tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40821362024-03-07T19:04:05.720-05:00Gimlet EyesJake's Weapon of Mass DistractionJakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13985038190962063448noreply@blogger.comBlogger449125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4082136.post-55756528812435170242008-10-31T14:35:00.001-04:002008-10-31T14:35:28.204-04:00FRIDAY FOOD FOR THOUGHT<p>GM. Chrysler and the viability of the (indigenous) US auto industry in on my mind a lot. While product seems to have taken a back seat to management, <a href="http://arstechnica.com/articles/culture/chevy-volt-overview.ars">here's a take on the upcoming Chevy Volt -the most hotly anticipated automobile to come from a domestic manufacturer in at least a generation- from a tech authority, Ars Technica</a>. Of course, <a href="http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/editorial-chrysler-suicide-watch-41-rip/">this sobering editorial in alt-news car site The Truth About Cars</a> sums up what will probably happen to Chrysler (read: dead man walking) as the clock strikes twelve.</p> <p>Shabbat Shalom.</p> Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13985038190962063448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4082136.post-19980325947459653542008-10-10T08:41:00.001-04:002008-10-10T08:41:59.678-04:00KATH & KIM<p><a title="Hulu: Pilot episode" href="http://www.hulu.com/watch/38491/kath-and-kim-pilot">Kath & Kim</a> answers the burning question no one asked: What would happen if a vapid mother/daughter combo were fed a steady diet of junk TV and tabloid news. At least Molly Shannon, aka the female Will Ferrell gets facetime. I like her.</p> Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13985038190962063448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4082136.post-21946526948752498152008-10-07T19:22:00.001-04:002008-10-07T19:22:14.463-04:00THE SKY IS NOT FALLING<p>I'm not referring to the financial crisis, for which I am unqualified to comment and for which the sky may<em> indeed</em> be falling. I am referring to the election. Here are some of the cyclical comments I hear every four years:</p> <ul> <li>This election <em>really m</em>atters</li> <li>The other guy will lead us on the roads to ruin <em>for sure</em></li> <li><em>That guy is a closet antisemite/muslim/socialist/hippie/elitist/liberal/oil sucking vampire</em></li> <li>If that guy is voted in I'm definitely decamping to <em>Canada/Europe/Israel</em></li> <li>He's <em>not experienced/too experienced</em></li> <li>He's a hopeless <em>outsider/insider</em></li> <li>He's too <em>young/old</em></li> <li>He panders to the <em>left/right/center/religious right/nutroots/netroots/loony left/Jews </em>(always the Jews)</li> <li>Twenty years ago he <em>said that/did this/was seen talking to him/tied his shoelaces like that</em></li> </ul> <p>My simple rules:</p> <ul> <li>Vote your conscience.</li> <li>Don't believe most of the dirt being dished -especially as we get down to the wire. </li> <li>Politicians are by definition slippery</li> <li>The world won't end on November 5th no matter who wins the election.</li> <li>Once it's over, unite behind our elected leader.</li> <li>Remember, it's <strong><em>always</em></strong> between a <a title="South Park Episode: Douche and Turd" href="http://www.southparkstudios.com/episodes/103888">giant douchebag and a turd sandwich</a>.</li> </ul> Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13985038190962063448noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4082136.post-43169212992570539752008-09-26T11:48:00.001-04:002008-09-26T12:45:55.932-04:00FLYING PAGODA<p>Does your national constitution determine what your space vehicles look like? Witness <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tT_AWx7dgjg">China's Shenzhou-7</a>, resembling nothing as much as a flying pagoda. Looking back, Russia's spacecraft look <a title="Soyuz launch vehicle" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz_launch_vehicle">blunt and workmanlike</a> and <a title="Ares I, NASA's next generation people mover" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ares_I">America</a>, <a title="Ariane 5" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tT_AWx7dgjg">Europe</a> and <a title="H-2A" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H-IIA">Japan</a>'s always look shiny and new. Discuss.</p> Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13985038190962063448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4082136.post-54458887824561903312008-08-19T11:37:00.001-04:002008-08-19T11:39:00.472-04:00RAISING GOLDFISH<p>So I've been an avid keeper of <a title="black moor - one variant that I keep" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Moor">ornamental goldfish</a> for about eight years now and I've learned a lot about keeping the little critters alive and happy. To boil it down to two simple rules that should get you past the "they died after 1 week" stage of ownership:</p> <ol> <li>Get as much <a title="bio-wheels, what I use" href="http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/Filtration.html#Bio%20Wheel%20Filters">filtration</a> as you can afford</li> <li>Pre-soak any <a title="Hikari Oranda Gold. Smelly, but the best dry food, if you can get it" href="http://www.hikari.info/gold/g_04.html">dry food</a> that can expand.