Keith Higgs' Blog http://blog.case.edu/dkh2/ ... somebody has to think of this stuff. en-US 2005-, david.higgs@case.edu (dkh2) Fri, 27 May 2005 07:27:11 EST Fri, 27 May 2005 07:27:11 EST david.higgs@case.edu (dkh2) david.higgs@case.edu (dkh2) http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Movable Type v3.121 60 One Week Later http://blog.case.edu/dkh2/2005/05/27/one_week_later First off, I'm only a little surprised that I'm still able to login on the Case network. I'm assuming for now that the lockout will happen immediately after payroll is processed at the end of the month. So, for now, I figure what the heck. Why not post an update? I'm finishing off my first week here at Infiniti Systems Group with my nose already deep into one of their core projects. My first big move here was to jump right into billable hours on a project. If you're not doing something that drives revenue you need to evaluate the criticality of what you're doing. Anyway, those years of writing PL/SQL packages on the KSL Tech Team are now paying off. The drive from North Olmsted to Brecksville is actually very smooth. If I don't hit the road early enough to be ahead of the crowd on I-480 it is very convenient to pop down to I-80 and enjoy a ride with practically no traffic at all. Then, when I arrive at the office I have the pleasure of parking within 30 feet of the front door in a FREE lot! For those of you who give a flying hoot, my (marginally obfuscated) email here is khiggs at myisg dot com. Time to write some code.... http://blog.case.edu/dkh2/2005/05/27/one_week_later General Fri, 27 May 2005 07:27:11 EST First off, I'm only a little surprised that I'm still able to login on the Case network. I'm assuming for now that the lockout will happen immediately after payroll is processed at the end of the month. So, for now, I figure what the heck. Why not post an update?

I'm finishing off my first week here at Infiniti Systems Group with my nose already deep into one of their core projects. My first big move here was to jump right into billable hours on a project. If you're not doing something that drives revenue you need to evaluate the criticality of what you're doing. Anyway, those years of writing PL/SQL packages on the KSL Tech Team are now paying off.

The drive from North Olmsted to Brecksville is actually very smooth. If I don't hit the road early enough to be ahead of the crowd on I-480 it is very convenient to pop down to I-80 and enjoy a ride with practically no traffic at all. Then, when I arrive at the office I have the pleasure of parking within 30 feet of the front door in a FREE lot!

For those of you who give a flying hoot, my (marginally obfuscated) email here is khiggs at myisg dot com.

Time to write some code.

]]> And the lame duck says: "Quack, Quack!" http://blog.case.edu/dkh2/2005/05/20/and_the_lame_duck_says_quack_quack Counting down the last hours of Case employment. Aside from checking that the server shutdown I scheduled for later today actually happens as intended, and attending the farewell event they're putting on for me this afternoon I've already completed all of my official to-do list items for the day. I guess it's time to start purging my desktop of my multiple gigabytes of MP3 files.... http://blog.case.edu/dkh2/2005/05/20/and_the_lame_duck_says_quack_quack General Fri, 20 May 2005 10:57:10 EST Counting down the last hours of Case employment. Aside from checking that the server shutdown I scheduled for later today actually happens as intended, and attending the farewell event they're putting on for me this afternoon I've already completed all of my official to-do list items for the day. I guess it's time to start purging my desktop of my multiple gigabytes of MP3 files.

