This Site

What is this place...

If you check out the T-Town Derby Grrls website, I put it together using Postnuke as the engine behind it. However, I am still learning the artistic side to creating design layouts for websites. SO, generally when I am creating a website for someone I will encourage them to peruse the various Open Source Web Template sites and find a site layout template that they like. Then, since they are open source? I am legally able to just take that layout, adjust it to work with the Postnuke engine (make it into a Theme), and voila! Your entire website looks just like that template!

Well, I really liked this template for the T-Town Derby Grrls site, and thought it would work (with minimum adjustments) as a theme for my site until $NewName comes out and I can design my own look. (for more information on $NewName... keep reading!)
So, if you like the look of this site? Check out the makers site at Full Ahead dot Org or you can see the template the way I found it, located at the Open Source Web Design site.
Either way, the creator of this theme did a great job and I loved it. So here it is...

$NewName

Ported from the popular CMS PHP-Nuke, Postnuke has established itself in hundreds (if not thousands) of Commercial as well as personal website development projects. Everything from City Government Intranets to your average blog.

This engine is amazing. PHP being a very easy language to pick up and master, means that even the non-college graduates (such as myself) can do some amazing things with web-application development. Ergo, the common man is given an edge into the world of the web.

Granted, if you don't know HTML, or Javascript, or understand some basic Database concepts, then you are going to be limited in a developmental fashion. But those skills are attainable through websites like Lynda.com or W3 Schools.com and at an affordable rate.

When I first ventured into the world of computers it was back in 1995. I was working for Thrifty Rent-A-Car at their Worldwide Headquarters as a Call Center Supervisor. The company had just gone from the orange and black CRT/Unix based systems to a Windows 95 / Office 95 enterprise. I discovered Microsoft Access 95, and there it began.

Eventually Access lead me to the Visual Basics for Applications (VBA) that is in almost every Microsoft Software Package they produce now. This lead me to custom development of Word Documents through Access Database Applications. I was forced to look at the world of Object Oriented Programming (OOP) and other more complex programming concepts which just opened my world even more. Then I wondered to myself... what if this Access Data-App was on the web? Then you wouldn't HAVE to be a Thrifty Employee to access it, you could allow people based on user accounts and security and... well, next thing I knew I was studying HTML and Javascript and then I got into MySql and finally PHP.

PHP led me to ASP and Server-side Javascript and C and C# and C++ and... before I knew it, I had figured my head around 10-15 new programming languages within a 2 year range of time. I was ecstatic! Part of my problem was my inability to afford college, if I had had an opportunity to do college, who KNOWS where I would be already. But, I tried not to let disadvantages define my world. I did what I could. I would download and read programming texts, example code, whatever I could get my fingers (both virtual and real) on. I had friends and family dump computer books on me and I devoured each book as quickly as I could.

My ride on the PHP train brought me inevitable to Postnuke.

Postnuke just made sense. I had started to develop my own system already. I needed something for my new domain name, Ninja Squirrels, that my brother and I had acquired. I say acquired, because he paid for it, I was grateful to have something to play with.

Anyway, postnuke opened up my world. Now I could focus on what I was good at and what I enjoyed. Web-Application Creation and Theme Conversion. I loved Postnuke. I didn't have to worry about having to learn new technology like the HUNDREDS or THOUSANDS of security protocols, or any of the FTP or Email management stuff that just didn't interest me. I could focus on what I loved. Postnuke handled all the rest. Because for everything I didn't enjoy, there was someone working FOR Postnuke who did. So I didn't have to do without... we were all contributing. Very cool...

I got Ninja Squirrels up and running, I started discovering stories wherein squirrels were mentioned in News articles all over the world and if you looked at them just right, they showed the eventual attack plan of the Ninja Squirrels. I started a Module in Postnuke that would allow me to map out the Squirrel-related, City-Wide, Power-Outages in the U.S. This way, we, the American People, could track the terrorist attack perpetuated by our nemesis the various Ninja Squirrel Clans on our cities... ok, so no-one claimed I was sane... or normal. But I had fun... I never worried about updating the Postnuke package, getting the security updates... surely NO ONE would mess with a fun site like Ninja Squirrels.