</li> </ol> <p>That's it! There's lots more, but those two pearls of wisdom should get you past  the weekly funerals at sea phase of fish ownership into the rewarding world of watching these beautiful creatures grow and respond to your presence.</p> Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13985038190962063448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4082136.post-71052805561456236762008-08-08T13:58:00.001-04:002008-08-08T13:58:41.486-04:00SNOWL<p>Mozilla labs, those wild and crazy guys who brought you <a href="http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/">Firefox</a> and <a href="http://www.mozilla.com/thunderbird/">Thunderbird</a>, are working on a new breed of message reader. <a href="http://labs.mozilla.com/2008/08/introducing-snowl/">The prototype is called Snowl</a>. Clearly, messaging from the consumption side is broken, When I need to fire up several different mail readers to see all my messages, as well as an IM client (thanks for at least aggregating all my online presences into one client, <a href="http://www.pidgin.im/">Pidgin</a>) and a Twitter client (<a href="http://www.twhirl.org/">twhirl</a>, if you must know) something is wrong. Not to mention my massive feed consumption, which I currently manage with <a href="http://www.google.com/reader">Google Reader</a>. Kudos for Mozilla for thinking about the idea. The last entity -<a href="http://www.osafoundation.org/">OSAF</a>- that tried to bring fresh ideas to this space crashed and burned and is only now releasing a 1.0 watered down version of their original concept.</p> <p>FYI, I originally migrated my feeds from the Firefox <a href="http://sage.mozdev.org/">Sage</a> add-on to Google Reader in an attempt to curb my voracious feed reading appetitive. The theory at the time was that Reader was slower, less intuitive and less accesible than Sage. As it turned out, Reader has matured into a wonderful feed readr -the best IMHO so I'm as infoholic as ever. Sharing and compositing feeds with Reader is a treat as well.</p> Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13985038190962063448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4082136.post-23153364519639794202008-08-07T13:01:00.001-04:002008-08-07T13:01:32.564-04:00BUMP IN THE SKY<p><a href="http://mfile.akamai.com/22165/wmv/spacex.download.akamai.com/22165/F1-003.asx">A high-res video of the failed 3rd launch attempt of SpaceX's Falcon 1.</a> Watch the very end, where the stage separation goes bump. Essentially, the switch between an ablatively cooled engine in the first 2 attempts and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regenerative_cooling">regeneratively cooled</a> main booster engine in the third attempt caused the problem. Because there's residual thrust in a regen-engine -even after engine cutoff- the stages bumped after separation, causing loss of the rocket.<br><br>Rocket science is hard.</p> Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13985038190962063448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4082136.post-39928043945342327742008-07-25T13:42:00.001-04:002008-07-25T13:42:54.190-04:00I'M STILL ALIVE<p>This blog has been pretty quite for the last 3/4 of a year or so. For the most part, I've not had much to say. Lately, though, I've had a creative burst of energy and I'm grappling with how to channel it. I'd like to be able to resume blogging or adding to the public discourse in some manner (podcasting, twitter, etc.) but I'd like it to be more significant than my past efforts. The correct channel and theme for my efforts is still under consideration. In the meantime, sit back, light a <a title="candles for men, such scents as "the ballpark" and "sawdust."" href="http://www.manterns.com/">mantern</a>, relax and enjoy these lazy summer nights.</p> Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13985038190962063448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4082136.post-40479436717348417802008-07-04T15:56:00.001-04:002008-07-04T15:56:42.602-04:00EASY MONEY<p><a href="http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/2008/pulpit_20080704_005191.html">Cringely ponders the subprime mess</a>, what's next for internet business and why aren't there bank service providers that actually look out for YOU.