]]> KSL Needs a Webmaster -or- 'Goodbye CWRUel World' http://blog.case.edu/dkh2/2005/05/11/ksl_needs_a_webmaster_or_goodbye_cwruel_world Yes, I'm going over the wall. As of end-of-day on Friday, May 20 I will no longer be employed by Case. I've accepted an offer from Infiniti Systems Group in Brecksville to be what they are calling a Project Consultant. I won't go into the talk about what they do because you can follow the link to their site and see that for yourself. What lead me to this? Let me say right here that my decision to leave Case has nothing to do with any individual. People always speculate that so-and-so is leaving because he was finally fed up with ... That is not the case here. The Tech Team works hard and plays hard so there are the normal, occasional conflicts but nothing that leads to a long term decision to pack up and leave. This is more from my need to stretch my legs now and then and do something different. I'm a creative person who needs to express that creativity now and then. So, as you can guess, the Case branding does play a part in this decision as it does a certain amount of creativity squelching. I'm doing more and more of the same things on a day-to-day basis and that is not a good thing for me. So, I put the resumé up on a couple of boards and waited for the right opportunity to find me. That's right. I did practically no active searching for job opportunities. I put up a resumé and let the head hunters find me with offers based on it. I have a perfectly good, stable job that has a lot to offer and there's no need to jump ship irrationally just because of a few fixable leaks. At any rate, for all of you web development geeks out there, polish up your resumé with emphasis on all of your web coding languages and database work because the KSL Tech Team is unique on campus as a place to write code. Have a look at the student job description on the KSL web site to get an idea of what to expect. P.S. Jeremy, you're going to want to archive that post about branding your departmental blog.... http://blog.case.edu/dkh2/2005/05/11/ksl_needs_a_webmaster_or_goodbye_cwruel_world General Wed, 11 May 2005 14:54:14 EST Yes, I'm going over the wall. As of end-of-day on Friday, May 20 I will no longer be employed by Case. I've accepted an offer from Infiniti Systems Group in Brecksville to be what they are calling a Project Consultant. I won't go into the talk about what they do because you can follow the link to their site and see that for yourself.

What lead me to this? Let me say right here that my decision to leave Case has nothing to do with any individual. People always speculate that so-and-so is leaving because he was finally fed up with ... That is not the case here. The Tech Team works hard and plays hard so there are the normal, occasional conflicts but nothing that leads to a long term decision to pack up and leave.

This is more from my need to stretch my legs now and then and do something different. I'm a creative person who needs to express that creativity now and then. So, as you can guess, the Case branding does play a part in this decision as it does a certain amount of creativity squelching. I'm doing more and more of the same things on a day-to-day basis and that is not a good thing for me. So, I put the resumé up on a couple of boards and waited for the right opportunity to find me.

That's right. I did practically no active searching for job opportunities. I put up a resumé and let the head hunters find me with offers based on it. I have a perfectly good, stable job that has a lot to offer and there's no need to jump ship irrationally just because of a few fixable leaks.

At any rate, for all of you web development geeks out there, polish up your resumé with emphasis on all of your web coding languages and database work because the KSL Tech Team is unique on campus as a place to write code. Have a look at the student job description on the KSL web site to get an idea of what to expect.

P.S. Jeremy, you're going to want to archive that post about branding your departmental blog.

]]> The Collapse of Free Speech in the US http://blog.case.edu/dkh2/2005/04/26/the_collapse_of_free_speech_in_the_us Well, as if you hadn't already guessed, your Constitutionally guaranteed freedom of speech has been thwarted once again. Have a look at this article over at Time Magazine to see how our Chief Executive (President) and his underlings are mucking it up again. You have a seat on an international organization and represent the United States in any way? Only if you live and breathe the party line.... http://blog.case.edu/dkh2/2005/04/26/the_collapse_of_free_speech_in_the_us Politix Tue, 26 Apr 2005 12:04:00 EST Well, as if you hadn't already guessed, your Constitutionally guaranteed freedom of speech has been thwarted once again.

Have a look at this article over at Time Magazine to see how our Chief Executive (President) and his underlings are mucking it up again.

You have a seat on an international organization and represent the United States in any way? Only if you live and breathe the party line.

