greymatter

So I've been having lots of fun implementing Greymatter. I'm still tweaking here and there, so thanks for your patience during this transition period. For those thinking about using Greymatter, you should be warned that you should be comfortable with HTML and enough familiarity with Perl scripts to make minor changes. I had to make some changes to get rid of automatic text justification, for example.


My friend Reid is also playing around with Greymatter, and has already posted a patch to the Greymatter support forums to fix one of the date formatting problems. One of my only real complaints about Greymatter is that there is no way to completely delete entries after you've posted them without making modifications to the files on the server (i.e. no elegant way of deleting entries from the administrator control panel). I screwed up one of the counter variables while manually deleting my test entries and had to do a lot of script tweaking before things would work properly again.


But it's worth it. Greymatter does automatic archiving for me as well providing and adjusting links to entries before and after. I can adjust all headers and footers by modifying a template, instead of having to manually update them on each file. And because so many elements of the template are separate variables, it's easy to customise a layout. PLUS I can add a Blathering from anywhere with Web access. Also, I have the option of including a "add comments" and vote feature to any entries.


Greymatter is free, by the way, through the generosity of its programmer, Noah Grey. Noah has a really wonderful weblog from which he decided to take an indefinite hiatus starting last month. His personal Web pages are fascinating...this guy is super-talented. He can program, write well, is a great photographer, has a good design sense, and has an online comic strip. Instead of charging a fee for his Greymatter program, Noah offers people the option of making a donation through his Amazon book wish list (I've bought him something from this list).


Today's Blatherpic:

"Ted", Bryan Fullerton's childhood toy


Today's Poll:

Do you like pineapple on your pizza? Choose "Yes" or "No" below, thanks.

oasis

I am in the midst of converting to Greymatter this weekend, so everything may not work correctly yet. Thanks for your patience.


So I have the first version of my mom-in-law's Web site online, and would deeply appreciate it if some of you could go have a look and let me know if you notice any glaring problems. I'm especially interested in hearing from those with older browsers. Does anyone out there know of a site which helps identify browser incompatibility, or (ideally) simulate different types and versions of browsers?




Anyway, the Oasis restaurant URL is:



http://www.yum-yum.ca



Thanks for your help!


Today's Blatherpic:


My mom-in-law Ginny preparing a meal on an overturned canoe during our Nahanni River Canoe Trip.

childhood books

Went to the Pickle Barrel with Allison and Jodi last night. We're all hooked on the same smoothie: Marathon Mambo. Amazing what an effect a name can have on one's desire for a food item. I'm really noticing this as I work on the Web site for my mom-in-law's restaurant. Just formatting the catering menu makes my mouth water: "grilled skewers of scallops & jumbo tiger shrimps with Persian rice pilaf & spicy lime dip", "proscuitto, sundried tomato & asiago stuffed breast of chicken with wild rice pancake", "walnut daquoise with milk chocolate buttercream icing"...I have no idea what a "daquoise" is, but I -know- I want one! :-)


I'm having fun playing around with cascading style sheets right now.


Current topic over in Blatherchat are kids' books. For the record, my favourites are/were (in no particular order):

• The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
• A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L'Engle
• Half Magic series by Edward Eager
• Dark Is Rising series by Susan Cooper
• The Blue Sword and The Hero And The Crown by Robin McKinley
• Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
• A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
• Harriet The Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
• Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
• Bridge To Terebithia by Katherine Paterson
• Tuck Everlasting
• Little House In The Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
• My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
• Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
• Ramona The Pest by Beverly Cleary
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
• Stuart Little by E.B. White
• Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
• Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
• The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery
• The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
• Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
• Any other of Ray Bradbury's earlier books

Eeek, maybe I'd better stop there. I could easily do a full Blather on any of the above books.


I still read kids' books. I'm write kids' books. I pity those who think that kids' books are just for kids, or sneer at adults who read them for pleasure. It always sets up warning bells in my head when I find out someone doesn't really have any favourite childhood books, or can only vaguely recall some classics like "Wind In The Willows" and "Alice In Wonderland". Doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with the person, of course, just that it's a sure sign that they aren't a kindred spirit.


