Posted in Design

Really Hating IE6

Posted on by Dale Challener Roe

A couple of years ago I thought I was done with IE6. And thankfully so. Even my handful of web design clients, didn’t seem to care if their pages looked correct in the Jurassic browser. But now, it seems to have had a resurgence.

I recently took on a client who does business with the government and military of several NATO counties. And evidently in the government sector IE6 is still the standard browser.

And let me tell you, it is pull-out-my-remaining-hair frustrating to design webpages and blog templates that work correctly in new browsers like FireFox and Opera (and OK I guess I should throw IE7 in there among the fringes) that also work in a Neanderthal like IE6.

There’s not just a slight difference between IE6 and IE7, there’s worlds of difference. In between those browsers Microsoft fought and lost a legal battle for unquestioned dominance of the browser market. And as such, Microsoft had to actually develop a browser that met people’s needs.

So earlier today I took a look at some of my blog stats to see which browsers my readers were using to read this blog. I was shocked to learn that IE6 is the second most popular browser to access this site. Now I’m sure much of this has to do with the fact that the computers at work use IE6 so I’m sure that has a little to do with it, but IE6 users drastically outnumber IE7 users on this blog.

For anyone interested, the most common browser was “Generic Gecko”. Gecko is the rendering engine used by FireFox and many other smaller browsers, so I don’t know specifically what “Generic Gecko” breaks down to.

So I guess I can’t call IE6 extinct yet. And I guess I’d better make sure that all the website I design work well enough in IE6 to look professional.

Sigh…

Posted in Writing

NaNo Recovery

Posted on by Dale Challener Roe

Well NaNo is over. Raise your hand if your glad.

But now that it’s all over, how do you get back your regular writing routine? It’s may not as easy as you think.

Odds are you fall into one of two camps. Either your sick of writing and sick of your story, or you’re really energized and just hitting your stride. If this last bit describes you, then you can read the rest of this post when you hit the wall.

You’re tired of your story, you’re characters are irritating you, your hands hurt, you’re tired, your plot has so many holes you’re afraid it’s leaking water…

Your earned a week off, haven’t you?

Yes. You really have.

But don’t you dare take it.

Have you ever run a print and stopped right after the finish? You can really hurt yourself. You’re supposed to coast to a stop. Warm down (that is the opposite of warm up, isn’t it?).

Do the same thing with your writing or you will risk a wicked writer’s cramp. If you want to put your story away for a week or two, that’s fine. Spend 15 minutes a day in your journal, or on a writing prompt, or jotting down idea for a new story…or blogging. But don’t take the time off.

Over the last 30 days you’ve developed quite a writing habit. This habit is one you shouldn’t break.

This post was originally posted on Write Anything—
where six writers talk about the trials and
tribulations of their writing lives. And each
Tuesday the soapbox belongs to me.

Posted in Causes

Seeing Red?

Posted on by Dale Challener Roe

AIDS Red RibbonToday is World AIDS Day, and for the next few days Rough Draft has gone Red.

World AIDS Day, observed December 1 each year, is dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic.

Between 1981 and 2007, AIDS has killed more than 25 million people, and an estimated 33 million people worldwide live with HIV, making it one of the most destructive epidemics in recorded history.

Maybe it seems a little stange to call it an awareness day. Chances are, if you’ve got a computer—and since you’re reading this blog, you have one—you already know at least a little about AIDS. So I’m sure you are aware of the disease. In fact, chances are better than 50% that you know someone who has AIDS or had died because of it.

But are you aware that there are things that you can do to help stop it?

  1. Ok, it’s obvious, but Make A Donation. You’d be surprised how far even a small donation can go. From buying drugs for those affected, to funding the fight for a cure or a vaccine even a few dollars can help.
  2. Get Involved. Again, obvious, but no less important. A vital part of beating a disease is stopping it’s spread. So get involved in education, or any other aspect that’s important to you.
  3. OK, I get it. Not only is it hard to make ends meet right now, but doing so takes a a lot of time, so right now you don’t have the time or funds to help out. OK, here’s a free way for you to help out that won;t take more than a couple of minutes. Fight AIDS at Home is a distributed computing program. That means that once you sign up, the power of your computer becomes part of a network that runs computations to help breakdown potential ways to fight HIV. And it won’t slow you down—since it works as a screensaver, it only uses your computer when you’re not using it. Do you really not have time for that?

    Fight AIDS at Home

Posted in Writing

NaNo Wrap-up

Posted on by Dale Challener Roe

NaNo Winner

I’ve officially won, NaNo. Even though there are five days left, I’m done, and well across the 50k mark. But unlike in years past I’m not really all that jazzed about it.

I think it’s because the story I chose was a spur of the moment creation, and not one of the stories I’ve already sketched out, and planned to work on. So it doesn’t feel like I accomplished something I’ve been meaning to accomplish, as much as it feels like I’ve added something to the pile.

But at least I can hand my hat on the fact that even when my writer’s block is crippling, I can always kick it into submission for a short while. The longer I write, the more sure I am that I need solid immutable deadlines.

Posted in Writing

Chapter 4 of Chapter 7

Posted on by Dale Challener Roe

On Friday, I mentioned a collaborative writing project I recently participated in called Chapter 7. Seven different authors tell a story in seven chapters.

I was responsible for Chapter 4, and it was published at Write Anything today.

Here’s a small sample:

John put his hand on his brother’s shoulders and waited until Bob met his eyes. “You love this girl.”

“No,” Bob replied reflexively.

