Well, I'm up and online at oh-dark-thirty 'cuz I can't sleep. And I can't think well, either. So I'm not really coding but am thinking about writing a little bitosomething and surfing after extremely inexpensive boats.

I didn't finish re-writing the stuff I lost yesterday as Misha's schooling became extremely attention-intensive. Today is also intensive, but I'm trying to write an article instead of coding while also providing over-sight.

Ode Joy. Lost all the day's work for want of saving my work as I went along. Not that I lost much, only the main validation loop and the beginning of the new Insert function, but 'tis the principle of the thing.

Well, I've just wasted a bit of time fine-tuning my other blog... the archive index link was *not* working. No idea why.

I used PhormGen v0.82 to create some php output to do maintenance on the students table. Now I'm going to lift the basic queries and do my own modifications to the validation checks, then build a couple of functions for handling the record entry and updates.

I think I will need a function to validate the data, and one each to add new, update existing, and delete records. The validate routine will be called in both the add new and update functions.

And good morning to me again... I'm online so bright and early in an attempt to try a different search for a live-aboard boat in the pnw this morn. But I'm also planning on working on the insert routine once Misha is up and working on his schoolwork.

The primary goal for tomorrow is: re-write the INSERT INTO sql statement, since the one I've got obviously doesn't work. Once I get that working, I need to write a display student record routine, then a recursive SELECT * FROM routine which will output an html link to each student's record.

Which is more than ambitious enough for a Sunday on which Misha and I need to do a lesson.

And now, from our more regularly scheduled location, we're back online.

Tonight I haven't the brain cells to do much coding, so I'm going to do some brief planning. Between e-mail checks and scanning the website.

I have a few moments, so I was thinking about working on the current website. But most likely I'll fritter away the time surfing through online yacht brokers or something... [grin]

Haylo from northern Minnesota... I managed to get the 'puter talking with the local broadband service, so I'm gonna see if I can get a few things done in and amongst the holiday feast preparations, gallivanting, and etc.

Yow! (nahnahnah nah) I feel good...

Okay, I'm *back* online, and am getting stuff done. I think.

Friggin' pissing me off...

Spent two hours, off and on, working on an essay for the website. And lost it because the damn software requires me to log in again. It would have been done in half and hour except I'm trying to keep Alex at his school work and am babysitting Ariana. Not even mentioning how much time Christopher wastes when he comes over and wants to talk my damn ear off while taking advantage of the free daycare.

In short, I'm pissed.

This is repugnant.

After working for some time yesterday on breaking the menus into three (or more) forms, I apparently *forgot* to save my changes to the website. They *may* have been saved somewhere on the hard drive, but the online directories absolutely did not get updated. And since I work almost exclusively on remote files, I expect I lost everything.

Some days I'm an idiot. Some days I'm a bloody idiot.

Aaagh... Turns out the main menu is too big. I need to break it up into a series of small forms. (Yes, I know Mark, you hate form-driven menus.) Which may mean re-writing the whole thing.

I think I have the first data insert routine done right, but the output routine is, apparently, wrong... grrr... PHPMyAdmin works dandy for me.

Okay, I've successfully built the main menu, as well as a display routine which simplifies dumping stuff into the table template.

Now, I need to figure out how I want to do a couple things... like, do I want each teacher to have access to the entire student database, or only students they've entered?

haylo... I'm quitting for the day. Haven't reallyh done much programming since this morn, but at least I got a wee bit completed.

gnite

This has been annoying as all get-out... but I finally remembered I'd shut off JS. doh. No wonder I couldn't get the posts to save...

Well, there's a way to derail a development line of thought... call from my sister re: my mom's cardio angiogram.

For the students menu I need the following options:

• Add new student
• Edit student

I think those are the only menu options I need at the moment. (Yes, I know I'll need to add student reports to this menu, but later, after I've completed the reports menu items.)

The main menu items are divided as follows:

• Students
• Courses
• Assignments
• Scores
• Reports

Of course there should also be a "test if administrator" function which will allow admins to uninstall the module, modify the appearance and settings, and to do maintenance on the database. I'll worry about that after I have the first five sections of the menu completed.

Okay, I spent a few days in the past half month actually doing some coding. I've decided to write the Gradebook module as a stand-alone script (using a website template, sort of, to make it easier to integrate later.)

The E-R model seems to have worked out fairly elegantly, if I say so myself. The table installation routine works. Now I'm working on the development plan and the main menu items.

