“We get signal!”

Please note that all blog posts before 8 April 2007 were automatically imported from LiveJournal.  To see the comments and any LiveJournal-specific extras such as polls and user icons, please find the source posting at http://brianenigma.livejournal.com/2003/12/

Yesterday/last night, I got PHP Gallery up and running on one of my Dreamhost sites. Mind you, this is not an easy task. The combination of security restrictions and a funky home directory path makes it not so fun. Their PHP setup does not allow exec() calls–meaning none of the netpbm image commands will execute. I had to set aside a directory that executes PHP code as a CGI script instead of a server extension, then install the CGI version of the PHP runtime with the correct security settings, then install the missing (GIF patent related) netpbm files, etc. The practical upshot of all this is the online gallery. These are mostly pictures salvaged from the old diedrichs.org server, with a few of Pr0tland and kitties. Be sure to check out the fohhhhtaaaay of St Ides High Gravity Malt Liquor. That has been sitting in the fridge for a month. I'm scared to open it.

My current view on the whole Saddam thing: “who cares?” Sure, he is a Big Bad Dictator Man–but he has been on the run for quite a while and has been a laughably useless political figure for longer. Now, I realize that it is important he is caught and brought to justice. He really is more than simple comic relief, after all. Maybe I should correct the “who cares?” to “why the hell is the media caring so much?” That's all I hear now–Saddam this, Bush that, blah, blah, blah. Oh, and Bush obviously can't answer unscripted questions. We already knew that, but it still is the case–no change there. This whole Saddam thing just puts this mental image in my head: Saddam in a gilded cage, sent from Washington to Texas(?) with an attached tag, written in crayon with several backward letters: “To: daddy, From: li'l shrub, Merry X-Mas.” Sure, you did this For Great Justice. No personal vendetta for that whole attempted-daddy-killing there, little Bush, I'm sure.

Am I a terrorist yet for criticizing the government? Admittedly, I am talking bad about the people, not the institution. I respect the position, just not the man in that position. Is it November yet?

XML validation is kicking my ass today. If you work with XML every day, you should be able to “debug” your own XML in your head and not rely on me to write a crazy colorized debugger for you. REAL programmers don't need colors!

Posted in: Dear Diary Work

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