https://bphogan.com/2007/Recent content in 2007 on Brian P. HoganHugo -- gohugo.ioen-usFri, 28 Dec 2007 06:55:40 +0000https://bphogan.com/2007/12/28/my-life-is-not-that-interesting/Fri, 28 Dec 2007 06:55:40 +0000https://bphogan.com/2007/12/28/my-life-is-not-that-interesting/The average blog has about one reader, and it’s usually either the blog’s owner or Google. It turns out that this blog actually had quite a few readers. I say had because most people probably stopped reading this blog once they discovered how infrequently I write. It’s not that I forget to do it… I just haven’t felt like I had anything worthwhile to say. I’m going to try to do more frequent updates (the blogger’s promise) and see if I can get more people to read the blog so I don’t have to write so many emails.https://bphogan.com/2007/10/22/crazy-month/Tue, 23 Oct 2007 04:40:11 +0000https://bphogan.com/2007/10/22/crazy-month/This has been a really crazy month. I’ve been working really hard on a lot of projects, including the books and some web sites. It’s really hard to say no beecause there are so many interesting things I want to do and learn. Out of all the stuff I do, I’d have to say I still really enjoy working with the students at UW-Eau Claire. They’re really bright guys who always make me proud.https://bphogan.com/2007/10/22/looks-like-its-going-to-be-a-girl/Tue, 23 Oct 2007 04:27:21 +0000https://bphogan.com/2007/10/22/looks-like-its-going-to-be-a-girl/Sorry, Dad!https://bphogan.com/2007/09/20/join-us-at-irvine-park-tonight/Thu, 20 Sep 2007 13:08:45 +0000https://bphogan.com/2007/09/20/join-us-at-irvine-park-tonight/Show your support for fighting cancer research and come to the Light The Night walk tonight. If you can’t make it, please consider making a donation to my team. Every little bit helps.https://bphogan.com/2007/09/12/light-the-night-walk/Wed, 12 Sep 2007 22:38:02 +0000https://bphogan.com/2007/09/12/light-the-night-walk/We’re walking again in memory of my mom. Please consider giving a donation, or even better, join our team and walk with us. http://www.active.com/donate/ltnBrookf3/2037_bphoganhttps://bphogan.com/2007/09/11/bah-thwarted/Tue, 11 Sep 2007 20:43:26 +0000https://bphogan.com/2007/09/11/bah-thwarted/The baby did not cooperate with us today, so we don’t know what it will be yet. Sorry to dash your hopes.https://bphogan.com/2007/08/15/the-downstairs-bathroom-remodel-part-three/Thu, 16 Aug 2007 03:27:52 +0000https://bphogan.com/2007/08/15/the-downstairs-bathroom-remodel-part-three/Today was a packed day. Things went really fast. Jason started out with the mud and drywall, and put the toilet in. Then we went off to pick up the vanity from Menards, after a brief detour to get new paint, since I goofed and didn’t have enough to finish the room. The vanity’s upper unit didn’t come with enough pieces or instructions for assembly. Jason didn’t feel comfortable with the way the guys at the store said it went together, so he attached all of the components of the vanity together.https://bphogan.com/2007/08/15/the-downstairs-bathroom-remodel-part-two/Thu, 16 Aug 2007 03:10:00 +0000https://bphogan.com/2007/08/15/the-downstairs-bathroom-remodel-part-two/Day two started out late, as Jason ended up with some phone calls to deal with. When he got in, he hit the ground running, getting the subfloor mudded up so the screws wouldn’t show through the linoleum flooring. The floor went in without a problem. The rest of the day was spent doing the plumbing for the sink and the tub. Pipes had to be moved around a bit to accomodate the new vanity.https://bphogan.com/2007/08/14/the-downstairs-bathroom-remodel-part-one/Tue, 14 Aug 2007 14:43:32 +0000https://bphogan.com/2007/08/14/the-downstairs-bathroom-remodel-part-one/Jason started remodeling the bathroom today. This is a project I’ve wanted to get done for a long time, but we didn’t have the money or the time. Here’s our current bathroom for those of you that haven’t seen it. We got off to a late start but made really good progress with the demolition. There was quite a bit of stuff to tear out, and he was constantly amazed at how bad things were, especially under the floor.https://bphogan.com/2007/07/24/apparently-im-bart/Tue, 24 Jul 2007 23:10:50 +0000https://bphogan.com/2007/07/24/apparently-im-bart/I’m Bart, who are you? by NoHomers.nethttps://bphogan.com/2007/06/13/my-accent/Wed, 13 Jun 2007 19:34:51 +0000https://bphogan.com/2007/06/13/my-accent/ **What American accent do you have? (Best version so far)** Northern You have a Northern accent. That