January 2005
Sunday, Jan 30
MAC OS X PANTHER RULES
Bring on the strong coffee, we're revving up big time.
Saturday, January 29
The iMac has arrived. Boy, is it wide. Where's the power button?
I've got to get all my relevant files out of the old iMac and into the OS X world. I'm going to use the Zip drive, because I lost the OS9 extension that enables the Firewire CD recorder.
There is quite a bit to do, and my house is a wreck. Coffee time, baby.
Wednesday, Jan 26
For anyone remotely interested in the fascinating exploits of my exciting life, there is much activity transpiring. However, life is sort of getting in the way of my little online ruminations. I'm in the midst of a rather large, ongoing web site job, my superwoman wife is making the necessary maneuvers to get her new business open, vehicular transportation logistics have become an ever-present issue, and I'm attempting to discourage various forms of wildlife from taking up residence in my attic.
Friday, Jan 14
"The neoconservative hour may be coming to an end in the Bush era. Reason: The cakewalk war they plotted long before 9/11, on which their dreams of Middle East empire and reputations hang, has gone awry."
- Pat Buchanan
I'm interested in Mr. Buchanan. Some years back, in the eighties, he was a presidential candidate, and had a regular editorial column that appeared in my city's morning daily. I thought he was a regular blowhard, an obsolete male yay-hoo that wanted to build a wall around the U.S. to keep illegals out. America should mind its own business, and fuck the rest of the world. I do agree with minding our own business, in matters of others' internal conflict.
But in the last couple of years, he's appeared on Chris Matthews' show several times, and while he represents a political party whose radical faction shares credit for the ruination of my country, I now feel that he's a voice of reason and rationale. He no longer strikes me as a "kill 'em all, let God sort 'em out" type; rather, he continually presents viewpoints based on fact. Mightily refreshing, especially from a party whose loudest voice is its most destructive element.
Keep talking, Pat - I'm listening.
- read the article -
Tuesday, Jan 11
The Eleven Worst Songs of 2004
(not for the easily offended)
Saturday, Jan 8
Yes sir, that's my baby...no sir, don't mean maybe...
Yes sir, that's my baby now.
Saturday, Jan 8
Most every frequent Internet user knows what Flash is.
For the sake of this post, let's clarify: Flash is a small program that "plugs in" to your internet browser (hence the term "plugin"). It is the engine that plays animations in a web page, meaning nearly everything from irritating banner ads to useless, precious bullshit. You know: "(flash) YOU CAN (flash) ENLARGE (flash) YOUR (flash)..." Or, "Loading Intro...........(fade) A new millenium. (fade) A new way of communication. (fade)....."
I had about a year and a half obsession with Flash programming (suffering, actually), then moved on to other things. I last touched the stuff nearly two years ago. I'm considering a future return, but it's not priority.
Recently, I dug up a little something I made long ago, one of my favorites. It's an animation toy, controlled by a trackball or a mouse. Here it is, from summer '02.
Friday, Jan 7
Web project completed, January 5, '05
It was a long time coming, due to lingering circumstances beyond my bounds. I'm very glad it's finished.
It was an interesting job. The most focus was on a voiceover talent database, searchable by selecting desired attributes or by user-entered search words. The owner chose some thirty different voice-type characteristics. We put those in the search form, and applied certain ones to each talent name in the database. When casting voice talent, the user checks on the characteristics they're looking for, the script scans the database for names having those characteristics, then displays a page with a list of the found names, each name being a link to that person's mp3 voice reel. More descriptive adjectives will be added periodically, to enhance the user-word search.
I applied a stock CSS template, to avoid getting too mired in subjectivity. I then had a bit of interest with section background imagery, then had some more interest with the individually placed images. Some fun, mostly interest.
The final bugs were either not a surprise, or offered intrigue. Not surprisingly, there were some mp3 uploads overlooked. There are two pages that list complete gender-specific name directories. They dynamically display either gender's entire directory after scanning the database. I split the list of names into three columns, and in doing so, I mis-numbered the arrays so that they skipped over two talents at the beginning of columns two and three. More interest.
All audio mp3's will be replaced. They're an amalgam from the last few years, and levels and quality are scattershot.
Then, I made an application that the company will use to add to, edit, or delete from the talent database, whenever they want to. (So they don't have to come running to me to do it.)
The owner says he is satisfied, and there's room for expansion. It's about time; they were in desperate need of an upgrade.
Saturday, Jan 1
Happy New Year, everyone.
There is a lot to look forward to, and much to be grateful for.
Cheers and prosperity to all. Enough said.
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