Ultranormal

Author: Kevin Lawver

  • Hidden Blessings

    One of the only good things about having a really slow metabolism is that pain killers stay in my system for a very long time. Ok, maybe that’s not a good thing. I’m feeling the pain, but I’m still loopy. Writing code while high may work for some folks, but it doesn’t work for me, especially with my constant interruptions (and they are constant – why do you think I’m a winner at AIM Fight).\
    The MRI went pretty well yesterday. I looked at the films and I can see the break, and nickel sized chunk of bone hanging out. Well, I could see it before through the skin (it looks like a second ankle down and forward from my “real” ankle). I have a lot of pain on the outside of the ankle, and I couldn’t see anything broken there, but what do I know? I’m no doctor (but I’ve seen enough of my own x-rays, and played enough games with Max to know what’s broken). Oh yeah, and I either have really flat feet, or the bones in my foot are seriously out of place now.\
    I can’t wait to see what the good doctor has to say on Monday (and I may try to scan in the best MRI shot so you can see the break before the doctor takes them away from me… it’s cool-lookin’).

  • The Danger Of A Better IE?

    Roger Johannson is asking questions about the danger of a better IE, and it’s an interesting question. I’ve got no love for Microsoft. I long ago gave up Windows as my platform of choice, and I’m no fan of IE 6 (in fact, I’ve never used it as my default browser – went right from Netscape 4.7 to Mozilla).\
    But, I’m a pragmatist. Today, IE 6 is holding me back. I can’t use all the cool CSS stuff I’d like to, because I work for a really big mainstream consumer service. I have to use hacks, kluges and sometimes (heaven forbid) extra markup to execute the designs I’m given to build.\
    Do I like it? No. I positively hate it. Since I’ve been a member of the CSS Working Group, I’ve grown even more impatient. I want everything now, even stuff we’ve just talked about and not actually put down in a spec. I want to be able to use 24-bit PNGs and multiple backgrounds for more than Dashboard widgets (I built my first one last week, you should see it soon). I want to be able to stop using huge nests of descendant selectors to style navigation lists. I want to be able to use child, sibling, CSS3 attribute selectors, and all the other cool stuff we’ve been waiting years for, and can play with in newer browsers like Firefox and Safari, but can’t use in “real” products because IE is where most of the users are.\
    In the end though, I’m a pragmatist. I have to support IE and Windows, and I hope that IE 7 is everything we hope it will be (and that everyone upgrades right away). I’m willing to give Redmond the benefit of the doubt, and even help them. I want IE 7 to fix all of their problems and add all of the things from CSS2, and the CR’ed CSS3 modules so the web can move on. Will it happen? I don’t know. Even if they just finish their CSS 2.1 support and fix the box model issues, I’ll be satisfied (but not thrilled… no clapping from me).\
    If they fix their issues (security, standards support, stability, etc), good for them. I’ll clap louder than anyone. But, I’ll still use Safari and Firefox. I’ll still preach standards. I’ll still build for every browser that I can (within reason).\
    No one should delude themselves: we’re stuck with IE 6 for a while (my guess is three to three and a half years). It’s going to take a long time for people to upgrade to IE 7, even if it’s the best browser ever to grace the Windows world. It took at least four years for IE 5.5 to go (mostly) away. It took longer than that for Netscape 4.x to go away. There’s a large percentage of the computing universe that either doesn’t know how, or refuses, to upgrade anything: their computers, their OS or their software. If Microsoft doesn’t change their minds about only releasing IE 7 for XP SP2, I could be wrong, and it will be 5-6 years before we can stop worrying about IE 6.\
    Let’s put our prejudices aside for a minute and hope (selfishly so for those of us who build web stuff) that IE 7 is great. Let’s hope that it supports all of the stuff we want, and beats back the spyware/virus/adware scourge. Let’s hope they get it right, because the alternative is much, much, much worse than a better IE.

  • I almost forgot!

