After completely moving towards tabless designs, it is hard to look at the cluttered code of tables in code. I have probably put in 15 hours of playing with XOOPs now, a few of these hours stripping code down to be more CSS driven. I am all about clean code these days, but boy do I have my work cut outr for me. I am having problems giving up complete control with layout with a lot of what I am working on, but I have to stay focused on the prize: added functionality without a lot of effort. Last night I upgraded my install to XOOPs 2.2 from 2.13. The upgrade was painless, but some of the modules I want to use are not compatible with the new version. I will wait. Ideally I would some day produce my own CMS, and this idea is why I have been looking at several CMS packages. I would like to take the best from what I have worked with and put it all together. I am at least a year away from doing this, but it is something I am looking towards. I chose XOOPs for several reasons, but one of the main reasons was because it uses Smarty, and I am curious how it handles these templates on a large scale. I am learning a lot about seperating my content from my php code and layout. It is a bit confusing sometimes because of old habits, but it is coming together nicely. I am hoping to have something to show everyone after another 10 or so hours this weekend. I could have easily used one of the layout that comes with XOOPs, but if you know me, you know I could easily spend several hours trying to figure out how to get everything perfectly lined up to the exact pixel, so a custom layout was certainly needed…and a complete CSS driven layout of course. Overall, my work with XOOPs has been pretty positive. Version 2.2 really cleaned up the admin interface which I greatly appreciate. My only complaint so far is that I have to wait a few days/weeks for my choice modules to be updated. OK, I do have one more…the screen refreshes when you authenticate. I would like to go to the page, not refresh to include new content…but I am trying to read up about that…perhaps I can do something about that. Everything is customizable, right? 
Archive for July, 2005
All posts written in July, 2005.
up late with XOOPs.
new favorite dj: project c.
I have a ton of CDs, mp3, etc on my computer, but these days my favorite music to listen is located on an internet radio station: Vocal Trance from DI.FM. I have a few favorite radio stations bookmarked in iTunes, but nothing has been more satisfying than this Vocal Trance station for the last few weeks. The reason: DJ Project C. I love his mixes. So much that I tracked down some of the songs, bought them via the iTunes music store, and have gone to Generation Trance to check out some of his other mixes. If you have any interest in trance music, check him out!
plugged in again.
After being just shy of putting 2000 miles for the week the Volvo, me, and A are ok. The trip summed up: Thirteen hours to first destination. Had a new take on evolution and conservation. Saw Emily’s baby, spent some time with A’s family. Went to a baptismal. Got back in the car for a few more hours. Spent some time with more family. Saw Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (I liked it more than the original). Rented the original Willy Wonka and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Watched the original War of the Worlds (liked the second one better). Got back in the car for a few more hours. Went to PSU. Bought lots of stuff. Found a new favorite beer – Lord Chesterfield. Saw one of my professors from years back, got invited back to his house for a drink (we drank out of 1810 pewter mugs. Hung out at an old college favorite bar. Almost ripped off the bottom of the car. Back in the car for a few more hours. Saw some more family. Won some money at the casino. Played some golf. Saw a lot more family. Played the most poker I ever have in my life. Almost broke my arm/tore some muscle. Played some ugly horseshoes. Made it to the final round of the family euchre tournament. Won some more money at the casino. Got in the car for another long trip back this way.
unplugged.
I finally took a few days out of my schedule to unplug, sleep in, and relax. I have been going at 110% for the last few months and decided it was time to take a break. My blog updates this week will be minimal because I am not “available”. (yeah I know the period belongs inside the quotes, but I do not like it there) I am not even keeping up to date with the news, etc and surprisingly it is a lot easier than I have thought…it took me a few years, but thank goodness I finally figured it out.
serenity now: backpacks on wheels!
Backpacks. What is so hard about this concept? You have a pack that you put on your back. Your back!! If you do not want to have a “backpack” you can buy something else. If you have a bad back, there are tons of other options…like carrying less, or using something else. So what is about these backpacks on wheels? I first began getting frustrated with these crazy things about two years ago when I was walking to work in rush hour foot traffic, and I was looking ahead (not at the ground) and the next thing I know, I am straddling a “backpack”. No I am not super tall…there it was, a backpack with only an inch or so off the ground. With people surrounding me, and the sheer shock I was in (pre-Coca Cola and the fact I was straddling something…and that something should have been on someone’s back), I had a hard time keeping my balance, not stopping traffic, and getting it out of way. The owner of this sort of bag was (besides a real genius) not happy and was swearing at me for unbalancing her precious BACKpack on wheels. From then on, I have many times pictured myself in a similar sitution, but instead of just accepting this hideous idea, I would kick the pack as I was crossing over the Chicago river, and the bag, in perfect flight would clear the railing and go to the bottom of the river.
