I honestly still have no drive to update this thing despite having an accessible client (the web interface is accessible, but.. :/).

Right now I'm trying to figure out just what the hell is going on with Groovy and SoapUI properties.  Groovy seems to insist on storing properites as strings.  This is fine, until I need to do some math on -- holy shit.  I can probably just store it as a global context variable, but I might get the same issues.

Nope.  Same shit.  Properties are strings, and none of the java functions (parseInt, getInteger, valueOf) seem to be able to pull the value of it!  GRR!

This should work.  It doesn't.  This is annoying.  I don't like trying to fix the same damn bug all day, but I've got nothing else assigned to me... soo...

Fellow tester just said 'sephamore' instead of 'semaphore' .....

I really like this new theme.

I've finally got around to getting an HTML version of my resume up.  I think it looks good.  Ended up having to make a few formatting changes to make it look good on the web that I eventually carried over to the PDF version (linked on same page) because I like 'em so much.

I also disabled comments on posts older than fourteen days, since that seems to be where most of the spam is concentrated (actually, it's like eighty percent on one post from two or three years ago).

So, go for it.  Try all your stupid little user tricks, things I would never have thought of as the programmer (such as the multiple tab thing Richard showed me).

This project was really fun.  I got to learn some more php, expand upon my sql, learn how to use sql within php, and probably most fun of all: learn how to use ajax.  Since voters are to vote on multiple categories, I did not want to have to reload the page every time they voted in one category, that would be a waste of the voter's time.  Especially when the page gets to be pretty long with a ton of submissions (I'm assuming it will get long (there's twenty-nine categories after all), and that there will be a ton of submissions).  So, instead, when they vote on a category, it'll just collapse the form in that category into a "Thank you for voting!" message and the voter can go on unabated.  I like it, it's really cool :razz:

The thing logs based on IP address, so of course if you go to another computer and try to vote again, you'll succeed.  And of course if you use a proxy, etc. etc. 

--A dude just walked past my window and freaked me the hell out.  Looks like he was checking something on the outside of the buildings.--

Amber said that the people who will be participating are unlikely to go about vote stuffing in this manner since... well, they're generally fourteen year old fangirls who know shit about computers (though they can kick my ass at video editing, that's for sure). 

But yeah, try anything, everything.  And if you break it or find something that you think might be broken, just leave a comment on this post.

Also, yes.  It is intentionally ugly (this is Corey's big issue for some reason, and yet his IPRO site looks like it was made in frontpage).  I plan to just php include() them into Amber's site later on and CSS the hell out of them.

The link again.

I watched A Dog's Breakfast before going to bed last night.  It was surprisingly good.  It stars David Hewlett (Rodney McKay, Stargate: Atlantis), his sister Kate Hewlett (Jeannie Miller, Mckay's sister, Stargate: Atlantis), and Paul McGillion (Dr. Carson Beckett, Stargate: Atlantis; Young Dr. Ernest Littlefield, Stargate: SG-1 "The Torment of Tantalus").  The Hewletts again play siblings, with McGillion as Kate's actor fiancé.  It started out a little.. slowish for me, but then just took a turn for the awesome.  Especially the cameo by Christopher Judge (Teal'c, Stargate: SG-1).  Holy hell.  He plays such a serious character on SG-1, and while I knew he was a funny guy, I didn't realize just how awesome he could be.  He really needs more comedy jobs.  It's a small cast, and it's basically all Stargate regulars, but it's so refreshing to see them all outside of the Sci-Fi genre doing some good ol' comedy.

I recommend the movie, even if you aren't a fan of Stargate.  David Hewlett's performance is top-notch and his chemistry with Kate is perfect (which probably has something to do with the fact that, you know, they're siblings and all).  McGillion is great too (one of my all time favorite actors on Atlantis). 

The Prometheus ship set/stage also makes an appearance, as McGillion's character is an actor on a really bad Sci-Fi show (where Rachel Lutrell, also of Atlantis fame, makes a cameo) that seemingly takes place aboard an advanced space ship.

Im so sorry about that. There were some permissions issues with your
database server. Our admins have gone in and corrected the issue. Im able
to visit your site without any issues now.

I thank you for your patience while we corrected this.

If you need anything else, please let me know.

Thanks!
Mike M

Update (17:11 1/25/08): Becky and Aunt Marilyn have both come to me with website propositions.  If anything, I could just do one for the class project and then do the other ones over the summer or something (again, most likely for free since I would still be building my portfolio).  Thanks for the interest, guys!

Update (01:35 1/26/08 Happy Birthday too me): Add Linda's dad to the list as well.

The Request: Anyone need a website?  Or know someone that does?

For my ITM461 class we are going to be doing a big project throughout the course of the semester, adding to it as we learn new things, and the professor wants this project to be for someone or a group that needs either a presence on the web, or a better looking / more functional presence on the web.

