Strap on the Feedbag

The newest addition to the toys page is feedMachine, a one-two punch of JavaScript goodness that makes dealing with feeds a little more fun.

The mojo behind the scenes is actually two objects; the first, WarRocketAjax, does an Ajax request to whatever URL it is given. It does a GET by default, but you can tell it to POST, if that's your kink.

WarRocketAjax is overridden by FeedMachine, which gets a feed (RSS and Atom both work) and writes it to a JS object that you can do with what you may. There's a demo file included in the zip archive.

I'm doing an increasing amount of OOP work in my JavaScript coding. Either I'm evolving, or it's time to seek professional help.

Stay on the scene

We've just added another piece of mellow gold to the toys page -- this time it's urlMachine, a bit of JavaScript nastiness that will take any URL and make it into an object that can be queried, modified, and loved up. Enjoy.

Electric Boogaloo

We've just released the second version of tiny, the cutest lil' CMS you ever did see, and we can't wait to see what you think of it. In response to your excellent feedback (thanks again, incidentally -- the response has been overwhelming and wonderful), the needs of some sites we're working on, and our inability to stop tinkering with it, tiny 2 has a number of improvements, including sortable tables in the administration view and database creation/updates through migrations (no more create.sql, unless you're into that sort of thing -- freak).

The most noticeable change in the new version is the replacement of the old feeds paradigm with a spiffy bit of mojo we call widgets. A widget can be a snippet of text (Redcloth, naturally) or an RSS or Atom feed, and you can have as many as you like. Now, instead of allowing just one RSS/Atom feed per site and optionally displaying that feed on one or more of your pages, you now have the ability to show and order the content across your pages like the badass we both know you are.

You'll also notice that the mojo to parse and display feeds is exposed through the tiny.js file that helps power the site; this means that slick Javascript coders will be able to get and show feed content anywhere (and any way) they want by extending what's already there. Rock on.

As always, the best way to grab the new version of tiny is by hitting the Subversion repository, but there's also a .zip file available over at the main site.

Stripey Sortey Goodness

We're in the middle of coding the 2.0 version of tiny, and wanted to share another hunk of func with you true believers. If you head over to the toys page, you can download some JavaScript that will automatically make any table on your page sortable and striped. There's a demo file in the .zip archive, but in essence all you need to do is include the .js file, add a "sorTable" class to the table(s) you want to make sortable, and then it's Miller time.

so how do it work?

We really want to thank everyone who has taken the time to check out tiny; we are working on all kinds of improvements for the upcoming 2.0 version of the app, and any feedback you can send our way will definitely help guide our fevered efforts.

We're also working on putting more support materials together, such as a FAQ and more detailed install instructions. In the meantime, however, the README file should get you where you need to go. We're also standing by to address any questions or comments you might have. Any questions you DO ask will help us figure out what needs to go in the documentation, so everybody will end up benefiting.

One issue we are aware of is the challenge some folks are having with the download. If you hit the download link, you're confronted with a fairly daunting list of links. This is because tiny is meant to be downloaded using a Subversion client, the idea being that this way it's easy for everyone to stay up-to-date. Starting with the next version of the app, we will also offer a .zip or other archive, but the meantime you can either grab one of the free Subversion clients or just hit the download link and grab all the folders and their contents. If there's anything we can do to help, please drop us a line. Thanks!

tiny is go

So we finally put a page for tiny out on the interweb -- http://tiny.ubermondo.com is now ready to amuse you.

Tiny is a lightweight CMS ideal for managing simple websites for which a more full-featured system would be overkill. It's ideal for a brochure-type site where you want to be able to hand the keys over to somebody else without fear of them blowing everything up.

It's also a great choice for designers who want to work some CSS mojo but don't want to mess with code, or for developers who want to throw a CSS template on a website and not have to deal with it.

If you're in a hurry, you can also hit the Subversion repository directly. Please let us know how it goes.

Are you sure?

The latest addition to the toys page is alertDrawer, a replacement to the standard JavaScript alert and confirm functions. The new hotness gives you the ability to style and control the output all the live long day. Check it out.

Gumming up the Plumbing

In honor of our kids dressing up as Mario and Luigi this Halloween, we decided to add a new code snippet to the toys page.

In this case, the new bundle of joy is called pipeCleaner, and we're using it on the upcoming tiny site to separate some HTML list items with pipe ("|") characters. The same code could be modified to add pretty much anything to any place. Please give it a whirl and let us know how it goes.

Island of Misfit Code

We've just added a toys page to the site, and the plan is to use it to park little widgets and code snippets that we made to get ourselves out of a jam. You're welcome to whatever hunks of mojo you can use.

Right now the only piece of code on the page is a little JavaScript hunk of func that grabs all the form elements on a page and generates SQL to match. We used it to populate a database based on an HTML mockup we'd put together. I wish we'd thought of this before.

Layout idea request

So we're in the final stages of putting the tiny site, and I need some ideas. Specifically, I need some examples of something small triumphing over something small. Examples of this would be David and Goliath, an elephant being afraid of a mouse, etc.

