Month: January 2003

There’s Trackback, Pingback, and others, and there are even people who say they just don’t care.

So far I’ve implemented ‘Get Back!’ which is short for ‘Get back to me…’ which is a form you can fill out. This form will send an email to me, and I’ll read it. If it’s interesting enough I’ll Get Back! to you, or even post something about it here.

It doesn’t use some fancy new format that takes weeks to understand. Maybe version 2.0 will implement such complexities…

To respond to this post, just use our ‘Get Back!’ interface… (Warning: Human involvement required!)

I run Mozilla nightly builds quite a bit, which means I end up installing a new Mozilla on top of an old Mozilla pretty often. I thought I should write up some tips so I remember how to do it properly. Or at least how I do it, and what works for me.

Ok, the first thing I do is grab a nightly build from mozilla.org. If you don’t want to figure out which one you need, the home page should have a section labelled Nightly Builds.

After I download a nightly build I delete my old Mozilla app, and make a backup of my profile. On Mac OS X you’ll find that at: ~/Library/Mozilla/Profiles/[name]/[randomstring.slt]

Where [name] is the profile name (might be default or your username…) and the
[randomstring.slt] is a bunch of random characters. I just dupe the [name] folder for safe keeping.

I then install the new version of Mozilla. Now, most of the time if I try to launch the app, it gets stuck on the splash screen with ‘Creating first window’ – if this happens – there is a file to delete. It’s at: ~/Library/Mozilla/Profiles/[name]/ [randomstring.slt]/chrome/chrome.rdf. Deleting that file should allow Mozilla to launch properly.

Once Mozilla is running I have to re-install any add-ons, so it’s off to mozdev to grab what I need. (You can also download the XPI files you need, but don’t forget to check for updates now and then.) I like uabar and EasySearch. Oh, don’t forget any themes you might want.

What if it all blows up? Occasionally I get a nightly build that just doesn’t work. That’s to be expected. I then do one of two things. I check if I have an older nightly build that is stable. (I keep a few around just in case.) If that doesn’t work, I just grab the latest Alpha release, which is usually not too terribly different from the nightly builds.

That’s it… Happy browsing!

archgenethliac bipunctual crossarm crymotherapy depickle dyslogia fodderer foresheet froward hazel headmark
hish hospice inductance membraniferous Molidae myectopia ophthalmagra parricided pishaug pulverate resensitization Scotchwoman sensoparalysis sinoatrial spanworm stoutness strati tubulidentate Vochysiaceae wonderland…

astrogeny belove Bible counterwheel cusp entrancedly furrier gestant greatcoated helically hexactinal interlucation kilocalorie leisurable malapi massif midstream Mordvinian Nymphalidae overgilted pointment powderable prepigmental semipopular spasmophilic superindifference tortulaceous unprorogued unsullen wilk winterkilling…

So it goes…

He was a loner, kind of kept to himself, didn’t really have many friends…

That’s how I expect to be described by people. The virtual world is quite nice. I like it. I’ve always preferred communication via the written word. And while I doing things like make a FOAF file, and test out Meetup or Friendster, I always feel a little awkward about it.

Years ago if you were an outcast or socially inept you could turn to computers, and it all worked out. Sure there were BBS‘s and the like, but only other geeks and nerds used them. With the proliferation of the web and weblogs/blogs in particular, I often feel like it’s come full circle, and the popular kids are running the show.

(I’d use an example of some band you liked before everyone else did, and after everyone else liked them they sucked and you hated them, but I have too many examples to even choose one, and besides, you should have been in a band instead of just listening to them to get the real effect of what I’m saying. Or at least published a zine or put on shows or something…)

Any of the ‘social network’ things where you invite your friends or pick your friends or whatever always leave me at a loss. I mean, I’ve emailed someone a number of times, does that make me their friend? Is it just a person I know? If I put that person down as a friend, would they get all confused? I don’t know… I guess in the end I don’t care too much…

I really don’t have time for friends anyway. I probably won’t make it to any blogger dinners or meetups or whatever, because I’m too busy doing other things. I suppose for a lot of people these things are great, but it’s just not for me. I can’t make it to the local Perl Mongers or LUG meetings either. I work too much and I spend the rest of the time with my family. And that’s ok…

The last time I actually got out and met people for an event was the opening of the Apple Store, so next time there’s one of those within 30 miles of my house, I’ll let you know, and we’ll meet up there. Until then, you can find me here. And if you want to be my friend, just email me… Unless you’re some sort of jackass – actually, that doesn’t disqualify you, it might actually be a requirement in some cases…

I’ve been toying a bit with alternate style sheets. It’s still very much in progress, but if you use Mozilla look under the View -> Use Style menu…