Well, I’ve made some progress. If you look around, you’ll find that most of the pages look the same. This site consists of several independent elements I’m using together and hopefully integrating into a whole. So far I’ve employed Moveable Type, Gallery, and phpBB2. I’m controlling all of the navigation from 3 files. I could use one, but I haven’t taken the time to sort out the logic necessary to add the appropriate number of dots and slashes depending on the navigation schemes used in the different software. I may get around to that.
For my next trick I intend to employ calendar software: Comendar. I’ve been in constant contact with the developer and we are working on some things to get it working. I’m hoping that we can get around to making it more portable. It looks great, has a great story behind it, and seems lightweight and simple enough to encourage use by me and those who wish to add dates as necessary.
If anyone reading this can think of better software for the purpose I’m anxious to listen.
We interrupt this post to feed baby immediately!

OK, so I think I’m starting to understand this software. It’s really great. I’m going to restore navigation to the rest of the site, specifically to the gallery. There’s probably a plug-in that manages URL’s so that things will continue to work when they are archived. That’s really my only annoyance, so far.

As you must know, Apple has released the new Mac mini, the iPod Shuffle, fresh iLife, and iWork. Having never really been a fan of AppleWorks, I’m not too interested in the latest incarnation, though it seems that, for some anyway, innocuous documents will look prettier. The improvements to iLife don’t affect me much either because of my lack of funds for anything HD.
The Mac Mini, on the other hand is fairly exciting to me. I do have one complaint: why the 32mb video card? I don’t understand why Apple has to lag behind in this department. It seems we mac users are consistnetly penalized with slower cards. I’m certain there is a perfectly logical explanation for this: probably cost. Still, it is my take that if the higher end Mac mini offered even a 64mb video card, they’d have a hard time keeping them on the shelves. Hopefully this won’t matter to folks buying a computer at $499.99. If you want to see something funny, go to Apple’s online store and upgrade your memory to 1gig. It almost double’s the cost!
The one rumor I wanted to be true apparently wasn’t. Sirius/Apple iPod. I’m not sure it’s the killer app, but I would have benefitted from such a collaboration.

Hey,
As you can see, things look different around here. Since I’ve become Mr. Mom, I’ve decided to move to more formal blogging software: moveable type (http://www.moveabletype.org).
I’m just learning it , so bear with me while I figure it out.

Continue reading →

This has to be the best Christmas on record. Tam and I have the best present in the world in our little one and our parents have
completely lost their minds and have spoiled us with plenty of goodies. One of which is a new digital camera from Dad which I’ve employed (in combination
with Gallery) to add a photo gallery to this site.
I’ve also just purcahsed a Pioneer Pro CD (CDJ1000MKII) player with which I hope to use to make higher quality CD’s for the Ballet here and in Charlotte.
I will also use it as my accompaniment for class and rehearsals as it alters tempo without affecting pitch. I’m hoping I’ve made a good choice. Denon and Technics have
less expensive offerings; however, I’ve been assured that the Pioneer is the best option. –Can you sense a little buyer’s remorse?– To get the best
quality possible I’m soon to invest in a pro sound card for the Mac so I can accept SPDIF. I’m completely new to it and will have yet another thing to learn.
In other news the coffee shop’s online sales are going well; especially considering we’ve done just about zero marketing.
Susan’s site is doing well, though I’m afraid that only a geek can really appreciate the changes I’ve made behind the scenes.
My cousin Tony has convinced me to purchase an
ASP book. I’m starting
it, though I am spending more time with PHP. It’s the whole Mac/Microsoft thing. Oh well. Susan’s site lives on an IIS server, so…
I think I’m done rambling for now. Check out the new gallery, add a comment if you like. You may purchase photos from a drop down on the upper right hand
side of the page.
Happy New Year!

Well, it turns out the baby loves Bach (played by Glen Gould, of course). We’re into the second part of Book I ofThe
Well Tempered Clavier. Maybe I can get my butt away from the computer and get some practice in so I can play some tunes for her myself.
In other news, I tried to get Quicktime working using a variation of the
Flash Satay method. I can get away with the Flash Satay method for Flash, but there
are weaknesses in the Quicktime method. The movies on this page load another movie in place of the one you see first. Once that movie loads and plays
through it loads the original movie and completes the loop. This is impossible with the Quicktime Satay method. One may extend the
xhtml dtd; but, that seems like a lot of trouble. I just found another page with great links I’m about to explore; maybe I’ll find the answer there.

Whew! So, I’m catching up. I’ve finally finished major work on the GBC Program. Though it
was killing me, I am happy that I’ve learned a lot more about Quark. It’s clunky and has
some really odd font behavior; still, I think I’ll add it to the list of software I like.
I realize I’ve been almost completely incommunicado lately, I will be able to be more
responsive until the baby’s arrival or The Nutcracker whichever comes first.

Things are pretty hectic around here. I’m in the middle of working on music and the program for The Nutcracker.
Susan’s got two new products, one of which is becoming my nemesis. The Coffee Shop is getting more and more orders while
Braxton and Hicks are keeping Tammy occupied. She is very ready for the baby!
I mention this because I’m starting to get backed up on returning some messages: sorry. The deadline for the program has
thankfully been pushed to Friday and I hope to be able to return to the land of the living by then. Because I’m behind the
computer, email is the best way to get in touch with me as I’ll be able to answer questions when I get a break. Hope everyone
is doing well!