93 posts
If you're running your own CF server, or are hosting with a host who's willing to do a little extra work for you, you're going to love ColdFusion scheduled tasks. It's basically a way to tell CF to run a particular file at a set interval. The called file can run a report, update a database, do an XML grab, anything you want. And then you can tell CF that you want it to save the results of the file somewhere else.
I took the Dreamweaver MX 2004 certification this morning, and I'm now certified again. I only scored 88% this time, but then again I finished the 90 minute test in 20, had a client meeting I had to get to (I'm blaming poor scheduling on my part).
The mat previews at Lary McKee Studios are working, so check it out and buy something for cryin' out loud :).
I've been in Amarillo since Wednesday visiting family for Thanksgiving, and all both of the Starbucks in Amarillo don't have T-Mobile wireless access. Can ya believe it? The noive of some Starbucks. I must say that I was lucky the golf pro shop next door didn't know how to properly secure their wireless router. At least I got to check my email :)
Just wanted to point a link to a good friend of mine who's site I just completed. Lary McKee Studios is run by (you guessed it) Lary McKee. He's a wonderful realist painter, and I just can't say enough how happy I am to have been able to provide him with a great new venue for his artwork. We actually have the original for Victorian Lady hanging in our living room. Check him out, and buy a print if the mood strikes you ;). They're all hand matted and framed by the artist himself.
It's sneak peek time, and the floor is full of DW engineers with bee antennae and wings on (Utah is the beehive state after all), and we're about to get a look at some new Macromedia produts in the works.
And then some...
The keynote ran a little long this morning, but it was well worth it. With speakers like Kevin Lynch and Ben Forta there was a lot of good stuff. Not only was their good information about the company itself (along with some marketing... this is their conference ;), there were also quite a few new product announcements and teases.
I'm currently sitting in the Macromedia Community College getting a sneak peek of Macromedia Flex, a new "presentation tier solution for enterprise rich internet applications." This is a new Presentation Server on top of a J2EE server (Tomcat, JRUN, Webshphere, etc, etc). A .NET version is in the works :).
It's just about that time... MAX 2003 starts on Monday, and in order to keep those you not fortunate enough to make it informed, Macromedia has set up MAXBloggers, an aggregator of all things MAX :).
That's right, I'm gettin' older :). So I decided to pretend I wasn't, and I'm off for a sk8 party (cooler if you say sk8 dontcha know). My dad warned me to be careful since I'm a little top heavy (can ya believe that, the punk...).
You betcha...
It's 1am, and the DWfaq Store is now taking credit cards. Buh bye PayPal.
Using Mozilla Firebird you now edit CSS live on a page. Press Ctrl+8 after installing the extension and you get a wonderful little sidebar with the CSS ready to hand edit. Changes are made instantly in the browser so you can see exactly what's going on as you type... just too damn cool... [Get Firebird here]
That's right, you can now reach this wonderful blog (full of powerful insight on so very many meaningful and important things) by going to DansShorts.com. aaaaaahhh... my own vanity domain... almost as good as a vanity license plate.
Macromedia has released an FAQ on the effects of changes that Microsoft has said they will be required to make due to the Eolas patent suit against them.
If you're in the Portland area and need a new entertainment center, check out ours.
If you didn't already know, there's a new addition to our family, a new VW Bug. Not only is it fun to drive, but I bet you remember when you were a kid and played that wonderful travel game "Slug Bug".
I woke up Thursday morning and my Comcast cable was out (this is the first time in 3 years so I wasn't too upset), and it just got fixed yesterday afternoon. Was odd being without an internet connection for that long. Can you believe, I actually read a book? All 600 pages starting Friday night and ending Saturday afternoon (it was Battle Royale by Koushun Takami, very good).
All of a sudden, o-matics are showing up everywhere.... My theme at DWfaq has been Snazz-o-matic for ages, and my blog's admin is Blog-o-matic. But now Zeldman is linking to List-o-matics and Layout-o-matics... Now that it's cool to be o-matic, do I need to evolve, or run with it? Oh the questions... the questions...
