I’m currently working on a complete revamp of the site (yes again ) that will allow for a bunch of much more sophisicated features that you can enjoy. This revamp will have some improvements to the style and layout of the site, but primarily it’s a revamp of the “back-end” technologies that run the features here.

From my perspective, the revamp will make Blogs, News Articles, Site Annoucements – all sorts of articles – much much easier for me to manage. And while you wont notice a significant difference in the look in feel of davidmeade.com, you’ll notice some great new features like the ability to post your own guest blog, the ability to send private messages between users of davidmeade.com, more sophisticated “Whats New” features, RSS Syndication, member profiles, and even a discussion forum.

It’s the discussion forums in fact that are at the heart of the revamp. The new system is based off of an open source community application called phpBB. It’s probably the most popular web community (forum) application out there. phpBB has built in user membership abilites, usergroups, and security.

What does this mean for you? Well it means that you may want to become a registered memeber of davidmeade.com! (If you are currently listed in the Other David Meade’s database you will be issued a new membership automatically … but you can register yourself if you just can’t wait anymore ).

Q: Do I have to register to comment and stuff now!?

A: No! Anything you could do at DavidMeade.com in the old system you will be able to do at DavidMeade.com in the new system without the need to register as a user … however if you register you will have access to some new features and gain access to member-only content!

Q: Why would I want to become a registered member?

A: For lots of reasons!

• You’ll never have to type your dang name / email / url again when commenting on a blog! The system will remember you and do that for you!
• As a registered member, you can subscribe to a blog or news article and be notified by email when it’s been commented on!
• You’ll be able to send Private Messages to me and any other DavidMeade.com member via the website!
• You’ll be able to recieve private message from me and any other DavidMeade.com member!
• You’ll gain access to special member-only conent at DavidMeade.com! (I’m still working on this, but fully plan to make some member only stuff!)

Q: Just to be clear: I dont NEED to register in order to comment on blogs or anything do I??

A: No you dont. Unregistered users in this new system will have all the access and abilitys that all users had in the old system.

Q: When does all this start?

A: Soon! I’ve got the about half of the “hard stuff” done. In fact, this very blog is using the new system!

Q: Holy crap! What can I do to prepare!?

A: Register as a member!! Then sit and hit refresh on your browser in breathless anticipation for your first Private Message!

Now there will be some problems and bugs as we move into the new system I’m sure, but not to worry … we’ll get through it… together.

Some of the benefits of the new system begin RIGHT NOW with this very article. In the new system, you can comment on just about anything – not just blogs. If you have questions / comments / concerns about the new system and how it works, or if you’ve found a bug or have a feature request / suggestion …. you can comment on this News article and let me know! (No promises that feature requests will actually be done – and I certainly wont commit to a timeline … but I would be glad to hear them)

As the launch progresses, you will see more and more features come on-line in the weeks that follow. Also you will notice that alot of the stuff that looks like phpBB will go away in favor of my own front end. That is, some pages that we’ll be using now will be replaced with more customized version soon. (Basically … if you see a page that doesn’t quite look like it fits in … it will as soon as I update that particular page or function).

Thanks in advance for your help and patience as I roll out the new system!

I’m currently trying to write a program that will convert all of the old blogs and their comments to the new system.

Once that happens I’ll merge the two systems and republish the entire archive out to one new page. (The new page will not be the forum view … however the forum view will also be available for those of you who prefer it).

Currently, the old blog archive can be found at:

http://www.davidmeade.com/blog/blog.php

This will also be the location of the new archive once I get it done (the conversion process is extremely difficult and I wont even attempt it until I have the code finalized and reviewed by scores of experts on the new system…so it may be a while).

Keep visiting DavidMeade.com for all the info. With the new system I’m developing I should be able to publish information more efficiently.

Thanks,

Dave

What is a blog?

Blogs – short for “web logs” – are shared, online journals. And it has become all the rage on the internet, gracing large corporate sites and personal home pages alike.

The content and purposes of blogs varies greatly – from links and commentary about other web sites, to news about a company / person / idea, to diaries, photos, poetry, mini-essays, project updates, even fiction. As you can imagine, most are quite bizarre in a good way.

Blogs are usually short, frequently updated posts that are arranged chronologically – like a what’s new page or a journal.

Blogs are thus more dynamic than older-style home pages, and more permanent than posts to a forum or newsgroup. They are more private and personal than traditional journalism, and more public than diaries.

History of blogging

It all started several years ago, when webmasters and internet junkies (probably in an attempt to keep their web sites more frequently updated – in the age of the web “portal”) started posting short thoughts / discoveries / rants / ideas etc to their web pages on a more frequent basis.