Heyla... I'm still alive today.

Coughing again today, enough to interfere with typing. But I'm going to take a look at the module management routines today.

Gosh, isn't this nice, a computer again...

Since the laptop has been seeing the world without me I've gotten sicker, gotten healthier, killed my first 2-point buck (single shot with my 30.06 ford ranger, but no valid hunting license) and, well, just generally had a fairly awful time of it. Hope things get better now.

Now back to my regularly programmed lack of programming progress.

Today... it's raining. Misha has Soccer in Lake City. I am nearly certain the program will be cancelled on account of rain, but we're going to pile into the car to go down there to be absolutely sure. Cold. Rain. My cold thing. Not looking forward to this.

Oh, did I mention I succeeded in getting Fallout to install? Then I erased it to try out another method.

I may have found a way to fix the calendar mod's failure to post articles. But no chance to test it today. maybe tomorrow. or maybe not.

Maybe I didn't have things quite so well in hand... First, mis-filed the PEAR stuff. Second, the installation is exploding consistently at mod_users_settings.

Okay, I've downloaded 0.9.0rc0, extracted, and put on the server. Downloaded the PEAR libraries, installed in the website root on the server. Downloaded the IT.php HTML templates and updated them in the PEAR libraries in the website root on the server...

Now that I think about it... I might just try the new release, 0.9.0rc0.

I'm going to try going about this in an entirely different way, 'cuz I'm sick of re-writing the same mod over and over again and not getting enough time on it to finish it. Gonna try gutting quotes module and substituting my own code.

But first, I'm going to create a development version of pws on my site.

I am still sick as a dog. Need to do something more about this cold thing.

In the meantime, a day to work on the 'puter w/o childer.

Learning about classes this morning, and all kinds of inter-related topics (like ${$varname} to dynamically access a global-scope variable within a function/class, which is pretty weird if you ask me.)

But now I'm off to wash togs.

Okay... I'm still down with this virus, which is really thrashing my throat... but I want to get a bit of work on set_block.inc.php in this morning before heading off to wash laundry.

And on a side note... just sent a check to Calvert for Misha's tuition.

Although rather under the weather, I did manage to help out on an installation of sdms, and more work on the repair to weblink.php. I'm pretty sure my fix works, but we'll see over the next couple of weeks.

Need to dig into set_block.inc.php today. Then finish up the phpageviews module, install it successfully, and set it running for a bit just to get some history with it.

Trying to dig into the mainfile... working on the session initialization. Have built a variable buffer filter tool for post/get variables.

Despite the distractions (going to the YMCA, etc.) I've managed to complete a theme.php, header.php, and footer.php as well as create a style.css in dreamweaver. Mind you, the vast majority of the code is a diet-version of the phpws default theme -- apparently there's a lot of legacy code in theme.php.

Okay, this morning I'm trying to re-build the theme layout in Dreamweaver, and it'sa notsogood. Have to say, though, that the style.css pallette in DW is mighty-fine.

I should mention what I did, though...

I decided to skip ahead and build the theme files, which blossomed out to include theme.php, header.php, bbp-inc.php, bbp-index.php, bbp-config.php (which is beginning to bloat), bbp.sql (which is *not*. Yet.) style.css, and theme.html (a test platform for the theme appearance built in dreamweaver... which I really should use more so I can build the style.css at the same time.)

The focus of the work thus far is building the main website table as a theme. Later I'll build the front end which handles the sessions and some of the pre-html and header stuff.

Wow! a great break-thru session of coding, about 300 lines of code and style sheet in just over 3 hours.

But now I've hit the wall, and the caffeine is fading... tomorrow is another day.

I think I'm here... Codito Ergo Sum?

I also learned how to explode blogger.com... turn off cookies (and therefor the session cookie) and watch vbscript errors fly...

Now then... I've successfully:

• created sessions
• registered session variables
• passed session_id as a GET variable
• destroyed sessions

I don't think I can manipulate the session.use_cookies variable in php.ini, so I'll need to learn how to destroy the session cookie in the browser. I also need to learn how to manage garbage collection in php, session.gc_maxlifetime and session.gc_probability.

Okay, I can deal with using the ugly 40-some byte GET linkage... I think.

If a client loads the website, they will be randomly assigned a 32-byte session id. This id is unique. Now, let's say they log in to the website. If their username is unique, could it not be used as their session id?

