Thursday, 30 April 2009, 21:34:17 EDT
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After my post on not being able to find a job some things started picking up for me. I got a message back from a job I had applied for (but nothing from them since), a call from someone else about a job that I can certainly do (and have applied for it), and, most exciting, I've started a web design/development business with a friend.
I was going to wait until we had completed our first project before writing about it here, but this site needs some new content. So, I introduce you to Platypus Web Productions. Our site is still undergoing heavy development, but it is in a decent enough state to unveil (hopefully Chris agrees). It looks great in every browser except one — Internet Explorer 6. Actually, it looks just fine in IE6 after the fix for transparent PNGs is applied, but that takes place after the page has finished loading.
Which brings me to a question: why are you people still using IE6? Almost 50% of the traffic to this website for the month of April has been from user agents claiming to be IE6. I realize IE8 has only been out for a month, but IE7 has been a "critical" update for Windows for a long time, now. Are that many of you really using Windows 2000? Can you not upgrade? Or install any ... (view rest)
Saturday, 15 November 2008, 20:16:25 EDT
For a while now I have wanted to be able to link photographs from my picture gallery in these posts. The gallery software I use, ZenPhoto, has plugins that do this for packages like Wordpress. Except, I don't use Wordpress. This website is a work of my own. So I had to write my own implementation. You can see it in action in this very post. The picture of footprints in concrete is being pulled from my image gallery and displayed here.
While I was at it, I wrote in some rather nifty features. First, I can request the image to be any size by specifying the width and height I want. The script will scale the image before sending it. The script also caches every image it sends so that the scaling only has to be done once. Second, I can move the image around (to a new album, a subalbum, etcetera) and not have to worry about previously posted images breaking. As long as I have the concrete footprints picture in my gallery, no matter where I move it to within the gallery, it will show up in this post. This probably my favorite feature. As my gallery grows, it becomes necessary to reorganize it from time to time. If I had to go back to all the posts in which I've linked to a gallery image, I would have just not bothered linking the pictures. Finally, the script is able to return information about the image in addition to the image itself. This gives me the ability to dynamically link to the image in the gallery. In this post I mere ... (view rest)
Thursday, 21 September 2006, 07:43:32 EDT
One of the most read posts on my site is #167. In it, I talk about my reasoning for rewriting this site as HTML 4.01 instead of XHTML 1.0 (as it was before). The article I linked to is quite technical, and a little difficult to understand if you are new to HTML et alii. It seems this topic comes up quite a bit on Apple's webkit mailing list. As a result, they wrote a ... (view rest)
Tuesday, 16 May 2006, 20:11:53 EDT
First, an update on my recent semester for those that may want it. I finished off the semester with one and A and one B (not counting the A in gym). I made the A in Numerical Methods, which was a bit of a surprise. I was expecting to make a B in that class, and numerically I did. There were four of us in the class and the point spread ended up being one A, one B (mine), and two Cs; so, the teacher handed out two As and two Bs. I made the B in Transition to Higher Level mathematics. Evidently, my B is one of only two in the class; no one else did that well or better. It was a hard class, sure, but it is a rather important class for a math major. I was amazed at the people that didn't show up half the time and the constant lack of effort put forth. I worked hard on both courses, and am proud of my accomplishments because of it. But I am saddened by the people I will be spending the rest of my degree with (those in my Numerical Methods course have graduated or are graduating next semester). Basically, I won't be able to really work with anyone other than my instructors. Study groups I attend, if any, will probably be like the one I put together for my Transition final — me doing the work and trying to explain it to others. Oh well, I knew the major would be tough when I switched to it. I am doing well, regardless. This past semester I made a GPA of 3.57 (just 0.03 shy of the Dean's List again) bringing my overall GPA up to 2.68 from 2.59. Calculating a rough estimate of my GPA using the courses that are counting toward my major, I have a 2.94. That is just adding up all the letter grades, and taking an average, of the courses I have taken which apply, and count, toward my major. It is by no means accurate. I have no idea how the school calculates a GPA because it involves something called "quality points." Quality points basically give more weight to some classes in the average than to others.
