About the Server

It’s now been updated to Ubuntu Server 8.10. I’ve added some new PHP anti-spam and security fixes, as well as implemented some referral spam blocking. I’m now using a new stats engine, in addition to Google Analytics. AWStats seems to work pretty well. As a warning to anyone on a Ubuntu server thinking of using it, the version in the repositories has an enormous security hole which could allow someone to execute terminal commands as root on your server. Updating to 6.9 fixes the known holes, and I reccomend it. I had personally tested the exploits available for AW Stats, and verified that they were an issue.

I’ve added WP-SuperCache to WordPress, and it has appeared to speed things up incredibly well. I didn’t think it would be as much of an improvement as it is. I’ve also switched my permalinks to something more user-friendly, but all the old links should still work. If you stumble upon one that does not, let me know and I’ll manually add a redirect.

My Life Lately

Firstly, I reached a crossroads in my educational career and decided to change majors. I’ve taken enough Computer Science classes now for a minor in CS, and I should be able to graduate in Mass Communication with an emphasis in New Media by about this time next year – fingers crossed.

I’ve undertaken a handful of projects over the past year, and have finished them. I helped in the construction of Troy Champ‘s blog, hand-writing a custom look that matched the rest of the Capital Church website, produced by the incredibly talented Kelly Johnson. In addition to this, I tailored a version of the theme for the 20-30 somethings blog for Capital Church.

I undertook a design for a friend of mine (also from Capital Church). I present to you Streamline Entertainment. The client had a pretty good idea of the feel and look of the site. I worked with several ideas of my own before giving more of the creative design aspects to the client. He’s been tweaking it as he sees fit now, thanks to the ease of use of WordPress 2.7. I’m moderately satisfied with the look. The client wanted things exactly the way he had in mind, so I did it just how he wanted. There are a few things that I would have personally changed or left out, but it’s not my site.

School

My classload is a bit heavier this semester. That being said, I think my classes are considerably less difficult than my previous semester. My current list of classes is below:

• COMM 3550 – Intro to Visual Communication
• COMM 1500 – Intro to Mass Communication
• COMM 3510 – Intro to Web Design – Seems like it should be easy enough for someone who has done web design as long as I have.
• FCS 3450 – Family Economics

I’m pretty happy with my schedule, despite having a killer 6pm-9pm Thursday night class. I’ve been trying to work out a work schedule with the library so I can have a decent level of income.

Geeking Out

I’ve been coding in ActionScript in Adobe Flex Builder 3, learning to build both Flex web applications and Adobe AIR applications. Flex Builder is built on top of Eclipse, which brings a familiar environment to life for me with a new language. ActionScript isn’t terribly difficult to learn, and Flex Builder has a fantastic UI designer. Look to see some fun apps from me in the future. If you’re a student, you can get a free educational version of Flex Builder. There’s no difference between the full version and the educational version, from what I can tell. This is a great way to get some excellent Adobe software.

All-Out Spam

No doubt, there are spammers that infiltrate and attempt to permeate any website with a medium to low level of traffic. (My site even gets hit pretty hard.) Spammers mass-produce accounts and post links in comments to draw immense amounts of traffic for ads. Firstly, don’t click on ads from websites that get spammed. You’re just giving the spammer more incentive to continue spamming. Secondly, don’t post links that are spammy or even look spammy. If your comment isn’t relevant, don’t post it.

Badges, Awards, and Group Invitation

Just by perusing through the Explore (popular) photos of Flickr, you will find many “Awards.” These usually consist of some awful animated GIF with glitter, sparkles, or seizure-causing color changes. Don’t post these on Flickr photo pages. They’re downright annoying and waste valuable space that could be filled with real content. Group invites should be saved for FlickrMail, the private messaging system on Flickr. Don’t waste my time and spam my photos with group invites that are usually irrelevant and self-promoting.

