December 2001

December is here and we still have no snow.   What came went and what is to come isn't here yet.  Still, at least it's cold.   Christmas looms imminent, obfuscated only by the need to be in Binghamton NY next week and the knowledge that there are few shopping days left.  I've started with the beginnings of the flu and am not looking forward to flying due to the fact my head and throat are killing me.

Thanksgiving came and went.  We managed to do the JIT preparation of the van.  It is basically sound with some problems that aren't worth fixing (for the amount they would cost).  It got us down to Illinois and back.   However, come the first snow, the battery died and I have yet to replace it.   I intended doing it this weekend, but didn't get around to it.

I've discovered quite a lot this month, mostly of a technical nature.  Natzoid has been asking me to create a searchable database for quite a while now and I've been avoiding it as it sounded like hard work.  However, as usual, her psychological manipulation of me worked..."If you *CAN'T* do it, I know someone who will do it for me".  Red rag to a bull.  Of course I CAN do it, I just need the time, so I spent a day playing with Perl,  MySQL and PHP.  The results of this can be previewed here.

I don't really care for database technology, in fact I've generally avoided it, even in the days when I used to support ODBC drivers.   I've played wth Oracle, Informix, SQL-Server and MySQL.  The Microsoft SQL-Server is easy enough if you're familiar with the general Microsoft paradigm (a word I really hate).  Off topic, on the subject of words that are hated, my dad hates the word "logistics".  I used to sympathize but I understand the need for the word now.  Anyway, MySQL is a very simple and powerful little database that I really quite like.  If I can convince the CYBE management team and developers that it's as good as I think it is, maybe we can reduce our cost of goods by using it instead of SQL-Server.

The really great discovery of the month is PHP.   What a language.  It is absolutely fantastic.  I have had so much fun with it.  So much for "CAN'T".

In updating the web site, I decided I wanted to dynamically expand menus and realized that I needed to use Javascript.  After researching Javascript and CCS, I finally managed to achieve what I wanted to.  You can see it here.  Click on the Kenny graphic and you'll see the menu expand.  Problem is that once I'd managed it, I realized that it doesn't fit into the user model that I had inflicted on the site.   C'est la vie.  Interesting stuff though.

Sammy and Natzoid went watching "Harry Potter" today.  Sammy came back raving about it and Natzoid came back raving about the kid who plays Harry Potter.  I stayed home with the Bean and the dogs, and updated the web site, whilst dying with whatever strain of nastiness I have.  Sniff.   Where is the brandy when you need it?  It's a sure fire cure for anything and we don't have any.  A wee dram of the brandy, twelve hours sleep and all is usually well, however I'm lacking the vital pre-requisite.

So, December has arrived and Natzoid's family are due to arrive here over Christmas.  I accidentally typed that as Christmad...Freudian?  We don't know whether Natzoid's younger sister and her family will be coming due to the fact that her husband has broken his foot in quite the most nasty way.  If they do, we will have 16 visitors or more, depending on who Stacy brings...bring your own inflatable mattress and fight for the floor-space.  Oh, and if everyone brings their dogs, there may well be trouble.

So here we are.  December, the flu and the endless list of jobs are all here.  Merry bloody Christmas!