Things and Stuff

So tonight, I didn’t feel much like anything.  Logged into Wow, meh.  Logged into EVE, meh.  Don’t feel like playing any of the games I have installed, don’t feel like reading on the nook, watching TV or anything really.

meh.

And then I got an email.  An email telling me, that a plugin on Aharon’s blog needed updating.  I mean that isn’t exactly earth shattering news, but it has got me thinking on why I still use wordpress for my blogs, but love Drupal so much.

Simple reason.  Updates.  Drupal BLOWS for updating compared to WordPress.  Let me walk you through what it takes for me to update a plugin in wordpress, or even upgrade wordpress itself to a new version.

1. Open the email I got sent (sure I cheat and install a plugin to send me emails when things need updating, but it’s super simple to install)
2. Click the link.
3. Login.
4. Look for the “Upgrade Automagically” link.
5. Click it.
6. Done.

It’s really that simple.  I can install new plugins, new themes, upgrade wordpress versions, all simply from within the WordPress Dashboard.  Pure awesome.  This is what Druapal misses.

Sure Drush does some of that, a little.  For me though, my one wish for Drupal 7 is WordPress-like install/upgrade functionality of core and modules.  Let me “browse” modules like I browse plugins in wordpress.

Please.

I want to like it.  I like tons of other Google services.  I’m a Google Fan Boy, but I just dont get Wave.

It reminds me of online multiplayer games.  It sucks to use alone.  I invited some friends, we got on it.. and it’s a chat client?  Well at least thats how we used it, it was a rather kludgy chat client.  Google Chat group chat is better, using communicator at work is better.

I dont see how to email to it, how to connect it to my gmail.

I’m just a bit stumped on what it is good for.  It’s fancy, it’s sexy, but it’s confusing.

Edit:  I found out at least some stuff to do with it.  Type in “with:public” in the search box, ok now stuff starts to make more sense.

I am intrigued by the seemingly total lack of security though.  So is this guy, and he has great points.

On a page I havent showed to anyone, havent linked to from any where.  That’s sweet.

I am guessing it’s just a case of searching for blog.* on domains, and if it’s got a wordpress, hit it up.  Still, kinda cool.

So, working hard on Drupal.  I like Drupal, but boy is there a major steep learning curve to go beyond simple site.  I’m working with Organic Groups.  I figure a “Cause” on HFC can be a Group, and a “Need” be a response.  Thing is, when I think about a fully working HFC, I kind of see hackers browsing through a catalog of “Needs” looking for ones that meet their skills.

So that to me speaks of Taxonomoy.  I think I can go one further.  What if there was a shared taxonomy between Needs and Hackers?  A Hacker selects from a set of skills that they have, or things they are interested in.  When a Cause posts a Need, it fills out the same skills.  We can then match up hackers to needs in many ways.  Show a “New Needs” box to Hackers browsing that only show them Needs that require their skills.  All kinds of possabilities become available.

Before that though, I need be able to get this Organic Group crap working.  Installing XAMPP right now to experiment.  I have Ubuntu VM with things on it, but it’s a pain to star tup and shut down.  TR/TF box is hosed and can’t host Drupal.  Don’t have enough access to HFC stuff to put up a test site.  So XAMPP it is for now.  Sucks that I can’t show it to anyone as I am working though.

Still struggling with How Hacker, Cause and Need interact.  Need is pretty simple, something needs doing.  Hacker is pretty simple too.  Cause.  Cause.  Cause?  Are you a person?  Are you a umbrella concept for Need?  A Group?  What if Cause was a person?  You sign up as a “Cause”?  No.  Cause is, well a Cause, a Charity.  Need a name for the person creating the cause.  Hackers are the tech people, so Cause owners would be?  Charity?  I dunno.  Might just go with Charity for now.  When people sign up they can select that they are a Charity who needs help, or a hacker who can help.

Actually that might work with the front page concepts I have in mind.

I smell dinner, later.

We desperately need a server upgrade.  We currently have 2 dedicated boxes, and it’s certainly starting to show it’s age.  Major problem is space.  I need more space to be able to upgrade TR and TF.

So I am putting the pressure on Aharon to buy us something new.  Looking at this — http://knownhost.com/dedicated-servers.html

It’s what a site I frequent quite often (tankspot.com) uses, and they have many times our current users, so if it works for them, should work for us.

We can get a nicely configured quadcore i970 box, 12gb ram, 2x500gb drives, for about $300 a month.  Only caveate is bandwidth, it comes with 2.5TB.  Not sure how much we are currently using.  I should look that up.

Biggest issue with that is backups.  The drives are not mirrored (ouch!).  so what happens if we have a disk failure?

in other news, making some real headway with Drupal for HFC.  Using the Organic Groups module, I can set a “Cause” as an Organic Group, and then a “Need” as a sub reply.  The Needs can then have discussions.  It’s really easier than I anticipated.  More work to do tweaking it and I think I might try a fresh Drupal install.

Part of the frustration with the current server we are on is I can’t get php-mbstring installed, and Drupal needs it.  Bummer

So work is… work.. and not overly bad right now.  Finally feel like I have direction.  Still can’t wait until I can actually DO some appsec.

Writers block on post #2.

Crap.

I like the idea of having a blog, problem is the times when I have something to say, an idea that makes me think “Holy crap, I should totally blog that!”, I am no where near any means to record it.  Usually the car on the way too and from work.  Or the shower, the shower is great for inspiration.

So anyhow, stuff I am working on :

• Hackers For Charity – fun side project, working with an industry hero of mine, Johnny Long on adding some functionality to his hackersforcharity.org website to help charities reach out to get tech help better.  It;s slow going on my end, still shaping some of it up in my mind.  Hardest parts will be the marketing to get the right kinds of people to use it.
• Tankspot.com – working with the guys who run this site to help with some server optimization stuff.  Should be fun.

Regular TR and TF stuff, though really that’s getting old.  Users don’t give a crap, get nothing but complaints when we change anything and the ROI on investing a large part of my time is just not there.  Not sure we will even do the upgrades.  Just let it limp along like it is.

So much to do around the house too and I need to get better at that.  I’m not really a “do-it-your-self” kind of guy when it comes to house stuff, but can’t be any harder than teaching myself the countless things I’ve taught myself before.  Especially want to get control of the damn Ants out side, kids can’t play in the yard without getting bit.

Playing a few games, though not as many as I might have before.  Just Aion now.

Upgraded the wifes site to use wordpress, looks great (link is over there –>)

Work is getting much busier, slowly making progress on some things that are way outside my comfort zone.  Not ability wise, but “want-to-do-them” wise.  Hard to muster the will to accomplish something I have ZERO interest in and think is a waste of time and money.  Getting some progress though, don’t feel like I am the sole person working a big project anymore.

Thats it.  Writers block over.

Sometimes the names of concepts or objects I am describing don’t make it from the abstract in my head, to being thrust upon the world through my most awesome linguistics.  Some where along the way my own personal mod_rewrite substitutes them all with “things” and “stuff”.  I know 110% what I am referring too, alas my family, collegues and friends often do not.

Perhaps I can slow it down a little and get the correct words to describe the correct concepts out here.  I tend to think a lot, and none of it is about what I might be doing right now, so perhaps some of the less complicated abstracts can be written up here.

No set topics, no set agenda, just a collection of things and stuff.

Chances are I’ll forget I set this up in a week anyhow.