've observed more than once in the past month.
Obviously one takes less time to get the battery to "full," but I figured it was just like filling a large bucket-- if you use the sink with the small faucet or the big old garden hose, the end result is going to be a big bucket of wet by the time you're done.
Except I've noticed that the battery charge dissipates faster when I use the cigarette adapter to charge my phone than if I use the wall adapter. It's sort of like the amount of time/use the battery will have before it dies is directly related to the amount of time spent charging the device.
In other words, if I hook the phone up to my car charger until the meter says it is full, I might get about 24 to 30 hours before I need another recharge. But, if I hook the phone up to the wall socket overnight, I seem to get something like 2 or 3 full days of use before I need to recharge-- and the last two bars of power seem to go much further in particular.
I don't know if this is a phenomenon with the battery, or with the technology the phone uses to estimate how much power is remaining in the battery, or both-- but it's an effect I've observed more than once in the past month.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
All Caught Up
It's taken me three days, but I've finally managed to catch up on all my unread Google Mail. I feel great, or at least I did until I made the mistake of checking my RSS feeds and found out I had 487 unread items. D'oh!
Maybe it would be a good time to unsubscribe from some things . . . .
Maybe it would be a good time to unsubscribe from some things . . . .
Monday, June 23, 2008
Why all the hating for ColdFusion?
It's weird-- but I browse different web programming forums, and there's always a faction of "ColdFusion Haters." ColdFusion isn't "real" programming; no one codes in ColdFusion any more; Perl/Ruby/Java is superior to ColdFusion. I honestly can't figure it out.
Every version of ColdFusion gets better, making complex tasks easier and faster for the web developer who just wants to get things done. Need to authenticate with Microsoft's Active Directory? Try the CFNTAUTHENTICATE tag, introduced in ColdFusion MX 7. Need to add rich, interactive experience with Ajax? ColdFusion 8 makes Ajax programming possible for people who didn't have the time/interest/skill set to figure out Prototype or Dojo.
That might be part of the problem.
See, ColdFusion (that is, the various services that run on a WebServer and make the interactive nature of the product possible) is actually written in Java. So, the Java programmers do all the slick/complicated stuff behind the scenes as it were, and shield the ColdFusion developers from the dirty, nitty-gritty. Some Java programmers-- and not even necessarily any who are directly involved in the ColdFusion development effort-- look down on ColdFusion as being "lesser" somehow, because all the real action is being done in Java, and the ColdFusion folks have no real understanding of what's taking place.
(I personally find this hilarious, because the Java Virtual Machine running on the server has to be written in a higher level language, such as C or ++, out of necessity-- so for the Java guys to be putting on airs is kinda nutty!)
Although I can see how it might be a little upsetting. You spend all this time and money learning how to do Ajax, and then someone who doesn't even understand what "asychronous" means can do everything you've learned how to do in less time without even resorting to writing any Javascript. It's a pisser, obviously.
Every version of ColdFusion gets better, making complex tasks easier and faster for the web developer who just wants to get things done. Need to authenticate with Microsoft's Active Directory? Try the CFNTAUTHENTICATE tag, introduced in ColdFusion MX 7. Need to add rich, interactive experience with Ajax? ColdFusion 8 makes Ajax programming possible for people who didn't have the time/interest/skill set to figure out Prototype or Dojo.
That might be part of the problem.
See, ColdFusion (that is, the various services that run on a WebServer and make the interactive nature of the product possible) is actually written in Java. So, the Java programmers do all the slick/complicated stuff behind the scenes as it were, and shield the ColdFusion developers from the dirty, nitty-gritty. Some Java programmers-- and not even necessarily any who are directly involved in the ColdFusion development effort-- look down on ColdFusion as being "lesser" somehow, because all the real action is being done in Java, and the ColdFusion folks have no real understanding of what's taking place.
(I personally find this hilarious, because the Java Virtual Machine running on the server has to be written in a higher level language, such as C or ++, out of necessity-- so for the Java guys to be putting on airs is kinda nutty!)
Although I can see how it might be a little upsetting. You spend all this time and money learning how to do Ajax, and then someone who doesn't even understand what "asychronous" means can do everything you've learned how to do in less time without even resorting to writing any Javascript. It's a pisser, obviously.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
After thoughts on Jonah Chanticleer 公鸡: Ethics and the Economic Stimulus Package?