No, because it is theoretically possible their username could be 32 bytes in length, and that the php session management routines could randomly generate an exact match. I think.

Let me see if my logic is going okay tonite...

Thank you aaaaannnnnnd, good nite.

Okay...

1. added "Welcome user/guest" script to the header.php
2. uploaded and installed Spiggy/weather module
3. installed forum, setup
4. modded calendar
5. wrote
   1. article
   2. forum entry
   3. comment
6. changed main page
   1. appended text
   2. graphic, several times

Yep, site is there. Cute, too.

Cool! the new host is apparently online. And soon, now, the domain name.

Fine. I'm back home, after a rather wasted day in the TC. Frustrated.

Okay, this was interesting. Not.

Kept getting errors today whenever I tried to publish the various blog entries... something about the log being full.

Okay, weird problems attempting to install phpws on paganinstitute. And now issues attempting to upload to E's uofmn website.

Unfortunately, that's about all I *did* get to work. As soon as the script encounters a "function" definition, it explodes.

So, good morning new efforts.

WooHoo!! (dancing the "I'm-so-cool" dance 'cuz I got a routine to print 'hello world' in theme)

Okay, so I'm lame.

And a bright and cheery morning to you, too!

Gack. Need break. Will try again later.

Jimmy Neutron as a movie is not quite as bad as most cute-tv-animation-show does-a-movie. But only misses by a minor margin. Waste of a weekend afternoon rental movie time-slot.

Not that I'm opinionated or anything.

Here's what I *think* the problem is. The install file phpageviews_setup.php is called independently, but in turn it uses a variety of pws system folders which by definition reside further up the path.

Which doesn't explain why it does not seem to be loading the functions include file.

Back to the silicon mines...

But 'tis time to do laundry.

Gah! utter meltdown. The pageviews module installation is *not* working. yet.

• Completed Misha's placement test
• updated CVS headers for phPageViews
• updated CVS headers for bbp
• mixed up gingerbread & it's in the oven
• asked Elizabeth to collect & sort laundry--and it's done

Last night I managed to get most everything for a pageviews module for phpws written. I think.

Today's PLAN includes:

• Complete Misha's placement test
• Write index.php for phPageViews
• Laundry washing

Home again home again jiggety jig. Dinner @ subway.

uploaded phpageviews_block.php to freepository, earthhouse

And, after four and a half grueling hours, Misha managed to complete 1 of three portions of the placement exam. This is not looking good.

Good morning, virtual world...

Grrr!!! still cannot get SSH & CVS to talk to each other!

Back from TC. Studied a bit in a couple PHP texts at Borders... definitely need to purchase a few more including a bible for 4.x and a decent tutorial such as O'Reilly's.

I've decided to begin working on the user module, especially the user registration and the user table.

I also desperately need to get connected on sourceforge, so I have a webspace available with php/mysql to do the development testing.

Consciousness sucks.

Es Sicard
10400 Jay St. NW
Apt. #312
Coon Rapids, MN 55433

(Babs's daughter)

Downloaded MacCVSClient

Well, did my 3 hours at NoCo. May have made inroads on getting onto their computer/internet team.

And I've done a bit of searching for information about using CVS on the Mac. Which I'm going to continue now... but somehow I locked up the machine whilst attempting to add the CVS newsgroup to my list of subscriptions. Need to get back to that particular issue.

Re-posted all archives, and they all showed up. Hopefully that's the last of that problem...

And a very strange thing... now the latest blog_archs are being linked appropriately in the navbox automatically.

Not to mention too loudly, but the blogger really does show only 7 days worth of posts... which is really cool. Since I'm one of those stream-of-consciousness bloggers, I think I'll limit it to only, uhm, 5 days? or is that still too much?

And another fine morning which I am wasting by attempting to be productive.

Goals of the day:

• work 3 hours at NoCo
• begin the assessment test for Misha
• complete the sendmsg module and begin testing

Okay, and another adjustment made. -- And it worked!

Wee haw... got the archives to dump as html. Now if I could just figure out how to get the durn index routines working...

Okay, weird ftp log... try again.

Okay, dealt with e-mail, 'Topher, and Misha is almost done with an hour's worth of reading.

Need to decide the day's priorities, realizing I'll be caring for the grandbaby in a half-hour or less.

• Pay bills


• Misha - division of larger numbers


• go to YMCA and sign up for fall sports

Good morning, me.