</p> Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13985038190962063448noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4082136.post-45685550797429897932008-06-20T12:41:00.001-04:002008-06-20T12:42:02.539-04:00MY BEST STEAK ENTRY<p>I propose a best steak of summer competition. <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/jakeochs/Steak">Here's my entry</a>. A double-thick cut ribsteak, rare, grilled to perfection (IMHO) with a beautiful crusty shell.</p> Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13985038190962063448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4082136.post-85876655985366422192007-11-23T11:33:00.000-05:002007-11-23T11:47:43.290-05:00GIVING THANKS<p>This was a week for reconnecting. First, Lorraine and I went to <span title="lit: seven blessings, a ceremonial dinner during the week after a wedding">sheva brachot</span> for my stepfather's grandson Ariel. It was in Queens, so we got to see a lot of Queens people we haven't seen in awhile. Usually, I get to say hello around the <span title="High Holy Days">Yomim Noraim</span>, when I go to my Mom's for Rosh HaShanah, but this year we went to my in-law's instead. It was especially nice for me because I think the world of the families that I know from Queens. In addition to being sterling individuals, all, they were there for myself and my family during some dark times after my father's passing.</p><p>Moving on To Thanksgiving. I got to spend time with my only Aunt and only set of first cousins. I also have not seen them for quite some time and it was nice to watch all the kids -second cousins- play together. Did I mention that the turkey with all the trimmings and mulled wine were superb? Well, they were. After dinner, we watched home <strike>movies</strike> DVD's and had dessert. Then it was time to stroll down the block (from my aunt) to one of my closest friend's to say hello and see his baby boy. We haven't seen baby Daniel since his bris, so that was a special treat too. He's a real cutie. The only disappointing note was not being able to spend time with the Millers and Bodeks as originally planned back home in Passaic. Overall, this was a Thanksgiving week for the books. Good family, good friends, good food...</p><p>GOOD NIGHT!</p>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13985038190962063448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4082136.post-67270112580000902612007-11-19T16:12:00.001-05:002007-11-19T16:12:28.706-05:00MONDAY ETCETERA<p>Find out our neighborhood's "Walk Score" with <a href="http://www.walkscore.com">walkscore.com</a>. (Hat Tip: <a href="http://www.joelonsoftware.com/">Joel</a>)</p> <p><a href="http://blog.wired.com/defense/2007/11/joshua-r-fairle.html#more">An Army engineer radically improves IED detection using drones by gaming the system in virtual worlds</a>. (Hat Tip: <a href="http://www.blackfive.net/">Blackfive</a>)</p> <p>Just finished watching <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0273923/">Orange County</a> on Netflix on-demand. Great movie. Starring the progeny of two great actors: Colin Hanks (Tom Hanks' son) and Schuyler Fisk (Sissy Spacek's daughter.) Recommended</p>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13985038190962063448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4082136.post-17531441711120532772007-11-18T12:16:00.001-05:002007-11-18T12:16:22.585-05:00NEW STANDARDS<p>If you grew up schooled on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWqCReOXjZM&feature=related">Ernie's classic Rubber Ducky song</a> (Rubber Ducky, you're the one! Squeak! Squeak!) Be forewarned that there's a new Rubber Duck song for the next generation. Yes, Ernie has a new Rubber Ducky standard, the Reggae-ish <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsjbEWKK8AU">Do De Rubber Duck</a>. It's catchy.</p> <p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tracy_Jordan">Tracy Jordan</a>'s (30 Rock character) <a href="http://www.nbc.com/30_Rock/video/#mea=166060">Werewolf Bar Mitzvah</a> is one of those sitcom songs that should inspire a real, full-length video.</p>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13985038190962063448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4082136.post-60046762724507757602007-11-15T10:49:00.001-05:002007-11-15T10:49:28.373-05:002 GOOD READS FROM THE PREMIER COMBAT REPORTERS OF OUR TIMES<p>If you don't read <a href="http://michaelyon-online.com/">Michael Yon</a> or <a href="http://hotzone.yahoo.com/">Kevin Sites</a>, you should.</p> <p><a href="http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/ver/249.0/popup/index.php?cl=4977902">Kevin Sites short video documentary of a 23 year old suicide bombing survivor from Tel Aviv</a>.</p> <p><a href="http://michaelyon-online.com/wp/a-consumer-reports-geared-for-combat-ii.htm">Michael Yon on the cameras he uses for combat photography.</a></p>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13985038190962063448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4082136.post-27575177040676268522007-11-06T10:37:00.001-05:002007-11-06T10:39:41.127-05:00BRIAN WILLIAMS?