Mike Munhall

In my last post I mentioned that I changed the theme of this blog. During that writing, I discovered an upgrade to the theme (version .95 to 1.0). Well, it seems that version 1.0 is a bit buggy and there is some weirdness going on. I think it’s stable enough to use, but you might find some funk going on here until a new version is released.

UPDATE (2:20 P.M.): Joy. The author of the HemingwayEx theme banged out the fixes to the bugs and all is well. I love this theme.

As you can see, I’ve finally updated the theme on this blog. I sort of got tired of the old one. This theme might fail a usability test, but I really like it. I actually did much more than just update the theme:

• WordPress has been upgraded to the most current version
• Some static pages have been removed (bye bye Chess Library and Blogging)
• Blogroll has been updated (bye bye Dave, we don’t know why you ignore Dorrie’s pleas for your friendship or why you’ve completely blown us off, but we’re moving on now)
• Cleaned up my Reading and Listening lists
• Other minor things

I’ve also decided to change up my blogging style a bit. I had originally intended to focus the writing here on technical topics and drop in a few personal rants here and there. Now, the focus of my writing here is going to be on absolutely nothing in particular. That might get me to write more often. If I have something technical to write about, I’ll write it. Otherwise, I’ll just write.

Some other things I’d like to get to:

• Updates to the Listening list using some sort of AppleScript for iTunes that will post the 10 most recently added albums when closing iTunes (anybody have anything like that?)  I might need to write that script myself.

This was fun to create.  Try your own: Simpsons Movie

There seems to be some debate over whether the ColdFusion programming language is dead or dying.  There was this joke of an article on ComputerWorld.  And now a friend just forwarded me a link to a SoftwareDeveloper.com article (you can find the article on your own - I don’t want to drive traffic to that site through a link) that lists ColdFusion as a language that “never took off”.  It’s interesting to note that ColdFusion is listed right along side languages like brainfuck and Befunge, which I’m pretty sure did not take off.  It’s even more interesting that there is no author listed or any way to comment or provide feedback on the article.  If there were, I’d be giving the author the what-for-to.

Seriously?  WTF?  Who are these people that are so out of touch with reality that they call ColdFusion a dead language?  CF just celebrated it’s 12th birthday, for Christ’s sake.  Adobe is just about to release version 8 of the language.  Dice.com lists 14 ColdFusion jobs in my area.  There is no “dead” or “dying in “ColdFusion”.

ColdFusion certainly doesn’t have the support or community of other languages like Java, .NET, or even PHP, but the reality is that there is plenty of support for the language and it is NOT DEAD.

Sheesh.

Monica tagged me, hence this post. Here are the rules:

1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.
2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write their own post about their eight things and post these rules.
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

My Random Facts:

1. Everyone suffers from some sort of weird physical condition or disease, however minor or serious it may be. I’m no exception. Off the top of my head, I can think of five physical ailments that I battle with. I’ll spare you the details and let you do the reading on the three most serious: osteitis pubis (sounds like a nasty sexually transmitted disease, but it isn’t), hammer toe, and metatarsalgia.
2. I’ve been in only one accident while sitting in the driver’s seat of an automobile.  That accident happened late last winter (or was it early spring?) and it totaled my Jeep (a.k.a. Hans).  The Jeep had just turned 100,000 miles and I had just spent about $2000 on service with the intention of running it for another 100,000 miles.  Nobody was hurt in the accident.  The driver that caused the accident didn’t actually hit any other vehicles and left the scene.  The police considered the accident a hit-and-run.  The insurance settlement was fair and I now drive a Honda Element (named Rhodium), which I love.
3. My biggest concern is global warming and the environment.  I seriously fear the end of this planet as a place for humans to be able to exist and I fear that we will see that day come sometime in our lifetimes.  I don’t understand how people can be so fucking concerned about the price of gas and the price of energy. I don’t understand why the price of everything determines whether or not we research and implement alternative sources of clean energy.  In the end, it’s going to cost so much more when our coastal cities are underwater, we’re at war with the rest of the earth for potable water and we have no place to grow crops.  I have very little tolerance for the way Americans waste energy.  (Hey, morons… turn off the lights when you leave a room, turn off your TV when you’re not watching it, turn off your monitor and your computer when you’re not using it.)
4. Dorrie and I send each other greeting cards.  Not on holidays or birthdays, but for on no particular occasion at all.  We started sending each other cards before we were married and living together.  After we got married, we just kept doing it.  I like it.  Dorrie’s last card to me (received today) reads: “My heart… My life… And one, maybe two of my french fries… All yours.”
5. Dr. Seuss creeps me out.  I especially thought this is a kid.  He never really scared me when I was younger, but the character, the stories, the characters in the stories, the narration… it all seemed sort of dark and creepy to me.  Today, I have a lot more respect for Dr. Seuss.  Mostly because he’s dark and creepy.
6. I would like to teach a “Photography Fundamentals” class to a small group of people.  I have a couple friends that are just learning how to use a camera, and I’m secretly using them as guinea pigs for my curriculum.
7. I have been attending night classes at Metro State College of Denver for about 3 years now.  I have a perfect 4.0 GPA since returning to school to earn a computer science degree (I attended Northlake College in Irving, TX more than a decade ago and maintained a 3.6 GPA there).  I’m taking this summer off from school to concentrate on several things (in no particular order): 1) My wife, 2) Photography, 3) Getting caught up with the technologies I use in my job, 4) Landscaping the backyard, 5) Painting the inside of the house, 6) Gender change, 7) Just kidding about that last one, and 8) Or am I?
8. In seventh grade, my best friend and I joined the drama club at the private Catholic school that my parents sent me to.  I don’t know why I joined; I certainly didn’t give the tiniest rat’s ass about drama.  I needed something to do, I guess.  Anyway, the drama club sponsor just happened to be the principal of the school.  Her son, another classmate of mine, was also in drama club.  My friend and I had been working on a skit for about three weeks.  (I don’t remember for sure, but I don’t think they were called skits in drama club.)  At the end of our third drama club meeting and our third time doing our skit (I don’t remember for sure, but I don’t it was called doing your skit in drama club), the Principal-Sponsor asked my buddy to do the same skit with her son.  It was completely obvious that he had been practicing my part of the skit, and it was even more obvious that the Principal-Sponsor was planning on him doing the skit in the pageant (or whatever it’s called), not me.  I knew I was a poor actor, but I was never offered any coaching or encouragement by principal-sponsor.  Instead, she gave her son the part and, without saying a word to me, gave me the Big Hint: “You’re washed up kid.  Beat it.”  It was that event that taught me that people can really suck sometimes.

Okay… there are eight random things about me.  I think eight random things are supposed be less like chapters and more succinct, like: “I once got my hand caught in a meat grider,”  or, “My parents used to keep a midget in the kitchen cabinet.”  I may have overdone it.

I’m now supposed to give this assignment to eight people.  I don’t think I know eight people (my blogroll is out of date).  Of the fewer than eight people that I know, only two of them have blogs and one of those two friends tagged me.  That leaves only one.  Congratulations, Ellebee.  You’re it.