Ultranormal

Author: Kevin Lawver

  • Sinking In A Sea of Acronyms

    I’ve been spending a lot of time researching web services, and all sorts of XML-y acronyms. The one thing I can share from all of this research is that it seems like every single article written about web services, creating them and providing information about them was written with the express purpose of giving me a headache.

    I mean, really… can’t I just go back to trying to take over the world with my pirate ship? Do I really need a battleship built of XML documents that shells unsuspecting developers with objects, services and miles of tags? Yeah, I didn’t think so either.

  • A Book To Make You Smart (Again)

    Are you feeling stupid? Have you lost your edge in trivia games? Do you need better quality reading in your bathroom? Baby, you need Condensed Knowledge, big time. I have a copy, and although I’ve now forgotten everything I learned from it, I had a great time reading it. It’s funny, pithy, and in some cases, kind of rude. It’s the best kind of rude though, really.

    There are lots and lots of different topics, and some you can easily skip (I skipped economics at least three times). Not that it’s not good, but the psychology, all the science bits, religion and philosophy sections deserve repeat reading.

    The short articles (most less than a page), and the writing style, make this a great “pick up anywhere, put down anywhere” book. It’s been in my bathroom for the last two months, and I think I’ve read almost all of it by now (except for the damnable economics section – not that it’s bad, economics puts me to sleep, and on the toilet, that can be bad for your legs, you know). You can pick it up, flip open to any page and learn something you can use to impress your friends (or other people you might meet while you’re in the bathroom).

    So yeah… that’s my review (thanks to Mr. Smokler for hooking me up with the book). In a nutshell: it’ll make you smarter if you read it on the toilet, but too heavy to take on the plane.

  • Pickin’ Presidents

    Can’t decide who to vote for? Because Jim asked so nice in the comments to my post about voting, here’s a tip. Check out Presidential Match. It was a lot of fun during the primaries because there were more people to match against, but it’s still useful. It’s kind of Presidential politics mixed with a dating service.

    And I’m sorry I said you were in a coma… that was rude.

    And… nonDependant is still there, and it still works. If you start posting there and asking questions, it’ll live again. It’s all up to you

  • The Baby Smiles

    I Just Might Die

    How cute is this? Brian will smile and do the “very little baby giggle” rarely. He makes happy noises, but rarely smiles or laughs. We caught him in the act though, and this picture is just too friggin’ cute for words.

  • Tomcat and OS X

    Thank you, Mama Muser, now Tomcat 5 is running great, and I’m a happy guy.

  • Who Ya Votin’ For?

    I know who I’m voting for. You probably know who you’re voting for. I’m watching John Kerry speak now, and that’s who I’m going to vote for in November. If you’re going to vote for him, great! I hope he wins. If you’re planning on voting for George W. Bush, well, I wish you’d vote for John Kerry. But, if you’ve thought it through and you still plan on voting for him, that’s great. I’m glad you’ve made your choice. Please show up at the polls and vote on November 2nd, and we’ll see who wins.

    I’ve gotten too wrapped up in politics recently. I think too much is at risk in this election not to be. I think most people on either side of the spectrum feel that way. But, I’m tired of the name calling, the hatred and the acid in my stomach when I read the spin. I give up. I know who I’m voting for, and unless we find out that John Kerry rapes goats and abuses puppies, I’m still voting for him. And even then, I’d probably vote for Harry Browne (is he running again?).

    What am I saying? I’m really beyond caring at this point. This, of course, could change. I could “flip-flop”, which may qualify me for humanity at some point (what, you never changed your mind?). Sorry, there I go again.

    So, vote for who you want. Wear a t-shirt declaring it. Post all the stupid inflammatory comments you want about the horrible things about either candidate. It’s not changing my mind. It’s not changing anyone’s mind. There are three people who haven’t decided who they’re voting (or not voting for), and they’re all in comas.

    I love you, you bastards, I really do. But, can we please give this all a rest at least until the middle of October? Maybe? Please?

  • My Niece

    Tim better be careful. Samantha’s going to be a handful. That’s a “take no crap from nobody” face. Hide the guns and your little boys!!

  • Officer of Election

    Guess who’s going to be an officer of election this year. Yeah, that’s right. It’s me! If you live in Loudoun County, you can be one too. They’re apparently short this year (which is kinda surprising), so go help out. You get a hundred bucks, and all the “I Voted” stickers you can stuff down your pants (OK, I made that last part up).

  • The Windowsill Garden Goes Crazy

    The Windowsill Garden Goes Crazy

    We have five baby tomatoes, an infant pepper, and the vine is taller than I am. I think it’s a success!! In sadder garden news, I think our cilantro plant has gone feral and I’ll have to put it down. Let’s all take a moment of silence and mourn him. He made many a meal better.

  • A Little Love Song…

    I just plain love Drupal. I know, it caused the downfall of our little project (OK, not really, but it’s such a cute fallguy), but it’s working like a charm as our pirate ship. I’ve finally figured out the taxonomy stuff, got all the users lined up and put in their roles, have people submitting content left and right, and it just takes it all, keeps running and keeps us all organized.

    I love being able to see who all the new users are, what the popular nodes are and move stuff around easily. I love the flexibility of it, and its hackability (even though I’m no PHP guru, I’ve already hacked the webserver-auth, weblink, node and user modules without breaking anything).

    So, if you’ve got a community site you’re planning, definitely consider it!! It makes starting up so much easier, since all the tools you need are right there to start. OK, so it’s still a little tough to get all configured the way you want, but it’s not impossible. It just takes a little patience, and a willingness to experiment.