Quotations (WIST) 3 | ***Dave Does the Blog

Quotes by the numbers

I went and ran the numbers on my quotations database, WIST, yesterday, the first time since February 2007. I’m currently at 6600 quotations, vs. the 5100 I was at back…

I went and ran the numbers on my quotations database, WIST, yesterday, the first time since February 2007. I’m currently at 6600 quotations, vs. the 5100 I was at back then. Huzzah. WIST is one of my “success stories” so far as pastimes go, something I actually get to and keep updated on a regular basis.

The top ten authors (by quote count) are from, almost exclusively, dead white guys (there’s one live one): Shakespeare, Twain, Bertrand Russell, CS Lewis, Shaw, Chesterton, Emerson, Bill Watterson, Bierce, and Franklin. Still, not a bad group to rhetorically pal around with.

Yahoo Search Builder no more

I’ve had a box for Yahoo’s Search Builder for my site up at WIST for some months. Since Yahoo was doing a better job of indexing WIST than Google was,…

I’ve had a box for Yahoo’s Search Builder for my site up at WIST for some months. Since Yahoo was doing a better job of indexing WIST than Google was, it made for more compete high-speed queries.

Alas, it no longer works. Apparently Yahoo shut it down (no notification I received, by the bye). There are a couple of alternatives Yahoo provides (SearchMonkey and BOSS), but both look to be a lot more “flexible” and “powerful,” thus a lot less out-of-the-box friendly than the old Search Builder.

Irksome.

Quotes on an Election Day

For of those to whom much is given, much is required. And when at some future date the high court of history sits in judgment on each of us —…

Thoughts on Election Day:

For of those to whom much is given, much is required. And when at some future date the high court of history sits in judgment on each of us — recording whether in our brief span of service we fulfilled our responsibilities to the state — our success or failure, in whatever office we hold, will be measured by the answers to four questions:
First, were we truly men of courage — with the courage to stand up to one’s enemies — and the courage to stand up, when necessary, to one’s associates — the courage to resist public pressure, as well as private greed?
Secondly, were we truly men of judgment — with perceptive judgment of the future as well as the past — of our mistakes as well as the mistakes of others — with enough wisdom to know what we did not know and enough candor to admit it.
Third, were we truly men of integrity — men who never ran out on either the principles in which we believed or the men who believed in us — men whom neither financial gain nor political ambition could ever divert from the fulfillment of our sacred trust?
Finally, were we truly men of dedication — with an honor mortgaged to no single individual or group, and comprised of no private obligation or aim, but devoted solely to serving the public good and the national interest?
Courage — judgment — integrity — dedication — these are the historic qualities … which, with God’s help … will characterize our Government’s conduct in the four stormy years that lie ahead.

¶ John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917-1963) US President (1961-63)
Address to the Massachusetts legislature (9 Jan 1961)

Since the beginning of our American history, we have been engaged in change — in a perpetual peaceful revolution — a revolution which goes on steadily, quietly adjusting itself to changing conditions — without the concentration camp or the quick-lime in the ditch. The world order which we seek is the cooperation of free countries, working together in a friendly, civilized society.

¶ Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945) US President (1933-1945)
Annual Message to Congress (6 Jan 1941)

We are face to face with our destiny and we must meet it with a high and resolute courage. For us is the life of action, of strenuous performance of duty; let us live in the harness, striving mightily; let us rather run the risk of wearing out than rusting out.

¶ Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) US President (1901-1909)
Gubernatorial campaign address, New York City (5 Oct 1898)

The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country.

¶ Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) US President (1861-65)
Annual Message to Congress (1 Dec 1862)

It will be worthy of a free, enlightened, and, at no distant period, a great nation, to give to mankind the magnanimous and too novel example of a People always guided by an exalted justice and benevolence.

¶ George Washington (1732-1799) US President, military leader
Farewell Address (17 Sep. 1796)

Potpourri on a Saturday afternoon

Still playing catch-up from the past few days. Here’s some non-election stuff. POLITICS North Texas house burns because local authorities… – Wow — to protect against some sort of vague threat…

Still playing catch-up from the past few days. Here’s some non-election stuff.

