Still figuring out how to blog

I guess I’m still trying to find my groove with this whole “blogging thing”. Maybe I thought I would just naturally write something nearly every day, but it obviously hasn’t turned out quite like that. I have a lot to say about the topics that interest me, but there always seems to be something urgent to attend to instead. Now it seems there’s light at the end of the tunnel and I’m finally getting a handle on all the stuff that piled up while we were moving. I can’t make any promises, but I am optimistic that I’ll be writing more frequently in the near future. Stay tuned…

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September 30, 2006 | Filed Under General | Leave a Comment 

Rumors of PHP’s death greatly exaggerated

I just read an interesting article called “PHP Is Doomed”. I don’t necessarily agree with the author’s dire predictions, but it did remind me of the importance of continuing to adapt and learn in this crazy field we call web development. As noted in the article, Perl programmers were in high demand just a few years ago and now Perl is barely mentioned (at least in a web dev context). PHP could meet a similar fate as a result of pressure on several fronts (see the article for more about that).

So what do I plan to do about this? In the short term, nothing. I happen to really like PHP and I’m still experimenting with the new features in version 5.1. It works for my purposes and I don’t see any compelling reason to start wringing my hands and looking for another bandwagon to jump on. After all, PHP powers a number of very popular open source projects including MediaWiki (which runs Wikipedia), WordPress (which runs this blog), phpBB, osCommerce, Drupal, Joomla, etc. Need I go on? (Answer: YES) Read more

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September 18, 2006 | Filed Under Web development | 4 Comments 

Read any good banned books lately?

This week seems like a great time to celebrate freedom in light of the 5th anniversary observed on Monday. Google has just posted an excellent list of banned books. It’s so good that I’m making it the Website of the Week (yeah, I’m trying to resurrect the tradition).

You may be wondering how many of these banned books I’ve read. OK, you’re probably not wondering that, but humor me anyway. Truth be told, I’ve read fourteen of the 42 books listed (one-third of the list). Many of them I read during rain storms in Malawi while I was a Peace Corps Volunteer while others were assigned in high school or college English classes. The list even includes five of my favorite books of all-time:

So if you look at that list and your total is zero out of 42, make some time to read a few of them. You won’t be sorry… especially if you read Catch-22. Yossarian is waiting…

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September 13, 2006 | Filed Under Africa, Website of the Week | 1 Comment