And another thing... I'm not sure how the archiving routine is supposed to work, but it isn't. Hmph.

Here are the issues: the archived files are not saved with extensions. So they don't load (at least in NC 6.2.1) as html files. Also, the index file is not built correctly. It looks to me as though the system is written in php, and only a part of the file system is being echoed (w/o processin, methinks) and ftp'ed.

c'est la vie.

Grr!! Argh!! Really angry expletives! just figured out the problem we've been having with Elizabeth's work machine not connecting correctly to the U's intranet via the wireless... I'd forgotten there was a manual switch to set in the appletalk network panel to allow wireless rather than ethernet connections. [poundingheadagainstwall /]

Added a link to the archived blogger stuph/director to the template, since the Blogarch index from blogger.com doesn't work. (I still don't know how the right-side info block works... need to learn that so I can be sure it looks okay for people using different window sizes/resolutions.)

At the moment, I'm getting ready to go to the TC so Misha can visit his Grandpa/go to the state fair, and I'll be able to work at NoCo. Hopefully Misha and Grandpa Thrun will be there long enough for me to have a goodly amount of time (at the U) working on programming projects.

Okay, back again. That is, after a week of shepherding international academicians and a weekend helping with a family auction, I'm back in my more usual environs, though still excessively involved.

Major accomplishments to do this week: work 10 hours at North Country Co-Op, contact Red Wing Co-op regarding work time, contact Red Wing IDS/Calvert to enroll Misha for home-schooling. Oh, and complete the message tossing module, walk through the E-R section for BBP, and learn how to integrate SSH & CVS on the mac so I can set up the SourceForge (grr).

Gah... my brain is dead.

The e-mail routine seems to be working, but the IMAP routines are not working.

Okay, found the issue with the hidden form fields... repaired.

Lunch was turkey & havarti on hoagie.

'kay... most of those changes worked. And I've added a few things. Now I'm trying to figure out how to get it to work in a pws module framework.

The debug routines are gone... but does it work? waiting for test messages to arrive.

Modified the mailform to get more variables by form fields.

Okay, just to bring things a bit more up to date...

I'm currently working through module 12: Sending & Receiving E-mail. I'm kind of rushing through this module so I can get on to the next; Relational Database and SQL primer.

I've just opened an OSI project at sourceforge.net, but I haven't figured out SSH & CVS so I can't actually do much of anything with it. Other programming initiatives include the planning stages for a phpWS statistical module, if I can ever figure out their API.

Testing

grr... I hate it when I forget my password.

And btw: I almost forgot how to use this thing...

Okay. *Last Night* we had faboo food at AquaVit in the IDS center. For lunch we had visited Hong Kong Noodles, and the night before was Oddyssey Cafe after walking all over MOA. So I *do* eat food other than stir-fried pork. (but those freezer bag meals are so easy!)

Oh geez... somebody actually read my blogger... [embarrassed blush]

Brief comments about days past...

Lessee... Saturday night, Misha started getting sick. High fever, nauseated, headache. Sunday I did a little work online, paid Ethan, did some cleaning. Misha was better during the day, but started spiking in the afternoon. Evening I traded trucks with 'Topher. Sunday night, after a goodly dose of tylenol, his temp was down all night.

Monday morn we loaded up to drive to Grandma Betty's, but didn't actualy get out of town 'til nearly 10am. Arrived, with a few errands en route, about 5:30

Grrumph.

Okay, spent a bit of this morning trying to type in project 8-1. But I'm not on my machine. I hate trying to use windoze; it takes forever to do an upload/etc. And I don't think IE is cache flushing, so I keep getting the same damn error - psp parse error in line 17.

So anyway... I've been doin more stuff.

Went to the ATM to get me some money, with which to pay Ethan tomorrow. And went to Kmart for sodas & watch band.
Made pork stir-fry, with fresh peaches for dessert.
Am half-way through module 7.

Okay, that was... uhm, less than intelligent. The link from the home website was to the local copy, not the online one. And since blogger.com was updating the online copy, not the local... doh!

Updating does not appear to be occurring. try again.

I've completed module 6 and it's mastery checks... woohoo. [noisemaker]

Updated the finances off the web - still missing postings between 07/22 and 08/08; emailed the bank.

I've been working on Module 6. Project 6.2 is a pain.

Welp... been busy.

Yesterday - went to UofMN, did module 5, lots of other stuff. Home again, and down to the Goodhue Cty Fair w/Misha after picking him up from Eric's.