<p>Saturday Night Live this season has been lackluster, to say the least. Every time I'm about to give up on the show, though, they manage to pull a rabbit out of a hat. Last season, <a href="http://peytonmanning.com/">Peyton Manning</a> hosted a great show, including <a href="http://www.milkandcookies.com/link/59855/detail/">this gem of a sketch</a>. His <a title="Public Service Announcement" href="http://www.totaldiatribe.com/?p=35">"PSA"</a> was also talked about quite a bit. This weekend, Brian Williams unexpectadly hosted a great show. From the opening sketch of <a href="http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/index.shtml#mea=179711">Hillary's Halloween party with a cameo by the real Barack Obama</a>, to a strong monologue and some real good understated performances by Mr. Williams as a firefighter on Bronx Beat" and a somnolent Publisher's Clearinghouse winner, this one's a keeper. I don't know why, but it's always the guests you least expect to have a funny bone that end up raising the bar on that show. Sadly, SNL still remains on life support.</p>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13985038190962063448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4082136.post-23850915946458536102007-10-17T08:35:00.001-04:002007-10-17T08:35:18.703-04:00IT'S ABOUT TIME<p><a title="NYTimes, Free registration req'd" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/17/nyregion/17direction.html">The New York City Subway system is putting orientation decals on the sidewalk outside of subway stations</a>. </p>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13985038190962063448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4082136.post-67359486775228815742007-10-10T10:17:00.001-04:002007-10-11T19:09:32.681-04:00THINGS I DID NOT KNOW DEPT.<p><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000380/">Robert Duvall</a> played Boo Radley in the 1962 Gregory Peck, Harper Lee classic <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056592/">To Kill A Mockingbird</a>. It was Duvall's first role on the silver screen. I loved that movie for many reasons, my favorite being Peck's Atticus' use of the word "temerity" in one of his court tirades. Try sneaking a word like that into today's mass-market cinematic fare and just watch the ensuing glassy-eyed, blank stares.</p><p>Until the next time my fancy is struck...</p>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13985038190962063448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4082136.post-20861738265491687352007-09-05T09:42:00.001-04:002007-09-05T09:43:17.381-04:00LONG, BUSY SUMMER<p>I feel like the alma mater scene at the end of <a href="http://www.dirtydancing.com/">Dirty Dancing</a>, when staff and guests of <a href="http://www.gifts.com/search/product/Kellermans-Dirty-Dancing-t-shirt?ideaID=9921&prodID=115324">Kellerman's</a> sing the hotel's farewell song. Summer's over folks, it's been great. Ready or not. Here comes the <a title="Holidays">chagim</a>, school, jackets and real life. Where to begin:</p> <ol> <li>We MOVED! My sister and brother in law and family decided to live in Israel on a trial basis, so we're housesitting the manse until they decide where to live. This could take awhile. <li>My back went out and suddenly I felt every inch my thirty-five years. Thankfully, it seems to be recovering rapidly and with some preemptive stretching exercises should be fine. <li>My oldest had her first day of school. Playgroup, really, but it was a momentous occasion for Mother and Father. Said daughter took it all in stride and enjoyed every minute of her first day. (Sniff, how soon they grow!) <li>I assisted in launching <a href="http://www.tiftorah.org/">my synagogue's online lecture and study website</a>. Users can click in to listen or download lectures on various Torah topics. I'm hoping for some major heavenly brownie points for this one. <li>I (re)wrote the bulk of a major bank's retail money wire application. When it goes live, it will be the most highly trafficked application I've written in at least ten years. <li>My good friend <a href="http://www.dirtyfez.com/2007/08/in-which-i-reveal-mysterious-things.html">Kat got engaged</a>! <li>THIS JUST IN TO THE <a title="What The F***">WTF</a> DEPARTMENT: <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,295753,00.html">German terror plotters <em>were collecting unemployment</em> benefits while their main occupation was the (terror) plot</a>.</li></ol>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13985038190962063448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4082136.post-82097076836119487432007-08-08T07:17:00.001-04:002007-08-08T07:17:12.061-04:00GO GO CODE MONKEY!