Jun

30

Movies and Radio for all! (Legally!)

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In this era of downloading the latest music, podcasts and music videos, there’s a part of me that cries out for using this wondrous technology to share some of the world’s most treasured and pioneering recordings. Fortunately, I don’t have to do a thing about this philanthropic urge, as it’s been done for me. I present to you The Internet Archive, which stores loads of audio, Brainvideo and text belonging to the public domain. Granted, there’s a lot of schlock on there, but if you dig in the right places, you’ll find full screen downloads and streams of treasured films such as The Brain that Wouldn’t Die, Nosferatu, Superman cartoons from the 40s, and Night of the Living Dead! (”They’re coming to get you Barbara…”)Super

If you crave some 1930s-40s radio shows, check out The Mercury Theatre archive. You can spend hours downloading or streaming classic radio plays such as OrsonThe War of the Worlds, Dracula, and The Immortal Sherlock Holmes!

Enjoy!
smooches~
jEN

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Jun

29

Kidwelly Castle

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KidwellyI promised this ages ago… around two months really, so here it is: my photos of Kidwelly Castle in Wales. Check them out on my .Mac site. Also, if you want lots more from and of me, check out the main directory for my .Mac. To be handy, I always have that link on the right in the category More of Me.

Enjoy!
smooches~
jEN

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Jun

27

Geek Alert: CSS book reviews

Filed Under me so g33ky, tout le fromage | 2 Comments

As many of you know, I’m an aspiring mega geek. I’m pretty nerdy by most standards, having taught myself 99% of what I know how to do with computers, I share a keyboard and mouse between two Macs via terminal commands, I check my RSS before breakfast and I’d rather read books about code than the latest NY Times Bestsellers any day… So on the subject of books, I thought I’d share what my current favourites are. Mind you, these won’t appeal to anyone looking for adventure heros or romance, but if you’re looking for the thrill of Internet Explorer hacks, humorous exploration of child selector implementation, and why you should embrace “The Alsett Clearing Method”- then this is just the coffee time curl up book list for you.

My newest addition: Stylin’ with CSS: A Designer’s Guide by Charles Wyke-Smith
It’s a lovely colour book printed on posh paper covering subjects spanning the basics of XHTML and CSS structure to much more advanced topics such as Multi-level Drop Down Menus and forms creation. I love the abbreviation used throughout the book: IDWIMIE, It Doesn’t Work In Microsoft Internet Explorer. The book fills in several gaps I’ve had in my learning process, where I’ve ‘learned’ how to do something quickly without understanding the fundamentals behind the code. This book is not only an easy and enjoyable read, it’s intelligent, attractive and informative for both the beginner and the experienced CSS writer looking for a lightweight reference for important tasks and workarounds. 275 handsome pages of CSS bliss.

One of two faithful standbys: The CSS Anthology: 101 Essential Tips, Tricks & Hacks by Rachel Andrew (for Sitepoint)
This 391 page book is always on my desk. It’s somewhat clunky in it’s presentation, but the information is golden. Written to assist experienced CSS code writers, the book only flirts with the basics briefly in the beginning. Had I purchased this book after Stylin’ with CSS, I would’ve no doubt felt more comfortable with the bland textbook feel of it, but overall, the information is relatively easy to understand if you read each section start to finish. This book could’ve been well served with more white space and an injection of colour here and there, even if just a spot colour or two, but perhaps it’s that I am able to better comprehend reference material that way. I used to work for a sign company and then much later for a major print company for 6 years, so looking at the legibility of print is a hard habit to break… :) A pretty good book for those looking to beat CSS into submission.

And second of the faithful standbys: Cascading Style Sheets: The Definitive Guide by Eric A. Meyer (for O’Reilly)
O’Reilly is renowned for it’s authoritative book collection covering all disciplines of the geek black arts, and this one is clearly thrusting it’s chest feathers out announcing itself as the leader in CSS guides. It certainly doesn’t disappoint and manages to, despite smaller text and less prominent illustrations, teach CSS without seeming torturous. Don’t get me wrong, when the room temperature is cozy and I’ve been staring at my monitor too long, I’ve been known to fall asleep reading O’Reilly books, but I think that’s just the nature of reference/text books. It’s perhaps the most intimidating of all the books I’ve mentioned, but O’Reilly takes pride in it’s geek library dominance- and not for anything short of being some of the most imformed books available. Eric Meyer is a rockstar of web development like Scott Kelby is to Photoshop and covers just about anything you need to know in his 507 page CSS epic. Also devoid of colour, it could be easier to chew on visually, but it somehow manages to be easier to dip in and out of when you need a quick answer than the Sitepoint book.