Did I spell that right? Anyway... if you're going to MAX, and you get into town a little early there's gonna be a party goin' on... I'll be there, will you?
Read several good articles this morning, most of which were linked to from other blogs, so many thanks to the bloggers with more connections than I've got :)
I don't know who told them they could put my picture on the cover. I only gave them permission to put it on the inside....
Studio MX has been officially launched. Find out more at Macromedia.com. I'll be giving some of my own impressions over the next week or two, but right off the bat I'll tell you this version is worth buying if for no other reason than the improved CSS support... nuf said for now.
Can you believe the kinds of things my dad posts to the blog???
The new Macromedia DRK 4 is ready for to snagged up. Always guaranteed to find some tasty stuff on here :)
Went to see Fleetwood Mac in concert last night, and damn they was tasty... I never realized how good a guitar player Lindsey Buckingham really is, and Stevie's still got it man. But Mick Fleetwood really stole the show for me. I'm a huge percussion fan anyway, and damn that guy can play... My hands are a little sore today from slapping on chairs, legs, you name it. It was so loud it was like getting an aural massage.... so worth the money for the tickets. I'm still speechless honestly.
For the love of all things holy, some designs go crazy wild when it comes to tons o' angled corners for that high tech feel. And it can be done without tables :): EliteDetox.com.
Ain't he cuuuuuuuuuuuuute...
That's right... Saturday I took a break, so sue me :). Kris and I had lunch at the Todai seafood buffet, and I had more sushi than I ever have before. I only have a pic of the first plate I ate ;). After that, we walked around the mall, where I found some headphones from Bang and Olufsen that I simply must have. They may look small, but they sound like a concert hall in your head, and you can't even tell you're wearing them. They're just plain tasty...
Yes, I am still alive, but I've become somewhat of a social butterfly it seems, plus publishers don't think authors have lives :) (can you say major deadline over 4th of July weekend? I can...)
3-Column layouts don't always have to be table based. I had a client who purchased one of the older Project Seven Design Packs, and wanted to update it to load a little quicker and be more standards based.
Macromedia is getting better about releasing updates for their current products (thank goodness) and have just released an update for users who have installed the ASP.NET 1.1 Framework. You can find the update in their support section of Macromedia.com.
I got a new CD from my dad yesterday, which he said he and mom are listening to a lot, and it's pretty good stuff. Bob Shneider's Lonelyland from Austin Texas. This is totally not what I expected from my dad... he must be getting hipper in his old age ;)
I got the pictures up from our vacation. Enjoy yourselves :)
I've added RFC compatible pubDates to all my posts in the RSS feed. I've also got code wrapped up for converting server times to the desired time zone of the poster, I just need to integrate it into the actual blog app and do some more testing. One more feature halfway done :)
Jay has got the Blog-o-matic installed and running (quite quickly too I might add). I'm going to have to harass him for the details on what went right/wrong, considering there is absotively posolutely zero documentation at this point, and several features still left to finish.
I just realized I'm being aggregated by Fullasgoog, how cool be dat?
Well Angela has a ton of pics up from TODCON Vegas. I'm sorry I didn't get to make it this year, looks like a good time was had by all. I'm particulary sad that I didn't get to meet/chat with Eric Meyer. I heard his sessions were awesome, and that his dinner decorum was exceptional (I'm a bit skeptical on that last one). Angela tells me he's a lot like me, but skinnier, so he must be fun :).
Thursday: More wineries, and a really long drive up to Bear Valley. We got above 6000 feet and down to 79 degrees... niiiiiiiice. Was great just to drive with nowhere to go in the convertible... can you tell I love our rented convertible?
Yesterday Kris and I took the short drive to Murphys California. Murphys is even smaller than Angel's Camp, but there are several wineries based out of the area, with tasting rooms and galleries. We went to Ironstone Vineyards and I think we probably hit the best vineyard first. They have gorgeous grounds, a small museum/gift shop set up, and it was just overall picturesque. There were also free tastings :). I wasn't overly impressed with their red wines, but we bought two whites that Kris liked. After that we grabbed two sandwiches (we should have shared one, they were huge) and sat out on one of their decks and ate lunch. All in all very relaxing.