Today, IBS had me up at 3:30am. Finished emptying out box in Library. Read pws Module Dev Doc. Two chapters of Statistics.

Thank you -- AND -- good night.

Have finished module 4, a bunch more e-mails, a bit of surfing (including finding two new pws sites with modules) and so on.

Left for dinner about a quarter after 7pm. I should mention Misha called around 6:30pm to arrange an over-night at Eric's. So dinner was Elizabeth and I at Applebee's, instead of making the pork stir-fry.

Got home about 9-ish, and began working my way through module 4 - Accessing Data.

Mayhap my changes are the issue?

Hmm.. the last msgs don't seem to have been updated...

Misha went to Eric's house.
Went to the store to get stuff.
I've been emptying out a box in the Library. Lots of old bills, records to file, etc.
Now I'm going to try to clear the table, as Elizabeth has messaged she's on her way home. Pork stir-fry, and some raw fruits and vegetables as sides for supper this evening.

Okay, I've been answering Earth Scouts e-mail, and trying to get the name back out there.

Added blogger, php_dev to homepage. Edited out yahoo, graphics.

'kay...


Mailed circle-book 4 Misha

Lunched @ Subway

Washed 4 loads of laundry, hung to dry on line

Still need breakfast, but I've scored Misha's schoolwork.
And I've been collecting/sorting laundry. Re-wrote the chores schedule.

Need breakfast

Okay...

responded to e-mail, including several on SF
found out why online banking wasn't working, & having repaired
got money from ATM

• More finances/clearing of desk. Need to get computer desk mostly clean.


• Grade Misha's schoolwork. Post scores.


• Empty one box in library.


• Wash laundry, change sheets.

Okay, I've finished module 3. Interesting stuff, but not particularly challenging. The important take-home message: keep a cheat sheet handy, so you get the syntax right. From the projects, watch the typos. Double check the quotes.

Now it's really time for bed... I'm sleepy, and not thinking too clearly. Plans for the 'morrow...

The specifics of the study section are Forms. Forms are how, using html, I can get data *from* a website. Depending on what "controls" I use, I can get binary data (checkboxes), multiple-choice input from selection lists, text of some varieties, and passwords. Two interesting points are that each form requires a submit button, and that "password" does not actually encrypt the text; instead it simply makes it undisplayed but the password is passed to the server as simple ascii.

E arrived about 7pm. We made supper @ 7:30 (penne and chicken in garlic mushroom alfredo), and now I'm back at the php_dev

Taking a brain break to file receipts from the bill payments of earlier today.

So anyway, I was heading out of town at about 3:20... when my atm card wouldn't work. So decided to not go to this evening's Cauldron.

Stopped at the grocery store on the way home. Misha & I had a little bite to eat, bought dinner fixin's... Home somewhere after 4pm.

Talked with E 'bout it. and am somewhere in the midst of chapter 3 of the PHP beginner course--using [form] functions in html to get data for PHP.

And with a swell foop, I've knocked my yahoo account under 100 unread messages.

Now to locate my small fry, mail the bill payments, and wander to the cities for the various things we have going on. Over, and out. [clunk.] Oh, damn, forgot to shut off the mic. [click]

Having finished writing checks, I know with some sense of security I am worthless. Now if I can convince my printer to print them (which is questionable), I will be worth even less. Presuming I can also find stamps and get them to the mail box.

Hrmph. I've spent about 30 minutes getting to know the blogger interface, attempting to change my timezone (which seems to have worked, btw) and the vast majority of that time trying to track down the MS VB script error which I received from the settings routines.

And the template doesn't look anything like the thumb nail.

C'est la vie. May have to write a blogger-like module for phpws.

[shuffling papers] Okay, you know, I've never done stuff in front of a mic before, so bear with me here.

[chair scooch] The point of this excercise, at the moment, is to kind of give me a tool to document what the heck I'm doing all day long, so I have some clue as to what I'm spending my time on. Not that I want every move I make monitored, mind you, but maybe to give me some ideas on what to focus on, or what to stop focusing on, if you get my drift.

[sigh]Okay, let me play this back and see if it sounds like what I want it it to sound like.

Okay, this is cool... the blogger appears to be live [walking on stage noises, wire being yanked & sharp feedback squeal]

[chair scraping sounds, sitting down sounds]

Okay, I think I'm ready to start this.

Testing, testing.... [feedback, tapping] Is this thing on?