During the semester, I will be learning:

• HTML and CSS
• Graphics, design, and navigation
• Javascript and AJAX, javascript frameworks
• Google web services, Search Engine Optimization , analytics
• Small amount of PHP
• "Other fun stuff" (I do not know what this means, but the professor really knows what she is doing so I don't doubt it will be useful and cool information)

The professor has said that if we are interested in something beyond the scope of the course and would like to try it out in our assignments or projects, that we would get the equivalent of bonus points (she doesn't have a grading scale, per se).  Personally, I'm interested in learning more than just a "small amount" of PHP, so that would definitely be one area I would be expanding upon (perhaps in relation to MySQL databases).  She has also stated that she would ensure us not only a functionally sound website, but also a well-designed (read: pretty; or handsome for those of you who don't like "pretty" things) website that will not turn off customers and clients alike.

What would the cost be to you, the client?  Zero dollars.  I am doing this as a class assignment, but more importantly this would be the first real piece upon which I would feel comfortable building a portfolio.  I do not feel it would be right to charge a customer money when they have no idea what the quality of my work will be (this website was not designed by me, it was a free theme I downloaded months and months ago; when I get more confident I will redo this to reflect my own abilities).  Besides, you, the customer, get a free website and I get a free addition to my portfolio.  It works out well for both of us.

There is only one "problem" that potential clients may have an issue with: The project will be completed somewhere around the end of April or the beginning of May.  Since this is a semester long project and we will be applying what we learn in class to the project, it is inappropriate to say that the project will be done before I have learned everything that I need to complete said project.

About me: I have been doing web design in bursts since I was roughly ten years old.  I am currently a twenty-one year old (well, I will be twenty-one two days after this is posted; it is just easier to round up at this point) junior at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago.  Because I have been fooling with web design for so long, I am incredibly comfortable with playing around with various tools and technologies as well as trying new things.  I enjoy learning about new techniques on my own, but other aspects of my life have been pulling me away from web design, so this class is a great excuse to get back into it.  The way that my major and minor are taking me, I would most likely end up working in some sort of systems administration type role.  Systems administration does sound like a neat job: to be responsible for making sure possibly hundreds of machines and servers are not going to blow up just sounds fun; but to be able to freelance web design for clients on the side (or eventually as my main source of income) is my ultimate dream.  This is the kind of work that I love.

If you or anyone you know are interested, please contact me via one of the following methods:

• Email: satoshi@sugardeath.net
• AOL Instant Messenger: itstonylol
• Google Talk: satoshi1@gmail.com (this should work no problem, since I log onto Google Talk with Pidgin using the Jabber protocol (since it's the same thing in the end), but I've never actually talked to anyone on Google Talk :razz: )
• Jabber/XMPP: satoshi@sugardeath.net

That said, classes aren't too bad.  CS351 will be a bitch if I don't keep up.  Chem will be a bitch no matter what.  Intro to Unix/Shell Scripting is easy peasy, Industrial Psych should be no problem.  If I keep up in Data Networks that should be fine too.

Things to do:

• Car!
• Study!
• Work out!
• ???
• I don't think there's any profit in here for me... :/

Good things though!  Phil and Richard are on this floor, as is Corey, so we've been hanging out a lot more that we did last year (or so it seems), which is good.  Had some good times hanging out with Corey and Hamza last night too.  Been spending some time at Patricia's helping her with her computer (apparently I'm good at disabling printer-critical services).  Made an acquaintance in chem.  Kendra, a freshman girl.  Cool gal (she's from Michigan (Williamston, near Lansing I guess), so of course she's cool), dunno if she's hitting on me or not :neutral: She called me one night to see if I wanted to do anything.  Thing is, she woke me up from a nap and I have NO IDEA what I said to her before I fell asleep again.  She didn't talk to me in class the next day.  Talked to her briefly while Galina and I were eating lunch a few days later.  She seemed a little stand offish?  I dunno.  I mean, I don't want to give her the wrong impression in case she is hitting on me (that is to say, I don't want her to think that I am receptive to her possible advances, seeing as how I'm taken and all), but at the same time I don't want to push away a possible friend.

I'll also be getting my job back on Tuesday, though it seems as if Erika is going to majorly crack down on no-shows and late-shows...  Ugh.  With my current schedule and I figure I can work about seventeen hours.  That's not bad, though I could barely do the ten a week last year...  And I should really focus more on classes, not work, so I may trim some hours here or there...  I really need the money though.  Haven't bought books yet.  Haven't fixed my car yet.  Jacki's visiting the weekend after next. 

That's all I can think of at the moment.

Oh, setting up WordPress for Joy made me finally want to update my own copy of wordpress as well as install a new theme.  Looks like I'll have to find an appropriate banner for the top, too (or just get rid of the text, whichever looks better...).