bucketFountain

This is what I’m thinking of doing with the redesign. Andy commented that he quite likes the current design. Alright! I like it too, but it is time for a change. I will definitely keep a copy on the server for old times sake after I redecorate.

A few months ago I noticed that my coffee plunger was producing rancid cups of foulness instead of coffee. I put this down to having not cleaned the plunger one day, and then leaving it for about three weeks. In due course the contents went mouldy and smelt bad. One day I cleaned the plunger, made some coffee, drank a sip and nearly threw up. It was the worst tasting coffee I had ever had. Rather than clean the plunger thoroughly, I rinsed it out and gave up making my own coffee.

This morning I had to have a cup of coffee and used the plunger again. The first cup was fine, but the second resembled in flavour the very urine of satan himself. The plunger must still be tainted. I decided to search the net to see if this was a common phenomenon. Coffee makers can become tainted, but in my case it might be the jug I use to boil the water, or the plunger, or is it my lucky cup, which also goes mouldy periodically?

I got caught in a rain shower yesterday and took shelter in a bookshop. I ended up buying one of those “Teach Yourself in 24 hours” books on PHP, MySQL and Apache.
Hour 1, install MySQL. Easy.
Hour 2, install Apache. No sweat.
Hour 3, install PHP and get it to play with Apache. Hmmm.
After about 4 hours of trying all sorts of things I discovered that the version of Apache (2.0.43) and PHP (4.2.3) provided on the CD that comes with the book are incompatible. AY? php.net finally provided me with the answer:

Apache 2.0 SAPI-support started with PHP 4.2.0. PHP 4.2.3 works with Apache 2.0.39, don’t use any other version of Apache with PHP 4.2.3.

I downloaded and installed a different version of PHP and it worked first time and with no problems. I wrote to the publisher and told them it was a ‘poor show’. It would have sucked even more if I’d been a real newbie and never done any kind of development.

But it all works now and I’m happy. Now hopefully I’m gonna get to the bottom of this coffee conundrum.

I’m planning my new site layout and being pulled in many different directions. To achieve what I want I have realised that I’m limited to quite a plain layout. I’m aware that CSS has a number of limitations at the moment, and it is frustrating when you encounter them. Some are not related so much to the spec but as to how IE interprets it. Other browsers are better of course, but only a relatively small group of enlightened surfers use them. I could just sod my principles and get the layout I want. At least I know that nearly anything will be better the current bodge job.

Good news for me – when I searched google today ol’ bucketfountain came up second. I had thought google had forsaken me.

11 days it took me to get an entry on the site for April… have been writing a lot on PAPER, it’s too much hassle putting stuff online, especially when the server hosting my site seems to be a 286. Yes, it’s as slow as fuck. Anyone know of a good and cheap Domino host?

Unless you use Opera. Then some funny things happen with the style sheets. So a tip – use your Mozilla browser until I can sort out the Opera glitches. Anyhoo. It definately looks better in Mozilla than IE5.

I have still only written 2000 words of my novel , and I’m still trying to figure out what the hell it’s all about.

My brother posted this tirade about mobile phones on his most excellent site. I *HATE* novelity ring tones. They are for retards.

Last month I mentioned that I was taking part in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). It has started and I have laid down the first 2000 words of a master work. It took me 4 hours to write 2000 words and that is cause for alarm. Still, it’s a start and I’m sure that as I get into the swing of things it will become a lot easier.

Also, the new interface for the website is looking good and hopefully I will be able to upload it quite soon.

far out – it has been a while since I have updated the site. I have been working on the new site and updating that – so a lot of blogs will appear when I replicate the new site with this one. Toying with the idea of putting a ‘send a friend a postcard’ type thing on the site too. The interface is loking a lot smarter as well, but it is very blue. Oh yeah, had to pay 18 quid for a black cab from Hammersmith to St Johns Wood last night. That is well minging.

there is a large billboard on Edgeware Road advertising a TV documentary on Michael Jackson’s face. That’s right, his face. It is a great idea for a doco and if I remember I will be turning on and tuning in. The number of people stopping and staring at the billboard is amazing. You actually see people just standing there on the busy sidewalk staring at the series of giant portraits of the man. They start with his face as a boy and trace the degeneration into his present state.

The new site comes together. It is gradually becoming more busy looking. As it becomes more familiar it makes more sense, it seems that I know what it needs and where to put it.

Listening to The Strokes (nice) but it sounds like they keep playing the same song. Oh yeah, at last I bought a decent discman and paired it with some DJ headphones. Fucken A!