Well I found that coming back to using Open Source and self made pages to be a bit more time consuming than I originally thought. I expected to be able to just throw up the existing pages and release the Google Apps version. My way of dealing with it did leave the main site at www.BeyondOneWorld.com without pages for a few days, something that if it weren't for the obscurity of the site in the first place I would never have let happen. Having a site in obscurity however does give you a comfortable degree of freedom. I wonder what percentage of the web actually exists in this special place, pages that never get seen, never making any difference other than occupying some search engine link that never gets clicked. Obscurity I am sure is a very crowded place, but of course we never see each other by definition.
I haven't been doing anything on the web for a long time and that was another cause for delay. I thought I would try out Dreamweaver again and see what it could do, the latest is at CS4. I realised that my old ways of knocking out TABLES on a page are now a very old habit and I must really learn more about using DIVs and CSS. So there was the first delay. Of course I had already pulled the domain away from Google Apps at the time and now it was pointing at my empty directory on the Dreamhost server. Inspired by the ease of setting up layouts and reminded of the relative complexity of some of the CSS rules for floats the pages came together very quickly and although full of dubious content actually needed to be made visually presentable. Ahem.. Well, OK, I found a wonderful image of the Earth that was freely available, picked out the best angle and rotated it and put it up onto the main site, not yet visually appealing but it will do for now, I hope. I'll get back into presentation of it later.
Back with Dreamweaver, I found it great to use but had an absolutely dreadful time setting up FTP, a few days have been spent trying to sort this out and I have finally given up with it. Somehow, it was getting absolutely confused as to what was my testing server and what was my remote, in addition to the fact it kept hanging on any transfer that was more than a few pages. I think that it had issues with PASV, ensuring that all transfer were in FTP passive mode, but without finding solution I think I have given up with it. I'll go back to doing it manually.
Now with the - I admit it, visually dreadful - pages up on the site linking in all the bits I selected I find that the work is just beginning. All of the Open Source applications now need to work together. An interesting puzzle to work through. Hopefully I can figure it all out.
My next step now is to pull away from Blogger and use Wordpress instead for my own Blog, the pages where this waffling commentary actually lives. This post will be the last one I guess on this service at blogspot.com, so I have the task of pulling all the posts into the new blog that will/should appear at http://blog.beyondoneworld.com/.
Here we go then...
Wednesday 29 July 2009
Thursday 23 July 2009
Fear ... of the unseen
My mind has been set on bring pages together on the site but at the back of my mind lurks a fear that is always there. It is something that nags at me every time I work on this idea.
Nobody has yet followed it. All this is very much unseen and I haven't had any feedback. I have exposed quite a bit about myself in putting the idea together, things that I generally keep to myself. However, I found I have revealed that childish side of me that believes in good and big things. I look back on some of those posts and cringe, asking myself why did I say that, or isn't that too much information. Another part of me is opened with a typically childish trait, asking myself why doesn't anybody understand what I am saying - I do empathise with children learning language, it must be the most frustrating skill to master. The cynic in me criticises all the time over my waffling and inability to make points sound interesting.
I started this whole thing off last October and I still feel now as I did in my first post. The excitement of what the idea is all about with the trepidation of what it will turn out like and the response of others. Always knowing myself that to some degree this must be the same for many others out there when they blog.
I must rid these nagging doubts once and for all. After putting the main site together I must go out and find out what others think. It is much better after all to have people at least debating, even criticising you, so that you can reform and correct something, rather than silence as you journey into nothing.
Nobody has yet followed it. All this is very much unseen and I haven't had any feedback. I have exposed quite a bit about myself in putting the idea together, things that I generally keep to myself. However, I found I have revealed that childish side of me that believes in good and big things. I look back on some of those posts and cringe, asking myself why did I say that, or isn't that too much information. Another part of me is opened with a typically childish trait, asking myself why doesn't anybody understand what I am saying - I do empathise with children learning language, it must be the most frustrating skill to master. The cynic in me criticises all the time over my waffling and inability to make points sound interesting.
I started this whole thing off last October and I still feel now as I did in my first post. The excitement of what the idea is all about with the trepidation of what it will turn out like and the response of others. Always knowing myself that to some degree this must be the same for many others out there when they blog.
