Month: September 2003

I missed the most recent Tea event, which is not surprising, since I live 1/2 way across the country from the normal Tea meeting place. While I’m most famous as the inventor of TML (the Tea Markup Language) few people know that I’m also working on the Tea::Reader module for Perl, as well as mod_tea for Apache, and some time next year plan to release Teanux, a version of Linux aimed at people who attend the Tea events… (Note that I have no affiliation with the Tea Scripting Language.)

Oh, how I wish it worked with Mac OS X… The Plusdeck PC Audio Deck, that is. See, years ago I would make tapes using my Mac and TexEdit, which had the ability to read aloud text files. I’d make tapes for the car, and listen while driving to and from work. Nowadays things are a little different, but I still make tapes (less frequently) but now they might include MP3‘s. Heck, there’s even apps out there that will convert text files to MP3’s, so it’s gotten better over the years.

Still, just like 1980, I’m forced to execute some command on a computer, while fiddling with a tape deck connected by some cables… Sure my G4 is a bit faster than my old Apple ][+, but the basic concept hasn’t changed much. I’ve had the idea of jamming a cassette deck in a drive slot for years now, so it’s cool to see someone has finally done it.

Now as soon as someone makes it work in a Mac (at an affordable price) I’ll be positively giddy…

Over at Adobe Studio’s System Requirements page they say:

Need to update your browser?

Get Internet Explorer update

Get Netscape Navigator update

And then provide a link so you can download Netscape 4.x because, you know, downloading a version of a browser that’s closing in on it’s sixth birthday is somehow updating your browser.

If you’re using one of those fancy operating systems like Mac OS 10.1 (or higher) they suggest using Internet Explorer 5.1, an old version of a browser that they stopped development of recently…

Of course since they also say:

Adobe Studio assumes full-screen browser use on a 1024×768 display with 16-bit and above color depth. It is also assumed that JavaScript is turned on and that cookies are enabled. A persistent Internet connection, such as DSL, cable modem, or T1 line, is recommended.

Those are a lot of assumptions… So draw your own conclusions about their recommendations… Maybe we shouldn’t worry, perhaps the all-new Adobe Studio Web Site will address all of these issues. (I certainly hope so.)

Well, I did my part. I thought I should help out my dad, provide him with a web browser that was more standards compliant, more powerful, had less bugs, and less security holes. So the other day we installed Firebird, so that he can use that instead of MSIE if he so desires. The number one feature to discuss was pop-up blocking. We also covered tabbed browsing briefly, as well as going over bookmarks and a quick run through the preferences.

My uncle then said he had some computer problem, a pop-up that just wouldn’t go away. I wrote http://mozilla.org/ on a scrap of paper for him with some simple instructions to download and install Firebird.

For the next family gathering, I should just bring along a few CD‘s with the most recent Firebird release on them. (I did give a CD to my dad, which included Thunderbird… maybe next time we’ll get into that.)

I was in Maryland most of the week… here’s what I got from it…

I flew out to Maryland. This was my first time flying since that whole September 11th thing, so I never got to deal with the security stuff before. This is what I learned. Metal is bad. Don’t carry metal. I had to remove my shoes, just to be safe. Next time I’m wearing the All Stars. Since the security guy told me I have a “military style” belt, I’m better off taking that off too. (In case you’re wondering, I got my “military style” belt at the GAP.) All in all the flight went well, and while people told me I’d get a fresh baked cookie, I actually got a “snack” that seemed to consist mainly of hydrogenated oils with some almonds, raisins, and cereal bits mixed in. I deposited it into a trashcan later on.

My destination was College Park, fittingly, it’s a college town, though the part I saw didn’t seem to be. I did manage to walk to MOM’s (My Organic Market) to load up on food that wasn’t full of hydrogenated oils, so that was good. Crossing Route 1 is not a simple task though, College Park is not a walking-friendly place. Even worse was when I tried to walk to IKEA. My rationale was this, I can see IKEA from the hotel, I can certainly walk there. I should have paid attention to my previous lesson, College Park is not a walking-friendly place. Still, I’m an adventurer, I’m an explorer, onward! 15 seconds into my walk, it started to rain. 30 seconds into my walk I was soaked, still I pressed on. I managed to cross on street, and ended up near Home Depot. Well, it was Home Depot, but there were two other gigantic stores attached to it. I had to walk around all three of them. I then found myself trapped behind Home Depot, and faced a very long walk to get around a fence. I choose the alternative, going over the fence… and into the thorny bushes. I was wearning shorts. I was also still soaking wet. Finally I made it to IKEA. I managed to get lost in IKEA, but eventually found the way out. And after all that, I still managed to convince myself that walking to MOM’s again would be a good idea. (Clif Bars were on sale!) I should have called Mr. Genehack and asked for a ride, but I’m stupid. What have we learned? It ain’t easy being organic.

I also went to Tea at Franklin’s as the guest of CarlaZone’s proprietor. There is no tea at Tea. There are interesting people at Tea. There’s a guy who works for… well, I can’t tell you. What does he do? He can’t tell us. Crazy stuff… If you’re intested in Tea, you can read more about Tea. I drank too much soda at Tea and it made my poor non-soda stomach hurt too much the next day. As we’ve already learned… It ain’t easy being organic.

The flight back was not very exciting, except that I swear that I saw a man on the wing of the plane!!!