<p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqTaqVi9J8k&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Egoogle%2Ecom%2Freader%2Fview%2F">Work safe music video</a>. Hat tip: <a href="http://blogs.sun.com/roumen/">Roumen</a></p>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13985038190962063448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4082136.post-46926723396146999002007-07-12T13:24:00.001-04:002007-07-12T13:33:55.610-04:00IMPORTANT SAFETY NOTICE<a href="http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/jul2007/db20070711_487422.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_businessweek+exclusives">This article in BusinessWeek</a> about unsafe tires made in China is sobering. In the wake of storiesW about <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18985512/">unsafe foodstuffs</a> and <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/2007-05-09-petfood-managers-detained_N.htm">chemicals</a> sourced from the Chinese mainland, this tire story indicates a trend. So my advice is: Know the country of origin of consumables you buy that may impact the safety or well being of you and yours. It appears that the basics of quality control and civic responsibility are severely lacking in China and you should factor this into account when shopping on price for your purchases.Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13985038190962063448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4082136.post-78310959722695835742007-07-08T22:17:00.001-04:002007-07-09T19:50:37.452-04:00TWOFOR<p>If you're a programming nerd, <a href="http://typicalprogrammer.com/programming/abject-oriented/">this essay on abject-oriented programming</a> is hilarious. (Hat tip: Ned.) <a href="http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2007/06/29.html">Joel's review of some management tomes</a>, has me seriously considering going out and buying some.</p>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13985038190962063448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4082136.post-70830157152216701292007-06-27T09:44:00.001-04:002007-06-27T11:09:28.850-04:00MY AUTO-AERO FEED<p>I just noticed that you can make your tagged categories available as a feed from <a href="http://www.google.com/reader">Google Reader</a>. I'm so happy I switched to Reader from <a href="http://sage.mozdev.org/">Sage</a> awhile back as my primary RSS experience. Google constantly adds interesting new features that enhance the recombinant nature of feed consumption in ways that are useful to me. I just discovered a new aerospace related blog that I added to the feed this morning: <a href="http://www.jetwhine.com/">Jetwhine</a>. Oh yeah, <a href="http://www.google.com/reader/shared/user/10645985067216594008/label/auto--aero">here's the link to my auto--aero tagged feeds</a>.</p>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13985038190962063448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4082136.post-8020279897448711312007-06-26T17:12:00.001-04:002007-06-27T14:10:37.733-04:00PLASTIC FANTASTIC<p>I love airplanes. <a href="http://flightblogger.blogspot.com/2007/06/under-cover-of-darkness.html">This scoop on the soon-to-be-revealed very first Boeing 787 Dreamliner</a> -mark the calendar, July 8, 2007 (7-8-7, get it?)- has me pretty excited. The 787 is the first commercial jet who's primary structure is composite (read: plastic) which, due to its of its being stronger and lighter than the alloys mostly used until now, will result in increased cabin pressure and comfort and larger windows. Yay!</p>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13985038190962063448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4082136.post-86830627071647861012007-06-21T21:18:00.001-04:002007-06-21T21:19:54.449-04:00IT"S A CULT<p>In the course of my current work, I stumbled upon Drupal. I've heard of <a href="http://drupal.org/">Drupal</a> in the past -it's the <a href="http://slashdot.org/">open source</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Content_management_system">content management system</a> (CMS, for short) that <a href="http://drupalsites.net/">powers thousands of web sites</a>. Some of the biggies use it, like <a href="http://slashdot.org/">slashdot</a>. The beauty of a CMS is that it takes the drudgery of building a website out of your hands. Content creation, categorization and relationships are baked into the product. Additionally, and most importantly Drupal has a large and vibrant ecosystem of users and developers that contribute to the project and user community. Drupal is written on top of the so-called AMP stack (<a href="http://httpd.apache.org/">Apache webserver</a>, <a href="http://www.mysql.com/">MySQL</a> relational database, <a href="http://www.php.net/">PHP</a> programming language) -commonly referred to as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LAMP_%28software_bundle%29">LAMP</a> (Add <a href="http://www.linux.org/">Linux</a> at the front.) Its architecture is one of the reasons that historically I've not paid much attention to it. I've only recently caved and started to develop in PHP in response to some new clients' needs. While my gripes about the encapsulation and interoperability of this development toolset remain, I can't help but be impressed by the massive amount of "plain 'ole it just works" products out there that have been developed with this stuff. It's not an exaggeration to say that possibly the largest single chunk of web faff out there is deployed using LAMP.