could either be the Chicago/Detroit/Cleveland/Buffalo accent (easily recognizable) or the Western New England accent that news networks go for. <a href=http://www.youthink.com/quiz.asp?action=take&quiz_id=9827> **Click Here to Take This Quiz** Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests.https://bphogan.com/2007/05/31/funny-job-application-if-youre-a-a-programmer/Thu, 31 May 2007 13:48:22 +0000https://bphogan.com/2007/05/31/funny-job-application-if-youre-a-a-programmer/I got a kick out of this job application. I may have to steal that idea when I do my hiring next time. We need more innovative and fun employers out there. I love hiring students because they are so energetic and t hey aren’t jaded by the “real world” yet. They haven’t spent a year doing nothing but reading documentation about web services, or using a dead-end programming language with libraries that are no longer maintained.https://bphogan.com/2007/05/30/my-first-book/Wed, 30 May 2007 19:11:28 +0000https://bphogan.com/2007/05/30/my-first-book/If you’re looking to get started with Ruby on Rails and you’re a Windows user, this book will walk you through setting up some of the tools you’ll need, as well as show you how connect to Microsoft SQL Server and set up Capistrano. Of course, this is targeted at people who are new to Ruby on Rails and come from the Windows platform. Curt Hibbs wrote the first chapter, where he showcases how to use RadRails and InstantRails to create a quick and easy setup.https://bphogan.com/2007/05/30/1/Wed, 30 May 2007 19:09:02 +0000https://bphogan.com/2007/05/30/1/For those that have not yet heard the news, I am going to be a father (again). We’re all very excited but it will be a long way off… not ’till next February. I’m sure Corey and Titus will appreciate that.https://bphogan.com/2007/05/16/common-english-mistakes/Wed, 16 May 2007 16:27:57 +0000https://bphogan.com/2007/05/16/common-english-mistakes/We have such a complex, crazy language that it’s hard to keep everything straight. Take a look at this list for some of the more common mistakes. If these are all “common”, then I guess we have a lot of bad writers out there.https://bphogan.com/2007/05/15/going-to-portland/Tue, 15 May 2007 19:16:22 +0000https://bphogan.com/2007/05/15/going-to-portland/I’m headed to Portland with Chris, Mike, Josh, and Carissa. We’re going to RailsConf2007 to learn some neat stuff from some awesome programmers. I’ll also be presenting on Sunday, and I’m just a tad bit nervous. Wish me luck.https://bphogan.com/2007/04/18/congratulations-to-jacob-seilheimer/Wed, 18 Apr 2007 05:48:58 +0000https://bphogan.com/2007/04/18/congratulations-to-jacob-seilheimer/Jacob completed the Boston Marathon. That guy’s just amazing. Read more.https://bphogan.com/2007/04/13/pyramids-versus-trapezoids/Fri, 13 Apr 2007 18:56:15 +0000https://bphogan.com/2007/04/13/pyramids-versus-trapezoids/It seems a certain multilevel marketing company has managed to infiltrate the small town where I grew up. I’ve received solicitations from a few of my high-school classmates to join up. I guess it would be nice to have them call me and want to know what’s new, or tell me about what’s going on in their lives, or say “Hey, why don’t we meet for coffee or a drink and catch up?https://bphogan.com/2007/04/04/remodeling-the-upstairs-bathroom/Wed, 04 Apr 2007 13:22:34 +0000https://bphogan.com/2007/04/04/remodeling-the-upstairs-bathroom/We’ve had issues with the bathrooms in our house since we moved in. The previous owners did a lot of strange things that we are still undoing. The upstairs bathroom had some sort of water problem before we moved in, and the toilet was replaced. Unfortunately they put the toilet on top of the water-damaged floor which, over time, caused the flooring to sink a bit, breaking the seal on the toilet tank.https://bphogan.com/2007/03/28/switched/Thu, 29 Mar 2007 02:50:58 +0000https://bphogan.com/2007/03/28/switched/For those that don’t know, I am now using a Mac most of the time. It feels really weird but it is by far the best experience I have ever had with a computer That’s a pretty strong thing for me to say, especially from someone who pays the bills using Microsoft technology. The thing is that I can run Windows on my Mac so I can have the best of both worlds.https://bphogan.com/2007/03/15/erich-starts-today/Thu, 15 Mar 2007 12:15:30 +0000https://bphogan.com/2007/03/15/erich-starts-today/I am really excited to be working with Erich again. We hired him at UW-Eau Claire to work on our content management