POLITICS

North Texas house burns because local authorities… – Wow — to protect against some sort of vague threat of Terrorist Water Contamination, we have to leave fire hydrants not under pressure? Yeesh.
Canadian man changes name to beat no-fly list – I feel more secure!
Rep. Jane Harman: Finally, Some Progress in Combating… – Rape and sexual assault of women in the military is more than just a heinous crime. This programs is taking the right tack, I think, by trying to reinforce the idea that it’s also unmanly and against the traditions of the service.
Lieberman Introduces Amendment To Recognize The ‘Strategic… – Lieberman’s only hope of not being moved into a broom closet for his office come January is that (a) McCain wins, and (b) he gets some sort of cabinet job. The man has not only burned all his bridges to the Democratic party, he’s pissed on the ashes and capered about laughing.
Sex, Drug Use and Graft Cited in Interior Department – NYTimes.com – More details on the Interior Dept. scandal. Though as Better Metaphors Needed points out, the whole thing is so cliche it’s almost … unbelievable in its cliche-ness.
On 7th Anniversary Of Attacks, White House Claims… – So is the point that they are now trying to downplay Bin Laden’s role so that their failure to capture him doesn’t seem so bad?
More Things That Matter More Than Lipstick – Why we need a strong federal government, and just the sort of regulatory spending that John McCain thinks is a waste of the taxpayers’ money. Not that he or his circle have to worry about working for a company that falsifies time records.
Government bureaucracy makes a donation impossible. – On the other hand, nobody would claim that government regulations always make sense. In this case, the answer is clear: charge $1 for the marble to fix the Tomb of the Unknowns so that the bureaucrats have something to put in their spreadsheets that doesn’t cause a #DIV0 error.
Why would any sane person put a Level 4 biodefense lab in Galveston? – Check and see whose district it’s in. Check and see who was the lead Congresscritter (House or Senate) that pushed for the location. See, that’s one of those there “Earmark” things that causes problems.
Eventually Clever » Blog Archive » Let’s Talk Politics… – Politics? Ah, Canadian politics.

FUN!

Tennant Mulls Who Movie – Woot!
Maybe the LHC is a bad idea after all… – Yeah, that’s a bad sign. Oh, and be sure and check out the site Webcams.
cbs4denver.com – CDOT To Raise Speed Limit On Part… – The stretch of I-225 from I-25 to Parker is straight, wide, and has minimal exits. Why it’s ever had a 55mph limit surpasseth understanding — though it’s certainly added to state revenue due to speeding tickets. Ah, well — it will make Margie’s commute a bit easier.
False Memories of tragic and happy events – If we are defined by our memories, what does it mean that our memories are so easily fooled.
“Changeling” – First Trailer – FilmoFilia – Coolness. This is the big “breakthrough” screenwriting job for Joe Straczynski. Everything I see and hear makes it look like a winner.
No more happily ever afters. – Good writing advice. Living in a real novel would not be a happy experience.
The saint of 9/11 – How a Catholic priest who was lionized by so many after his death during 9-11 fell from grace after the Vatican became aware he was gay.
Rickover, Hyman, George Bernard Shaw, Heinlein, Robert A. — Quotes a-plenty!
Voice deepening gas – My voice is already deep, but I don’t care — this sounds veyr cool.
The Latest on DVD Copying – This could be the sort of schema that both gives 99% of the public what it wants and keeps the production company suits happy — if they let it.
Dollhouse halts for Tweaks – That doesn’t bode well.
Seth MacFarlane’s AdSense Cartoons Now Available – Both amusing and disturbing. As is YouTube – Doctor Who “What Would Brian Boitano Do” –

Potpourri on a way-too-busy Tuesday

PALINESQUE POLITICS! Executive Experience and More on “Executive” Experience – Having “executive experience” is a lot more (and a lot less) than serving in office in an executive branch. Obama’s demonstrated…

PALINESQUE POLITICS!