Improvements in Web design tools have made it easier for beginners to create their own Web logs and update them as often as they wish. And thus … blogging was born. Blogs are now often thought of like instant messages to a web page. (Except with a blog…the audience is the world.)

About my blog

Rules:

There aren’t actually any hard and fast rules to blogging, but I am going to try and hold myself to a few DavidMeade.com blog commandments:

1. “Thy blog shalt not be news of thy website – for that shall be told by thine News section.”.
2. “Thou shalt not blog when drunk for when drunk thy would surely blog foolishness”.

Thankfully there aren’t any hard and fast rules for you either. I have a personal preference that your comments on a blog have at least something to do with the blog … but as long you aren’t flaming someone you can post anything you like!

The Technical stuff…

The DavidMeade.com blog has gone thru many rounds of improvements. It all started with a system I coded myself in php using MySQL databases and a custom admin too I created. This was (and is) actually a really great tool. In it’s current form, my blog is actually stored within a phpBB database. Alot of the pages that I actually coded here now pull data out of the phpBB databases. While I do still code most of the front end myself, I’ve decided to use the phpBB back end for several reasons.

1. It’s a widely used system and there are countless hard core developers out there who understand it to an unhealthy degree. I can use this to my advantage – using phpBB support forums and the countless nerds…I mean experts… to help me troubleshoot and continue to develop davidmeade.com’s features.
2. phpBB has very sophisticated user / member management tools. I started to develop my own system … but phpBBs system is both exceptional…and already created.
3. Killing the two birds above with one stone inside of 2 hours was just too good to pass up.
4. Why reinvent the wheel?

DavidMeade.com blog FAQ

Q: Why can’t I start a post here?

A: The blogs are special because they are frequently updated posts from the person or organization that runs the website. Only David Meade can start a new blog here, however anyone can read them and post their comments on the blog.

Q: Do I have to register to comment on a blog!?

A: No you dont! Anyone can comment on a blog, even an unregistered guest. If you’re an old timer here at DavidMeade.com, don’t worry … anything you could do at DavidMeade.com in the old system you can do at DavidMeade.com in the new system even without being a registered user … however if you register you will have access to some new features and gain access to member-only content!

Q: Why would I want to become a registered member?

A: For lots of reasons!

• You’ll never have to type your dang name/email/url again when commenting on a blog! The system will remember you and do that for you!
• As a registered member, you can subscribe to a blog or news article and be notified by email when it’s been commented on!
• You’ll be able to send Private Messages to me and any other DavidMeade.com member via the website!
• You’ll be able to recieve private message from me and any other DavidMeade.com member!
• You’ll gain access to special member-only conent at DavidMeade.com! (I’m still working on this, but fully plan to make some member only stuff!)

(Note: This blog was written as I was building out the new system – but published later on 6/18 )

Ok I’m breaking my BLOG rule again and talking about the site… again this is because some important changes are happening and I want to make sure you see this!

I’m currently working on a complete revamp of the site (yes again ) that will allow for a bunch of much more sophisicated features that you can enjoy. Much of the work is done, and as you can now see … it’s made for a much more robust site!

From my perspective, the revamp will make Blogs, News Articles, Site Annoucements – all sorts of articles – much much easier for me to manage. And while you wont notice a significant difference in the look in feel of davidmeade.com … when there are recent updates to the blogs, news sections, guestbooks, etc, they should be (when all is said and done) much easier to notice and navigate to.

And should you decide to participate in all the fun here at DavidMeade.com, you’ll have even more ways to do it! No longer will your wisdom be limited solely to blog comments. You can now comment on just about anything — even photo gallery pics! And through it all, you will be in fact using a whole new system for your user comments! You’ll also notice some great new features like user polls, rating the photos here at DavidMeade.com, the ability to post your own guest blog, the ability to send private messages between user of davidmeade.com, and even a discussion forum.

It’s the discussion forums in fact that are at the heart of the revamp. The new system is based off of an open source community application called phpBB. It’s probably the most popular web community (forum) application out there. phpBB has built in user membership abilites, usergroups, and security. I’ve spent the last week and a half or so installing and configuring phpBB and a dozen “MODs” to it, creating a phpBB template to match my site … and I’m pleaseed with the results.

What does this mean for you? Well it means that you may want to become a registered memeber of davidmeade.com! (If you are currently listed in the Other David Meade’s database you will be issued a new membership automatically soon … but if you just cant wait feel free to register now! ).

There are still some bugs in the new system, and I welcome you to report them in my bug tracker! I’m also still working on a best solution to move all the old content into the new system (until then you can of course continue to access it via the archive links as always). But all-in-all the site is working pretty well and it’s at a point where it can be used by the masses while I finish up on some things.