]]> Einstein's Head http://blog.case.edu/dkh2/2005/04/22/einsteins_head Scientists exhume Einstein's head and discover that it too, like the universe, is expanding.... http://blog.case.edu/dkh2/2005/04/22/einsteins_head General Fri, 22 Apr 2005 08:27:25 EST Einstein's head
Scientists exhume Einstein's head and discover that it too, like the universe, is expanding.]]> Keith's Step-By-Step Departmental Blog Branding Guide http://blog.case.edu/dkh2/2005/04/20/blog_branding_guide Case Branding A Movable Type Blog This page should provide all the information you will need to apply a Case branded template to your departmental or organizational blog. The primary incentive for branding your blog is to maintain consistency with the appearance of your departmental web site. The example I provide here uses the Advanced template but, I will provide notes along the way for the few considerations you will need to make when using the Normal template. The process for blog branding is straight forward. In these steps you will actually make your blog easier to maintain and modify through the use of templates and modules you will create in the Movable Type administrative interface. Movable Type is well documented so any questions you have about the proprietary tags should be answered by the online help files via the link at the top of the administrative interface. Outline We will follow this outline for the major steps in this process. Backup existing source code Create several modules Blog ID Header Tags Head Scripts Links Calendar Main Menu Footer Masthead Primary Navbar Create new page templates All Media Stylesheet Print Media Stylesheet Screen Media Stylesheet Index Category Index Date Archive Index Category Archive Individual Entry Archive Monthly Archive... http://blog.case.edu/dkh2/2005/04/20/blog_branding_guide Blog Branding Wed, 20 Apr 2005 16:03:25 EST

Case Branding A Movable Type Blog

This page should provide all the information you will need to apply a Case branded template to your departmental or organizational blog. The primary incentive for branding your blog is to maintain consistency with the appearance of your departmental web site. The example I provide here uses the Advanced template but, I will provide notes along the way for the few considerations you will need to make when using the Normal template.

The process for blog branding is straight forward. In these steps you will actually make your blog easier to maintain and modify through the use of templates and modules you will create in the Movable Type administrative interface. Movable Type is well documented so any questions you have about the proprietary tags should be answered by the online help files via the link at the top of the administrative interface.

Outline

We will follow this outline for the major steps in this process.

  • Backup existing source code
  • Create several modules
    • Blog ID
    • Header Tags
    • Head Scripts
    • Links
    • Calendar
    • Main Menu
    • Footer
    • Masthead
    • Primary Navbar
  • Create new page templates
    • All Media Stylesheet
    • Print Media Stylesheet
    • Screen Media Stylesheet
    • Index
    • Category Index
    • Date Archive Index
    • Category Archive
    • Individual Entry Archive
    • Monthly Archive
]]> Mapping Your Blog@Case Directory on XP SP2 http://blog.case.edu/dkh2/2005/04/15/mapping_your_blogcase_directory_on_xp_sp2 A big shout out to Jeremy Smith for locating the information on how to make Windows XP play nice with WebDAV. For those of you who have installed SP2 the solution lies in re-enabling basic authentication. Follow the trackback to Jeremy's post for details.... http://blog.case.edu/dkh2/2005/04/15/mapping_your_blogcase_directory_on_xp_sp2 Tech Fri, 15 Apr 2005 09:40:55 EST A big shout out to Jeremy Smith for locating the information on how to make Windows XP play nice with WebDAV. For those of you who have installed SP2 the solution lies in re-enabling basic authentication. Follow the trackback to Jeremy's post for details.

]]> Mapping Your Blog@Case Directory on XP SP2 http://blog.case.edu/dkh2/2005/04/15/mapping_your_blogcase_directory_on_xp_sp2 A big shout out to Jeremy Smith for locating the information on how to make Windows XP play nice with WebDAV. For those of you who have installed SP2 the solution lies in re-enabling basic authentication. Follow the trackback to Jeremy's post for details.... http://blog.case.edu/dkh2/2005/04/15/mapping_your_blogcase_directory_on_xp_sp2 Tech Fri, 15 Apr 2005 09:40:55 EST A big shout out to Jeremy Smith for locating the information on how to make Windows XP play nice with WebDAV. For those of you who have installed SP2 the solution lies in re-enabling basic authentication. Follow the trackback to Jeremy's post for details.