Executive Experience and More on “Executive” Experience – Having “executive experience” is a lot more (and a lot less) than serving in office in an executive branch. Obama’s demonstrated executive ability in this very campaign, something I’ve yet to see from Palin’s track record (hiring of lobbyists aside).
Disclosures on Palin Raise Questions on Vetting Process… – Speaking of executive decision-making, the way McCain appears to have handled the whole process — the first decision he gets to make as a proto-president — demonstrates a lack of planning, rash decision-making, and shoot-first-questions-later style of leadership that … is not quite what I think we need today.
Borderline – More obvious sources unexamined before the decision was made.
ABC News Confirms That McCain’s VP Pick Was AIP Member – But remember, John McCain is for America, first!
Atheists’ Worst Nightmares: Sarah Palin, Bananas – It’s so amusing to hear conservative women’s groups slam traditional feminist groups over the Palin nomination, when without the feminists of the 60s and 70s and beyond Palin wouldn’t have made it past being a beauty pageant winner.
George Lakoff: The Palin Choice and the Reality of… – Does the Palin decision make a difference? “Yes, the McCain-Palin ticket is weak on the major realities. But it is strong on the symbolic dimension of politics that Republicans are so good at marketing. Just arguing the realities, the issues, the hard truths should be enough in times this bad, but the political mind and its response to symbolism cannot be ignored. The initial Democratic response to Palin — the response based on realities alone — indicates that many Democrats have not learned the lessons of the Reagan and Bush years.”

POLITICS SANS PALIN!

Report: Gonzales Mishandled Classified Data – washingtonpost.com – Speaking of knee-jerk selections of incompetents with insufficient vetting, no surprise here that not only did Gonzales not keep highly classified data under proper security (i.e., something beyond sitting in his unlocked brief case at home), he couldn’t remember the combo to his house safe.
Protests in Minneapolis [The Corpus Callosum] – Because if you call them “terrorists,” you can do whatever you want, right?

NO POLITICS!

Study Links Gene Variant in Men to Marital Discord… – Genes aren’t destiny … but they can certainly give a behavior nudge.
Shelley, Percy Bysshe – A quote for today on tolerance.
Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure, The: Warner Issues… – Hawkman, Bird Man … what’s the diff, y’know? I mean, they’re both, like, comic book guys with feathers.
A fresh take on the browser and Google Chrome, Google’s Browser Project: Do we really need another browser out there? I remain in love with Firefox — but I’m damned tempted to see what Google’s up to with Chrome.

And the rain, rain, rain came down, down, down …

We’ve been having pretty steady rain off and on in the Denver area since, well, Thursday evening — which is an unusual length of time for a system like that…

We’ve been having pretty steady rain off and on in the Denver area since, well, Thursday evening — which is an unusual length of time for a system like that to sit over the city. Aside from battling our ongoing roof leak (which I think we’ve got properly bucketed and wicked in the attic), it hasn’t affected us all that much — in fact, it’s been kind of nice and cool and pleasant.

Yesterday was a lazy-hazy day. Margie played some CoX (I joined her in the eveing), I played catch-up on my quotations for WIST (backlogging more to post during the weeks to come), and Katherine watched some TV and played with some friends. A nice, relaxing Saturday.

Today’s the last day showing with little rain clouds on the forecast, which will be nice. Rain isn’t nearly as much fun with the light rail on a commute day.

6000ish

As I noted over there, (though it got swallowed up in the RSS feed), my WIST quotations database rolled past 6,000 entries in the past week or so. Which,…

As I noted over there, (though it got swallowed up in the RSS feed), my WIST quotations database rolled past 6,000 entries in the past week or so. Which, for something that started with a few hundred quotes, tops, scribbled in a Tolkien journal in college, is pretty remarkable. To me, at least.

Archival quality

So, in continuing to stamp on occasional fires in my blogs, Dave N. noticed that one of the WIST quotes we were discussing yesterday was missing. Odd. Poked around…

So, in continuing to stamp on occasional fires in my blogs, Dave N. noticed that one of the WIST quotes we were discussing yesterday was missing.

Odd.

Poked around a bit more. One that I’d entered in on the same page yesterday was missing from the author (category) archive, too.

After much poking and prodding, I discovered that:

Any quote (entry) with a citation (title) that started with a quotation mark was vanishing.
I was only seeing ten entries the page, regardless.
If I took out the sort-by-title parameter, I still got only ten, but a different ten.