Self-Promotion

As a photographer, I enjoy admiring others’ works. However, I don’t enjoy having them shoved down my throat by posting high-resolution version in the comments of my photos. If you photo has some relevance to the discussion or to my photo, post a simple link to it. Don’t try to rob even 400+ pixels of vertical space in the comments section with a link to your photo (or photos). This Flickr page clearly shows how annoying all of the previous problems can be.

Notes

I’m under the impression that most Flickr users don’t understand how to use “Flickr Notes” properly. Most use them as a bulletin board to overlay their important irrelevant comments on top of photos. These notes should be used to draw attention to a certain area of the photograph and make a point, such as: suggesting a better crop, suggesting some modifications to be made in a certain area, or generally pointing out something in the photo. Here’s a mild example of note abuse.

To everyone who’s guilty of this: KNOCK IT OFF.

Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.’ But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
Matthew 5:33-37

While it’s possible that I may be reading this out of context, it seems as if Jesus addresses both honesty and oath-taking. His command? Don’t make them at all. This may be a bit of a shock to many Christians in the United States who are ever so patriotic and loyal to their country. If the wording Jesus used wasn’t enough to convince you or make you think about this a little bit differently, James also addresses the issue.

 Above all, my brothers, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no, or you will be condemned.
James 5:12

The question remains – is it un-patriotic to not hold your hand over your heart or to sing the national anthem? The Bible doesn’t really address this issue. My take is that as long as you’re not making an oath, it’s okay. One of the biggest things people love about the United States is the freedom. Freedom to make whatever statement you want to make. Personally, I don’t recite the Pledge of Allegiance for the reasons above. Does that make me less patriotic? I should hope not. I love my country and have an immense amount of respect for those who have fought and died to defend what we believe is right – freedom. This is true patriotism in my heart. Patriotism is a difficult thing to define, as so many different people have views on it. My favorite quote regarding patriotism is the famous but apparently mis-attributed:

Dissent is the highest form of patriotism.

I’ll leave you with this quote from Adlai E. Stevenson on patriotism.

Patriotism is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime.
Adlai E. Stevenson

I’m sure almost every Christian has seen this verse at some point:

⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. – 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

I’ll admit that my impression of love has been quite contrary to this. For the longest time, love was just a euphoric feeling I had because of someone else. Love is more than euphoria. It’s a constant altruistic behavior. Love isn’t about yourself. It’s about the other person. If you don’t realize that and act on it – things will fall apart. It’s not a possibility, it’s reality. I’ve witnessed it firsthand – being the one who finds his selfishness and desires ruining the relationship. So to anyone who thinks or knows that they’re in love – take this advice: Make the relationship about the other person. Find out what makes them feel loved and do it. Don’t just do it to keep the other person around, do it with passion and enjoyment, knowing that you’re making your boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse/whatever happy. Making the person you love and care about happy should make you happy in return. I know it does for me.

On mistakes I’ve made and how you and I can both learn from them:

Languages of Love

I’m sure many of you know that I love to talk. I love to talk so much that I’ll often interrupt a conversation – not the right thing to do. Something that caused problems in my last relationship was my inability to truly listen. This all comes back to the fact that love should be altruistic – not selfish like I’ve often made it. Friends, listen to what she/he has to say. Listen truly and carefully, as your goal should be to understand exactly how the other person feels and thinks. Pay attention to body language. If the other person feels and looks angry, sad, passionate – you’ll know. Clarify their feelings with questions – don’t just respond with “yeah” or a typical neutral answer like “okay.” Depending on the person, this listening shows how you love them. Not everyone recieves/needs love the same way.

Others need quality time to feel loved. Simple things like going out to lunch, picnicking, going for a walk/hike/ride, and even sitting down and just absorbing the presence of your significant other are examples of quality time. Your mentality should be that you are there to absolutely absorb your significant other’s presence and for no other reason than to show your love.

Note: I haven’t finished the book yet, but once I do – I’ll update this post or write another one.

Link to full video or the alternate Australian version.