Kris and I are at Angel's Camp now. It was a decent drive, but we had to keep the top up on the car due to our already reddened necks and the high temperatures. It's supposed to be in the upper 90s all week, and us Portlanders just aren't used to it :).
Add selection for GMT - hours to blog app :)
Yesterday was a bit more relaxed than Saturday :), we started the day with some room service breakfast (mmm mmm good), and then got cleaned up and drove to Oakland to visit a dentist Kris used to work with. Erik and Monica live in a posh neighborhood way up in the Oakland Hills, and their house backs up to a national park. There was a gorgeous view (I have some pictures) and had a great time visiting with them for a few hours. We got all caught up, met their 20 month old son Luc, and Monica is bursting at the seams with a new one on the way (due in 6 weeks she said). Hopefully we can keep in touch with them better in the future.
Kris and I arrived in San Fran yesterday, and immediately started playing with the controls on our rented convertible (a Chrysler Sebring ;). Kris has determined that she does indeed need a convertible now. It's just too shnazzy. :)
That's right... I've had people actually making me work, which is why there haven't been many posts to the blog lately. Needless to say I'm looking forward to getting a few projects wrapped up and out to the masses.
I finally got to have a bit of a break Sunday night, and Kris and I went and saw Jason Mraz. As Kris so deftly put it, "Before we went to the concert I liked Jason Mraz, now I love him." We had an absolutely wonderful time. The show was at the Roseland Theater downtown, a really small venue, without a bad view in the house. The music was loud and fun, and Jason is a fantastic showman.
We went to Schneider's Iris Gardens on the May 10th, 2003, to celebrate Mother's Day with Kris' mom. We spent several hours there looking at all the wonderful flowers. Unfortunately, many of the irises weren't blooming yet, so I got lots of pansy and columbine photos :).
I know, I've been remiss in my posting recently. Been too busy with client and the oh-so interesting political intrigues of the Dreamweaver Newsgroup. So quite a bit has happened in the last week or three.
Zeldman has a long and interesting article on XHTML 2.
Yep, and even in a table-less layout with multiple flash elements from full navigation to a 300k movie. :-D
I apparently disappointed Jay because I didn't have a real bar code on the blog. So he graciously sent me a few of relevance, and I'm now officially tagged and labeled. You can figure out what it says...
<drool>Tivo's Home Media Option is now available.</drool> MP3's on the Bose in the living room during parties... YAY!!!!
I don't see why people have a problem with me and my shorts... not like I'm all that bad lookin'. I've been told my shorts have driven women wild and men insane... <wistful />
I sure the heck hope this is true, and not some cruel joke :). The articles states:
Let's see, we've got horrible customer service and slow connections, so let's fire all of our tech support.
I'm afraid that things have come to a head between my dad and I. I must have pushed him too far on the sushi scenarios (you'll never get me to admit I don't like it Dad). I think he's finally snapped, and in an effort to get back at me, he sent this email this morning
Got to work on a couple of sites that aren't my usual fare. They're both rap fan sites, one for Puff Daddy (what a goofy name) and another for Eminem, who I actually have a lot of respect for as a lyricist. I wouldn't want him watching my kids (if I had any) but I think he's hilarious and has a wicked wit.
Hope Al Gore isn't running for President again, cause I don't think I could vote for someone who uses a mac.
Aaaahhh... 9mm pistol magazines next to bright blue Tiffany's boxes... that's my babe... a study in contrasts.
Even though I'm not in a single picture they still managed to harass me. Wassup wif dat?
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
There's a really odd phenomenon (PHENOMENON!!!) I've noticed with geeks. If there are more than 3 in a room time seems to expand and contract at odd intervals. I looked up last night and it was 2:30am, and I was still awake. What's up with that? So I slept in this morning and skipped they keynote session (it should have been a session in itself, and not a keynote). I'm sitting in Joe and Angela's Killer Tips session right now. Always learn something good from that book :)
Just finished my first presentation. I hate talking that long :).
