BurningbirdI caught up with the reviews of the book at Amazon. Ouch.
There was some blame attached to the tech editors on the book, and that’s not fair–they weren’t responsible. These are typographical errors, which are the responsibility of me and the final editing process; or errors in style of writing, and there’s really only me to blame for this.
I think, though, instead of chapter by chapter updates, I’ll just focus on writing about RDF and related material, and have fun.
Here are some of the photos from today’s Alley Spring Mill trip. I need to return in about 3 weeks when the trees have started to green. And I also need to go about mid-morning, when the light on the Mill will be better.
It is a wonderous place, though. As was all the countryside on the trip down, even in winter with barren trees.
You might notice, if you access this post individually, that the ads are gone.
After reading several negative posts about AdSense this week from people who read my weblog–two new ones just today–I have decided to remove my ads. Since I don’t provide full content in my syndication feeds, I don’t want readers to have to install special software to remove the ads just to visit my site.
The money from the ads would have been enough to pay for my web site, my internet connectivity costs, and maybe even enough left over for a Ted Drewes Frozen Custard. However, I also didn’t like seeing the drilling ads come up with my ANWR writing.
Which is too bad, because I really like Ted Drewes.
Speaking of ads and making money, AKMA wrote on this today:
But y’all didn’t start blogging just for my entertainment. If blogging is putting bread on a few tables, buying toys for a few kids, putting together the down payment for a newlywed’s house, then I’m the last one in line to bemoan times past. It’s all changed, but do you know what? It was going to change anyway. It was going to change anyway, and while it’s changing, there are no people I would rather have those changes benefit than the wonderful friends I met back when none of us was making a cent off blogging.
Odd thing about all this is, of all the changes I’ve seen over the years–in the character of our writing, our interests, and who we interact with and how–making money or running ads was never a cause.
Jerry Halstead’s How Zone is a good representation of how I want to re-organize my weblog at the Tinfoil Project. Instead of posting photos, I’ll plan on posting Photoshop tricks and tips, writings on using the Nikon D70, and reviews and what not on digital photography.
I wish, though, that I had a tenth of Jerry’s creativity. His newest is how to take a telephoto lens and a wide angle and convert them into a super macro lens, with a little ingenuity and tape. When you see the photos he made of snow crystals, you’ll be amazed.
I wonder if his approach will work with my 400mm Sigma and the 62mm Nikkor macro I have?
Recovered from the Wayback Machine.
One result of my ruminations while I was on the road the last few weeks was a decision to accept sponsorship and/or ads for Burningbird and my other sites. I’ve signed up at Blogads, and have put a few feelers out here and there for possible sponsorship opportunities.
In addition, I also decided to create a photo shop at Tinfoil Project, where I’ll sell prints of my photos and merchandise that feature my photos. I know that online photo sales is an iffy proposition, but I figure it would give me more experience combining photo software like Coppermine, with a storefront like OsCommerce.
When I returned from the trip, I found out that Kottke had also made a life changing move by quitting his development gig and deciding to weblog fulltime. He coined the term micropatron to describe folks contributing to his site, and it’s one I decided to also grab and use for own nefarious purposes. I can’t promise the grand goody bag that he’s giving out for those who contribute 30.00 or more a year, but I did put together a few odds and ends, as thank-you gifts.
Based on all of this, I’m in the process of creating a Sponsoring Burningbird page, and if you have time, could you check it out and tell me what you think? In addition, I would like to build up a page containing links and small snapshots to sites that I’ve helped in the past–either with design and/or web development. If I’ve helped you in the past, and you wouldn’t mind being included in this page, could you drop me a comment or send me an email?
I still see myself primarily as a writer, and I am spending time each day, either on current assignments or looking for new writing opportunties. I have two specific books I’m currently shopping around to publishers, and also keeping my options open for others. I’m also submitting article suggestions and ideas here and there. If you have some suggestions, or better yet, contacts, in this regard, I’d love to hear from you.
The reason for all of this activity is that I need to kick myself in the butt and get a life going again. And this includes earning enough income to get by and keep my kitty in kibble, and my car in the driveway. Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of development jobs in St. Louis that use the technologies that I’m most proficient in at the moment. Most places are J2EE with WebSphere, or .NET, neither of which I’ve worked with for a couple of years now. I don’t want to move, and couldn’t afford to anyway, so I need to be aggressive seeking work and opportunities online (in addition to whatever odd jobs I can find here in town). If you know of any that you think might be a good fit for me, or you have other suggestions, again, I sure would love to hear from you.
