We've finally gone ahead and

We've finally gone ahead and done it. The 12 Angry Web developers have gone ahead and started a browser upgrade campaign. I've been so sick and tired of having to kludge-design sites I run for people with older browsers when there are Web standards that all these browsers SHOULD support. So I brought up the idea of the campaign after redesigning the ZOT site to be all XHTML & CSS and after realizing the site looked like crap in Netscape 4.x. I had to use OS sniffing via JavaScript and create a separate stylesheet for Netscape browsers.What a pain. I plan on creating my own upgrade page after I finish the ZOT site.

People have been wondering what

People have been wondering what I've been up to since I last wrote. The Leaky Cauldron is keeping me as busy as ever. I'm bordering on obsession trying to find all the Harry Potter news across the globe before anyone else does. As a result of the daily content, I've created quite the user stickiness and while more and more people link to us, we're getting a lot of user returns. This is the first time I've really had a chance to run a content-driven site. It's great.

Work has been a phenomenal

Work has been a phenomenal rollercoaster ride. We've been the victims of the market downfalls not because we're a startup ourselves but because our clients are non-profits that require funding from their members/participants or they are startups run through VC funding. So needless to say, would-be clients have been reluctent to sign on. It's quite annoying considering we brought one company's stock up 2000%.

I'm far from giving up - I've picked up a few book editing projects and thank goodness we bought a house we could afford on one salary.

Well, then. It's been almost

Well, then. It's been almost a month since I've written here. Way to long. Especially when my family relies on the site to find out what I've been up to :)

I'm Back

Matt Haughey wrote a really

Matt Haughey wrote a really great reflection piece on Pyra and Blogger. I am amazed and many of the coulda, shoulda, wouldas. Pyra was really the type of company and Blogger is the type of technology that should have been scooped up in an instant. If it's weren't for blogger, there are hundreds of people who wouldn't have the time to create Web sites. They pledge to keep it running....let's hope the goodwill of the general populace will allow for that.

Wow.....by total random guessing, I

Wow.....by total random guessing, I found out that my small hometown actually has it's own Web site. I am TRES impressed since the City of Salem is much, much larger and has quite the crappy site. I'm tempted to default to both bitter frustration and my civic duty...and just offer to help them design and develop a new one.

This is a great article

This is a great article from The Industry Standard about the hype surrounding Germany's version of John Vranesevich - Kim Schmitz.

It's Official! I'm making a

It's Official! I'm making a Web site for one of the best herbal apothecaries I've ever been to - Artemisia Botanicals in downtown Salem. You'll be able to buy everything from Oils, Herbs, Skin Care products, books, Magick items, aromatherapy, diffusers, incense and teas all online. I'm hoping to convince the owner to create some original content as well like an HerbLog or something. More as things develop.....

Kirky's Tupperware Party went off

Kirky's Tupperware Party went off without a hitch - she even got to order free stuff because of the amount people bought! I was amazed at how clean we got the house. We hit the bedroom, both bathrooms, livingroom and, of course, kitchen. Kirky laid everything out in buffet-style including her tea set, the coffee machine, fresh, homemade banana bread muffins with pecans, still-warm bagels from down the street - everything spic-and-span clean.

Now, I would be showing all of this off with pictures of the immaculate scene but Kirky has just left for her grandmother's place in Connecticut with the 8-packs of batteries in her backpack. They are - you guessed it - with her, and our digital camera is dead. I'd run out to the store but with one car in the shop and the other on it's way to "The Constitution State" it's kind of hard. Seeing as I stayed behind to finish tech. editing the book I'm currently working on, I can justify walking to the store. I am, for all intents and purposes, stranded at home with the kids for the weekend.

It's been a long week

It's been a long week - and I even worked at home two days this week. The boss has been having side-effects with her new medication and the doctor told Kirky, my wife, that they think she has a "wheat and gluten intolerance". I was amazed how much a wheat allergy effects what you can eat. Of course I say this as we're watching Martin Yan on Cooking Live with Sara Moulton on Food TV as they're making a delicious Triple Mushroom Soup and we're arguing about whether she will be allowed to eat bagels at the Tupperware party she's hosting tomorrow.

Food is a very central part of the DeLong household. I have a sweet tooth that will turn me into a diabetic in the next 2 years if we don't stop and we're both overweight. On top of that, Kirky is a phenomenal cook and can whip up complex scrumptious meals in no time at all. Tonight, for instance, I grilled a few small steaks on the outdoor grill using spices from Penzeys Spices given to us for X-Mas from my mother (Bicentennial Rub and Singapore Seasoning). Kirky used one of those frozen Birdseye pasta and sauteed some white button mushrooms with a little butter. De-licious.

I took my second herbal

I took my second herbal class last night. Just as great as the first. This one was about Herbal First Aid. We learned about the various health uses of herbs in more detail than the previous class and discussed them more in terms of emergency situations or minor accidents. Teri also used a "Survivor" metaphor discussing how certain herbs would be helpful on an island or desert environment when you have nothing else. Still working on transcribing my notes from both last week and this week. I refilled on my Rosemary Gladstar Rest Assured tea, bought some Rescue Remedy (which can be used on the cats as well), grabbed some lavender for general pusposes and eucalyptus oil to place in my humidifier since it kills airborn germs and disease. Next week? Aromatherapy I. I hope to bring the wife along to this one.

Pyra is dead. Long live

Pyra is dead. Long live Pyra! As you can see from my comments, I truly believe Pyra has some excellent revenue possibilities during a time when .com companies are failing. I'll be the first to admit that if it wasn't for Pyra, I wouldn't have a Web site. I don't have time to sit there and format posts, FTP them over etc. I'm having enough hell with the new ZOT Web site. Not that I mind, it was a great learning experience and I'll feel less guilty about tech. editing a book chapter on CSS.

But I digress.....I can easily see a content management company like Information Architects, Vignette or hell, even a Macromedia Blogger integration into UltraDev or something. It is possible, and I will pay for a Blogger Pro. It not only has great use for personal vanity sites but also has possibilities as a way to manage corporate communications through intranet-based Weblogs.