In a previous entry entitled, "Ethics and the Economic Stimulus Package?", I asked if there were any ethical considerations one should have when considering what to do with their economic stimulus package. In reality, the question is moot-- the rising price of gasoline and unpaid debt have consumed most folks economic stimulus check before they could even cash it.
I wasn't necessarily asking the question with the intent of being serious. I'd hoped it might strike a chord with people, start up conversation or garner a link or two. I think it may have succeeded in the first, but failed in the second. Although it is my most frequently visited individual entry, there have been no comments or links to it.
On a lighter note, I'm kicking around an idea for a-- I don't want to call it a contest, but more of an amusement. I think I'll call it "Economic Stimulus Blackjack." The idea is that you start off with an imaginary amount of money-- like $384, for example. You then need to compile a wish list of items in something like Google Products, or Thinkgeek and come as close to $384 as you can without going over that amount. The person who gets the closest to that amount without going over is the "winner."
I wasn't necessarily asking the question with the intent of being serious. I'd hoped it might strike a chord with people, start up conversation or garner a link or two. I think it may have succeeded in the first, but failed in the second. Although it is my most frequently visited individual entry, there have been no comments or links to it.
On a lighter note, I'm kicking around an idea for a-- I don't want to call it a contest, but more of an amusement. I think I'll call it "Economic Stimulus Blackjack." The idea is that you start off with an imaginary amount of money-- like $384, for example. You then need to compile a wish list of items in something like Google Products, or Thinkgeek and come as close to $384 as you can without going over that amount. The person who gets the closest to that amount without going over is the "winner."
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Spread Firefox | The Home of Firefox Community Marketing
Spread Firefox | The Home of Firefox Community Marketing: "Over 8,000,000 downloads in 24 hours!"
That comes out to 92.5 downloads per second. Impressive!
That comes out to 92.5 downloads per second. Impressive!
Now I know how Columbus felt
When we last saw our intrepid hero, Jonah, he was attempting to download Firefox 3 and participate in the historical event of setting a Guiness World Record. Unfortunately, so was everyone else!
All kidding aside, the web server(s) were so overloaded that the request to download the page containing the download links would time out. I finally managed to get a partial display of that page, but without any of the style sheet information, and none of the links worked. I wound up using "View Source" to find the URL for the various versions of Firefox (i.e. Windows, Linux and Mac), and copied and pasted the URL into my address bar.
Next thing I knew, I had a 7.1 MB file called "Firefox Setup 3.0.exe" (presumably a Windows installer) on my desktop. Too bad I was on my G4 iBook at the time. So, technically, I downloaded Firefox 3 before midnight on June 17th.
(FWIW, I was able to download the Mac OS X version a few minutes ago, and it looks like I'm still within the technical timeframe thanks to timezones and all that. )
All kidding aside, the web server(s) were so overloaded that the request to download the page containing the download links would time out. I finally managed to get a partial display of that page, but without any of the style sheet information, and none of the links worked. I wound up using "View Source" to find the URL for the various versions of Firefox (i.e. Windows, Linux and Mac), and copied and pasted the URL into my address bar.
Next thing I knew, I had a 7.1 MB file called "Firefox Setup 3.0.exe" (presumably a Windows installer) on my desktop. Too bad I was on my G4 iBook at the time. So, technically, I downloaded Firefox 3 before midnight on June 17th.
(FWIW, I was able to download the Mac OS X version a few minutes ago, and it looks like I'm still within the technical timeframe thanks to timezones and all that. )
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Firefox 3 Download Day
Despite multiple attempts throughout the day, I've been unsuccessful at downloading Firefox 3.
In some ways, this is a good thing-- it means so many people are downloading Firefox 3 that the web servers are too busy to handle all of the requests. So obviously, the marketing has been wildly successful. On the other hand, it kinds of sucks because I was hoping to be a part of this historical moment-- even if it is in a small and inconsequential way.
Maybe I'll give it one final try early tomorrow morning.
In some ways, this is a good thing-- it means so many people are downloading Firefox 3 that the web servers are too busy to handle all of the requests. So obviously, the marketing has been wildly successful. On the other hand, it kinds of sucks because I was hoping to be a part of this historical moment-- even if it is in a small and inconsequential way.