Aha.

Turns out that one of the few significant changes in MT4 was the whole archiving stuff. Some of the results:

If you don’t specify otherwise, an archive (e.g., a category archive) will only show the default “show N entries” value for the blog. Which, in my case, was 10. When I changed it to 1000, all the quotes showed up, huzzah.
The old pagination stuff I had previously didn’t get brought over — so my loooooong archives in my regular blog are not paginated. That’s something I need to fix in the future by using MT’s new built-in pagination power. (See: swapping out for all new templates again.)
But the problems I was having with my date (monthly) archives not working has magically been fixed, as has the problem that was in there with the Previous/Next entries at the top. So that’s a win.

And so it goes.

Now, all I need is like two unoccupied days when I can replace the templates and get them cleaned up and looking the way I want, and I’ll be in great shape. I just don’t think that’s going to happen this month. 😛

Putting money where my site is

So I got an e-mail from someone at my WIST account. She started off very complementary: Thank you for sharing all those quotes, maxims and aphorisms that you’ve collated through…

So I got an e-mail from someone at my WIST account. She started off very complementary:

Thank you for sharing all those quotes, maxims and aphorisms that you’ve collated through the years. I like the idea of WIST. Keep up the good work!

So far so good. Then the kicker.

Is it possible to ask a small favor in return for a donation of $30?

Uh-oh.

Turns out she, as a representative of some foundation or another (of an Eastern religious persuasion), wants me to include a quotation from some teacher her foundation represents, with a citation back to the foundation’s website.

Now, the quotation itself isn’t a problem. A bit bland and undistinguished, but not objectionable. If I ran across it online, I might consider putting it into WIST.

But putting it up in exchange for money seems … well, wrong. I’m not doing WIST to make money (fortunately), but it seems improper to post a quote and link in exchange for reimbursement.

So I think I have three alternatives:

Write the person back saying that they are welcome to send a donation (have I ever gotten the WIST donation info up yet? Ah, interesting — I haven’t), but I cannot put up a quotation and link in exchange for that. If she chooses to make a donation, and at some later time I go back and look at the quotation (after getting over the unpleasant emotional association) and judge if it’s suitable for posting, and if the link to the home site is a reasonable item to include.
Put up the quotation but leave off the link. Leave it up to the person whether to make a donation.
Put up the quotation and the link, but also include a “disclaimer” that this is a paid sponsorship. That’s the most straightforward, but it establishes a precedent (“Well, we know what you are, now we’re just haggling over the price”) that I’m not comfortable with, even with full disclosure.

Of, of course, I can not put up the quote, because, honestly, it’s not that good.

Thoughts?

What’s the .info?

I was surprised, and a bit dismayed, to run across this article in PC Magazine. It seems that the .info Top Level Domain (TLD) has become a haven for…

I was surprised, and a bit dismayed, to run across this article in PC Magazine. It seems that the .info Top Level Domain (TLD) has become a haven for spammers and malware artists, to the point where Microsoft Live Messenger is blocking messages that contain the string “.info” in them.

Microsoft claims that there was a “malicious advertising effort” targeting Windows Live Messenger users. The messages had URLs with “either .info or another URL,” and the site they led to asked for the user’s Windows Live user ID and password. If the user complied, everyone on their contact list received the string.
Pretty standard worm stuff. But Microsoft went on: This was not a Microsoft sponsored effort, and in order to prevent the spread of it through our service, instant messages that include the words “.info” and a few additional key words have been blocked. This action may block some safe, reputable sites and we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause our customers; however, given the circumstances this action was necessary. We are investigating options to ensure legitimate domains that have “.info” in part of their name and other key words are not blocked and will have an update to share in the near future.

Never mind that there are plenty of perfectly legit .info domains. Like www.mta.info, the site for New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority. Or, as another example, www.wist.info, my quotations website.

The problem seems to be promotional policies by groups that manage the .info TLD. By offering .info domains at cheaper prices than .com domains (sometimes even free), it makes it easier for spammers to buy up blocks of them.