With that out of the way, I want to talk a little bit about why I chose Zen Photo instead of finishing my own gallery script. I wanted my script to be very basic on the management side. Just upload images to a directory, and sub-directories, and be done with it. I had done a decent job with the script until I started implementing sub-directories. I came to the conclusion that starting over would probably be beneficial. That wasn't a problem, but it meant I couldn't finish it up between homework assignments so it got put off. It gave me time to think about the project, though. My main goal was to use AJAX methodologies to make the end user experience to the gallery more pleasing. I had it setup so that the user never saw a .php extension or loaded any page other than "index.html". The navigation of the gallery was done completely by Javascript requesting data from the remote server. I showed my work in progress to a couple friends and they complained about the back button not working. I was confused by this because I thought they were talking about the navigation system I had written for the gallery. Which brings me to a post I have had in the pipeline since November.
Back in November, I read a post on someone's website that talked about this person and a friend starting a new project to develop a "blog content management system" with the possibility of some AJAX being used. After reading this post I put virtual sticky note on my Dashboard that reads "Write about AJAX (e.g. using it for no reason other than to use a buzzword)." I couldn't, and still can't, think of any useful applications of AJAX in a site such as the front page of the one you are currently reading. I never got around to writing the post because of classes and lack of content. My recently dead gallery project gives me a couple items to talk about why succumbing to the buzzword hype can be bad (hey, I did it myself!).
The biggest problem with trying to work new buzzword technologies into a project is that you are letting that technology control the project. That shouldn't happen. If i ... (view rest)
Thursday, 06 April 2006, 14:26:30 EDT
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Kind of dead around here, I know. I've been super busy with school; I just haven't had time to think about much other than numerical methods, relations, and partitions. The last two have really been giving me trouble, not sure why. My numerical methods work, though, has made me realize something — PHP is nasty.
A major part of my numerical methods class is programming methods and analyzing them. At the beginning of the semester I weighed my options and settled on C as my primary language (I have done one program in C-sharp, though). I considered Python, but it has horrible array support and the math precision is not good enough [referring to a basic installation]. C is a weak static typed language and PHP is dynamically typed. Before getting serious in my numerical methods class, I kind of preferred the latter kind of typed language (dynamic). In a dynamically typed language you don't have to worry about whether or not your variable is a string, a number, or whatever else. The runtime interpreter figures all of that out during execution. It should make writing a program quicker with some trade-offs. The problem is that it also allows sloppy programming habits to develop.
Discounting BASIC, my first programming language was Visual Basic 4 (VB). VB, prior to VB.NET (I have no knowledge of VB.NET), allowed the programmer to specify that variables be statically defined ala C; this is how I programmed in VB. So, when I took my computer science courses at CSU, the static nature of C++ (the language we used in class) was not a difficult transition for me. I had already developed decent programming habits because I eschewed the dynamic typing VB was capable of; it made debugging a lot easier. Later, when I got into web development, I moved to PHP as my primary language. Unlike VB, PHP does not have any method with which to enforce static typing and over time I got used to it. I became so used to it, in fact, that going back to a lower level language has proven troublesome. More than once I have forgotten to properly type my variables in my numerical methods homework. This lead to all sorts of weird errors (why GCC even compiled the code is beyond me) that ... (view rest)
Friday, 25 February 2005, 07:36:12 EDT
I am sure that by now you have figured out I have a hard time resisting shiny computer stuff. If you have that figured out then you probably knew the instant that you read my last post that I would be purchasing an Apple PowerBook. Well, I did so yesterday morning; however, I did not use any of my tax refund money to make the purchase. Instead, I used my tax refund to pay off other things like textbooks and Christmas presents and will be using a large majority of a student loan(s) to pay for the laptop. Such a move is in line with my reasoning behind buying the laptop.