Maybe I'll give it one final try early tomorrow morning.
Google Mobile: GOOG-411
Google Mobile: "Get Search, Maps, Gmail and more, designed especially for your mobile."
I always forget about Google's free 411 service. I've got this habit of using my phone's Internet capability to find business phone numbers. It slow, uses up my data quota, but it's a habit.
This morning, I redid the same hunt for a business phone number that I performed yesterday-- it took a fraction of the time. Google 411 is now in my phone contacts, obviously.
I always forget about Google's free 411 service. I've got this habit of using my phone's Internet capability to find business phone numbers. It slow, uses up my data quota, but it's a habit.
This morning, I redid the same hunt for a business phone number that I performed yesterday-- it took a fraction of the time. Google 411 is now in my phone contacts, obviously.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Tempus
Stop. Whatever you are doing, just stop for one moment, and take a serious, thoughful look at what is going on around you. I'm not talking about the whirr of the computer fan, or the blinking light of your fancy car's turn signal. That's all surface crap and clutter, hiding the part you really want-- really need to see.
Look at the PEOPLE around you. Look at what they are doing, what they have done, what they used to do but no longer can (or think they can) do. Look at how they interact and engage with one another. Look at them today, as they were yesterday and, if you can, see them as they might be tomorrow. See how no one remains still/frozen/unchanged as time passes?
You may want to feel sad or anxious. Don't. This is the true nature of time. Accept it. We want to find something permanent. An anchor point, a sturdy ground to get our footing. We plant TREES because trees seem permanent, by relative comparison. This is a human folly. We seem like clouds to the TREES-- always moving, pushed along by breezes they cannot feel, always changing, dissipating far too soon.
Look around you once more-- that change you perceive and fear, that ebb and flow, that give and take, is the tide of the universe. It is called LIFE. You can try to block it out and ignore it, pretend it doesn't exist, until one day it crashes over you-- or you can learn to accept it and comes to terms with it, and float on your back in it.
You must decide.
Look at the PEOPLE around you. Look at what they are doing, what they have done, what they used to do but no longer can (or think they can) do. Look at how they interact and engage with one another. Look at them today, as they were yesterday and, if you can, see them as they might be tomorrow. See how no one remains still/frozen/unchanged as time passes?
You may want to feel sad or anxious. Don't. This is the true nature of time. Accept it. We want to find something permanent. An anchor point, a sturdy ground to get our footing. We plant TREES because trees seem permanent, by relative comparison. This is a human folly. We seem like clouds to the TREES-- always moving, pushed along by breezes they cannot feel, always changing, dissipating far too soon.
Look around you once more-- that change you perceive and fear, that ebb and flow, that give and take, is the tide of the universe. It is called LIFE. You can try to block it out and ignore it, pretend it doesn't exist, until one day it crashes over you-- or you can learn to accept it and comes to terms with it, and float on your back in it.
You must decide.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Ideas I should blog about someday soon
1. How former bullies make the same kind of lame-ass excuses that former rapists tried to make three decades ago.
2. Sears and Macy - how the simple act of buying a belt can tell you why one of these companies will go bankrupt, and the other will still be around.
3. Hardy Heron, Broadcom and a G4 iBook - I can't decide if this is worth blogging about or not. It's already covered on another blog, so maybe I'll just link to it instead and not write a full blown entry.
4. Psychic "vampires." I used to roll my eyes when people talked about this. I may have been too hasty.
5. Firefox 3 Download Day -- Remember, June 17th (this Tuesday) is your chance to download Firefox 3 and be a part of a Guiness Book of World Records.
2. Sears and Macy - how the simple act of buying a belt can tell you why one of these companies will go bankrupt, and the other will still be around.
3. Hardy Heron, Broadcom and a G4 iBook - I can't decide if this is worth blogging about or not. It's already covered on another blog, so maybe I'll just link to it instead and not write a full blown entry.
4. Psychic "vampires." I used to roll my eyes when people talked about this. I may have been too hasty.
5. Firefox 3 Download Day -- Remember, June 17th (this Tuesday) is your chance to download Firefox 3 and be a part of a Guiness Book of World Records.
