Webthoughts

One of the things that led to me to go with a different design on this site was that my Moveable Type database apparently corrupted at some point over the last week or so. I noticed that there were posts missing in the RSS feed and, when I visited the site itself, I found that the archive would only display posts back to November 2006. Even though earlier posts could be found manually, if you knew the permalink, you could not find them by searching.

So, I decided I would restore the database from a backup that I had and just repost the one or two posts I had made since I figured the database corrupted. Unfortunately, this sounded a lot easier said than actually done.

When trying to upload the backup copy of the database, the server kept returning a cryptic error (which, I don't even remember at this point). No matter what I would try, I could not replace the database.

At that point, I logged into the Moveable Type admin page and tried to completely delete the blog (again, I was going to restore from an exported backup of all the entries I had) and start from scratch. Moveable Type would not delete the blog. When I told it to delete, it would go through the motions and say that the blog had been deleted, but when I would log out of the admin page and back in again, there the blog was in its undeleted state.

Frustrating.

By this time, after a few other troubleshooting tries, I decided to simply delete the entire weblog directory on the server (which WAS successful), and reinstall MoveableType (I had been meaning to upgrade the newest version anyway). Again, easier said than done. For whatever reason, the server kept dropping the connection as I was trying to upload the MT files. If I only uploaded a few files at a time, it would do fine. If I tried to upload a long run of files, it would drop the connection at random times. So, I had to upload the files a few at a time.

Finally, after about five total hours of work, I had the blog back and all the posts restored from the back. Things seem to be going fine (except for the formatting troubles). Lets hope this continues.

Oh...I should probably also point out, for the record, that the RSS feed has moved. This is the new link. There's now an Atom feed as well!

This is a very interesting read. Steve appears to be taking a direct shot at the music companies and their licensing requirements which force Apple to provide music in DRM protected formats.

This has been brewing under the surface for quite some time. I had the impression when Apple first introduced the Music Store, that it wasn't exactly happy it had to DRM protect the music. That, of course, is one of the reasons they fought as they did for the lenient DRM terms that they got (purchased tracks play on up to five computers, unlimited iPods, burn up to 10 CDs, etc.). We've heard stories about the music companies putting pressure on Apple to re-negotiate licensing terms (and you can bet that as part of that re-negotiation, they wanted stricter DRM).

I really wonder how this little open letter from Steve Jobs will affect Apple's relationship with the music companies (if at all). Better or worse? I really have no illusions that Apple will ever convince the music companies that they are better off providing DRM-free music. That's just not going to happen, at least not with the current mentality of the RIAA. Will this make the music companies more willing to take back their ball, go home and not play anymore? (I doubt that would happen either. The iTunes store is too big a deal for them to ignore it.)

Should be interesting to see how this plays out.

I saw my first new Chevy Silverado in the wild yesterday. I've seen them on Chevrolet Car Lots and such, but not actually out on the road.

The new truck is a far-sight better looking than the truck it replaces. I still cringe when I see what Chevy did to that truck with the '03 "freshening". I would have preferred that Chevy use the front end that they used on the new Avalanche, but I also understand their desire to position that truck more as an SUV with a cargo-bed than as a truck, so they want a distinct look between the two.

I still think, though that the C/K series pickups (from 1988-1999) were the best-looking trucks that GM ever produced (although the 1970 C/K pickups were close behind). Those trucks screamed "I'm a truck and proud of it!". The 1999-2002 Silverado/Sierra pickups were good-looking pickups, but they weren't that much of a departure from the previous generation. The 2003 freshening of the Silverado was incredibly ugly (and something on the Sierra freshening just didn't feel right).

The newest truck is a good-looking truck, but, if anything, looks almost too refined. Of course, that's what buyers are looking for. Those who buy trucks are looking for personal transportation, not just a cargo-hauler, so they are looking for refinement and class. I'm very sure that the new truck is a very capable truck. I just seems like it's trying to hide, a bit, that it's a truck.

If and when it comes time to look around for a new truck for my wife and I, I'm sure we'll look at the new Silverado. But that won't be for quite some time (hopefully), so who's to say what Chevy will be offering when we do?

As has been somewhat obvious around here, I've been developing the next major version of Print Window. This version has taken a lot longer than I originally anticipated to get it to where I want to be, for a wide variety of reasons which I shall not go into here. However, as I mentioned previously, it's finally getting toward the finish and that brings some definite excitement.

At any rate, the reason for this post is to let you all know that I'm actively looking for testers for this next version of Print Window. Currently, the major new features have been implemented, so I'm looking for people who are interested in trying out pre-release versions of the new features of this next version of Print Window and find bugs and possibly make usability suggestions. Once this version gets out the door, testers are welcome to stick around to provide input into what changes should be made for the following updates to Print Window.

