cookiecrook²

10:59 PM #

Thanks Philippe.

Thanks go to Philippe Wittenbergh, who helped me track down a MacIE5 CSS bug that has been plaguing my personal site for a few months.

11:41 AM #

Figures...

This morning, I called a state government office and heard the following message, "You have been forwarded to a voicemail system, however, the person you are trying to call does not subscribe to this system. Good bye."

9:23 PM #

W3C and CSS...

I read on the Wasp today that the W3C had redesigned their Cascading Style Sheets page. The reason it was mentioned there is because it uses quite a bit of technology (like 32-bit PNGs and 'fixed' positioning) not supported by various versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer; especially Internet Explorer for Windows.

I believe the author's intention was to give the Microsoft developers a metaphoric "swift kick in the tail" because the Windows version of their browser still has major lack of support for some very old standards. While I believe that Microsoft needs to get this fixed, I have mixed emotions about the new design. The new CSS causes some parts of the design to overlap others making it difficult to read in some browsers. The display is even buggy in some recent versions of Mozilla and one of the main goals of the W3C is to make web content accessible to all. My feeling is that web authors should promote the use of new standards, but not at the expense of accessibility.

10:57 PM #

Come support live arts...

My wife is producing a play that will be running this Thursday and Friday (February 20th and 21st) entitled Metamorphaoke 3000. She is co-producer, co-director, main costume designer, etc. and I will be helping with the sound production. Jessie and her business partner have put a lot of money into this production, so please come out. We need your support.

The play follows a couple on a date in the year 3000. The karaoke bar they visit provides a method to transform into the singer of their choice. Campy, futuristic humor and star-studded performances make this an incredibly entertaining show.

Tickets are 12 to 14 dollars in advance and 16 dollars at the door. Contact me or go to the Metamorphaoke web site if you want to arrange for advance tickets.

5:25 PM #

Is it just me?

Lately I've noticed that some people tend to apologize to me more than I think is necessary. While this is not the worst problem to have, it makes me wonder why people feel the need. I think it must be the look on my face.

For example: Last week, I went to the grocery store and ordered an assortment of deli meats. I finished my shopping and came back to pick it up. Upon inspection, I noticed that I had received one-third of a pound of roast beef instead of the two-thirds of a pound that I had requested. It was no big deal. I knew it was a simple mistake and I wasn't annoyed at all, but I asked the lady to give me some more. She said "Okay" and finished the order while I waited. When she handed it to me, she said, "Sorry." That's nice, right? The only reason I thought about it though was because it wasn't the standard, "Oops, sorry" that I expected. It was more like a "Sorry, you jerk. Gimme a break."

My dad once told me a story about a business trip he had. On the plane, he was deep in thought when the flight attendant came up and jokingly asked him, "Are you as mean as you look?" Ha! I always thought this was a funny story, but I think I may have inherited that look from my dad.

To those of you that know me, do I come across this way? Any of the web designers and developers I've worked with know that I'm extremely picky when it comes to code, semantics, support, compliance, interface, etc... but do I seem like a jerk when discuss it? I've always wondered if I'm the kind of guy that's annoying to work with because of my obsessiveness.

I want an honest opinion. I promise I won't think less of you. Email me if you don't want to post it in the comments. Thanks.

10:38 PM #

Reign: The Conqueror

I found a new show that promises to take lots of my time for the next few weeks. "Reign: The Conqueror" premieres tonight on Cartoon Network tonight at 11pm Central Time. The artists are best known for their work on MTV's Aeon Flux. It starts tonight and runs Monday through Thursday for 13 episodes.

I won't have watched this much TV since I was glued to the SciFi Channel last fall for "Taken". I guess the bright side is that if it sucks, I'll save some time and be more productive... Maybe...

12:52 PM #

It's Pat!

Last night I put my foot in my mouth. Someone mentioned androgyny and I returned a joke with a lame allusion to the names "Chris" and "Pat". It was supposed to be a funny reference to the 1994 SNL-spawned movie, It's Pat, starring Julia Sweeney as "Pat" and Dave Foley as "Chris".

Unfortunately, I wasn't thinking about the fact that Chris (a girl) and Pat (a guy) were in the room and listening... An uncomfortable silence followed as the realization of my mistake set in... Doh! I quickly made a mental note to never try that joke again!

Sorry Chris... Sorry Pat. :)

10:11 PM #

Opera 7 for Windows

Opera Software released version 7 of their web browser on Tuesday. As of now, it's only available for Windows Operating Systems. I was less than enthusiatic about previous releases of Opera, and while this one is much better, I won't be using it as my default anytime soon. It includes a much better CSS rendering engine, a slick new look, and is still really fast. The JavaScript parser, though better than version 6, is still somewhat lacking. It even fails on some standard scripts that date back as far as Netscape 3.

9:00 PM #

Wacko Jacko

Just in case there was ever any doubt, the Michael Jackson special on 20/20 tonight confirmed how utterly insane he really is. It's astounding... I have no comment.

11:07 PM #

Wow... That's fast.

11:31 PM #

Congratulations...

To my brother Neil and his fiancé, Rachael Carroll. They announced their engagement and will be married in December.

11:38 PM #

As seen on TV... well... sort of...

Jake Martin does a cable access show in Austin called "Up Late Austin" on Time Warner Cable Channel 10 at 10pm, Monday nights. My wife, Jessie, is friends with him and she calls up there occasionally. Tonight when she called up, he got excited, mentioned how much he liked my website, and did a fantastic job of plugging how great it is...

Except that neither one of them said the URL... *sigh*

So, just in case you watched the show and didn't get that web site address, it's http://www.cookiecrook.com... That's right; cookiecrook-dot-com... *sigh*

1:48 PM #

Consumer society...

Apple is tempting me. They drastically reduced their prices on all their flat-panel monitors, including the 20-inch Cinema Display that caught my eye. Even so, it's still pretty expensive but they know they've got the best commercially available flat-panels.

It surprises me that most monitors you can buy today are still VGA, an analog standard that was introduced by IBM in 1987. The newer monitors and high-end video cards are usually coming equipped with digital interfaces, like DVI or ADC, that can handle HDTV signals and more than double the refresh rates. These Apple monitors use an ADC connector, which carries digital video, power, and a USB hub all in one cable.

10:49 PM #

Columbia...

My parents live in East Texas, fairly close to Nacogdoches where most of the space shuttle fell this morning. My mom told me that the house was shaking and she heard a deep rumbling that she thought may have been an explosion from one of the factories in the area. A few minutes later she heard the news reports.