You’ll notice that some of the pages are still a bit of a pain in the neck … commenting on a blog for example will work flawlessly … but you end up in the forum which runs the blog rather than on the blog page. You may actually like this – I’m still trying to decide if I do. Just know that I’m trying to iron out these sorts of details as we go.

Again, please feel free to report any bugs to me and do let me know what you think of the new stuff!

Q: Do I have to register now!?

A: No! Anything you could do at DavidMeade.com in the old system you will be able to do at DavidMeade.com in the new system … however if you register you will have access to some new features and gain access to member-only content!

Q: Why would I want to become a registered member?

A: For lots of reasons!

• You’ll never have to type your dang name/email/url again when commenting on a blog! The system will remember you and do that for you!
• As a registered member, you can subscribe to a blog or news article and be notified by email when it’s been commented on!
• You’ll be able to send Private Messages to me and any other DavidMeade.com member via the website!
• You’ll be able to recieve private message from me and any other DavidMeade.com member!
• You’ll gain access to special member-only conent at DavidMeade.com!
  • Rate Photo Gallery Pics!
  • Upload YOUR photos from an event to the appropriate DavidMeade.com gallery!!
  • Vote on DavidMeade.com Polls
  • Edit your posts & comments to blogs and articles!
  • Private Messages
  • All sorts of other things I havent finished yet

Q: Just to be clear: I dont NEED to register in order to comment on blogs or anything do I??

A: No you dont. Unregistered users in this new system will have all the access and abilitys that all users had in the old system.

Q: When does all this start?

A: Soon! I’ve got the about half of the “hard stuff” done. In fact, this very blog is using the new system!

Q: Holy crap! What can I do to prepare!?

A: Register as a member!! Then sit and hit refresh on your browser in breathless anticipation for your first Private Message!

Deep breath my friends … there will be some problems and bugs as we move into the new system I’m sure, but not to worry … we’ll get through it… together.

If all goes well, you will see more and more features come one line in the weeks that follow. Also you will notice that alot of the stuff that looks like phpBB will go away in favor of my own front end. (Basically … if you see a page that doesn’t quite look like it fits in … it will as soon as I update that particular page or function).

Thanks in advance for your help and patience as I roll out the new system!

So I’ve decided to try my hand at video production.

Small little short films and the like. Just seems like something that would be alot of fun.So in order to get this potential hobby off the ground I’ve been looking online for a good (and hopefully afordable) Digital Video Editing software package.

Why is there are only 2 types of Video Editors out there?

1) CRAPPY

2) $600+!?!?

I mean come on! Now, I know I could use Windows Movie Editor…and I probably will for the first few trial shorts…but I really wanted to find a package that allows for more sophisticated editing. Nothing crazy, just things like trimming the clip handles, multiple audio tracks, etc.

The package that I think sounds the best costs $600!! And if I end up really liking this stuff … I’m gonna have to get a video camera! So if I make some kick ass little short using Windows Movie Editor…I dont even want to think about what it’s going to cost me to move to the next level.

Elizabeth & Chris Mclean are once again proud parents! Liz gave birth Tuesday morning to a beautiful baby boy: Zachary James McLean. Mom and baby are both doing well. Be sure to stop by their website and check out the photos!

Awesome weather today. I don’t even know what the temp. is, but trust me it’s a warm sunny gorgeous day outside.

Inside however…is another story.

Now typically it’s a pretty constant 20 degrees at my desk and I’ve learned to live with the looks I get as I leave the house on days like this with a jacket hanging over my arm. But today so far it’s pretty comfortable at my desk. With this pleasant surprise, I booted the computer and went downstairs for the Diet Coke.

Let me take this opportunity on this beautiful day (even at my desk) to bitch on behalf of all the other poor slobs in my building… see… on every floor except mine, its hotter inside than it is outside and its about as humid as Mississippi Delta in flood season.

It is absolutely cruel the conditions others in this building are working in today. Honestly… in my company we have lots of…well I’ll just say it… OLD people…and lots of … well… unfit people. Tredging through the humid torture chamber that is the 3rd floor I felt like stopping to beg forgiveness for leaving them.

There seriously needs to be a Dr. around letting people go home. I now understand why some people have Dr’s notes saying the need air conditioning. I’m pretty healthy and even I felt like I couldn’t breath down there.

So as I sit here in the much more tolerable 5th floor, I realize that this is a really nice day for most…but for some…its AWFUL! Gina (she is going by Thor now) of course would be picnicking on the 3rd floor … /shrug.