The number isn’t huge, but it’s been enough to provide a reputation. Based on a McAfee study released in March:.

The “.info” domain ranked first among generic TLDs for its percentage of risky sites, at 7.5 percent, McAfee said. The domain also hosts many Web sites that send “spammy” e-mail, the vendor said.
SiteAdvisor submits an e-mail address to Web sites and counts how many e-mails are received. Users have a 73.2 percent chance of receiving a spam e-mail by giving their address to a random “.info” site, McAfee said.
The “.com” domain — created in the 1980s — came in second for risk, with 5.5 percent of its Web sites considered questionable, McAfee said.

I’d hate to think that I ended up building WIST in a “bad neighborhood.” I’m not planning on moving the domain any time soon — but I will be watching.

WIST report

It’s been a bit over a month since I rebooted the WIST (my quotations database) site, and it’s going well — visits are up decently, and I’ve been getting…

It’s been a bit over a month since I rebooted the WIST (my quotations database) site, and it’s going well — visits are up decently, and I’ve been getting 3-5 quotes in, on average, each day (thus making the RSS or feed-by-mail a good deal).

My interest in the traffic is not just vanity — WIST is very much a labor of love and potentially a very nice source of info, and I’m jazzed to think that people are actually making use of it.

WIST update

I now have notes about the most recent WIST updates in the Elseblog section of the sidebar. I’m usually getting 2-5 quotes in there a day (and updating several…

I now have notes about the most recent WIST updates in the Elseblog section of the sidebar. I’m usually getting 2-5 quotes in there a day (and updating several others as I go), so it’s worthwhile tracking it (and being reminded, myself, of it).

Rather than have links to the individual quotes, I’m just linking to the front page. I’m showing the links with the author names (for the sake of space), but the first few words of the quotes are in the alt/title text if you hover over each link. Feedback welcome.

I’m hoping this will drive a little more traffic over that way. Remember that if you like what you see there, WIST has an RSS feed, a Feedburner-enabled e-mail feed, etc.

Thought for today

There are similarities between absolute power and absolute faith: a demand for absolute obedience, a readiness to attempt the impossible, a bias for simple solutions — to cut the knot…

There are similarities between absolute power and absolute faith: a demand for absolute obedience, a readiness to attempt the impossible, a bias for simple solutions — to cut the knot rather than unravel it, the viewing of compromise as surrender. Both absolute power and absolute faith are instruments of dehumanization. Hence, absolute faith corrupts as absolutely as absolute power.
Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
The New York Times Magazine, “Thoughts of Eric Hoffer,” p. 24 (25 Apr. 1971)

(via WIST)

Go-live for WIST v2

Woot! I’ve plowed through the glitches, blown through the installation, and, hot damn!, the New, Improved WIST is now online on its own domain again. And, again, I say,…

Woot! I’ve plowed through the glitches, blown through the installation, and, hot damn!, the New, Improved WIST is now online on its own domain again.

And, again, I say, woot! And, about time!

WIST update

WIST v2 remains in open beta (which, at this point, consists of one person having commented on it in the previous post). My list of things to do before…

WIST v2 remains in open beta (which, at this point, consists of one person having commented on it in the previous post). My list of things to do before it goes out of beta, however, keeps growing.

If you get a chance, knowing that only the most discriminating and intellectually/aesthetically superior of folk visit this blog, take a gander over there and shoot me back some comments here.

Now it can be told: WIST v2

I have at long last finished (99%) my revision to my WIST (“Wish I’d Said That!”) quotations database/site — at least to the point where I can invite visitors…

I have at long last finished (99%) my revision to my WIST (“Wish I’d Said That!”) quotations database/site — at least to the point where I can invite visitors to my blog to an “open beta” to thrash out any issues. I need your help in this.

Basically I’ve gone from long text listings of the quotes included into simple blog entries, to having all the quotes in their own MT entries with authors as the categories (which simple concept turned out to be a lot more difficult to do than planned). That’s added big complexities to the whole setup (though for good goals), and I need your assistance to confirm I’ve gotten everything as it should be.

