Archive of October 2004

Sunday, October 31, 2004

PolarBlog V1.2.1 Released

I've released PolarBlog V1.2.1 to fix a very minor comment display issue.  This change simply correct the comment word count display to match the new entry word count display…which was changed to save some space in the last release.  You can live without this update unless you are anal and easily annoyed by these sorts of things as I am!  If you want to do a quick update, download the update and then just copy the "lib/PolarBlog_class.php" file from the tar file.
October 31, 2004 @ 07:35 am | Category:

Feed Page Update

I've made a couple of changes to my RSS Feeds page.  First I've added a link at the top to take you back to the feed selection list which is very helpful when you are viewing a very long feed.  You no longer need to scroll to the bottom to get back to the feed list!

Secondly and more importantly, I've reworked the page feed to display the description text for each entry instead of just a link to the remote item.  Besides helping provide  some context for the item, it allows you to view sites like Boing Boing in a work safe manner without the work offensive advertising.

11/20/04
I've added the entry publication date next to the entry title assuming there is one.  It seems most feeds don't bother to include this information for some reason.  I've also made some changes to the underlying RSS retrieval mechanism that required some coding changes to a third party package.  I've submitted these changes to the owner in hopes that he will incorporate them into the package.  I will be documenting the reasons for the changes and the technical details in another post once I know whether he is accepting them or whether I'm branching the code.

12/10/04
More changes to the feed page, this time mostly internal code restructuring.  One obviously viewable change is the addition of numerous feeds.  Another change is that when you now hover over the "site link", there is now a title on the link.  Truly is the little things!

12/28/04
I've written a utility to automatically fetch all of the outdated feeds (currently) at two minute after the hour from 7am to 5pm except on weekends.  This automatic feed refresh during weekdays should make the feed content pages now appear very quickly.  I've selected this schedule as being the primary (and likely the only!) user of this page, it makes my life better.  And that's the primary purpose of most everything that goes on around here!  Previously each feed was fetched on demand and then cached for an hour.  Now the utility will fetch and cache them automatically.  If for some reason that fails and/or the page is outdated (e.g. on weekends), the page will be fetched and cached in real-time (as it was previously).

I believe this will be the last update on the RSS feeds…for a while.  Okay, there may be some additions/subtractions to the feeds, but it's now working the way I've wanted it too since I started playing with it.  Any further RSS feed work will likely be some sort of integration to allow external feeds in PolarBlog, but that's off beyond the horizon.

1/29/05
A minor tweak…the automated feed schedule is now 7am to 8pm M-F and 5am-10am on the weekends.  This pretty much covers my usage periods.  One wonders why I just don't go to 24x7 and get it over with! ;)
October 31, 2004 @ 07:12 am | Category:
Friday, October 29, 2004

PolarBlog V1.2.0 Released

PolarBlog V1.2.0 has been released.  The changes in this release are covered it the previous PolarBlog V1.2 Roadmap entry.
October 29, 2004 @ 07:37 am | Category:
Thursday, October 28, 2004

Sick, Twisted & Funny

This is just too Sick, Twisted & Funny to pass up!  Very disturbing but yet I couldn't help but laugh.  I know, I'm going to hell, but I surely won't be alone!
October 28, 2004 @ 03:40 pm | Category:

Irony

Irony
October 28, 2004 @ 12:53 pm | Category:

Sound and Beauty

Many, many years ago I used to dream of owning a true audiophile listening system.  Suffice to say that the unlimited financial resources required for such a venture have never materialized and likely never will.  But if they ever do, I can say with certainty that such a setup will most definately include some of the absolutely beautiful work by electron luv.  Not only are these works of art, it would appear that they are sonic marvels.
October 28, 2004 @ 07:45 am | Category:
Wednesday, October 27, 2004

Rice-Boy

I don't live in Cali, but I see more than enough of these things.  Very humorous, unless you are one of these people!
October 27, 2004 @ 05:10 pm | Category:
Tuesday, October 26, 2004

Lost in Place

Just enjoying a few days of R&R while my parents are in town visiting me and my family.  Last week was brutally long and arduous, but well worth it…I've accepted a position at Synacor as a "Code Review Engineer" beginning November 8th.  Thus I notified my current employer, Choice One Communications that November 5th will be my last day there.  In my new position I will initially be working with the different programming groups to learn their system.  After a couple of months I will be responsible for making sure these groups all stay on the same page and do things in a consistent and compatible manner.  Quite an exciting new challenge for me and I'm very much looking forward to it.

We had a very nice weekend and went out to Becker Farms on Saturday to pick pumpkins.  This has sort of become a tradition for Mary Lou and I and it was especially nice to have my parents along with us this year.  Sunday was largely spent lounging around whereby I've either cracked, broke or did something awful to my ribs just left of my sternum.  I was wrestling with Colin and he was pushing against them with his feet when I felt this rather unpleasant "POP"!  It's not slowing me down too much, but it is rather uncomfortable and occasionally painful if it gets squeezed at all.

And tomorrow it's back to the working world again.
October 26, 2004 @ 07:26 am | Category:
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