After some suggestions from friends, I've decided to start posting an "audio blog" about my story, "The Guardian Legend" (or :"Legend of the Guardian", or various derivatives).  It's still under development, as I try to refine my writing style.

I started recording the first chapter.  After some irritations of dealing with Audacity (my audio recording software), I found out some things about it.  First, while the heart of the story is undoubtedly good (at least that's what others have said after reading), it's... well, lacking.  As soon as I start reading it out loud, I find it lacking something.  The words jumble together, and it sorta feels... like a "B" movie. 

But not a BAD "B" movie, but one that has potential.  Like it's lacking good special effects... instead of seeing an awe-inspiring helm of a next-generation spaceship, you see a really tiny corner of it, where a great actor is using something that vaguely looks like one of the computer panels from NASA, back when they launched Apollo 13.

Anyway, I have to figure some way of writing my story so it's entertaining.  The underlying actions are interesting, the idea of what's happening is good... but the way it's written is just... well, it's bad.  I can tell that some of the writing is a few decades old.  Yuck.

So how do I write it?  Somehow, I've gotta find a writing style that matches how I tell stories.  As I remember it, people reading the story weren't as thrilled as the people that I told the story.  Because I really get into it when I'm telling the story, but somehow that just gets lost in the written part... ugh.

Anyway, this entry is just an appetizer.  I'm working on the audio blog, but there's a bit of work left to do.  Stay tuned!

I've got a lot of code-stuff I'm working on.  It seems like Darkman is going to start helping, at some point (instead of just continuously asking why I'm not using X or Y), which will be good... but I need goals.

The major goal at this point is getting CS-Project version 2.0 off the ground.  Version 1 is okay, though it's very stale, not very web-two-point-oh-ish, and generally kinda clunky.  And the last version, v1.1.5, was released in the middle part of '08, which is quickly becoming more like four years ago.  FOUR YEARS.

Okay, so the big goal is to have a new release of CS-Project.  There are a lot of libraries that have been built to help out, but I need something short-term to get me off & running.  So, here goes:

1. Dynamic SQL creation (building the entire statement dynamically) with proper parameter cleansing
   • cs-content/cs_globalFunctions has this in the form of string_from_array()
     • not SQL-specific
     • cleaning gets weird, usually too invasive
     • special statements don't work ("field >= 100", "field LIKE '%thing%'")
   • USES
     • building dynamic SQL
     • handling complex joins & such
     • BECAUSE I HATE DUPLICATING CODE!!!
2. proper authentication tokens
   • cs-webapplibs/cs_authToken does this
     • hashing might be too weak
     • needs documentation
   • USES
     • "lost password" requests
     • API keys
3. URL or path-based permissions
   • cs-webapplibs/cs_genericPermission does this
     • not tested very well
     • read/write/execute settings not stored nicely (should use a bitmask instead of lots of columns with true/false values)
     • needs an interface
   • USES
     • setting who can access a given page
     • things like a CMS could use it...
4. Web-based Content Management
   • cs-cms (the whole library) will eventually do this
     • based on cs-blogger
     • needs a good WYSIWYG editor
     • needs database schema & stuff
     • based on how CS-Content works
   • USES
     • CrazedSanity.com could use it (and BuzzKill.org, and CS-Project.com, and...)
     • CS-Project could use it for project-based "info" pages

Okay, there's a good list.  Now I'm off to figure out how to accomplish that.

While I've been researching and learning new tips and tricks for weight loss and fitness, I've come across a number fitness tracking websites, gadgets and challenges.  So I've decided to review these websites and gadgets, and accept the challenges.  

The challenges:

I came across a number of challenges this week, C25K (Couch to 5k), 7 weeks to 100 Pushups, 7 weeks to 50 Pull-ups, and 7 weeks to 300 situps. I plan on completing each of these challenges later this year, but only after I have completed the first 90 days of Power 90.  I've been close to completion of a 5k on my elliptical all week as I have been running about 2.75 miles every other day and only had .35 miles left to go to complete the 5k which I did today.  Then this spring after Power90 I'll start running outside and build myself up for the higher impact of street running and complete a 5k there. This 5k I'll track on a Fitbit (see Gadgets) or a distance/Location app on my droid. All of the 7 week challenges can be found on 7weekstofitness.com and C25K can be found on c25k.com.

The Websites:

I will do a one or two week trial on each and cover different topics like; calorie/nutrition, workout and weightloss tracking.  Iphone and Android availability.  Compatability with different Gadgets, Fitbit, Withings and Zeo. Pay or free. The websites on my list to test are; myfitnesspal.com (which I already use), Wowy.com (teambeachbody.com - this is Power90 and P90x website), Dailyburn.com, Runkeeper.com, Loseit.com, 

The Apps:

Many of the websites listed have apps for Android and Iphone, but both devices have stand alone apps as well like Digifit and Noom, which I will also look into as well.

The Gadgets:

The Fitbit health monitor, Withings wifi scale and Zeo sleep tracker are just three of the Gadgets I will look into and hopefully purchase and use.  Fitbit is know to count calories burned at all times, even just walking from the car to your desk or home.  It tracks distance and elevation, incase you decided it's better to take the stairs instead of the elevator. And it's also know for sleep tracking, something I'll have to try to see how it works for sure.  The Withings scale connects to your wifi for a straight upload of your weightloss progress. And the Zeo monitors or sleep patterns and paired with an alarm clock can wake you at the most appropriate times in your sleep cycle.  

