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.

It's taken me a couple of weekends and late nights, but I finally upgraded this blog to Drupal 5.1. Upgrading should probably be tedious, but the truth is I enjoy it. It's a good excuse to clean up some of the dumb mistakes I made in the last go 'round and have been putting off correcting. Like a digital version of spring cleaning, I shook the dust out of the old modules, sorted through and tossed out the junk that's been piling up over the winter, and generally gave the whole place a good scrub and polish. There's something very satisfying about sitting in the middle of a spic-and-span, orderly Drupal site.

Now that I've worked on a few projects with Drupal v4.7, I have to say that I'm impressed as all get-out with it. Personally, I can't think of any reason not to use it on a majority of projects. But Drupal is my personal preference, and I'm not sure it would be the best one for everyone.

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If you're just starting out with Drupal, this book is an excellent introduction that will help you get up and running more quickly. Written for beginners, it gives a nice overview of what Drupal is capable of and step-by-step instructions for setting up a basic installation.

For a long time I've wanted to move my blog from MT over to Drupal, and last week I finally started the process. As a result, this site is a mess. I hope you'll bear with me as I figure out how to move all the old content over and get the site running again.

Working with Drupal has been more fun than I've had in a long time. It's just so flexible and there are so many yummy modules to choose from. I feel like a kid in a candy store each time I go to the Drupal site. Which goodie will I try today?

I've spent the last 40 work hours or more trying to figure out how to get Drupal to display a right side bar box that says "Ann's Class - 4th Grade." It gives one pause. 40 hours? Forty hours?

The new year has started and, with it, my resolve to find time for this blog. Between keeping up with clients and trying to spend more time with the family, this site got put on the back burner. Also, I have to admit I was tired of writing it—a little bored with reading and writing, talking and thinking so much about CSS. I needed a break from it.

I was having trouble getting SSIs to work on this site. Usually my host is good about stuff like that, but maybe they were having an off week. Unfortunately, I really wanted to include a list of links on my sidebar, but didn't want to hardcode them in as I expect them to change fairly frequently. I needed to find a work-around.

For a number of years now I've been a Gossamer Threads' Links devotee. Some people sit around on Sundays doing the crossword puzzle. I like messing with the code in Links. There are all sorts of fun mods to add to the basic script, and I have to admit I've tried most of them. But lately, with a new business, I've been too busy to fiddle with codes and mods. In fact, I've gradually weaned myself off Links. I was feeling pretty good about it, too.