</p> <p>But I digress. Drupal is what has me jizzed at the moment. All three new clients I've taken on have unique requirements that can be relatively easily met with Drupal and some additional modules. My favorite module so far has been the Audio module, which snapped in to a Drupal installation like a dream and provided instant podcasting support for my local synagogue. The most powerful and far-reaching modules I've encountered so far are the view module, which provides custom and themeable views and the CCK module, which is a powerful extension for adding custom fields to Drupal content types, or nodes, in Drupal parlance. Yes, <a href="http://drupal.org/node/21951">they have a parlance</a>. The user community is rabid in its devotion to this. I've been immersed in Drupal for almost two weeks now and have learned a lot from two podcasts in particular. The <a href="http://www.geeksandgod.com/episode38">Geeks & God podcast on Podcasting with Drupal</a> pointed me to the solution I'm using at one site. The <a href="http://www.lullabot.com/podcast">Lullabot podcast</a> is pretty much the bees knees on Drupal podcasting, <span title="As Far As I Know" style="cursor: help">AFAIK</span>. It seems that the Lullabot crew are also quite definitive in all their Drupal work. I've been having trouble setting up a proper Drupal development including remote debugging, but <a href="http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/edu/i-dw-i-osource3.html?S_TACT=105AGX46&S_CMP=overview">this tutorial on the IBM website</a> (of all places!) may address that problem. To paraphrase the Sony exec interviewed in <a href="http://www.lullabot.com/audiocast/lullabot_podcast_no_39_doug_gottlieb_of_sony_bmg_records">Lullabot podcast 39</a>: "It seemed like the Drupal community was a cult. My experience has been that with technology cults are a good thing." So there you have it, I've joined a cult! Feel the Love. Peace Out.</p>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13985038190962063448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4082136.post-71992935813491555842007-06-14T11:31:00.001-04:002007-06-14T16:53:09.525-04:00IT'S GENETIC<p>Apparently my early childhood penchant for trudging out the door with a suitcase or briefcase and "going to Florida" has been inherited by my oldest. Yesterday morning, she insisted on taking her suitcase with her on our walk. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jakemono/548127329/">So cute</a>. So <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_memory_in_fiction">genetic memory</a> isn't just a plot point on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stargate_SG-1">Stargate SG-1</a> (geek alert.)</p> <p>NOTES KILLER? Is <a href="http://code.google.com/apis/gears/index.html">Google Gears</a> a potential competitor to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_Notes">Lotus Notes</a> in the offline space? Probably not, at least in the near term, although it could be if used properly by savvy developers. I'm reminded of <a title="Domino Off-Line Services" href="http://www-142.ibm.com/software/sw-lotus/products/product4.nsf/wdocs/dols">DOLS</a>, a Lotus offering that provides a similar functionality. DOLS has more industrial-grade support for security and application development than Gears probably has -at least at this point in time. DOLS is a huge, hairy download, though. Gears seems to be elegantly simple and lightweight, like most <a href="http://labs.google.com/">Google ideas</a>. </p> <p>STIIL TRUCKIN' I'm writing this post using <a href="http://writer.live.com">Windows Live Writer</a>. WLW is he first <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fat_client">rich client</a> app I've been comfortable using tor blogging since the late, great <a href="http://gimleteyes.blogspot.com/2004/07/notes-from-fringe.html">Sauce Reader</a>. Blogger's <a href="http://buzz.blogger.com/bloggerforword.html">Blogger for Word add-in</a> is unacceptable to me as it keeps Word's proprietary style information in the uploaded HTML, which I <strike>hate</strike> strongly dislike.</p> <p>CORRECTION. My sister Bena says I would go to California, not Florida. I was too young to remember the details myself.</p>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13985038190962063448noreply@blogger.com0