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Sunday, November 28, 2004

Busy Time

Stardate 58112.8 (11-28-2004)
Yeah, yeah. It's been exactly twenty days since the last entry. There have been a number of reasons. The first is that I decided the process has become complex and time consuming, so I am changing it. From the user point of view nothing will change. The way it used to work is that I would type an entry, update the welcome page, update the menu to refer to the new entry, update the RSS feed, and possibly update the Updates page. Each new entry requires cutting and pasting of formatting code. I did fix the need to update the menu. The problem was that it didn't like not having a file name passed to it, because I was initializing a variable to an empty string instead of undefined. Then I changed the script to sort the list of entries from lowest to highest, and if a specific file is not passed to the script, it loads the last one from the list. (Using a stardate as the name helps with sorting, as standard date formats require more complex sort algorithms.) Now there is no need to update the menu unless I add an item to it. The welcome page is a little more complicated, since there are a few elements mixed in that get changed. The plan is to put a PHP script in it, which will read from the updates file, and grab the first ten items.  The favorites list is also a trick, but I also have an idea about how to get it working.

Another issue with this is that I could only update from my desktop. When I get home from work, more and more often I don't want to head to the basement and get back on the computer. I do have some free time at work, so doing log entries from the web makes more sense. I am still working on this one.
Next, I installed Firefox. I like the tabs, especially the fact I can set the Home page to multiple tabs. It also has RSS integrated. The problem here is that it does not recognize mine. I am still working on why. This has slowed the web based log entry, since I want that page to update the feed for each new entry. Perl has a module to build RSS files. I have all the old entries converted. I have not yet abandoned IE, because there are a couple of areas where Firefox does not work yet. The Real video segments on the Amazing Race pages are one. It won't let me select anything but the pre-race interviews. 

Another reason is that I have been sick on and off for the last few weeks. Nothing much, just a stuffy head or sore throat. It does exhaust me, though. 
Yet another reason is that work has been busy. We have a few new clients, so that means some custom work to do. Because of this, the number of issues is at an all time high. Last Monday was reorganization again. The guy who was assisting me is now my boss. I don't mind that. I didn't go for the job, because it would be in conflict with my goal of putting my family first. The last guy who had it described it as going to one meeting and getting beat up about one issue, then going to the next to get beat up about something else. When I am put under that type of stress I tend to get short with my wife and kids, and regret it. I do wonder, however, if this is the right thing to do. You're supposed to climb the corporate ladder, right? I read a long time ago that software developers who did not were eventually left behind by new technology and younger employees. That does worry me.

The reorg did upset me. I had a number of conversations with the last guy about doing web work, and he kept telling me everyone on the team would get to do it. The reorg split the web developers into their own group, so my chances of doing anything with the web are zero. I did go to the head of the group to ask to be considered for any open positions. It's worth a shot.

Today I am 40 years old. I had thought about doing a bit about things I have learned, or some sort of retrospective. The past, however, is done. I see no point in rehashing it. The flaws I see in myself in years past are still there. I don't see making any changes that would cure them. I don't have a desire for a two seat sports car, or quitting my job and taking off to the tropics, or any other dramatic change. I am the same as I was.

Which, to be honest with myself, is where I have always wanted to be.

End of Entry

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