WIST v2 (beta)
WIST (the current version) (for comparison)

There are still a few things I need to do, but they can be done in parallel with the beta. I welcome any feedback as to (in this priority):

Things that don’t work.
Thingss that are missing or should be added.
Things that could work better/easier.
Things that might not be working right.
Aesthetic critiques.

The emphasis is on the actual site/structure issues (vs. content).

Feel free to note anything you run across here, or at appropriate comment opportunities over there, I’ll be monitoring both locations.

When all seems ready, I’ll do a conversion over to the official wist.info site, which should be fairly painless. There are also a couple of things I anticipate doing at “go live” (including some of the quotation site webring bits, adding some Feedburner stuff).

Appreciate the help

A new week

I’m actually feeling quite refreshed this week, after a long, but enjoyable, weekend. Things on my list: Figure out with Margie what Kitten’s summer schedule is going to look like….

I’m actually feeling quite refreshed this week, after a long, but enjoyable, weekend.

Things on my list:

Figure out with Margie what Kitten’s summer schedule is going to look like. There’s Girl Scout Camp stuff, there’s Extended Grandparents Visit stuff, there’s Vacation Bible School, there’s Franklin Friends, there’s a plethora of bits. Need to map it out and start getting orders in.
Now that I’m done with archiving everything out of Outlook, I need to do the same out of Thunderbird (still).
I’d really like to finish work on the WIST blog/site. I got stalled with some weird archive listing issues, and I need to just dedicate an evening to working on that.
After a weekend of comfort food, luau/Easter, and Anniversary grub, I am seriously back on the Geek Diet.
Catching up on my blogroll/Google Reader list. Paring out some of same (no point in keeping stuff I’m not reading).

Lent is over, but my “thing” for that period — cleaning the dishes and pots and pans from the sink and counter every night — continues. A comfortable and pleasant good habit, pleasant in terms of liking having an empty sink and clean counter from it, as well as the sense of domestic virtue it conveys.

All in all, it looks like a busy, but good, week.

Things to do today

Woo-hoo. I have Good Friday “off” (actually, hours worked last Friday), so what to do, what to do …? Hmmm. Well, I can finish off my Disney World travel blogging…

Woo-hoo. I have Good Friday “off” (actually, hours worked last Friday), so what to do, what to do …?

Hmmm. Well, I can finish off my Disney World travel blogging from last weekend. I have the posts pretty much all done — just want to do some linking in them.

I can get the laundry started. Told Margie I’d do that.

Hey, maybe I can finally get my WIST blog/database in shape. That would be great!

No, no, no, I know … I can spend all day coordinating by phonecon and e-mail a repair to our payroll/HR system getting all frelled up today, three weeks before it’s supposed to be retired. Yeah, that’s it!! That sounds like much more fun! Yay!

WIST update

I’ve been pounding away on this pretty hard over the last week or so (as the list of comments over here indicates. I made some real breakthroughs yesterday, and essentially…

I’ve been pounding away on this pretty hard over the last week or so (as the list of comments over here indicates. I made some real breakthroughs yesterday, and essentially have all the data up in the new system (using Movable Type as the database) and properly organized (internally). The site (“blog”) itself isn’tquite ready for beta preview yet — I have several different pages and views to finish
templating and testing — but once it is, I’ll mention it here and folks can provide some feedback.

That’s what’s been taking most of my discretionary time (and creative energy) the last couple of weeks, hence the slowdown in blogging here. Hopefully the results will be worth it.

WIST update

I’ve posted a long overdue update to my WIST quotations database. I hadn’t updated the stuff there since August 2004, largely because it’s such a pain in the ass. I’ve…

I’ve posted a long overdue update to my WIST quotations database. I hadn’t updated the stuff there since August 2004, largely because it’s such a pain in the ass. I’ve done some on- and off-again updates to the data, but … well, it was, as I said, long overdue to be posted.

I really need to figure out a better mechanism to maintain this than the current setup. The MT scheme is still a possibility — I think I can figure out a way to do it. On the other hand, if there’s a package out there that will install on Apache servers and back-end to a MySQL database, that might work even better.

I might ping the HM boards to see if anyone there has some ideas.