Perhaps I'm reading too much in between the lines
You know how some people keep a list of heroes or role-models? I know this person who has a list of famous people they would like to meet. It sounds innocent enough. Then you start reading the names on the list-- a veritable who's who of SF and nerdom-- and you begin to realize that every single person on the list is deceased.
It could be a really old list and people have passed away since it was written.
Making any other inference would be-- presumptuous. Right?
It could be a really old list and people have passed away since it was written.
Making any other inference would be-- presumptuous. Right?
Friday, June 13, 2008
Cell Phone Replacement Batteries - How do they DO that?
It's time to replace my cell phone battery.
The original battery (BL-5C) is a Lithium-Ion with a capacity of 850 mAh.
The new battery I am considering purchasing as a replacement is Lenmar's CLKBL5C. Notice that it has a capacity of 1,000 mAh and suggested retail price of $41.95.
I do a product search on Google for Nokia 3100 battery Lenmar CLKBL5C, and find sites like this one that offer the same exact Lenmar battery-- for just under $6. Not too shabby.
But wait, they say it's 10,000 mAh! It's the same battery; you can see the part number right there on the page. This is so cool-- not only are they giving us a huge price break on the battery, but they have subjected the battery to some arcane, occult process that increases its total capacity tenfold! Brilliant!
(Yes, that was sarcasm. The sad part is, there are plenty of web sites out there with this misleading error. Do your research, consumers, and you won't be led astray by such inaccuracies.)
The original battery (BL-5C) is a Lithium-Ion with a capacity of 850 mAh.
The new battery I am considering purchasing as a replacement is Lenmar's CLKBL5C. Notice that it has a capacity of 1,000 mAh and suggested retail price of $41.95.
I do a product search on Google for Nokia 3100 battery Lenmar CLKBL5C, and find sites like this one that offer the same exact Lenmar battery-- for just under $6. Not too shabby.
But wait, they say it's 10,000 mAh! It's the same battery; you can see the part number right there on the page. This is so cool-- not only are they giving us a huge price break on the battery, but they have subjected the battery to some arcane, occult process that increases its total capacity tenfold! Brilliant!
(Yes, that was sarcasm. The sad part is, there are plenty of web sites out there with this misleading error. Do your research, consumers, and you won't be led astray by such inaccuracies.)
Monday, June 9, 2008
Firefox 3, Release Candidate
When I "rebuilt" my ASUS eee PC (OS & software, not hardware), one of the "upgrades" I chose was to go with the latest Firefox 3 candidate. It's supposed to fix all sorts of bugs and errors, use less memory, run faster-- maybe even cure the common cold? Okay, so I exaggerate a little bit, but you have to admit the hype surrounding the latest version of Firefox has been intense.
Based on what I've seen, it's still got some issues to get resolved.
Perhaps it's unique to the ASUS eee PC, but I find that the scrollbar side of the mouse trackpad suddenly gets disabled/ignored once I'm in Firefox 3. That feature works fine in all other programs, including the previous version of Firefox, so I know it's not a problem with the hardware of the operating system.
It also keeps asking me to install the Flash plugin. I install it, restart Firefox, and then it's like it's never been installed. To be fair, it may be that I need to be running Firefox as a superuser in order for it to be able to install the plugin properly.
For the time being, I think I'll go back to Firefox 2.
Based on what I've seen, it's still got some issues to get resolved.
Perhaps it's unique to the ASUS eee PC, but I find that the scrollbar side of the mouse trackpad suddenly gets disabled/ignored once I'm in Firefox 3. That feature works fine in all other programs, including the previous version of Firefox, so I know it's not a problem with the hardware of the operating system.
It also keeps asking me to install the Flash plugin. I install it, restart Firefox, and then it's like it's never been installed. To be fair, it may be that I need to be running Firefox as a superuser in order for it to be able to install the plugin properly.
For the time being, I think I'll go back to Firefox 2.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Easy and Hard Rationalizing
Human nature, even the most obvious parts, still fascinates me.
For example, we can easily rationalize (to ourselves) a way out of doing things we have an obligation to do. "I can't do my cardio today-- I'm too busy catching up on old episodes of Battlestar Galatica." If we were really serious about these obligations, we'd find a way to make them happen.
Conversely, we can easily rationalize away reasons for not doing something that we really want to do-- even if they aren't good for us. "I shouldn't have that Big Mac because of my beef allergy--but you know, there's probably not that much real beef in there, so I'm sure I'll be okay."