I must rid these nagging doubts once and for all. After putting the main site together I must go out and find out what others think. It is much better after all to have people at least debating, even criticising you, so that you can reform and correct something, rather than silence as you journey into nothing.
Putting it altogether...
The website has now been pulled from Google Apps so I can integrate the bits I have been planning to do since the beginning. When the website was hosted at Google I found there were limitations as to how it could be structured and linking it altogether would be a nightmare. Google Apps however is a great place to host your site if you starting off a new website, I found it easy to update and simple to manage, but if you wish to do something outside of that structure it becomes a little tedious. When everything is sitting on the same server at Dreamhost now I can tailor the chosen Open Source applications to work together, though I think there lies a challenge in itself, but at least I can get into the code and put in the bits of glue to make it work.
As the idea relies heavily on collaboration I thought that having a social web running here will help in identifying who is who and what their own opinions were, so Elgg is running on a subdomain at the moment waiting to be pulled in. For discussion and information I chose phpBB3 and MediaWiki respectively, both very able applications that do their tasks very well and have a big following. Another favourite of mine is waiting too, dotProject, for handling tasks and planning out future efforts on the site.
At this very moment however the main site is transferring over and is empty on the server here. The easiest thing to do would be to put up the same pages that existed on the Google Apps so I might just do that just to get some content there. Then I can try to make the whole set of applications come together seamlessly (as possible) into one site whilst putting the message across about what the site is all about.
The benefit of it all sitting in the same place on one set of databases means that any duplication of information and process can be removed. What this will mean with using completely different sets of Open Source applications is not clear to me right now but I have in the back of my mind some hybrid of them open to anyone who wishes to take part using a CVS system.
It is quite a daunting task ahead and I do not really know everything I need to complete it, even whether the effort will be worth it. I guess only one thing I can do now I have started - just get on with it...
As the idea relies heavily on collaboration I thought that having a social web running here will help in identifying who is who and what their own opinions were, so Elgg is running on a subdomain at the moment waiting to be pulled in. For discussion and information I chose phpBB3 and MediaWiki respectively, both very able applications that do their tasks very well and have a big following. Another favourite of mine is waiting too, dotProject, for handling tasks and planning out future efforts on the site.
At this very moment however the main site is transferring over and is empty on the server here. The easiest thing to do would be to put up the same pages that existed on the Google Apps so I might just do that just to get some content there. Then I can try to make the whole set of applications come together seamlessly (as possible) into one site whilst putting the message across about what the site is all about.
The benefit of it all sitting in the same place on one set of databases means that any duplication of information and process can be removed. What this will mean with using completely different sets of Open Source applications is not clear to me right now but I have in the back of my mind some hybrid of them open to anyone who wishes to take part using a CVS system.
It is quite a daunting task ahead and I do not really know everything I need to complete it, even whether the effort will be worth it. I guess only one thing I can do now I have started - just get on with it...
Tuesday 21 July 2009
What beautiful oceans you have here!
It was 40 years ago I saw on a black and white television the images of the first men on the moon. I was only 5 years old but I remember clearly the fuzzy images that were seen that day by what was estimated another half a billion people. On July 20-21st 1968, that would have been one seventh of the whole population of the world, about 3 and a half a billion, getting a glimpse of one of the most important events in history live on television. On that day, after 6 and a half hours of preparation at 2:55 AM (GMT) Neil Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface, almost muddling his well rehearsed lines to say, "One small step for (a) man, One giant leap for mankind", aptly profound words that echoed solidly around the world. Aptly too as I write, 40 years ago to the minute. Buzz Aldrin, an hour later had to take a short fill of his urine bag just before stepping onto the surface from the Eagle's ladder, another first without doubt. After putting up a rather solid looking American flag in the airless atmosphere and placing about a few scientific detectors at 5:27 AM (GMT) the excursion was over but the images remain in so many peoples memory of that great 'inspiring' day. Michael Collins at this time was all 'in true extreme definition - very much' alone, keeping watch in the ship that circled the moon as it swung round the dark side, to ensure that the moonwalkers got home.