Why do I enjoy kids' books so much? Because I find they often have better stories and a more benevolent outlook on life than some adult books. Because they're more likely to have happy endings, or at least an element of hope at the end. There's enough angst and depression in real life, and I'm a naive optimist. Well...maybe not as naive as before I sold Inkspot, but still a stubborn optimist. :-)




Today's Blatherpic:

Self-portrait by Sara.

my birthday

Hey, it's my birthday today! As a birthday present to myself, I'm going to FilKONtario a day early. It's Katy's birthday today, too!

Allison has updated her Filk Forte column with a new poll topic: "FKO Virtual Con and Memories". Post your FKO recollections here or, if you've never been able to attend FKO, come attend a "virtual" version here. :) Wow...Allison just posted her column yesterday, and a bunch of people have joined the party already. :)

Hey, guess what? Jodi just got interviewed about The Muse's Muse by Billboard Magazine for an article in a future issue! Veryvery cool.

Had lunch at Wow Sushi yesterday (see photo above). Topics ranged from DSL connection speeds to wilderness camping to elephantitis to guys' short haircuts. Parki just got a buzzcut (see photo below). I'm sure he gets accosted all the time now by people wanting to touch his head, which feels wonderfully fuzzy. Ray (see photo above) does his own haircuts, shaving his head twice a week.

In the evening, Jeff took me to North 44º for my birthday. And as a birthday present, he's taking me to see The Lion King next Wednesday evening, woohoo! :-) :-) We had a very good talk during dinner. Things have been getting much better for us since I came home from Philadelphia and am not as superstressed. To Annie: Jeff read your Blatherchat post about this a while back and was as touched as I was.

It's funny, really. I told Jeff last night that when I think back to how unhappy I was in Philadelphia several months ago, it seems like another world. Sort of like waking up in the middle of the night from a bad dream and being able to remember all the details in grisly detail, but then in the morning the memory has gone all fuzzy around the edges and gradually fades away as the day progresses.

It wasn't all bad, of course. I met some very cool people, had a great harp teacher (I hope to resume occasional harp lessons in Toronto), got to try Philly cheesesteak and scrapple, experienced living alone for the first time (there's a certain freedom in being able to decorate your apartment any way you want without having to consult anyone :)). Plus the experience has made me a stronger person, in terms of knowing what I want and don't want in life, being better at sticking up for myself.

Some people have asked me if I'm bitter about what happened to Inkspot. Perhaps a tinge (my comic strip is good therapy for me right now :-)), but to be honest, I'm actually looking forward to going back to my own writing, to simplifying my life. Rather than dwell on what-ifs and self-indulgent regret, I'm going to focus on getting on with the next stage of my life.

After my sabbatical, of course. ;-)

Have a great weekend, everyone. To those who wanted to attend FKO but couldn't; you will be missed. But hey, come join the virtual filk convention in Filk Forte!

Today's Blatherpics:

Lunch crowd at Wow sushi yesterday.

Parki with his new haircut. Quite a contrast to his hairstyle back in university, I'd say.

the sopranos

Met Luisa for lunch yesterday. We ate at a place on Yonge called the Spring Roll. Fantastic food, yum! The hot and sour soup was to die for. I have certain types of food which, if on the menu of any restaurant, I must try. Hot and sour soup is one. Creme caramel is another. I have a weakness for both.

Parki came over last night to watch The Sopranos with Jeff and me (Scott M. kindly loaned us his copy of the first season on DVD). We ordered in Thai food from Natchos and watched four episodes in a row, to the end of the first season.

Amazingly good writing, characterization (and character growth), storytelling. Warning for the squeamish: it IS violent. But violent scenes are non-gratuitous, well integrated into the fabric of the story. It took me a couple of episodes for me to get into it, but now I'm completely hooked. It's the best thing I've seen on television in a long time.

Humble apologies to John O'Halloran for posting one of his Consonance photos on my Blatherings yesterday without asking permission! (insert deep blush of shame here) I usually do ask, but forgot this time. I've removed the photo. :-(

Woohoo, only two days until FilKONtario! I'm checking into the hotel tomorrow afternoon, staying through until Monday. Katy and Ju are coming to visit on Monday through Wednesday, and then on Thursday I leave for Las Vegas with Jeff's family. I'm not sure how much Blathering I'm going to be doing during this time, though hopefully I'll find an Internet cafe somewhere to get my online fix. :-)

Today's Blatherpic:

This photo was taken during our last trip to the cottage.