]]> Draft "Branding Your Blog" Word Doc http://blog.case.edu/dkh2/2005/04/14/draft_branding_your_blog_word_doc Today's project was to organize the information in the last several posts into a single, coherent document. Download file and submit your comments here. Be specific and identify document content specifically when commenting.... http://blog.case.edu/dkh2/2005/04/14/draft_branding_your_blog_word_doc Blog Branding Thu, 14 Apr 2005 16:07:08 EST Today's project was to organize the information in the last several posts into a single, coherent document.

Download file and submit your comments here. Be specific and identify document content specifically when commenting.

]]> WebDAV Java GUI Client http://blog.case.edu/dkh2/2005/04/14/webdav_java_gui_client As many of you in the Case Geekdom know, Windows is flakey when it comes to authorizations and client connections to WebDAV hosts. Thus, no native DAV connection to Blog@Case folders for you. If you've ever uploaded a file to your blogspace and wish to delete it, the only hope for you without a third party client, or access to a Mac/Linux box is to contact the Blog.Case administrators and beg them to delete the file for you. Not acceptable. So, this morning I went on a search for a Windows WebDAV client that would allow me to do some remedial fial management. Thanks to the folks at U. Cal. Irvine ICS there is a Java based WebDAV client that gives you access. You can download the archive from their site. Now you can delete that badly munged test image you uploaded while tweaking your templates.... http://blog.case.edu/dkh2/2005/04/14/webdav_java_gui_client Tech Thu, 14 Apr 2005 09:32:12 EST As many of you in the Case Geekdom know, Windows is flakey when it comes to authorizations and client connections to WebDAV hosts. Thus, no native DAV connection to Blog@Case folders for you. If you've ever uploaded a file to your blogspace and wish to delete it, the only hope for you without a third party client, or access to a Mac/Linux box is to contact the Blog.Case administrators and beg them to delete the file for you.

Not acceptable.

So, this morning I went on a search for a Windows WebDAV client that would allow me to do some remedial fial management.

Thanks to the folks at U. Cal. Irvine ICS there is a Java based WebDAV client that gives you access. You can download the archive from their site.

Now you can delete that badly munged test image you uploaded while tweaking your templates.

]]> Roll Up Your Sleeves! It's Time ForThe Index Template! http://blog.case.edu/dkh2/2005/04/13/branding_the_index_template If you've followed me this far you should now have all of the pieces in place to paste in your new Index template. Assuming you used the 'Advanced Cranberry' stylesheet, when we're done your blog will look just like mine only with 4 exceptions.Your department name is used instead of 'Kelvin Smith Library'Your choice of banner graphic appears behind your department nameYour BlogName appears instead of mineYou don't have 'Keith's Cubicle Cam' or the 'Current Terror Level' below your links... http://blog.case.edu/dkh2/2005/04/13/branding_the_index_template Blog Branding Wed, 13 Apr 2005 09:10:25 EST If you've followed me this far you should now have all of the pieces in place to paste in your new Index template. Assuming you used the 'Advanced Cranberry' stylesheet, when we're done your blog will look just like mine only with 4 exceptions.
  1. Your department name is used instead of 'Kelvin Smith Library'
  2. Your choice of banner graphic appears behind your department name
  3. Your BlogName appears instead of mine
  4. You don't have 'Keith's Cubicle Cam' or the 'Current Terror Level' below your links

]]> Blog Branding: The Footer http://blog.case.edu/dkh2/2005/04/12/blog_branding_the_footer Creating the footer is virtually identical to creating the masthead. You'll be creating a module in your template config page. Once again, this code is an HTML fragment with none of the HEAD.../HEAD, yadda-yadda-yadda that a well formed document would have.... http://blog.case.edu/dkh2/2005/04/12/blog_branding_the_footer Blog Branding Tue, 12 Apr 2005 13:35:07 EST Creating the footer is virtually identical to creating the masthead. You'll be creating a module in your template config page. Once again, this code is an HTML fragment with none of the HEAD.../HEAD, yadda-yadda-yadda that a well formed document would have.

