Don't Back Down

So far, things are going really well with the move to Site5. The server is fast, response from support is great, I couldn't ask for anything more. So far, I haven't had any major problems. The largest issue was registering the name servers with my registrar (I use GoDaddy).

The response time has been nothing short of outstanding. Despite receiving an email saying that reseller accounts would take time to set up, my welcome email came within minutes. Literally. The order confirmation came in at 12:06 and the welcome email arrived at 12:14.

I did need some help finding my way to a secure connection for cPanel. It can be accessed, but I didn't know how to get there! So I contacted support, and within a few minutes had the answer I need. Just had to connect to the server name, with a port of 2083. It doesn't seem possible to connect to my domain name - I have to use the server. This feature is available on other servers too (TCH has it, in fact), so you might want to try it out for yourself to see if you can use it.

One thing that was a bit unusual is that I wasn't able to use the standard AddType to .htaccess in order to start using PHP in my documents with an HTML extension. I also had to use the AddHandler tag to process things correctly. Here's what it looks like now:

      AddHandler application/x-httpd-php .html
      AddType application/x-httpd-php .html

Now the HTML extensions of the files parses as PHP, and works great. I don't know if the standard shared support at Site5 is this good, but the reseller support just smokes. I'm very impressed. And I'm picky. It's not easy to impress me with customer support. So far, they've done an outstanding job.

I finally broke down and updated all the templates to the new look. I think I got all of them. I know the search results template still needs work, and the comment error template probably does as well. Dang, I forgot the stylesheet for the feeds, so that one needs work. But it's pretty close.

Read "Cleaning House" »

So I'm trying to look into some hosting options. My current host, Total Choice Hosting, does a reasonable job, has a decent plan, but their support is lacking. They have the technology, they just don't have the attitude. Or rather, they do have the attitude. It's quite common for me to submit a request, at which point I'm informed that the support desk doesn't support that sort of thing. Since I know they do, I ask for the ticket to be escalated, at which point I'm told that, after reviewing the ticket, they have decided to escalate it. Then I start over with the level 2 tech, and eventually it seems to get ironed out.

Read "Hosting Solutions" »

In the second release of the day, I've got another new version of MT-Approval. During testing, we found that the behavior of the comment posting process changes a bit if comment registration (via something like TypeKey) is required.

If it's optional, or not even turned on, you would not have noticed the problem. But if you have TypeKey enabled and it is required to post, you wouldn't have been able to use MT-Approval. Now you can. Enjoy.

Read "MT-Approval 0.1.8" »

Yes, another update to MT-Approval. This one simply enhances the logging feature. The distribution includes a slightly modified copy of view_log.tmpl, which should go into your tmpl/cms directory, under your main Movable Type installation (alongside approval.pm and few dozen others).

Read "MT-Approval 0.1.7" »

How else would we read even more evidence about the ever-increasing costs of certain programs? Or find out about the death of a giant buck deer? Naturally, we also may need to find more information about truly disconcerting issues, and without the news, we wouldn't. But I can't help but think it still isn't enough. Strange words, as by most any count the news we get is way too much. But this week I've found myself starved for news - in truth, one specific item.

On Sunday afternoon, we witnessed a horrific wreck on the interstate. Amazingly, only two cars were damaged, but the wreck was spectacular. One car weaved suddenly across several lanes of traffic, swerving onto the shoulder and then back into the travel lanes. Suddenly, another car started to roll, and then rolled over and over and over until coming to a rest against a small embankment.

Denise and I quickly parked our vehicle and did what we could to comfort the victims - but without wanting to cause more damage to already injured bodies, we were left doing little more than moral support until trained personnel arrived.

There was one person (the driver) in the first vehicle, who really seemed to be in pretty good shape. In the other vehicle, there were seven passengers. One of them was ejected from the rear window of the SUV as it rolled, and two others (including a young baby) were out by the time the vehicle came to a stop - perhaps under their own power.

We were there on the shoulder for nearly an hour, which is fine - I'm glad that we were able to offer any assistance at all. And the other vehicles nearby contained an amazing assortment of nurses and volunteer firefighters and just regular folks like ourselves who wanted to lend a hand. The emergency crews arrived only minutes later and took over. Everyone seemed to be in pretty good shape.

But we had no way to find out what shape. I have been unable to find even a mention of this wreck in the news outlets. One lady, in particular (the one thrown through the back window while the vehicle rolled) was bleeding quite a bit, and we were very concerned for her. Perhaps in the end, it wasn't really important that we know her fate, but it was bugging us nonetheless. But the local papers contained nothing about the wreck. Why?

While not worthy of such general interest as the giant deer buck, surely it should be able to be found somewhere! Alas, we had no luck at all. Until last night. One of Denise's relatives works as a nurse (sorry if that's not the correct job title, but it's basically what she does) and she managed to locate the family in the hospital, and talked to them. All this without us even knowing or asking!

It turns out that nearly everyone is fine, and appears that they have, in fact, already been released. But the woman who was ejected from the rear window is still in the hospital, as is the baby. They are doing well, however, and are scheduled to be released today. Whew. I'm glad we know, even though in the end it really doesn't matter much. It is comforting to have the knowledge, even if it really isn't any of our business, nor was it the sole reason we stopped.

I just wish we would have been able to find something - anything - about this wreck locally, without having to rely on a completely unexpected act from a family member who just happened to be in a position to help. Sadly, we probably would have heard something if there was something interesting about it (like this article about a vehicle that flipped and ended up on top of some concrete barriers) or someone died (like the coverage on former NFL star Reggie White). But everyone is okay? Nothing interesting? Sorry, no coverage. Why is that?