And finally my week.  This week has been good, work has not been as strenuous and I completed a lot of tasks. I found that for me to build my dev box for my projects with slaughter I needed a SATA drive instead of the IDE I was planning on using, the good news I have that ordered along with some extra RAM.  I've really been concentrating on my 5k challenge on my Elliptical this week so instead of workouts everyday, they've been every other day, since my knees take a real beating and need the extra day for recovery. And I haven't done any workouts for the last two days in prep for my 5k today. This probably won't allow for any extreme weight loss but meeting this challenge is important to me and next week I'll be back into aerobics and weight lifting.

5k times - 1st mile 9:05
                - 2nd mile 18:22
                - completed 5k 30:05

This weeks weight loss - 3.2 lbs for a current weight of 339.8 lbs

Yes, I have a plan.

No, you can't see it.

Due to the laws of physics and for the good of the space-time continuum, I am only allowed to remember small, usually disconnected fragments at any one given time.

CrazedSanity has had a much-needed update, and we're now at version 5.3.3... after a few problems.  I doubt much of anybody would have seen the problem.

After making some visual changes, I also changed some configuration things.  In the process, I screwed up some connection information for the database, so the live site was trying to connect to a non-existent machine (my test machine).  So I did a couple of things to help avoid it in the future.

Oh, and I also pointed the live site to a test database.  So some out-dated blogs and data were displayed.  Not a big deal, fixed it within an hour or two.

On the GOOD side, I've updated the main page to also show the most recent 5 entries for each person's blog.  I noticed a while ago that I'd missed some entries because I was only looking on the main page & apparently missed a day from Prophet, so when he updated the next day, I only saw the most recent.

I'm working on other changes as well.  Some other changes as well, such as:

• retrieving HTML chunks from CS to load on your website
• hits tracker changes
• Ajax!
• and more

Stay tuned!  If you're really interested, send me an email or comment on this post.

This is the "most current" page for Slaughterstock.  I'll try to keep it updated every year, so you should be able to just bookmark this page to keep current.

NOTICE: The location AND DATE for Slaughterstock HAS CHANGED due to flooding, see the "Location" and "Date" sections.

Slaughterstock 2011 is Coming...

-- [DATE] --

The date is now officially Saturday, July 30th.  I believe you may show up the day before, though I'm not completely certain, as I am no longer in charge of the location (see the "Location" section

-- [RULES] --

1. No drugs.
2. We're not responsible for your accidents.
3. No minors (miners are still okay).
4. No fighting.
5. BYOB (ABSFM) -- Bring Your Own Beer (And Bring Some For Me)
6. Don't drink and drive.
7. If it's not yours, don't mess with it.
8. Clean up after yourself.
9. Have a good time.

I reserve the right to kick out anybody without any reason whatsoever.  I reserve the right to do whatever I want whenever I want for whatever reason I want.  If you're a designated driver, let me know and I'll try to provide some pop or whatever--provided I'm not already intoxicated. ;)

I will not be allowing people into my house by default, though I may make exceptions on an as-needed basis.  If you gotta go to the bathroom, find a tree or something and bring TP... I might rent a port-o-potty if there's enough in attendance, but it hasn't really been a problem in the past... but there isn't really a hard-and-fast rule about it, so talk to me first.

Don't make a mess.  I'll have a garbage receptacle nearby, and the fire works for most things, but glass and aluminum don't burn and are a pain to cleanup.  We're all there to have a good time, so don't do stuff that will make it unpleasant for me or anyone else afterward.

-- [LOCATION] --

The location has been changed temporarily to Finley, ND.  Contact me (SlaughterSt0ck - at - CrazedSanity - dot - com) about it; if you know Prophet, you can talk to him as well.

-- [MUSIC] --

BANDS: I haven't invited any.  I don't forsee myself inviting any to play.  If you're in a band and you want to play, bring your own stuff (power shouldn't be a problem, but you should bring a generator if you have one, 'cuz that's a lot of extension cables).  There won't be a stage unless someone brings one.  Loud stuff stops at 10pm so neighbors can sleep.  I gots no monies, so any band that is thinking of or actually decides to play is doing so for free--and if you invite crazy, disruptive, or otherwise unsavory folk, I reserve the right to kick 'em to the curb (if we had one).

MUSIC:  I've got plenty available in MP3, so I'll probably just plug a stereo into my laptop and let Amarok amaze everyone with it's totally awesome randomization capabilities (hrmm... I wonder how long it will take to build a database of 45,000 songs). 

-- [BURNINATION] --

There will be a bonfire as usual, weather permitting.  In the event that weather isn't permitting... well, I don't know.  The soon-to-be-traditional Failure Burning (burning something that's failed you or something that symbolizes failure) is a go, weather permitting again.

LOVE

Love is like life

Love can thrive and love can die

Love brings joy and happiness

And love can cause pain and grief

Love can bring people together

And it can tear them apart

This may be the end

But I have a question for you

If a rose represents love

Why does a rose wither and die

(this was written by my 15 year old for school)