I was really young seeing them bounce around the surface of another world but I remember the excitement of it all and amazingly (if I recall correctly) understood a lot of what was happening and thinking how wonderful it was. I was hooked from an early age by the Space Race and the future was going to be glorious. I remember, apart from being a hungry and avid reader of any science fact and fiction books I could find. I remember clearly there were little collectable cards in PGTips tea that focused on the Race Into Space, and at the Petrol station, Shell were producing coins detailing the aviation and space vehicles, these items were treasured in the early 70's. The most beautiful I found was the art, the pictures that showed how the future could look, clean, amazing and inspiring images of the homes to be, the awesome cities that were possible and strange and wonderful images of new worlds to explore. My imagination and creativity explored unknown and alien images, environments, sensations, new worlds and life. Everything was possible, there were fantastic places to see and explore, so much to learn and do, it was a great time to be alive, I was definitely going to go into space when I was older...
The economics of putting more people on the moon, 4% of America's budget then could not be sustained against the losing interest of the public. Six times the moon had (human) life visit, the last day that any man stepped onto the surface of another world was the 7th December 1972, since then President Nixon shelved the Apollo missions and no attempt has been made since. What takes over? Something less than life often occupies the mind and years of earthly struggle takes precedence over the dreams of reaching out. The worry of living, surviving a recession, the price of fuel all takes a higher
priority than hopes and dreams and positive advancement for everyone. Mankind has survived and wasted its effort during probably many dark ages, we cannot afford to waste any more time living through any more mini-dark ages, especially with the 6,772,418,593 souls occupying this fragile place and the near lifetime since being on the moon.
It cost $150 billion (in today's money) to run the Apollo Project compared to the current estimated cost of the Iraq war of over $500 billion.
Imagine the inspiration that could be created by a world collaboration on of reaching the Moon, Mars and the many satellites and stations available to us. The excitement of the new possibilities available to use as we reach out once more into the universe. This naive destructive teenager has to leave home and grow up before he destroys it. We are truly fortunate to have a stepping stone in our journey into the universe, the Moon is a perfect opportunity to create and develop the techniques and technologies we need to make our journey safe and comfortable. At a time when fear of economic recession takes hold then a real stimulus is needed, but it is needed as a shared collaboration, everyone being equal in right and responsibility in utilising the worlds that we find. Think what this could provide, the jobs and the economic growth for all involved, the technologies that we could find. The number of benefits that we live with now that have been spun from the efforts of the space program are too many to mention, we have always achieved highly during times of stress, whether that is with high purpose, like the space race or low, like war. In striving for providing a habitat in the harsh environment of space it will be inevitable that important developments will take place that will benefit with helping the earth cope with its burgeoning population and its effects, let alone unseen future products of the imagination.
There is an important shift in perspective to be considered too. Imagine YOU are there, like Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins, and the others that followed. Looking at this beautiful planet from afar. Such a small place for so many people to share and very alone in the vastness of even our solar system. What things are important in your mind as you see our home? How amazing it must appear, with so much life in the deadness of what surrounds it. Think also of those who have walked upon the dusty desolate desert-like surface of the Moon, as beautiful as it appears it cannot compare to the moment of seeing the oceans of the Earth. How magical is must be to see an everyday scene of Earth with people milling about busy in their everyday tasks when compared to the empty and silent world that circles us. What is important in the end? What makes Earth so different? It is life? It is full of living organisms, one of which has grown up and taken its first steps...
References:
Technology Escalation during World War II
Technological Advancements due to War
Moon landing facts
Apollo 11 Space Flight Chronology
Cost of Iraq War
NASA Spinoffs
Current World Population
Apollo Moon Program heroes call for a return to space
I was really young seeing them bounce around the surface of another world but I remember the excitement of it all and amazingly (if I recall correctly) understood a lot of what was happening and thinking how wonderful it was. I was hooked from an early age by the Space Race and the future was going to be glorious. I remember, apart from being a hungry and avid reader of any science fact and fiction books I could find. I remember clearly there were little collectable cards in PGTips tea that focused on the Race Into Space, and at the Petrol station, Shell were producing coins detailing the aviation and space vehicles, these items were treasured in the early 70's. The most beautiful I found was the art, the pictures that showed how the future could look, clean, amazing and inspiring images of the homes to be, the awesome cities that were possible and strange and wonderful images of new worlds to explore. My imagination and creativity explored unknown and alien images, environments, sensations, new worlds and life. Everything was possible, there were fantastic places to see and explore, so much to learn and do, it was a great time to be alive, I was definitely going to go into space when I was older...
