[d] enclosed in brackets chaotic perfectionist for hire

Version 6.3 now, and I like it.

If you haven't noticed the new look, please get something checked. I put a new theme on because the old one wasn't ready for v6. I'm actually working on a new one, and it's coming along quite nicely. For some reason, it's easier when you RTFM. Odd.

In other news, I'm going on vacation as of the end of work today (less than an hour). Definitely necessary, and it'll be nice to be able to sleep past 5:30 again.

I signed up for another service. (wait for shocked looks to fade)

It's lifestream.fm, and so far I like it. This started from mentioning that I was posting to about 10 different places - I actually got one reply, and she mentioned that she used this service. The idea is what I wanted to do here, but a) haven't tried too hard, and b) haven't looked that much into it. For example, the following shows the last seven updates for my lifestream page - and there are definitely some duplicates from using ping.fm, but that's ok:

I like that I can see what I've been doing in all those places I post various types of content to (and hope I'm not spamming by doing so). Sure, it's not a really new idea, but it works and it's usable. What else are people using, and how do you keep track of what's going on?

Wow, I hadn't realized how long it's been since I posted... anything.

I've been around though, don't worry. Of course, I only have a half-dozen readers, so I'm not too worried - I talk to most of them on a regular basis. Here's what I've been working on lately:

Ubuntu
I have a desktop and laptop running Xubuntu Hardy Heron (8.04), and another desktop running Ubuntu Hardy Heron Server. The more I use Ubuntu, the more I like it. It just seems like there's a lot more that I can do with less work... compared to Windows. This isn't going to turn into a review, but check it out - you can run it as a Live CD (no install needed), or even install it like a program in Windows.

del.icio.us
If you check out my del.icio.us page, you can see what I've been bookmarking. I've added something at the end of this post to show the last fivepages I've bookmarked.

dropcase.com
It's time for another upgrade, and I'm making the move into version 6.2 of Drupal. I'm a little lacking in the updates category, but nothing serious... it's more a matter of getting more functionality and usability in place. I also want to do a total redesign, but I'm not sure where to start.

aStore
So I decided to play around with Amazon's aStore, just to see how it works. Don't worry, I'm not trying to push anything (although I won't stop anyone from getting something either), I just want to know what people think of it in general. Does anyone else use affiliate links for Amazon? I'm still not sure how I feel about them.

Knitting
Yes, knitting. There are two projects to start on: first, I'm getting ready to embark on the road to socks. I've been reading up on them and trying to find a pattern, and I think I'm going to go toe-up this time, so I can get a feel for how much yarn I need. Project #2 is a muffler for my wife. She got me some really nice yarn for it, and I want to make sure to do it justice...

Everything Else
Yes, very vague, but true... and if you'd like to know, feel free to ask. Between work and home with two kids and three cats (and my wonderful wife, of course), I wonder how I have time to get anything started, much less completed...

I definitely can't say it better than they did, so from drupal.org:

Downloaded and updated on my localhost. It's nice, although I haven't had a chance to play with it much so far. The update process was really smooth, with no errors throughout. We'll see what happens when I try it on this site. Time for the checklist, starting with a full backup (just in case).

How long to wait though... that's my next decision. I think I just need to have a chance to make sure I have modules and themes ready to go when I make the jump. 

Whether you're starting fresh or upgrading, start here for information and download links.

It is done.

I did the upgrade from Drupal 4.7 to v5.3 yesterday, and finished up some of it this morning. It went smoother than I thought it would, and I have to say it a definite improvement. On the administration side, the admin pages seem to be cleaner and easier to navigate, as well as being more helpful. Cheers to Drupal for making the process as easy as it is.

To be sure it went well, I actually remembered to RTFM on upgrading. All of the old files were removed, and the new ones put in their place. This was especially important for the modules, most of which would've been broken. If anything, the site seems to be working better.

Next step: re-doing the look of the site. I'm using a theme called NewsFlash from RoopleTheme (in green, of course). Once I get PHPTemplate down a bit more I should be able to put something decent together.

...for a little while, anyway.

The move to 4.7 went on with no problem, especially since there weren't a lot of changes between that and 4.6 (which is what I started with). The change to 5.x scares me a little. It's not that I think it will be bad by any means, I'm just not sure where to start in making sure that all of my themes and modules are ready.

I've already started looking at my theme (which is more or less the least of the problems I might run into). I just hope all my modules work when all is said and done. This is going to be a big change, and it might as well be done now.

Yes, the one bonus of almost no readers...

i seem to be a little behind.

Since I set up Drupal on this site, I've been running 4.6.x - which is now more than a little out of date. Hmm... maybe I should do this post after, in case there's some crazy exploit that I have wide open.

The plan:

• Upgrade to 4.7.7 [done, and went well], then
• Upgrade to 5.2, then
• Hope that everything is working correctly.

Has anyone else done a Drupal upgrade, especially recently?

If you see (or saw) the maintenance page for a little while, that would be the reason... One of the minor benefits of having a low-traffic site is that I don't have to worry about too much of an interruption if I upgrade during "normal" hours.

this time, it's for real. maybe.

We're moving again... our third apartment since april 2005. It's not a bad thing though. We moved from the first place 'cause we didn't like living in an apartment complex. We're moving from this place only because we need more space...

... which is also a big part of why I haven't updated in a while (although I've been around). We are now a family of four, with a baby boy as our latest addition. He's actually pretty huge for 9 weeks (14 lbs, 10 oz as of this morning). Things are settling down now (apart from the moving thing, of course), so hopefully I'll be able to update more regularly.

obligatory new year's post, yes.

It's 2007 now, and 2006 flew by. Seriously, I felt like 2006 was never going to end, and now it's over. What happened in your life? What are you looking forward to in the new year?

Yes, a little on the lame side, but not that bad. It's been a while since I've posted anything, and I've been busy. 2006 brought a few weddings (mine, one of my best friends, and others), and some great news... I'm going to be a dad (again). w00t.

I'd like to make 2007... well, just make 2007 a little better (2006 will be a tough act to follow).

Oh yes, and through the magic of Drupal, I actually posted this at exactly midnight (Eastern time, GMT -4). heh.