I recently received a message from someone at Packt Publishing regarding the new book Django 1.0 Website Development. She gave me an opportunity to check out the book in pdf version, and I really liked it. It's a great tutorial that runs through a neat project for beginner to experienced Django programmers.

I've been using Django for almost a year now, and throughout the book even the topics I knew already were not boring. I even picked up a few ideas and got some tips that I will use on my project for work!

This book explains in detail many of the pieces of Django that aren't even in Django's own documentation. The Django messages feature and how to use Django's built in comments system are just two places where I've always had to write my own, because I couldn't find enough details on how to use the built in ones.

Besides a few errors where the text didn't match the code examples, I give this booktorial an 'A'.

This book from Packt Publishing has made me look into this book: Expert Python Programming. I think it could really help fine tune my programming skills especially with Python which is my programming language of choice as of late.

i'm developing a django blog here: http://brandons.homeip.net/

right now it has only it's very core. i need to skin it, and add a few features. probably most of the posting i do will be test posts over there.

thanks.

this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship!

This advertisement is ultra tricky.

First of all, it's not blocked by adblock plus. Secondly, it's extremely deceptive to put my friends and my pictures in the ads. It made me think it was really an IQ challenge, because it actually was from some of my smarter friends. Lame lame lame facebook API. You shouldn't allow people to use you like that.

How many web developers are using FireFox and still writing apps that have to look good in IE? Almost all of you?! WHAT? This has to stop. Companies, when will you see that FireFox is the answer. Keep your employees organized and on task with tabbed browsing (screw IE 7 and 8).

Also, save your developers time so they don't have to design their apps multiple times. While I'm designing, if I go too long without checking how it looks in Internet Explorer, I have to retrace my footsteps to find out where the mysterious IE bugs are. Let's just write in standards compliant mode, and use standards compliant browsers!

please everyone visit this site whether you use firefox or not:
FireFox Tips

Also, if you are NOT a firefox user, get with it and go here:
Get FireFox

Thanks for listening.

I can't wait for my W2s. I worked for the entire year this time. More than half of it was making more money than I ever did before. Hopefully I still qualify to get it all back since Nellnet and Sallie Mae rape my wallet so much. Starting in January, my 401k kicks in, so I'll see a tiny bit of a pay decrease. Although I am probably looking at a promotion. What that entails I do not know.

I began the design of my new project at work. I like it more than any of the stuff I've done for personal use. That seems to be happening lately, but I think I can attribute it to getting better at what I do. Which is a good thing.

PS. I'm really glad to finally get that music video off the first page of my blog. I saw 168 or so views on the last post, which means other people are probably glad too.

I believe major changes are in the process for this very website. I am currently working on adding python support with django to my hostmonster account, and it's proving to be quite difficult. I have django working, but the hard part (even when I did this at work) is to get python to handle my site requests. Once I figure something out, I'll be able to make my first django blog, which I'm hoping will be better than this one. I decided I don't really need all the glitz and glam that comes with b2evolution, especially since I don't have multiple bloggers, and I'm the only one in the admin section.

Outside of computers, since moving in, I've had to install our range and change the elements in our hot water tank. The range required changing the receptacle, since we changed the one that was there over to the dryer when we first moved in to avoid having to buy a new dryer receptacle or cord. Then finding out that no range cord fits the old dryer receptacle, I bought a new range receptacle and played switcheroo. Then on Thanksgiving day, we lost our hot water. I know nothing about hot water heaters or electric stuff (besides changing range and dryer receptacles), so Desiree's friend came over and told me what I needed to do. Turns out, it's not hard to change the elements in the hot water tank. Actually I think it is a rare scenario in which it is easier done than said (all the talk about changing electrical stuff around water was kind of intimidating).

We got our Christmas tree today. It's very nice too. Even though I dropped it, and it was while Desiree was out, so putting it back up myself was a blast. I got a face full of needles, I smell like a taxi, and I'm very relieved it was not a scotch pine (very prickly needles) like Desiree originally wanted. After all that it looks pretty fantastic.

Anyway, I'm getting tired, so I think I'll try to get some django stuff working and then I'll hit the sack.