I've got two. I need a half dozen or so. If you can send me some ideas, I'd really appreciate it, and I'll be sure to give you props on the site once it's launched.

Thanks,
Dieter

P.S.
If you want to start playing with the app before the official launch, the SVN repository is at http://svn.ubermondo.com/tiny...

we have liftoff.

So I've just launched the new ubermondo site, and I have to say that I'm pretty stoked. The site itself is not terribly complex, but it represents a huge deal for me, because it's powered by the first Ruby on Rails application I've ever built.

Tiny, the app I built to power the site (and, hopefully, many others), is somewhat like a miniature CMS; it cranks out clean, standards-compliant code that is a snap to deal with using unobtrusive javascript and good ol' fashioned CSS.

And I got to wear a fez. Life is good.

An Open Letter to the Gentleman in the Next Aisle with the Cell Phone Ringtone that Faithfully Reproduces the Cantina Song from Star Wars

For the love of God, turn that damned thing off.

When Web Clips go bad

Thanks, Gmail, for making spam filter maintenance even less appetizing.

Miles at Great Clips

Scene: I am seated in the waiting area of a hair salon, trying to read Men's Journal without snickering out loud at the sheer goofiness of the articles. My son Miles has just sat down in the barber's chair. Miles, being Eight, has the power to say things that everyone else just wishes they could say.

Hairdresser: Hoo boy you sure have a lot of cowlicks. Did your Grandma ever tell you that? That cow must have loved you, boy! That reminds me of the story about the brown cow in the hospital. Do you want me to tell you that story?

Miles: No.

Ask your dealer for MoPar

If ads still looked like this, I would have no cash left.

Take my ideas, please

So yesterday I created an account at Cambrian House. I've got a list of half-baked ideas longer than a Phish set list, so I figured it was worth a shot. If you haven't been to the site yet, you might want to give it a look-see.

And do the old man a favor -- pleeze vote for my ideas: betaBase, Federated Search Mojo, and Mizzessenger.

I have a dream

So here it is. I'm on my way to work, and my mom calls me, telling me that I need to stop by her place before I go in to the office, because Jesus has dropped by for a visit, and it would be nice if I said hello. I'm a little ticked off, because I'm going to be late for work, but what the hell. When you get a chance to rub elbows with a celebrity, even one who would willingly agree to appear in a Mel Gibson film, you have to jump at it.

I get to mom's place, and there, seated at the dining room table among a bunch of friends and family members, is the Big Guy. I notice that everybody's eating, but while most folks are eating sandwiches and other "lunch time" stuff, Jesus has a plate piled high with donuts.

(I want to break from the Freudian trainwreck for a moment and point out that this is NOT one of those "I'm in command here" dreams -- instead, this is one where I'm just a passenger, watching what I do instead of consciously choosing it. Think Being John Malkovich, but without Charlie Sheen.)

I say my hellos, and notice that Jesus is a bit perturbed -- it's clear that He just wants to have some breakfast, but everybody keeps pestering Him with questions of ultimate concern. "What is the nature of the universe?" "What should we do with our lives?" "Are we doing church the right way?"

I go over to the kitchen and start putting donuts on MY plate too; as I do this I say "I have a question, Jesus." This is how I know it's a dream, by the way, because after I say this everyone gets quiet and demonstrates a modicum of interest in what I have to say. "Jelly or Creme Filled?"

Jesus makes a face as though I've asked him if the Pope wears a funny hat, and says "Creme filled." I hear myself say "then you ARE my Lord and Savior."

So what the hell does that mean?

It's the DOM, yo.

So I've just finished making some changes to the ol' blog; now the more recent posts are larger than previous ones, my del.icio.us posts are displaying in the big three browsers (Firefox, Opera, and some goofy one called IE), and now the whole page smells like fresh parsley. And all of this glory was done with swanky DOM scripting, so the page should degrade quite well.

(incidentally, if you're a developer and you haven't played around with Unobtrusive Javascript yet, you probably eat puppies.)

Blogger is still kicking my ass, however -- no matter what I do, the page won't validate, because of some evil code that they're injecting into my pages. You get what you pay for, I guess.

Check Yourself Before You Wreck Your Coworkers

Not everyone was meant to wear capri pants. Just putting it out there.

Stickin' it to the Man

So today on the way out of the building I was busted by the corporate pseudo-cops.

My crime: Not prominently displaying my security badge.
The punishment: Having my name ceremoniously written on a clipboard, and being forced to listen to a speech delivered by a fat guy in polyester slacks. Fortunately, I did not have to do detention. This time.

Evidently, there are crooks so interested in what sodas are available in the break room that they can use their ninja-like cunning to circumvent our Byzantine security system, but who do not have access to Photoshop.

My instrument of vengeance: A red Sharpie. I'll be wearing my badge tomorrow, but now my picture has evil eyes. Oh yes, life on the other side of the law is sweet.