It’s going to be a nice Spring this year, followed by a kickass year and I feel positive about the future, thanks in no small part to many of you who have helped me in the past. I managed to lose weight during my road trip, and not all of it had to do with body fat–I also dropped some mental baggage that was slowing me down along the way. (I’d be careful traveling along I24 in Tennessee, if I were you. If you see a puddle of depressing looking ooze alongside the road, just keep on going.)
This year is going to be a good year, but as I’m discovering, good things don’t come to you: you have to go find them, make them, or grab them when they hurry past. This is my start, my new year.
Last week I received two copies of the book, The Best of Verity Stob from Apress (ISBN number of 1-59059-442-8 for those Internet Explorer users that have AutoLink enabled). I was technical reviewer for the book, though in the end, I became more of language expert than a coding one, pointing out which of the British terms in the book could cause confusion for American readers. Half-way through I suggested a “Glossary of British Terms”, and am so glad I did, because it is absolutely hilarious–as is the rest of the book, which is geek humor at its best.
If you don’t know Verity Stob, you learn much when you read the section in the book, About the Author:
Verity Stob has been a programmer for 20 long yeaers, and has extensive experience in many disciplines of the profession. Programming languages known in-depth include C++, Delphi, Visual Basic, plus scripting languages such as JavaScript, PHP, and–in a real crises–Perl. Can bluff her way in C# and Java, but there again, who can’t, eh? Ditto UML, XML, HTML, and any other -MLs you care to lob at her. Except for ML, itself, of course. Mostly Windows, bit of Linux at a push, Mac no way. (I’ll bung in a few methodologies later, bulk it up a bit.) Although currently living and working in London, prepared to be flexible…Definitely a team player…Very many good hobbies…Sorry, who is this for again? When’s the interview? I tell you, I’m not going if they use those damn Microsoft quizzes.
The book features the best of the Verity Stob column from EXE, Dr. Dobb’s Journal, and The Register, and includes, among other gems, several poems dedicated to technology, such as the following, which is destined to become popular with webloggers far and wide:
The Lincolnshire Poacher
When I went out contracting
in rural Lincolnshire
I’d fix the locals’ websites
by bosky broad and mere;
I’d fix them on my laptop, boys,
but my mobile bills were dear.
Oh, ’tis my delight when the bandwidth’s right
and the signal strong and clear.The cost of getting on the ‘Net
was bleeding my firm dry.
And then I met a geezer
who told me of Wifi.
He told me of war driving
and was I glad to hear!
For ’tis my delight when the bandwidth’s right
and the signal strong and clear.I learned to spot an access point
by chalk marks on the ground.
It seems that open networks
are scattered all around,
Right here I can surf happily,
but I did not tell you where.
Oh, ’tis my delight when the bandwidth’s right
and the signal strong and clear.Good luck to fellow poachers
who do the chalky prep,
Bad luck to secure standards
and the threat of rolling WEP,
Good luck to dozy sys admins
who don’t protect their gear–
Oh, ’tis my delight when the bandwidth’s right
and the signal strong and clear.
Then there was the Antarctica firm that was infected with Visual Basic:
I was standing, hands in pockets, with the pilot of the rescue helicopter as he looked around the burnt-out ruins of the dome, shaking his head in disbelief.
“There’s one thing I don’t understand about this, Ms. Stob. How come you didn’t get infected?”
“That’s easy to answer. The thing is, I know that it’s possible to build anything–even an operating system–just by dragging and dropping a few controls onto a form. No, it’s all right–”
The pilot had taken a pace back in alarm.
“It’s OK, I was just kidding. Now, hadn’t you better go and get ready for take off? If we stay here any longer, we’ll all freeze.”
“OK, Ms. Stob.”
As he walked away, still suspicious, I took my right hand out of my pocket and looked at it. It had grown into a hideous, misshapen claw. Useless for typing, but fine for grasping the mouse and clicking things…”
The book is a wired, whimsical delight; the writing a unique representation of that dry, sophisticated, barbed British wit that can only arise from a people that have lived, crammed onto a little bitty island for centuries. But to return to my glossary, my favorite definitions are those for blimey, fag, monkey-juice and, of course, marmite:
Marmite
A pungent slime made from a yeast. That this item does not occur in the text, apart from here, I regard as a failing on my part.
The reviews for the book have been very positive; among them is this from Andrew Orlowski. I picked this one out specifically, because Andrew is so near and dear to our little bloggy hearts.
An interesting fact about Verity Stob is that her face has been kept hidden after lo these many years of writing for several publications. This still remains true regardless of the book cover photo, shown below, at Bookpool–because that’s not the cover of the book I received. And no, as far as I know, the photos shown are _not_ Verity Stob.
Regardless of hidden faces and mystery pasts, the book is a good read, well worth breaking your piggy bank to buy.