rob.nester

So I finally upgraded to the more recent version of Wordpress (2.5.1) so that I could use my iPhone to add/edit posts. We'll see if it means more, if any, posts here.

So, I recently got an iPhone and have enabled two new plugins for Wordpress that allow for better viewing and administration via the iPhone. Hopefully this will be the enticement that I need to post more. As of right now there is no way to upload photos directly from the iPhone so the posts from the iPhone will be very text-y I suppose.
I think that pretty much sums up new stuff for right now. Oh, and I got a job.

I haven't written much as of late, partially due to travelling for my grandmother's funeral and partially because I've been busy trying to do some of those resolutions I had written about. I've been reading more, and working on crocheting some hats.

I also joined a gym. I'm glad that for the past two days, despite feeling under the weather, I've still made myself go and walk two miles as well as lift. I came to the conclusion that I had to start doing something to lose some weight. As an aside, why is it that older folks love to point out when you've gained weight?

But I digress. I have updated the site to Wordpress 2.1 and updated the necessary components so that it all works.

On a tangent for a moment, I found out that Wordpress has a multi-user distribution which provides for setting up numerous blogs under one domain. I'm glad to see this development because it make me remember one of the things I've wanted to do for a long time - make a social art/music/writing site. (Yes, I'm sure it's been done ad nauseum, but hey...)

Last night saw a few hours of futility which showed me the rough state of my PHP skills. I spent a few hours trying to remember how to go about setting up a loop so that the cover images from the movies in my Netflix queue could be shown in a snazzy looking 5 x 20 table. To make a long story short, after failing to figure it out for a few hours, it finally clicked...

Only to realize that the images that I wanted to use were pulled in as a single object. What this means is that I can't seperate the items without revamping the Netflix plugin that I'm using.

So, now the question is, do I really wanna spend the time hacking apart this plugin and repurposing it or should I just say screw it?

So today was lazy...
And I luxuriated in that fact. I've done nothing but swipe internet from the restaurant next to Starbucks and work on web design while relaxing in an oversized chair...

Saw Johnny this evening, which was nice. Kinda bittersweet since today was his last day as a resident of Wilmington. He said he dropped his keys off at the office. I think it's official, all of the "crew" from the Brookstone apartment are gone except for me. I miss the times as they were the last vestiges of college freedom.

After a week of work that left me feeling overwhelmed with stress, I've decided to give it one month. My ultimatum to myself. If I'm still unhappy in a month, I'm packing up shop and finding a new job.

In other "news" (lol) I'm frustrated with Ruby on Rails. i think it's the fact that there is so much that I want to do with it, and so much that can be done with it, that it's kinda overwhelming.

So.

Every have one of those days where you get to where you need to be only to realize that place you need to be is totally not where you want to be? Today is most definitely one of those days. Cubicles be damned!

I suppose my frustration has a number of causes.

• money
• cubicles
• lack of creativity
• desire to be self-employed / more creative

• lack of creativity overall
• feeling too complacent

Guess it's just that thing that everyone goes through though, so I suppose I shouldn't complain. At least I have a job right?

On a side note, Ruby on Rails development is going well. The one thing I've noticed is that as I'm learning, I want to go back and rewrite what I've already written, which can be a pain. Overall though, I'm progressing well. I think that there are a number of web based applications that I could see Ruby working for, so that's a good thing.

Oh, and fireworks at the house last night were neat. I'll post some pics later.

So, like I said, I've been learning Ruby On Rails for some development projects that Jason and I have been working on. The past few days have been milestones for me in regards to Ruby. I pick up a couple of books on Ruby and they've been extremely useful in learning the basics. Last night I was able to figure out Polymorphic Associations (it sounds more complex than it actually is, but they are definitely useful and cool).  One thing I'm having to watch with Ruby is naming conventions. In Ruby certain things need to be singular while others need to be plural. Forgetting this can lead to a lot of headscratching and wondering why errors are occuring.