    Eight years ago today, Kevin and I became engaged. Happy Engagement Day! Each year we celebrate it in some way. This year though, I didn’t even remember until 10:30 at night and I think Kevin still hasn’t remembered. I guess that is what happens after 8 years, 2 kids, dealing with a broken ankle, and sink full of dirty dishes.\
    Last year’s celebration wasn’t a success either. As we were getting ready to leave for a romantic date alone (Brian was only 3 months old and this was to be our first time out), my back went out in a very embarrassing and painful way. I did get to ride in a fancy ambulance, and the first set of paramedics had to call in extra reserves, so I felt super special. I spent the afternoon in the ER followed by 3 days of drugged up bliss. Every six hours I had to nurse Brian. Other than that, Kevin took 100% care of Brian including bottle feedings, diaper changes, rocking in the middle of the night. Honestly, it was the most rest I had gotten in the three months since Brian was born.\
    The past 8 years together have been great. We’ve had a lot of successes and very few failures (let’s keep that streak going, ok?) I love him more each day and I know that I absolutely cannot live without him. He is the best husband in the world, better than I thought possible (and I had high expectations) and better than I deserve. He has made all of my dreams come true and supports me wholeheartedly. Three cheers for Kev! And now, I am going to go tell him how much I love him.

  • Joss Whedon is Veronica fan too!

    I have gone on and on about Veronica Mars all summer, trying to get more people to watch it. Well, I am in some fabulous company because Joss Whedon loves it too. Here is an excerpt, in which he calls it the Best. Show. Ever:\
    bq. Joss Luvs Veronica.\
    bq. I just finished a crazed Veronica Marsathon, and I can no longer restrain myself. Best. Show. Ever. Seriously, I’ve never gotten more wrapped up in a show I wasn’t making, and maybe even more than those. Crazy crisp dialogue. Incredibly tight plotting. Big emotion, I mean BIG, and charsimatic actors and I was just DYING from the mystery and the relationships … laugh all you want, I had to share this. These guys know what they’re doing on a level that intimidates me.\
    This is what I have been saying too! And this from the man who created Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly, and is a god to many. So this is high praise indeed.\
    Don’t you want to watch Veronica Mars and see what all the talk is about? Now is the time to tune in to Veronica Mars. These last episodes set up everything to come and answer everything from before. Tune in Wednesdays at 9pm on UPN or check local listings for a weekend rereun.

  • Brian, Being Cute

    He can’t help it, he just is. I love this age. He’s not old enough to talk back, but is old enough to play. He’s so happy most of the time, whether we’re rolling the ball, playing peek-a-boo, he’s chasing Max around the basement, or we’re wrestling (watch out for his flying elbow, it’s a killer). Everything is new, interesting, and unfortunately, usually gets eaten.

  • My Foot Is Busterated

    I love waiting when I know what the outcome’s going to be. I have to have surgery to repair the navicular bone (near the ankle). Well, not really “repair”, more like “remove”. Then they’ll reinforce the tendon. It’s “serious”, according to my doctor. He told me, “You’re about to do something very difficult.” Yeah, that’s exactly what I want to hear from a doctor.\
    Now, I’m waiting around for my insurance company to approve an MRI so we can find out how “difficult” this is going to be. After the MRI, I get to wait a week, then I see the doctor, then I get cut on. Oh, then the fun begins. I’ll be short a bone in my foot, in a cast for a while, then in physical therapy for who knows how long.\
    And herein lies the silence. It’s hard to walk in the boot. It’s hard to drive. It’s hard to sit at a computer. It’s hard to sleep. And it’s only going to get harder.\
    So, I write my presentations, I help my people, I talk to folks and I take a lot of ibuprofen. Oh, and redesign this site, read up on Ruby and thinking of building something worth trying Rails for. Oh, and I’m working on my very own microformat.\
    And tomorrow, it’s time to compile all the comments on the big CSS Question, sort them and start coming up with some concrete proposals.

