Alex Jones: Web Technologist, Barbecue Acolyte, Information Junkie, Austinite

Three Turns to Seven

What should have been a routine domain transfer turned into a bit of an ordeal. A typical transfer should take about three days to complete, allowing some leeway for the name to trickle down to all of the name servers and ISPs.

Well, somewhere along the line a server mixed up the second domain name server thus splitting traffic between the old host and the new one. Causing much consternation. Time Warner (my ISP) continued to point to the old host. A bit annoying to say the least.

When I chatted with the techs via their Web site, I was given several answers to my questions regarding their DNS. One tech even told me that they only update their DNS once a month! Typically, an ISP will refresh once every 24 - 48 hours.

So, I called them and got ahold of a great tech who noticed that the problem was with their DNS and a day later all was fixed. He also reassured me, that they refresh their DNS every night at midnight. Whew!

My friend Pamela passed along a great link which should prove useful the next time I need to transfer a domain: CheckDNS.net. The site provides a report on DNS delgation, as well as Web and mail servers for any domain you have it check.

Posted in Web Development

ClearType

Yet again Zeldman points to a great resource: Microsoft’s ClearType which is a method of sub-pixel rendering/anti-aliasing for fonts on Windows XP. I decided to play with it and was pleasently surprised by the improvement made across all of my applications. Text is much easier to read as it renders much like the anti-aliased text in Photoshop and other graphics tools.

If you run XP, you should check out ClearType Setup on the MS Web site, which walks you through the simple process of enabling it.

Posted in General

It done works fine now

A few months back the front passenger window in my Xterra shrieked in pain as a friend hit the button to roll it up. For a couple of weeks it was not very happy in its job of going up and down and complained any time I expected it to perform either task. I finally took it to the dealership and had it repaired.

Well, a couple weeks ago the other three got fed up with their place in life as well, and promptly went on strike. The stars and planets aligned to allow me to take the truck in and the window regulators were replaced. I now have four windows that all work at once.

The description on the paperwork I received post-repair is quite concise: “A part replaced it done works fine now.”

Posted in General

TheBrightwells.com

After some major annoyances with the domain transfer (from registrar to registrar) we seem to finally be at a point where we can begin production.

I’ve installed a basic PHP/MySQL address book I found on the Net. The program itself is rather old (dated December 5th, 2000) but it appears to have the basic materials I need to build something close to what Brent and Rocsie want.

I’ve spent the last couple of hours creating the database, installing the scripts and then hacking them to get rid of the frames so they fit into the proper UI. I have some more elements to add to it, including a hook to mail Brent and Rocsie when someone adds an entry and separating out editing capabilities.

All in all this has proven easier than I expected.

Posted in Web Development

Easily Amused

Easily Amused is the journal of Pamela Hichins, a friend from the NI days. We’ve been chatting a bit more of late which has been quite enjoyable. I must say I really dig the design and the content has brought me back regularly.

Be easily amused

Posted in General

Names

As I’ve been reading Crazy Horse and Custer by Stephen Ambrose I have become quite interested in the stories behind the names of many of the Sioux. Some interesting ones include Crazy Horse, who’s father was also named Crazy Horse. When the elder Crazy Horse passed the name to his son (who was well on his way to becoming an accomplished warrior by that time), he took a new name: Worm. I really wish I knew why he chose worm. Something to look up me thinks.

But my favorite name so far is “Man Afraid” of which there were two, Old Man Afraid and Young Man Afraid. Again, father and son. Upon first reading the name I was quite perplexed as to why a man would take on that name; but then it was explained that “Man Afraid” is short for the full name of “Man Afraid of His Horses”. Apparently the name loses a bit in the translation as the full name indicates that enemies are not only scared of him, they are scared of his horses. So, the name would be a little more accurate if written “Man Whose Enemies are Afraid Even of His Horses”. Wow.

Posted in General

CD MP3 WMA… I just want them to be normal

Every so often the desire to rip all of my CDs to my computer takes hold. Usually half way through the process something forces me to start over. I’ve started the process three times now and am seriously considering a fourth. The songs I ripped (this time via Windows Media Player) haven’t been normalized which isn’t too big a deal unless I have a playlist with a lot of albums on it. Which I am prone to build.

Ahh well…

Posted in General

Eric Meyer on CSS

I consider myself pretty well-versed in the use of CSS, the browser issues associated with it and the ways around those issues. But every time I read something from Eric Meyer I learn something. He is a master.

Eric Meyer on CSS contains an amazing amount of knowledge explained through 13 projects. Though the work details some CSS which isn’t currently supported, the details are practical and lay a good foundation for the use of the technology. Most of the projects do render beautifully on IE 6 and Netscape 6, and I have incorporated many of the tips in this site and others I work on.

There is a great companion Web site as well which provides errata and all of the code detailed within the book.

If you are responsible for Web-based user interfaces this is a must have. One note, this book won’t teach you CSS/DHTML, it assumes you have the basic knowledge of the technologies and their use. It is labeled “Intermediate - Advanced”.

Posted in Bookshelf, Reading

PHP

I’ve been using PHP for a good while now, but my learning has accelerated of late as I have been able to utilize the language in several projects. As per usual I am picking it up in bits and pieces to solve problems. One of these days I will have time to sit down and attack the language full on.

Yeah right…

Posted in PHP & MySQL

Crazy Horse and Custer

As always, Ambrose does a great job of teaching while telling a story. Though I have never been very interested in “Cowboys and Indians”, this dual-biography has ensnared me. I must admit that my knowledge of American history in the period between the end of the Civil War and the beginning of World War I is much lighter than it should be. This is the first book I’m reading to change that fact.

Posted in Reading