Are you?
Disclaimer: The following comment is more a commentary on my lack of extensibility understanding and Joe's sheer wealth of knowledge, and not a comment on the quality of his presentation :).
Jeremy's keynote didn't really do a whole lot for me. He talked about Internet 1.0 (the internet of the 90s) and what he sees as Internet 2.0 (the typical Rich Internet experience as well as web services).
The nCubed Free Image Gallery has finally been released through the DWfaq Store
I just ripped about 60 CDs in the last few days in preparation for my trip (gotta have tunes... never know what mood my strike) and I'm now having problems organizing it all. Sure, I have folders by Artist/Album, but explorer doesn't use all the wonderful information stored in the IDV3 tags.
I'm getting ready to head out for TODCON tomorrow, so of course I have to bring some movies. I'm hoping there's someone there local to Toronto that can bring some heavy duty speakers for a movie screening. My little laptop certainly won't do the trick :). Here's what I have in the CD carrier right now...
I'm working on quite a few features on the blog, but what do you, the people of the internet, feel a blog really needs? What would make you go "Honey?!?! Can you get the checkbook?". Inquiring minds want to know...
I finally got my act together and finished up the RSS feed for the blog. Thanks to Joel for pointing out that I didn't set my content type for the .asp page, so IE wasn't rendering it as XML.
I finally got around to fixing my search highlighting. It was wrapping phrases inside HTML tags (such as links) with the highlighting tags, breaking links and causing general mayhem. All fixed now though, only phrases outside of a tag are highlighted, even though phrases inside tags are searched.
Looks like my dad was right... sushi can't do anything but lead to pain and misery... the raw Tuna has turned my hair red... woe is me!!! What to do?!?!?!.
After more than 2 years with my old site design, I've finally updated Web Shorts with a new look. Hope ya like it :)
Matt has left Macromedia... what a shame...
For those of you not my family, please skip this post.
Had some more Sushi tonight (that's twice in less than a week pops ;). I wonder if there are any decent Sushi places in Toronto. Anyone? Anyone? Sushi?
That's right, I shuffled things around some more. Why? Why not?! It's my blog after all ;)
I've come to the realization that the passport clerks must take the same photography class as the guys at the DMV.
Tickets for TODCON MX North... you got yours?
Why doesn't the cat understand... I'm the one with the opposable thumbs... I'm in charge here...
Just upgraded (yep, *up*graded) from DSL to Cable. Did a few speed tests this morning and I was getting around 400k downstream on my DSL. Plugged in the new cable and Bandwidthplace.com says I'm getting better than 2gb. Hot diggidy damn...
Just got 4 copies of the new book. It looks pretty snazzy if I do say so myself...
Just got my copy of Macromedia Dreamweaver MX Killer Tips, and I must say it's quite a pretty book. It's full color and chock full of useful stuff. As the intro says, when you go to the book store, you often just flip through the book reading all the nifty little tips that there never seem to be enough of. Well... this book is nothing but tips, so how can you go wrong? I'll try to post a more in depth review of it once I get a chance to read more. I hear the intro to Chapter 8 is hilarious.
And it's only 1 o'clock... Is it Friday yet?
Liquor and X-Box make it that way...
If you look really close at the book cover of Dreamweaver MX: Advanced ASP Web Development you just might see my name ;).
Using the latest version of the image gallery now.
It's coming along nicely now. The demo here on the blog is an earlier incarnation of the script, and so it's a bit slower, and doesn't have all the goodies of the latest one. Not only will you be able to instantly add galleries, you'll be able to edit the captions, descriptions and displayed image names all online, using a Gallery Manager. All you need is correct permissions to your gallery folders and you can do it all online. Wam, bam, thank you ma'am, wonderful XML.
Just wanted to catch people up, since I've had some inquiries regarding the blog development. Things are moving slow :). I haven't made any significant additions to the application since before Thanksgiving, as I've been working on other project, such as a Dynamic Image Gallery that will allow you to display galleries of images by just uploading files. You can see pictures of my bar at the demo page.