As it is right now, the laptop that I have is issued to me through the school for work purposes. If I were to get a new job I would have to return my laptop to the school. But, I do not use the laptop for work only; I also use my laptop in classes to take notes or whatever else I might need it for in class. Aside from it being a requirement that I have a laptop at CCSU, it is very important that I have a laptop with which to take notes. My handwriting is absolutely wretched and I write no where near fast enough to keep up with many of the professors. For example, I had a mid-term worth 40% of my grade in my history class this past Tuesday. For this mid-term I had typed sixteen pages of notes. Each lecture session was non-stop typing from the minute the session started to the minute it ended. There is no way I can write like that.
No, I don't intend to get a new job any time soon. But, if something unforseen were to happen where I would have to then it will be good to know that I am prepared. There are other reasons why I decided to get the laptop but the school issue is the biggest, and most important, one.
As you may also know, I don't make such purchases without doing at least a little bit of research first. Well, during my research on the PowerBook I read on Apple's site that any purchases made via their online store before the shipping carrier stops picking up parcels for the day would ship on the same day as the order. I also read that it would be possible to choose between regular, free, ground shipping, second-day air, or next-day air. None of that was the case for my purchase. When I placed my order yesterday, at 7:39AM PST, the only option for shipping was the free ground shipping and the estimated ship date was within four to six business days. A couple of hours later my order was confirmed and noted to be be shipped "on or before 03/04/2005." So, it may be the end of spring break before I am able to even begin working with the machine. I would like to be able to use it during spring break to get accustomed to the system and be ready to use it in class the next week. Oh well, hopefully it ships early next week and not late next week.
One other thing. During my research I found an ap ... (view rest)
Monday, 07 February 2005, 08:57:34 EDT
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If you ever meet someone that says something to the effect of "I have too much free time" you need to beat them until they tell you where the acquired it. I made a comment after last semester about playing World of Warcraft almost non-stop and that I hoped I would get past the "newness" of it before classes start again. Well, I haven't been able to play the game in about two weeks. I logged in Saturday to play but not even a minute after I started I had to stop and take care of more pertinent matters for the day. Saturdays are about the only day I have time to waste on such an activity and the Saturdays where that is possible are few. Every other day is filled with work, school, and errands.
Also, if you have been reading this web site for any length of time you know that I have a tendency to be fanatical about web standards. Here is a link to an intersting story about a major newspaper "seeing the light" so to speak. Since I have moved this site to bluehost.com I have been able to keep up with the individual stats for this site. They have a statistics generator that I had previously not known about that is quite awesome; ... (view rest)
Wednesday, 01 December 2004, 11:32:28 EDT
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I am just sitting here at work using the wireless trying to find problem access points (I found one - woo!) and reading web pages whilst doing so. While surfing, I have come across one of the neatest things I have seen on the web in a long time. It is a color scheme generator. Basically, you pick a color and it will, using color theory, show you several comple ... (view rest)
Wednesday, 16 June 2004, 16:14:36 EDT
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Maybe it is just the geek in me but I love reading good articles by fellow programmers. Joel Spolsky is one of the best; his articles are funny and usually spot on. His latest one is about the direction software development is heading and why he believes Microsoft is in danger of missing out, or rather, why Microsoft's biggest product is not looking so good to developers any more. He states that more and more developers are moving to web based development because their work is just easier in the long run. When one develops for the web he knows that the users are all going to be using the same version because he controls which version is used at all times. The user can only access the application through a web agent. This also gives the benefit that the user does not have to use the same operating system as the developer nor any of the other users. This is why I have grown to enjoy web development. I can write some decent applications that, while not as interactive as I would like, work everywhere. I don't have to worry about the platform the user is on, although I sometimes have to work around IE bugs and lack of support. Recently, though, I have started wanting to write some "rich," to put it in Joel's words, applications that work in conjunction with web applications. For example, I am currently writing a web application that will allow users to log ... (view rest)
Wednesday, 05 May 2004, 19:43:05 EDT
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Earlier today I decided to write an example web page to reference in the web design course I am writing. I came up with a, what I think to be, rather nifty design that shows the advantages of a CSS design. It is a design that would be rather tricky to do effectively with tables but is actually quite simple with CSS. The markup is negligible and much smaller than it would be if done without CSS. So, I had this design all made up and ready to begin writing about it when I decided to check it in IE. It was at this point that I said "what the hell?!?" and began working on a nice little hack that renders the page appropriately in IE and Mozilla. My "hack" is slightly eloquent and works just fine; I went on with the rest of my day beaming with pride at my little accomplishment.