Asa talks about the browser share he's seeing in the top 100 blogs. Interesting numbers, with Firefox assuming 20% or so of traffic and Gecko-based browsers picking up another 5%. I thought those numbers sounded low for my blog, so off I went to find the answer. Turns out I was wrong.

For December, the Firefox traffic rang in at 18.7%, with other Gecko-based browsers showing at a clip of right at 5%. These numbers are only off slightly from last month, but in reality, Firefox has gone down slighty in that time (from 19.2%), while the Gecko numbers stayed fairly steady.

The really interesting thing was that those statistics are for my blog - not for the root domain itself. The root domain (cxliv.org) is really only used for downloads and images and things like that. Any blog-specific data, such as pages or stylesheets or feeds, comes from the subdomain (jayseae.cxliv.org).

What I found when I checked those numbers was startling. There, Firefox traffic amounts to 57.3% of the hits, while other Gecko browsers accounted for about 3%. Part of the reason for this is the RDF document used for auto-updating the Bloglines Toolkit. Naturally this shouldn't be served to any other browsers in any regular situations.

But it also accounts for downloads - which includes Movable Type plugins. I find that fascinating. Does it mean that those using Firefox are more likely to download stuff and install it? While I personally find Firefox much more secure than other browsers, theoretically that could spell trouble if someone decided to take advantage of that sort of statistic, because it (apparently) indicates that those users are more likely to trust what they find on the web - they are certainly more likely to download it than their counterparts with IE!

Way back when, I changed my permalink methods so that I would end up with more useful link names. More useful to me, and perhaps to you as well. Over time, this generally worked very well. But as time wore on, I found more and more often I was creating entries for software releases and they all had the very same format that I had to put into the keywords field all the time. Blech.

Read "More Dirify Options" »

Sorry for the rapid releases, but someone (who shall remain nameless at this time) keeps asking for features. Luckily for this person, the features requested are not only useful, but they are fairly small, easily added and should have fairly broad appeal. So without further ado, I release software project Satyanarayan, version 0.1.6 of MT-Approval.

This version adds a logging function to the plugin, which will insert a simple one-line entry in your activity log that will tell you the results of processing a comment with MT-Approval. This entry will tell you if the comment was permitted or denied, as well as the name of the person leaving the comment (from the comment submission itself), in case you'd like to try and track down that person.

Read "MT-Approval 0.1.6" »

I've released an update to MT-Approval to address an issue with accessing the script when you aren't signed in to MT yet. And while I almost had version 0.1.4 out the door (in fact, a few of you may have downloaded it, since it was available), my development continued on the next version, which has since earned a codename of Arvind.

Read "MT-Approval 0.1.5" »

Apparently archaeologists in Jerusalem believe they have discovered the remains of the Siloam Pool, where a story told about Jesus curing a man's blindness. I think it's cool. Whether you are a Christian, believe in Jesus as a historical figure or don't even think that much is true, that something can be uncovered from 2000-odd years ago is neat. I found a book at the thrift store the other day that was 125 years old, and I thought that was awesome. Especially since it was only a buck. I can't even fathom something 15 times older.

What I don't see though is why people are so defiant against Christianity - or any religion at all, for that matter. Now don't get me wrong. There have been many times in my life, and I'm certain that there will be more, where I have questioned what I believe. I have wondered if the whole pursuit is simply delusional or if it could possibly result in an eternal life in heaven. I think it's human to question, and that's not what I don't understand.

What I see from those who I will call atheists is something different. And before I get into it, I'll say that I might be using the wrong term. It's just easier for me to use a term. By "atheist", I'm simply referring to someone who doesn't believe there is anything but this life. That when we die, it's over. If I misuse the term and offend you, I'm sorry. Provide the correct information and I'll update this entry with it. But as you'll see, the term is just a tool to make things easier, and doesn't really make a difference. The word alone doesn't define something. The behavior of those who I'm talking about does.

And I don't get those people because they argue that science doesn't support the existence of a God. And that's fine, as they are certainly entitled to their opinion. What I don't get is that they would prefer to believe in nothing than something. I mean come on - what harm is there in believing that there is a God and that He has promised certain things through His word, contained in the Bible? That you're duped into going to church most Sundays, reading and studying a historical text (divinely inspired or not, it is a historical text with some pretty decent things to say)? That you don't want to get to your deathbed, and realize that the great computer program that designed the earth thinks you fool for believing in something all your life?

I don't get it. Even if you are wrong, so what? You spend your life believing in something greater than yourself. You share time with other people who believe similarly to yourself, and you enjoy their company as well as the special moments found through time spent together. Often you help the lives of not only yourself or those other people, but people who would never have been helped otherwise. This might be through something simple like a few kind words to a coworker or it might be something more tangible, like a donation to the less fortunate or perhaps even a meal for someone who cannot afford it on their own.

Now I'm not saying that atheists don't do these things. I'm not saying that at all, as I'm certain that there are some that are quite generous with their time and their money. I'm simply pointing out - using the scientific method if you like - what it is that atheists think is so wrong about believing in God. I don't know. I'd like to know. Is it that they don't want to be victims of a hoax? Or that they simply don't want to feel like they need such a "crutch" to get through life? Is it that they simply don't have time for things associated with God and need evidence (or a lack thereof) to support such a decision?

As I said, I don't know. I don't see it. But I do know this much. I am certain that my life now is better than my life even a year ago, when I felt that I didn't need God, or more specifically, the church. And what have I lost? The chance to disprove the Bible? To proclaim the church as the greatest hoax in history? The opportunity to declare that I don't need a crutch to get through life? I think that's a trade worth making.

Merry Christmas.