For the past month or so, I've been playing around in my sandbox with an elastic layout. Things were coming along pretty well, when suddenly I threw a fit over the increasing slowness of my web host, DreamHost. I've been with them for about 3 years and we've had our ups and downs, but lately my patience has worn thin.

The middle of a redesign is probably not the best time to switch web hosts. But considering this is primarily a playground, I've thrown caution to the wind and uploaded the whole darn dev site to Media Temple. I've heard a lot of good things about them and am hoping like mad that they're true.

So a word of warning while this half-constructed heap of code changes home—watch for teetering beams and chunks of falling plaster.

This ought to be interesting.

I thought if I started acting like a real developer, maybe it would improve my code. So, I decided to install and start using MAMP on my Mac to develop locally. Mind you, this programming stuff doesn't come naturally to me. I had to ask a few questions now and then of some of my developer friends, but eventually I sort of got it working. Now I've got another problem with MAMP. Somehow it's causing very strange problems in Adium, my IM client.

Here's a screenshot of Adium when I first fire it up:

And here's another after just a few moments:

I can't figure out what's wrong. Anyone have any ideas?

It's been a good, long while since I wrote a blog post. Between work and family, there just hasn't been time. I've been super busy for months now, but not without some benefits.

For one thing, I've been learning tons. I've been working on picking up more PHP and delving a bit more into backend Drupal work, as well as doing more accessibility and usability work and learning more about user experience design. I guess you could say I've been branching out every which way.

As a reward for all that hard work, I'm going to DrupalCon in Boston. Although the conference doesn't start until tomorrow, Jon and I flew in for a long weekend to soak up some history and not a little seafood. I can now state pretty definitely that the Union Oyster House has the best clam chowder I've ever eaten, and Mike's Pastry has Boston Cream Pie to die for. Not to be missed.

It might be cold here in Boston, but with good food and four whole days of Drupal learning, it's weather I'm happy to put up with.

They didn't make it here in time for the holidays, but my little people didn't seem to care. Our XOs from One Laptop Per Child arrived today and were instant hits. The kids played for hours, checking out all the cool features—chat, Internet, writing, music, drawing, and the still/video camera. Mom was more impressed than she'd anticipated.

The XO is amazing. These gadgets are just small enough to be easily managed by kids, yet still look like "grownup" laptops. The case is hard and appears rugged enough to withstand my 9-year-old son. And the keyboard is just right for small hands.

Amazingly the XO came with only one sheet of instructions—how to turn it on. My 7-year-old daughter had hers going before I had a chance to read even that. There are no instructions because, apparently, kids don't need any. They just boot up and go. That's how well designed the XO is. Every application is represented by a (fairly) recognizable icon, and the icons are always available by minimizing the window. The only difficulty my kids encountered was with the browser. I had to set up the Internet connection for them, but that was pretty easily accomplished by following the instructions on the One Laptop Per Child site.

Of course, I explained to my kids that somewhere in the world two other children were also receiving new laptops. Especially at this time of year, it seems important to care about the well-being and future of other people. I hope those children are as thrilled and happy as my kids are. I hope they discover, through the kid-sized window of the XO, a whole new world of possibilities and dreams.

In the spirit of the holiday season, play a word game, have some fun and give a gift, all at the same time. FreeRice is more than a fun online vocabulary game. For each word definition you get right, you're donating 20 grains of rice to the United Nation's World Food Program...

It's Friday, baby, and time once again to revel in the goofiness of our chosen profession.

One Laptop Per Child's "Give One Get One" program has been extended to December 31st. OLPC's goal is to supply laptops for children in developing countries who might not otherwise have access to an education. In pursuit of this goal, OPLC has developed the XO laptop, a child-geared machine designed to be "durable, brilliantly functional, energy-efficient, responsive, and fun"...