After lunch I went around campus taking pictures hoping to get something useful for a Zen Garden design. After deciding that what I was trying to do wouldn't work right I started browsing through the designs already available. I came across the The Question Why design and was instantly dumbfounded because it works exactly like the way I designed my simple example page. There is one slight difference; the Zen Garden design is positioning e ... (view rest)
Monday, 08 March 2004, 23:41:36 EDT
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Just in case you live under a rock I will fill you in. Google is preparing a new look. At first I was skeptical; a few days ago the topic in #web on freenode was something to the effect of "I don't know anyone who has ever looked at Google and said 'this needs more frivolous shit'." I was pretty much in agreement with that statement until I started using the new design. It is a bit slicker and easier on my eyes. Some how it seems to draw my attention to the results more than anything else on the page unless I am lo ... (view rest)
Monday, 01 March 2004, 15:49:07 EDT
I just added a new link to the links section. It is a site for the New York public library system detailing the way each libraries web site should be written. Evidently someone in the New York library administration has heard of standards and understands why they are useful. I like this page so much I thought I should bring it to your attention on the front page. I believe I will include it in t ... (view rest)
Wednesday, 28 January 2004, 00:14:34 EDT
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Some of you may have noticed that I am a web standards zealot. If you can't be bothered to take the time and learn a few simple rules you should not be writing documents to be read by anyone in the world using any random piece of software capable of rendering HTML. The internet has the nick name "information super highway" not "media blitz 5001" because it was designed to serve documents. I concede that it has come a long way towards "media blitz 5001" but that does not mean the original idea should be forgotten. I have no problem with a glitzy site as long as it is done right. What am I getting at you ask? ... (view rest)
Thursday, 13 November 2003, 11:45:13 EDT
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Written much HTML lately? Wondering what in the hell the encoding tag is for? Read this article on ... (view rest)
Thursday, 25 September 2003, 00:53:00 EDT
If you are viewing this site in Internet Explorer you have probably noticed that these news items are not centered and are not as wide as one would think they should be. It seems that Internet Explorer's !Doctype support does not like the XHTML !DOCTYPE definition. Don't know what I mean by !DOCTYPE? Read here.
Basically, I am not going to go out of my way to make IE work like it should. I know of a way to get the site to look proper with IE but then I have to maintain two stylesheets. If you want to view this site as it should be get a more standards compliant browser like Mozil ... (view rest)
Sunday, 21 September 2003, 21:18:08 EDT
I decided to go ahead and make the transition to XHTML 1.0 on all of my sites. I decided that I would start with this one first as a test ... (view rest)
Tuesday, 09 September 2003, 18:00:58 EDT
A couple of people that actually read this site were a little put off by my post on the 31st of August. I was just disappointed in how my evening turned out because I expected much more of it. I posted that after everyone had left and I was just venting in a drunken stupor.
That is basically the sum of this whole site, which I am surprised anyone even reads. I use this site as a way to vent, talk about random shit that has happened, or point out cool stuff I find from time to time. If I post something I will not go ba ... (view rest)
Wednesday, 03 September 2003, 16:50:39 EDT
Ok, I am now a believer in the awesomeness of Turk MMCache. All of the PHP based sections of this server are now hauling the proverbial ass.
If you run a site that m ... (view rest)