“It wasn’t a question, Bob. You love her.”

“I do not,” he said rather more weakly than he’d intended.

You can read the whole chapter here, or if you want to read the story from the beginning head over to the story index.

Posted in Warning: Science Content

e=mc(2)

Posted on by Dale Challener Roe

Einstein was right.

Until now, the famous theory describing the ratios of converting mass into energy (and vice versa) was only a theory. But now thanks to an array of supercomputers, and a collboration by French, German and Hungarian physicists we now know Einstein was right.

Not that anyone seriously thought he was wrong…

Way to go, Einstein!

Posted in Writing

Chapter 7

Posted on by Dale Challener Roe

Recently, I participated in a collaborative writing project over at Write Anything.

Karen gathered together seven writers and we wrote a story broken up into seven chapters.

It was in interesting experience, for although I had a vote in what we wrote about, my vote didn’t win. So the upshot was that I had to write a story about a plot and character I wasn’t wild about. Which I guess is sort of the point of collaborative writing projects. Since we don’t get our own way we have to learn to adapt.

I thought the end result turned out pretty good.

Between now and next Friday, the chapters will be posted, one at a time, on the Write Anything blog. I wrote Chapter 4, so my part will be posted Monday.

Also, after it’s over, the story will be available in an ebook. I don’t have the details right now on how to get a copy, but I do know what the cover will look like…

Chapter 7

Posted in Irony, Money

I’ve Never Been More Glad I’m Poor

Posted on by Dale Challener Roe

Have you been watching the markets lately? Of course you have. It seems everyone has.

I know few people at work, because not only am I a contractor, but I’ve also been there a fairly short period of time. But that gives me great freedom to just listen to other’s conversations.

I don’t eavesdrop per se, but my desk is just one cubicle wall separated from a prime loafing and chit-chat zone. And the last few weeks it seems no one is talking about anything but how much money they’re losing.

I just keep my mouth shut. Because you see, I was poor to start with, so the economic downturn isn’t hurting me so bad.

I have no stocks or 401k to wither along with Wall Street. Well I do technically have 1 measly little 401k from a previous employer, but when this whole thing started it wouldn’t have paid for an average laptop, so a 20% loss doesn’t hurt all that much.

I rent, so plummeting home values simply makes it more likely that I’ll be able to buy in the next few years—or it may just be safer to continue renting

And for those of us with little to lose, there is another benefit. Gas is downright cheap again.

Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t revel in the losses of my co-workers, friends and family. But don’t expect me to cry when your risky investments come crashing down and suddenly you have to live my lifestyle for a year or two.

Posted in Writing

NaNo Wrap-Up (Almost)

Posted on by Dale Challener Roe

I really never intended to participate in National Novel Writing Month (their abbreviation: NaNoWriMo, mine: NaNo) this year. I had done it each of the past two years, and while it was generally a good experience, it was also an exhausting one.

And since this year I’m not only starting a new job, but I have a small ensemble of web design clients, I thought I’d take this year off, and just encourage my fellow writers over at Write Anything.

Fate had other ideas. As Halloween night ticked away, exhausted from walking the kids around the neighborhood in my Donald Duck costume, I fell asleep more quickly than normal.

And woke up 45 minutes later.

Unable to get back to sleep I picked up a blank journal I has purchased a few days earlier and one of my favorite rollerballs and thought I’d conjure up a good night’s sleep by writing about a guy who couldn’t sleep.

Six days later I’d slept about 6 hours—total—and had written a little more than 50k words.

Since then, the insomnia has waned a bit. I wouldn’t say I’m sleeping well, but I’m no longer a daytime zombie either. However, my production has waned as well. This weekend will probably be the last days I devote any time to NaNo this year, and I’ll likely wind up somewhere around 90k words.

But the big question…is what I wrote any good?

Yes and No. Starting as I did with no prep work, I had no illusions about the plot. It formed itself in a olive brainstorm, and it’s flaws are apparent. However, the character turned out pretty good, and there are some long passages that will be useful once rewritten. So I guess it turned out alright.

However, I don’t recommend severe sleep deprivation as a tool for tackling NaNo.

Posted in Family

I Miss My Papa

Posted on by Dale Challener Roe

As of yesterday, my Papa has been gone for 19 years. I phrase it that way because it seems a little morbid to refer to “anniversaries” of someone’s death. Anyway, I tried not to think about it too much, but I couldn’t seem to shake a low-grade funk all day.

I miss him. It’s such a simple thing to say, but to truly miss someone is a concept we don’t often take the time to understand. When I say I miss him, I don’t just mean that I wish he were still alive. I mean that there are things I’d like to do with him that I can’t. I would like to introduce him to his grandkids (he wouldn’t care about the “step-” any more than I do).

I would like to hear his voice again. I’ve now lived longer without him, than with, and I can’t really remember what he sounded like. I remember him being a very good singer. I was blessed with both parents being exceptionally gifted in the vocal department, and was always being dragged around to different functions (church, barbershop and whatnot) and singing was an integral part of our lives. So it is something fundamental when I say I miss his voice.

I would like him to tease me about my hair going grey (and going away). I would like his advice on parenting.

One of the things I regret most about him dying so young, was that I never got to take him to dinner. I remember the first time I took my Mom to dinner. It wasn’t preplanned that I would pay, but when the bill came I took it, and she didn’t fight. It’s subtle but meaningful step in the relationship between a child and their parent. And I never got to do that with him.

None of this resolves anything. I still miss him, and I guess I always will. And I don’t have a problem with that.