I know I'm not stating anything earth shatteringly new here-- it's a phenomenon we're all quite familiar with, from self-observation or observing the behaviours of those around us. But what if we could figure out the underlying mechanism behind that phenomenon and "hack" it somehow, so that our psychological system reversed the perception of those two scenarios?
It's not that far out of a concept actually. Ever hear of sublimation-- the redirection of energies normally used to pursue biological reproduction into other endeavors, such as the arts (painting, writing, etc.)? Granted, it's not exactly the same as what I'm proposing, but it's pretty close-- harness the impulse for gratification and turn it into the fuel to carry out an arduous task or tedious duty.
For example, we can easily rationalize (to ourselves) a way out of doing things we have an obligation to do. "I can't do my cardio today-- I'm too busy catching up on old episodes of Battlestar Galatica." If we were really serious about these obligations, we'd find a way to make them happen.
Conversely, we can easily rationalize away reasons for not doing something that we really want to do-- even if they aren't good for us. "I shouldn't have that Big Mac because of my beef allergy--but you know, there's probably not that much real beef in there, so I'm sure I'll be okay."
I know I'm not stating anything earth shatteringly new here-- it's a phenomenon we're all quite familiar with, from self-observation or observing the behaviours of those around us. But what if we could figure out the underlying mechanism behind that phenomenon and "hack" it somehow, so that our psychological system reversed the perception of those two scenarios?
It's not that far out of a concept actually. Ever hear of sublimation-- the redirection of energies normally used to pursue biological reproduction into other endeavors, such as the arts (painting, writing, etc.)? Granted, it's not exactly the same as what I'm proposing, but it's pretty close-- harness the impulse for gratification and turn it into the fuel to carry out an arduous task or tedious duty.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Personal Area Networks
In the past two weeks, I've become obsessed with Personal Area Networks. I've known about the concept of PANs much earlier than that, but beyond using a Bluetooth headset with my Blackberry (which I no longer own), I never had much reason to dabble with them.
Then, I read this article about a fellow who was traveling in a foreign country (Tibet? Nepal? Can't remember to be honest) and he was explaining how the people he met would use their Bluetooth phones to browse through and/or download the pictures on his cell phone. It struck me as a technological equivalent of clairvoyance-- what's the quote from Arthur C. Clarke? "Any sufficiently advanced technology becomes indistinguishable from magic" or something similar. Basically, this fellow comes within 30 feet of you, and if you want to, you can initiate a process that allows you to see snippets of what they have seen in the recent past.
Now, see, that's the thing-- you start talking about using Bluetooth to get rid of wires and have my cell phone "pair" with my headset, and I really don't get excited about it. It's convenient, but not exciting.
However, when you have an invisible presence that offers services to people around you automatically just by the mere fact of being in their vicinity-- now that's getting exciting. Sharing pictures is a good start, but what else could you do with it? Business card exchanges, of course, at the risk of being obvious. If you included a URL (blog/website/myspace page, whatever) in your business card, that could give people access to a more permanent version of your so-called invisible presence that didn't rely on your physical proximity.
Then, I read this article about a fellow who was traveling in a foreign country (Tibet? Nepal? Can't remember to be honest) and he was explaining how the people he met would use their Bluetooth phones to browse through and/or download the pictures on his cell phone. It struck me as a technological equivalent of clairvoyance-- what's the quote from Arthur C. Clarke? "Any sufficiently advanced technology becomes indistinguishable from magic" or something similar. Basically, this fellow comes within 30 feet of you, and if you want to, you can initiate a process that allows you to see snippets of what they have seen in the recent past.
Now, see, that's the thing-- you start talking about using Bluetooth to get rid of wires and have my cell phone "pair" with my headset, and I really don't get excited about it. It's convenient, but not exciting.
However, when you have an invisible presence that offers services to people around you automatically just by the mere fact of being in their vicinity-- now that's getting exciting. Sharing pictures is a good start, but what else could you do with it? Business card exchanges, of course, at the risk of being obvious. If you included a URL (blog/website/myspace page, whatever) in your business card, that could give people access to a more permanent version of your so-called invisible presence that didn't rely on your physical proximity.
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