If you are interested, visit the Searchware Solutions Testing webpage for more information on what I'm looking for and how to sign up.

I'm willing to bet that Apple probably wants to just forget this ever existed.

I find the number of Apple IIIs in this video somewhat disturbing.

Okay. So, chalk one up for pure stupidity.

Last night, I was finishing up the next development release of Print Window to send to the testers and was moving some necessary files from one computer to the other in order to do some last minute testing. At least, that was what I was trying to do. It didn't quite work out that way.

In stead of moving the current files to the other computer, I accidentally moved old versions of those files from the other computer to my development machine...overwriting the current versions of the files.

So, I whip out a utility for recovering accidentally deleted files, only to find that although it sees the missing files, the are unrecoverable as they have already been overwritten on the hard drive itself. Not good.

Because I was in a hurry and wasn't paying attention, I didn't have the proper backup made before I went moving things around. I also didn't actually read the warning Mac OS X gave me about overwriting newer versions of the files.

And, because of that, the latest development version of Print Window is no more. Luckily, I only lost a few days worth of work. The stuff that I lost wasn't that difficult, only time consuming. So, I'll have the latest development version out and about again in no time.

It's still frustrating though. And, it proves the lesson, especially in development—don't take anything for granted! Make sure you have proper backups before doing something stupid!

Here's a nice throwback to a simpler gaming era. Although it's not perfect singing, they are obviously having lots of fun and still manage to put on an enjoyable show.

To the gentleman driving the pale-yellow Dodge Ram by Oakview Mall the other night: I understand that driving is a difficult and inconvenient thing, so I just wanted to tell you not to worry about it.

That speed limit thing? That does nothing but slow you down. I understand you're a busy man and you have places to be, so you can go ahead and just consider that speed limit sign to be a general guideline, not a hard and fast rule. Don't let it get in your way.

I also understand that the turn signal is a difficult concept and is just all-around inconvenient, what with having to remember to actually use it and all. I'm sure everyone around you won't have any problem figuring out what lane you're moving toward and what direction you're going to turn after you actually start heading that way.

Oh, and speaking of lanes, don't worry about those white and yellow lines on the pavement of the road. They really don't mean anything. Again, it's one of those general guideline things. It doesn't actually mean you actually have to pick a lane or anything.

Here's a couple of other items you might not have thought of, so I thought I'd throw them out there to make your driving experience even more pleasant.

• You might consider reading the newspaper while you're driving. There's all sorts of interesting information in one of those things. Of course, this assumes that reading isn't a foreign concept to you.
• While you're reading the newspaper, you can also eat your dinner as you barrel on down the road. You have two hands, one for the paper and the other for your food. You can just steer with your knees.
• And just to make the most efficient use of your time, after you're done eating, you can go ahead and shave in your rear-view mirror while your driving as well. That way, you can spend more time doing things you want to do outside of your car.

I hope this helps you feel better about yourself. Really, don't feel bad. Everyone drives that way. I mean, it is all about number one, isn't it?

Really, this is just very, very true, but very few of us actually look at life this way, myself included.

Imagine what we could accomplish if we looked at life this way.

Okay, so another side of me is coming through in this post, but I just can't keep it contained! I'm super excited as I just found out that one of my favorite comic books from the 80's is coming back (at least for a limited run)—Captain Carrot and the Amazing Zoo Crew!

I had heard that they had made an appearance last year in the Teen Titans series, but missed it when it was on sale. But, now it looks like they're getting their own mini-series!

Seriously, I'm so excited I'm twitching!

I despise this time of year.

I really hate late February/early March because the weather just can't make up its mind. Is it going to snow, or is Spring going to finally arrive?

Late in the Fall and early in the Winter, I always look forward to the first real snowfall of the year. It's an exciting event to me. When the snow is falling, I'll stand at the window or in the front doorway and simply watch the snow falling for long periods of time. It's a beautiful thing to watch.

But as the Winter starts to drag on, the nearly perpetually gray skies, continuous cold temperatures and five o'clock sunsets start to take their toll. I begin to feel gloomy myself (well, more-so than normal, I suppose). I simply want Winter to be over and for Spring to take hold. But instead, I get a transition period that is just that much more frustrating—hints of Spring and resurgences of Winter.

Last week, in Omaha, we had several days in which the high temperature reached the 50s. One could go outside without a coat on, feel the sun on one's face and know that Spring was on the way. This week, we've already had one snow storm and another is on the way tonight.

I'm tired of dirty snow piled up along and gravel and salt piled up on the roadways. I'm tired of gloomy days. I'm tired of looking at brown grass (when it shows through the melting snow) and leafless trees. I'm tired of not being able to get out and work in the yard.

I just want, as I do every year at this time, for Mother Nature to make up her mind. Let's get through this yearly transition and move on. Late March and early April just can not get here fast enough.