]]> Blog Branding: Sidebar Content http://blog.case.edu/dkh2/2005/04/12/blog_branding_sidebar_content Sidebars can exist on both sides of the branded template. My Index template places my links block on the right along with some other stuff I've custom coded into it. Where you place specific content in each of your templates is up to you but the process for creating each block of content is the same. For this post I will be discussing two specific pieces of your existing Index template that are re-used all over your Blog@Case site. You will be creating/updating two more items on your Templates page. One for your Links, the other for your Main Menu. My 'Main Menu' is done as a module but, my 'Links' block was done in the 'Index Templates' area. It makes more sense to me for both of these to be done as modules but they will work as either.... http://blog.case.edu/dkh2/2005/04/12/blog_branding_sidebar_content Blog Branding Tue, 12 Apr 2005 10:54:42 EST Sidebars can exist on both sides of the branded template. My Index template places my links block on the right along with some other stuff I've custom coded into it. Where you place specific content in each of your templates is up to you but the process for creating each block of content is the same. For this post I will be discussing two specific pieces of your existing Index template that are re-used all over your Blog@Case site.

You will be creating/updating two more items on your Templates page. One for your Links, the other for your Main Menu. My 'Main Menu' is done as a module but, my 'Links' block was done in the 'Index Templates' area. It makes more sense to me for both of these to be done as modules but they will work as either.

]]> Blog Branding: Loading The Stylesheets http://blog.case.edu/dkh2/2005/04/12/blog_branding_loading_the_stylesheets Once you've built those first two modules you'll want to prepare the ground by installing your stylesheets. Being the cautious coder that I want to be I left the old stylesheet in place and made plans to work around it. That made it possible for me to discard a lot of stuff from the default template that just didn't map over to the new, branded template. Working from the "Templates" page again, you'll be creating three new templates in the top-most set of files. These will be your general stylesheet and two media based stylesheets for print and screen.... http://blog.case.edu/dkh2/2005/04/12/blog_branding_loading_the_stylesheets Blog Branding Tue, 12 Apr 2005 10:18:36 EST Once you've built those first two modules you'll want to prepare the ground by installing your stylesheets. Being the cautious coder that I want to be I left the old stylesheet in place and made plans to work around it. That made it possible for me to discard a lot of stuff from the default template that just didn't map over to the new, branded template.

Working from the "Templates" page again, you'll be creating three new templates in the top-most set of files. These will be your general stylesheet and two media based stylesheets for print and screen.

]]> On Approach for 3000 http://blog.case.edu/dkh2/2005/04/12/on_approach_for_3000 This Saturday marks 10 weeks of driving the new hybrid Escape and I'm still loving it. I'll cross the 3000 mile mark sometime tomorrow morning on my way in to Case. I'm now averaging (combined highway and city) 33.6 MPG. I'd be doing better than that if I didn't do so many highway miles but I'm still doing 33.2 on the highway in a light truck with the pick-up of a V6 that will tow half a ton. With gas prices on the up-swing I'm saving more money every week.... http://blog.case.edu/dkh2/2005/04/12/on_approach_for_3000 Transportation Tue, 12 Apr 2005 08:00:52 EST This Saturday marks 10 weeks of driving the new hybrid Escape and I'm still loving it. I'll cross the 3000 mile mark sometime tomorrow morning on my way in to Case. I'm now averaging (combined highway and city) 33.6 MPG. I'd be doing better than that if I didn't do so many highway miles but I'm still doing 33.2 on the highway in a light truck with the pick-up of a V6 that will tow half a ton. With gas prices on the up-swing I'm saving more money every week.

]]>