Author: Thom

Not very surprising. As much of a nerd/geek I’ve been most of my life, I break a lot of the stereotypes.

(thanks to Sandy)

So I told you that things got all fudged up on Tuesday, but gave nary a detail. Now I’ll try to recount my stupidity.

For starters, I absolutely LOVE the way WordPress has been progressing. And due to my impatience, I became a fairly early adopter of using the more “cutting edge” builds. I just couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into static pages (see the “About” page), themes (ok, I’m still using Kubrick, but at least it’s handled as a bundled theme), and the various admin improvements. Now that the Dashboard is a truly functional page (it displays the 5 latest posts and comments, as well as drafts, stats, and the latest from the Dev Blog)… well I’m just giddy. The point of all this is that I’m running the beta version here and often lose my head in the “excitement” of upgrades.
Continue reading “Wha’ppen?”

Apparently I’m suing Apple. That’s right, I’ve grown tired of not being able to use other stores with my iPod… Wait a second, I don’t own an iPod. And I’m not from California. Is this some sort of evil twin? With the same name? Who probably doesn’t even look like me?!?!

I found it amusing. Especially since I hate Apple. So I like the idea that somewhere there will be a court case against them with my name on it.

If you happened to be poking around the site the last few hours, I’m sure you noticed that it… well, it wasn’t there. A simple upgrade and permalink adjustment turned into a huge fiasco that brought the whole site offline. That’s what you get for insisting on running off nightly builds. I’m too tired to talk about it now, or clear up the remaining issues. That will all have to wait until the morning.

Does any song come even close to rockin’ as hard as The Edgar Winter Group’s “Frankenstein”? The radio can tune in at any point during that song, and I can’t help but smile. Why are today’s listeners so obsessed with lyrics?

Nuclear Moose has a message for spammers. Personally, I’m just growing bored. The other week I got hit with about 800+ in a matter of a couple hours. About 95% of them were caught by the basic comment moderation that’s built into WP. Not even a challenge. And now the new 1.5 beta I’m running makes it even easier. I now get spam comments the way I used to get spam e-mail – a couple a day. And just as quickly as they appear, they are removed.

Easy enough, but I still concur with Craig.

New Years was another typical wonderful day spent with my family (sans Kathleen and Curtis, who weren’t about to make the trek up from ‘Bama). I tend to be a tad awkward around kids (being the only one in my family who never dealt with any), but I’m getting better with my nieces and nephews – especially the “newer” ones. Paige is adorable with that infectious laugh, and I thoroughly enjoy letting her eat my nose. Lucas has become such a ham that he’s quickly filling up my photo collection. And Caleb is so wide-eyed you just know something special is in there.

I feel bad about the older ones because I was still in high school, or away at college when Jack, Conner, and Kelly came along. As much as I loved them I could never figure out how to connect when I was just a teenager. I definitely lost time there, but hopefully I can make that up in the coming years – now that Jack is slowly closing in on the teenage years himself. At least he’s got a decent mindset:

Life is short, you’ve got to go with the pleasures.

That’s right, my little nephew said that. Of course he and his little sister also once described how best to marry for money. They sure do grow up quickly.

My brother-in-law Matt wanted to use part of the evening to remember his late wife, my sister Lisa. He had found a journal of sorts she had used to keep some of her favorite quotes. Apparantly she had written in it since high school. So he picked out a very appropriate selection to start off our New Year:

To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

Calvin and Hobbes continues to be one of the most poignant sources of wisdom (even if the strips are over a decade old).

Lisa and I bailed on the whole First Night thing tonight. It’s turned into a quiet evening of watching the “Twilight Zone” Marathon on Sci Fi. Telly Savalas is about to get it from Talking Tina. They really need to make more dolls like that – “My name is Talking Tina, and I think I’m starting to hate you.” That could teach kids some great lessons in life. Anywho, we’re nearing the 10 minute mark. We dressed up (even though it’s just us, the piggies, and birdie), and I’ll be popping the bubbly soon.

I hope all of you are having a happy and healthy evening. Happy New Year, and all that jazz. May 2005 bring even better things.

My prize pickup during our shopping expedition on Monday was a hat. Yes, that’s right, a hat. But not just any hat. No, this was a “Crushable Leisure Felt Hat” from Woolrich. As the tag says, “You can crush it, roll it, or pack it in your bag without damaging the hat’s good looks.” It also repels water. Below you can see a horrible picture of me wearing it.

I hate umbrellas, so I’m hoping that this hat will effectively take their place in my life. I also totally dig the fashion statement (one I’ve wanted to make for years), but am slightly afraid that it will just come off as an affectation. Next thing you know I’ll be wearing a bow tie and suspenders.