project. It’s going to be great having him around again.https://bphogan.com/2007/03/12/richard-jeni-1962-2007/Mon, 12 Mar 2007 13:47:58 +0000https://bphogan.com/2007/03/12/richard-jeni-1962-2007/Richard Jeni, one of my favorite comedians, died this weekend from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. One of his best routines is Jaws 4. Really funny stuff. I also recommend the Political Parties routine. Great stuff.https://bphogan.com/2007/02/26/rails-on-windows-update/Mon, 26 Feb 2007 21:38:03 +0000https://bphogan.com/2007/02/26/rails-on-windows-update/Just a quick note to let you know that I have been working on my book for O’Reilly lately and we are making really good progress. I’ve learned a lot about the publishing process in the last few months. One thing I’ve learned is that if you’re trying to write a book with a day job and a family, you’d better learn to stay up late or start getting up earlier.https://bphogan.com/2007/02/15/save-your-eyes/Thu, 15 Feb 2007 21:04:53 +0000https://bphogan.com/2007/02/15/save-your-eyes/Some interesting tips to save your eyes. Some are obvious, like make sure your CRT monitor isn’t set to the wrong refresh rate (flicker effect) to less obvious ones like placing the screen an arm’s length away from you and looking at the screen at a downward angle. More at http://www.ipnlighting.com/blog/2007/02/22-ways-to-reduce-eye-strain-at-your.asphttps://bphogan.com/2007/02/14/my-back-hurts/Wed, 14 Feb 2007 21:37:01 +0000https://bphogan.com/2007/02/14/my-back-hurts/I managed to pull some muscles in my back Monday morning on my way to work. I wasn’t doing anything different, but they just decided to clench up and cause a dazzling array of pain. I ended up getting some muscle relaxers that help quite a bit, but I am still pretty uncomfortable if i sit down for any period of time. If you’re wondering, yes I am still insanely busy but I am hoping to get rid of a few projects soon.https://bphogan.com/2007/02/14/present-from-microsoft/Wed, 14 Feb 2007 21:34:57 +0000https://bphogan.com/2007/02/14/present-from-microsoft/I just got a nice present from Microsoft for helping them along with a project. I can’t really say what it’s about because they want me to keep it somewhat quiet. They sent me a copy of Visual Studio 2005 Professional, which means I can go and install Ruby In Steel now. Who knows, maybe I’ll find another use for VS too.https://bphogan.com/2007/02/14/oreilly-book-progress/Wed, 14 Feb 2007 21:32:11 +0000https://bphogan.com/2007/02/14/oreilly-book-progress/Just sent another draft of my “Rails for Windows” book to my editor. This is what he had to say after reading 2/3 of it. The writing is really good. I think you’re saying what needs to be said, and I’m certainly looking forward to expanding this into a book once we get the short cut done. That feels pretty good.Now if I could just make progress on my other book, I’d be all set.https://bphogan.com/2007/02/02/best-commercial-ever/Fri, 02 Feb 2007 06:22:24 +0000https://bphogan.com/2007/02/02/best-commercial-ever/Best commercial ever.https://bphogan.com/2007/02/01/really-busy-lately/Thu, 01 Feb 2007 14:40:19 +0000https://bphogan.com/2007/02/01/really-busy-lately/I figured I should take a few minutes today to do some updates to the blog since I’ve been getting lots of emails and phone calls asking what I’ve been doing. First off, I’m working on a huge project outside of work. It’s been a lot of fun and we are making good progress. I’m very proud of the work we’ve done but we have a long long way to go.https://bphogan.com/2007/01/08/one-year/Mon, 08 Jan 2007 06:53:17 +0000https://bphogan.com/2007/01/08/one-year/It’s been one year since Mom passed away. It was a rough day and I still can’t sleep. I can’t believe all of the things that happened last year. A lot of good things happened to me last year but I’d really rather have her back instead. If you’re reading this, give your family a call and tell them you love them. They’re the most important thing you have, because no matter how much you’ve screwed up, they still love you.https://bphogan.com/2007/01/03/2007-daylight-savings-time-rules/Wed, 03 Jan 2007 16:01:03 +0000https://bphogan.com/2007/01/03/2007-daylight-savings-time-rules/The United States has planned a change to its DST observance beginning in 2007. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 mandates that DST will start on the second Sunday in March and end on the first Sunday in November. In 2007, the start and stop dates will be March 11 and November 4, respectively.