These three books are ‘must-haves’ here and have all helped me sharpen my skills and problem solve immeasurable amounts of code. Now that I’ve waxed poetic about them… I have some code to write. :)
smooches~
jEN

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Jun

24

Expat Life page update

Filed Under expat, tout le fromage | 6 Comments

Hey all!

Been updating one of my Expat pages today. I’ve been terribly neglectful of them, so I tackled one regarding British English vs American English terminology. It’s by far not finished, but there is a healthy list started there for your amusement and education.
(The page will be a handy lesson to my pals in the US who are visiting me this year, so study up y’all! :) )
To visit my Expat Life pages, see the list on the right side of this blog. I’ve updated the It’s the Same But Different page with the lingo list.

Enjoy!

smooches~
jEN

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Jun

24

Broadband once more

Filed Under expat, regular, tout le fromage | 3 Comments

You don’t have to tell me that I’m spoiled. It’s perfectly clear thanks to the past few days of intermittent web access. It’s back up for now, hopefully for good, I’ve caught up on my emails and am back in the blogging saddle again.

This service interruption came at a really shit time for me. Not only because the level of work that’s in, but this internet connection is my main method of communication with friends and family back in the US. Thankfully, I still had my .Mac webmail and was able to get an important message from Aaron– Moose is dead.

MooseMoose was a big city street dwelling cat whom we adopted around 1994. All black, mature, good natured and at times comical in his understated way, Moose became our first of several cats and a deep emotional attachment for us both. He was guessed to be up to ten years old when we took him in, which means by doing some basic math, he was around twenty this year. Although he became increasingly frail over the last couple of years, all bloodwork and checkups at the vet said he was fine, just getting old.

That trend ended this week. I don’t yet know the details, as I’ve not been in touch much with Aaron, (phone calls to answering machines don’t count), but I imagine a tearful video chat will ensue later today as I find out more. * sigh * I felt out of sorts the day Moose was put to sleep- I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I felt terrible. There was a current of emotional unrest and a sleepless night to follow. The next morning I logged into my email via a dial up connection to find the news… It’s strange that though I’m so far in physical distance, the constant connection of the DSL line makes the 4000 miles between my family, friends and me bearable. Video chat, email and blogging help keep everyone sane and makes it just a tiny bit easier to be physically away from them. What is it about the delivery of bad news that makes you feel as though ages have passed when really it’s been just a few days since you last spoke to someone? I felt every mile of distance when I read his email and I’m sure he felt every one as he typed.

I know I couldn’t have done anything to change what happened with Moose. He was in the best possible care and lived an extraordinary life for a retired alley cat, but just being there for Aaron to talk to would’ve been good. Hopefully the broadband stays active now and that little gap of Atlantic between my loved ones in the US and me shrinks up once more.

smooches~
jEN

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Jun

23

Still without the DSL this morning

Filed Under me so g33ky, tout le fromage | 2 Comments

* sigh *

smooches~
jEN

Jun

22

Limited internet access today - no broadband

Filed Under me so g33ky, tout le fromage | 2 Comments

Hi all!
Late yesterday afternoon we temporarily lost our broadband connection and have a service call in to fix the issue. We’ve done all we can do with the ISP, so now it’s up to the phone company to remedy the DSL issue.

I won’t be on chat or checking my mail regularly, so if you’re a friend or family member that needs to get in touch with me, you already know my mobile and home numbers. I’ll be back on as usual soon. (Hopefully today or tomorrow.) I’m using a dialup line to post this, but won’t be on it unless necessary since we need it for the business access and don’t want to pay for it to be up continually.

I already felt the detox unpleasantness of being without the internet last night… I cleaned the kitchen, mopped, did laundry… argh. I’m useless without the web! If I start wearing an apron shoot me! :) No, really- I’ll use this time to do some writing, more tidying up and other things that I find get left in the dust of my web surfing habits. I’m going to attempt to embrace this lull in geekiness even if it kills me. ;)
smooches~
jEN

Jun

21

And on your left you’ll see a block of flats

Filed Under regular, tout le fromage | 5 Comments

Googlemap
Thanks to Googlesightseeing.com for truly addicting me to the Google Maps feature of Google. They’ve just added the UK to the satellite imagery so I foresee several wasted hours looking things up from above. (Neil’s almost worse than I am!)

I thought I’d give you all a chance to see where I live. Here it is. In delightfully drab colour. That’s as tight as the zoom goes, but it’s still enough to get a sense of my daily surroundings. Welcome to my neighbourhood, kitties. :) The folks at Google Maps keep adding higher resolution imagery all the time, so keep nosing around for improvements wherever you explore. I can’t wait to see some of the stone circles and other ancient phenomena from the satellite’s eye!
Enjoy!

smooches~
jEN

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