Chasing My Own Tale
Sometimes it becomes truely difficult to get and stay focused on a project, or a set of projects. I need to stop, take a deep breath, write down everything that I have to do and then tackle them. It matters less that I tackle them in some particular order than it matters that I get to them at all.
Breathe. Breathe deeply.
I’ve taken the work that I did a couple days ago and brought it up to date. One of the issues I was having troubles with was the fact that the flow format (RSS .9) was more outdated than I remembered.
I’ve now got three total channels: a .9 version, a .91 version and a .92 version. They don’t differ much, but they all validate correctly.
Now, perhaps, my.userland.com’s channel number 55 will rise again! Oh and I got a start on the docs for the Greymatter HOWTO for RSS. To be published later.
I’m almost there, in fact I’m just over the biggest hurdle.
Blogging via e-mail.
I’ve got the e-mail pick up system working, cron job and all. It can grab mail out of a remote POP3 account and store it in a local text file. Now I’ve just got to have it strip out the headers and any sigs. Then, toss them into the journaling script.
This, combined with wireless e-mail from my two-way pager will allow my to babble on at short lengths anytime the thought hits me. This ought to be much less than terribly uninteresting to many of you!
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It’s interesting, I finally got the RSS feed working for Dwelling again. I used to have the feed flowing for a lot of sites when I was still using my custom-built journal script. Now I’m limited to simply displaying the current and the next oldest entry, but I’ve added a full link to the archives, and the syndication system is fully automated, something I never got around to with my old version. The new feed is much more smooth, and i can eventually share it with the other Greymatter users.
Just gotta write up some docs, I guess.
Alexander Hamilton really got it good this time ’round. Take a look at the $10 bill. The new one, not the old one. That’s a really great portrait. I’m not saying that he looked like that, I’m just saying that if my face was on a greenback, I’d want it to look at least as good as his.
Perhaps, the LAN before time… or more appropo: Stranger in a Strange LAN
The Ethernet hub that I bought for $30 a few weeks ago is starting to actually be used now. Just minutes ago, I started everything up: My G3, Amy’s PBG4, and her old Performa 6400. All of them are at this moment connected through the Local Area Network to the net.
It wasn’t too difficult, though I know I’m walking more of a tightrope here than building a real bridge. Each of the two client machines (the 6400 and the PB) are getting their packets through the modem in my G3. I’m using Sustainable Softworks IPNetRouter to toss around all the packets. I’m no network wonk, so 90% of the options in IPNetRouter are nearly greek to me, leaving me to have to suffice with the autoconfig utility, which worked flawlessly, really.
As nice as it is, I’d rather have a more complete grasp of what I’m doing. But for now, I don’t need to.
Of course there are some problems with this as a long term solution, but for the short term, I’m going to bask in the glory of a mixed 10/100-base T ethernet LAN that has shared 56k Internet access. Kinda rolls off the tongue real nice, eh?
Got this e-mail today and thought it would make an interesting topic here.
RH wrote: What is your take on XHTML? From the stuff I’ve read, XHTML is a good idea when more browsers support it. Someone today ought to develop to HTML 4.01, especially if you rely on the WYSIWYG tools for HTML authoring. Is this true? I suppose there are tools that would allow you to develop in XHTML and convert it to CSS and HTML 4.01?
The vast majority of XHTML is backwards compatible with HTML4. It simply has some minor tweaks that older browsers won’t really recognize. Webreview has had some great article. Search their site for XHTML, and be sure to read:
http://www.webreview.com/2001/03_02/designers/index01a.shtml
The question isn’t one of “is now the right time to deploy XHTML,” because that question’s basically moot. Nearly all browsers can support XHTML. The real question is what does XHTML provide in terms of value from the development side of things, or the user side of things.
That’s a whole different question.
RH: If I understand what you are saying, about the relationship between browser and specification, then the browser is a better target to “develop to” rather than developing to a particular specification. A question of HTML 4. vs XHTML 1 is more a question of what your application is, your client needs, development environment needs, etc. Is this a true statement in your opinion?
Close, but what I’m really getting at is not a choice between standards and environment, but between two different standards. By all means, code to the standard, whether it’s XHTML 1.0, HTML 4.0 or HTML 3.2 all of which are viable standards at this point. (Hell I’d even go with HTML2.0 if I thought the need was there.)
I wouldn’t try to code to the browsers. Browsers are a moving target. Unless you like redeveloping your site (or at least your JavaScript and CSS) every 6 to 12 months, stick with the standards, because that’s what the newer browsers will support.
In this way, you’re building for the browsers to support you, rather than the other way around.
Is this choice of coding to a standard, not the environment a hard and fast rule? Of course not. You do have to be cognizant of the the users’ browsers. But don’t let the browser lead you, because you will always be playing catch-up.
I had to reset the Wiki. It’s now a clean, blank slate. I’m guessing that something went wrong with the Database. I’ve got an idea for a work around, but for now it’s just easier to wipe it clean. Everyone should still feel that it’s okay to post and read and write on the Wiki.
Just a note to David Douglas High School: Make sure you know what you’re saying when your sign says:
Someone who doesn’t know that DD stands for David Douglas HS might get the wrong, if amusing, impression.
Ouch: Captain, the reality field is fading! (NTK)
I’m helping put together an event for August 7, here in Portland. It involves a few people that I really respect
Nick is doing a fine job with his weblog.
I picked up a promo disc for Information Society’s cover of “Are ‘Friends’ Electric“. It so rocks and sticks to my gooey brain.
Parents are in town, Amy is cleaning up the apartment, and I’ve got 155 e-mails waiting for me to respond to…