  • The Aristocrats

    After reading Salon’s review, I have to go see it. I’m all about jokes you shouldn’t tell, and smart ways to gross people out.\
    When I lived in Tucson, my friend Jim and I used to play this game where we one-upped each other until one of us gave and did the “here’s the line, and here’s you” pantomime thing. It was great fun, and I don’t really get to play that game anymore (because really, how do you find those people who like playing those games without offending everyone?).\
    This game was even more fun when we did our public access TV show with Brain and the gang. A whole room of people up for the game, late on a Saturday night, with three phone lines, a camera and lots of stupid props. It was way too much fun, and I miss it. It was silly and juvenile, and we loved every minute of it.\
    And if you know me… that’s pretty much what I live for.

  • Note to Self

    If a baby is allowed to run around naked while trying to air out diaper rash and then poops, the baby will try to eat the poop.

  • My rant

    I am so bored and so over summer! I like the Fall. It needs to be Fall now. But it is still 3 months away. So, I need fudge and frozen custard to get me back in the swing of things. My diet lasted all of one day and then Kevin brought home some yummy cookies from Great Harvest and I ate them all. I’m such a master of will power, aren’t you jealous? My foot hurts so I can’t do what I should be doing. Brian is uber-cranky and I am sick of shows from the Food Network! (Max likes them though.) My little bitty cousin is getting married in a few months and that makes me feel old, cuz oh yea, I am old. The End. Continue what you were doing.\
    PS- Watch Veronica Mars on Wednesdays, on UPN at 9pm and Fridays, on CBS at 8pm. Also, the DVDs are available for pre-order now.

  • This One’s For Heather: Podcasts and Mashups

    This one’s for Heather. Max and I went to dinner with my mom, brother and sister last night and we ended up talking about mashups and podcasts. Heather wanted me to send her some links, but I’d hate to go through all that effort only to repeat it when someone else asks me. So, this post will get e-mailed around to folks (hi, folks) when they ask me what a mashup or a podcast is or how they can get some.\

    <dl>
    <dt>mashup</dt>
    <dd>Taking any musical work or works and turning them into something else. This isn’t a cover, which is someone performing a song. It’s usually taking the recorded version of the song and combining it with other recorded elements (usually other songs… you know, mashing them up!).</dd>
    <dt>podcast</dt>
    <dd>Recording an audio file and posting it to a website. I know, it’s more than that, but that’s it, really. The real hook to podcasting is syndicating those audio files and producing them on a semi-regular basis so people can use their feed reader of choice to download them automatically to their iPod (hence “pod”casting) or to their music player of choice.</dd>
    </dl>
    \
    I’ve only recently gotten into listening to podcasts, and have just a couple favorites:

    # Radio Clash: This is first for good reason. Tim puts together a fun show, with just the right balance of talk and music. He picks the best mashups out there and throws them together with interesting conversation about what’s going on in his world. Good stuff. Show 38 (the most recent) isn’t a good representation of a “normal” show, so you might want to start with Show 37

    # Coverville: Not mashups, but this guy is funny, and he picks some hilarious covers to play. Covers are another secret passion of mine. It all started in Tucson listening to KXCI (the best radio station ever) and hearing Social Distortion‘s cover of Ring of Fire followed by an accordian-laden cover of the same. I was hooked.

    # Odeo: They don’t make ’em, but they’re the easiest way I’ve found so far to find ’em and download ’em.\
    As for mashups, there are a few folks who produce world-class stuff (at least that I’ve found). Here are my faves:

    • The Kleptones – A Night At The Hip-Hopera is probably my all-time favorite mashup. I can listen to it for hours and hours.
    • Pheugoo: Some really good techno mashups, my favorites being La Naughty Femme, Dip It Joe and Roses for Lindy.
    • DJ BC (link not working at the moment): dj BC and The Beastles is priceless. He mashed Meet The Beatles with The Beastie Boys and it’s magical.
    • Pop Razors: They’ve got some stinkers, but Climbin’ Deeper is unbelievable. You will shake much booty.\
      Of course, the music industry hates mashups and it’s not quite sure what to do with podcasts. But, they hated the CD at first too, and same folks thought that the VCR would kill them. They don’t have a very good track record with being right, do they?\
      Enjoy ’em while you can!