The economics of putting more people on the moon, 4% of America's budget then could not be sustained against the losing interest of the public. Six times the moon had (human) life visit, the last day that any man stepped onto the surface of another world was the 7th December 1972, since then President Nixon shelved the Apollo missions and no attempt has been made since. What takes over? Something less than life often occupies the mind and years of earthly struggle takes precedence over the dreams of reaching out. The worry of living, surviving a recession, the price of fuel all takes a higher
priority than hopes and dreams and positive advancement for everyone. Mankind has survived and wasted its effort during probably many dark ages, we cannot afford to waste any more time living through any more mini-dark ages, especially with the 6,772,418,593 souls occupying this fragile place and the near lifetime since being on the moon.
It cost $150 billion (in today's money) to run the Apollo Project compared to the current estimated cost of the Iraq war of over $500 billion.
Imagine the inspiration that could be created by a world collaboration on of reaching the Moon, Mars and the many satellites and stations available to us. The excitement of the new possibilities available to use as we reach out once more into the universe. This naive destructive teenager has to leave home and grow up before he destroys it. We are truly fortunate to have a stepping stone in our journey into the universe, the Moon is a perfect opportunity to create and develop the techniques and technologies we need to make our journey safe and comfortable. At a time when fear of economic recession takes hold then a real stimulus is needed, but it is needed as a shared collaboration, everyone being equal in right and responsibility in utilising the worlds that we find. Think what this could provide, the jobs and the economic growth for all involved, the technologies that we could find. The number of benefits that we live with now that have been spun from the efforts of the space program are too many to mention, we have always achieved highly during times of stress, whether that is with high purpose, like the space race or low, like war. In striving for providing a habitat in the harsh environment of space it will be inevitable that important developments will take place that will benefit with helping the earth cope with its burgeoning population and its effects, let alone unseen future products of the imagination.
There is an important shift in perspective to be considered too. Imagine YOU are there, like Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins, and the others that followed. Looking at this beautiful planet from afar. Such a small place for so many people to share and very alone in the vastness of even our solar system. What things are important in your mind as you see our home? How amazing it must appear, with so much life in the deadness of what surrounds it. Think also of those who have walked upon the dusty desolate desert-like surface of the Moon, as beautiful as it appears it cannot compare to the moment of seeing the oceans of the Earth. How magical is must be to see an everyday scene of Earth with people milling about busy in their everyday tasks when compared to the empty and silent world that circles us. What is important in the end? What makes Earth so different? It is life? It is full of living organisms, one of which has grown up and taken its first steps...
References:
Technology Escalation during World War II
Technological Advancements due to War
Moon landing facts
Apollo 11 Space Flight Chronology
Cost of Iraq War
NASA Spinoffs
Current World Population
Apollo Moon Program heroes call for a return to space
Monday 13 July 2009
A new wave of collaboration coming - Google Wave
Just a brief blog today as I have spent a little too much of my spare time looking at Google Wave. Just at the time when I am working to pull away from Google's Apps, I find I am tempted back in by the ideas and creations of its developers and dreamers. I think Google Wave will become a natural part of information sharing on the Internet, I know that is probably a big statement for a new, as yet, unreleased product, but I feel it ties in nicely with how people want to work efficiently together. I had better keep an eye on how this develops...
At the moment, I have split up the tasks and roles of what I currently recognise in BeyondOneWorld into different open source applications. I hope I can sow them together seamlessly enough when I launch them though - I have Forums( phpBB3), Wiki (MediaWiki), Social Web (Elgg) and Task Management (DotProject). All are ready and working in their near default states and I will pull the domain back onto them later and relaunch the site.
Maybe I will get more than 1 or 2 visitors this time...
At the moment, I have split up the tasks and roles of what I currently recognise in BeyondOneWorld into different open source applications. I hope I can sow them together seamlessly enough when I launch them though - I have Forums( phpBB3), Wiki (MediaWiki), Social Web (Elgg) and Task Management (DotProject). All are ready and working in their near default states and I will pull the domain back onto them later and relaunch the site.
Maybe I will get more than 1 or 2 visitors this time...
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