I realize there is a need for some sort of luggage on wheels, but please, why is it that there are now so many BACKpacks with wheels? I have even seen little (very managable) briefcases on wheels. Perhaps these people that use them are carrying gold bars with them to work? What’s next…purses on wheels? Perhaps wallets (Costanza style) on skateboard wheels. Who knows. Where does it stop?
xoops.
Well, here I am again, looking at different CMSes for a few projects I have up my sleeve and I decided to compare XOOPS and Mambo. Why those two? I have a few friends that used both and liked them for one reason or another. I decided to download XOOPS after doing a comparison at CMS Matrix and played with it last night until midnight. I have to say, now that I have a better understanding of CMSes in general after playing with Plone and hacking WordPress, I am pretty impressed. More in a bit.
new 3 wood!
I went to Golfsmith right after work (I had already been to the much preferable Golf Galaxy a few days ago) and decided to try three 3 woods in the practice area so I could make my decision and then spend the rest of the week at the driving range (after work). I, of course, first picked up the Ping G2 3 wood for $269.99. Then I found a used Cleveland Launcher for $124.95, and a Titleist 975F for $34.95. Price differences aside, I wanted the Ping G2 to be the club I was going to buy before I actually hit any of them. It has a great look and I absolutely love my G2 irons. I first hit a few shots, on and off a tee, with the Titleist 975F, figuring I could eliminate it from the running right away. I was shocked when the club felt really good and was consistently going straight and long. Figuring it was only luck, I picked up the Ping G2 which I did not hit as well. I hit probably 20 balls with the G2 and I had some nice shots, but I did not have the consistency of the Titleist. I was disappointed, but figured even if the Titleist or Cleveland Launcher only lasts me a season or two, it would be worth it. I liked the Cleveland Launcher a lot too, and it had a great shaft, but when it came down to the last few balls hit…the Titleist won because I was consistantly getting more yardage with the average shot. Tonight it all about the driving range. I am still blown away over the cost of the 3 wood ($34.95)…if I would have bought my usual Titleist Pro V I balls, I would have paid more for the balls than the club .
and it's in!
Well, this weekend was full of golf…54 holes. On hole 46, I threw my first club ever (3 wood)…and I made sure it was a good throw…into the lake. I had used this 3 wood since the early 90s and my father had used it before then…so it was not like it was anything great. I had been looking to replace it for the last two to three years, and just had to get rid of it…right then. With golf you need to focus on your most important shot, the current one, so I finished the hole, and went on to the next one and was able to get close to a hole in one (see picture below). I am not real proud of my tossing of the club, but I am glad I am finally forced to get a new club. Doug thought the old 3 wood was cramping my style anyways . I am now looking at putting either a Cleveland Launcher, a Ping G2, or a Titleist 904f in my bag.
javascript help.
When creating my first Dashboard widget I had to brush up on my javascript skills. I used javascript a little bit in the late 1990s, and since then, I have found PHP or CSS to take care of most of my needs for web development. As most people know, javascript is making quite a comeback (thanks to AJAX) so I thought I better take another look. I wanted to share some of the resources I found useful:
- Webmonkey’s javascript code library
- Javascript: The Definitive Guide (thanks to Safari Books)
- W3C School’s JavaScript Tutorial
- Dev Shed’s Javascript section
- Javascript.com
[tags]Javascript[/tags]
jappler.com dashboard widget!
Time to take things to the next level…my love for (Mac OS X 10.4 + Web Development) = Dashboard widget creation time. When I first got my hands on
Mac OS X 10.4, I was not too crazy about Dashboard, but after WWDC I started to like it more and more. I wanted to start off with a simple widget, so I decided that it would be cool to have a widget that would display the past 10 jappler.com posts while also having the option to search old posts/pages. I have a few other plans in mind for other widgets, but until then, check out my very own widget: Jappler.com Dashboard widget.
Disclaimer: Use the jappler.com dashboard widget at your own risk. I am not responsible for any data loss, productivity loss, global warming, etc that this widget might cause.