Public Service Announcement:
If you run a Postnuke (or whatever the new, rebranded engine is called) website.
DO ALL UPDATES.

There are people with no life, no concept of decency, who will do whatever they can to harm or hurt someone elses work, just because they can. Do NOT Assume you are "under the radar" because your site is socially inconsequential. There is no such thing as an untouchable site to a script kiddie and they don't have radars. They are JERKS!

So anyway... bastards.

I set up a family web-site, a couple of friends websites, a couple of paying clients sites, all using Postnuke. It is a miracle tool. Well, not like a water-to-wine miracle tool. But it's pretty dang cool, AND it has made me some money. So we fast-forward to about a month ago? Not sure of the exact date. But I signed on to research Postnuke's status. They had moved to a version 0.8, called the Adam Baum version, and I knew there were still some issues with development that were being hammered out, but I wanted to start developing again. I have some new ideas, and I haven't touched code in awhile, being that between my job and home life and clients... I have been too dang busy.

I signed on to Postnuke sites only to discover that they are going through a rebranding period. The details aren't clear, I have heard something about a less-than-honest business person doing something questionable with a postnuke trademark... but I don't have details. Needless to say. The engine is going through a growth spurt, re-branding themselves, legally locking everything down from future problems, and... stepping away from the Nuke name. I always hated that because I had clients shy away from ME because I used a program that had the Nuke word in it.

So a new name, new look, and they are looking for help? At last... a chance to be a contributing part of something that I love.

Long story short. I am now on the document/commenting group. I am studying some of the newer technology used by Postnuke so that I can create some documentation on it.

But where do I come off thinking I can DO documentation? Well, first there's the Marine Corp. I developed a field training guide for a Captain and a Gunny when I was stationed at Fort Sill in the Field Artillery Fire Controllmans class. I also developed the New Hire training manual used by Thrifty Rent-A-Car, at their Worldwide Headquarters for new Call Center employees, as well as some internal classes on Word, Excel and a few other Office Classes. I have also done random training pamphlets and booklets on various Office Administrator concepts during my time working as a City of Tulsa employee. Basically? I am no stranger to writing training or documentation.

So, at this point. I am sedating myself with the fact that WHEN Postnuke is re-released as whatever it will be called... that I will be right there and able to start using the new engine immediately! Which is... EXCITING!

But, for the time being, all documentation that is being written is referring to the New Engine as "$NewName" so that we can do a Find/Replace and fix the documentation in one fell SQL Statment... should be cool either way.

New Clients

Someone's Gotta Do Something

So what I am up to at the moment?
• Client #1: Well, I am formatting / re-writing a book for one client.
• Kwigbo/randomblink: Still working on my $1,000,000.00 idea with my partner Jed. SLOWLY.
• Documentation/Commenting: Now I am doing documentation and code editing on $NewName.
• Roller Derby: And I am developing ideas for our Roller Derby League that the wife and I started up with a friend.

Need Money

I will gladly take on new projects that are small in size. If you need a basic website built? I'm your man. If you want a server-side site built? I'm waiting on $NewName. No If's, And's or But's about it. I believe in the project and I have no desire to learn an entirely new engine just to get a website up and running. Worst case scenario? I would take on a Postnuke 0.7.6.2 Phoenix Version installation and customization. It is a stable release, works, I know it very well, and I can do your basic edits and custmizations and such for it. But I won't be happy about it. I really think that $NewName will be a very worth-waiting-for engine.

T-Town Derby, Inc.

Roller Derby Extraordinaire

So unless you have had your head stuck in a hole for the last couple of years, then you should know all about the resurgence of Roller Derby. It's currently the Fastest Growing Sport in America. Tripling in size every year so far, and the trend is expected to continue on into the next three to four years (or so the experts say). It's the best weight loss program you can get on, it provides so many benefits that naming them all would be ridiculous except on a Derby website. Needless to say, my wife is a player in this beloved game of ours, and I am a huge fan.

Now starting up a league should be an extremely fun event, you would think... right? I mean my wife and I love it, the people who come to us to learn and play with us are excited about it, we must be having the time of our lives eh?

Well, suffice it to say, we are encountering problem after problem. If we didn't love the sport so much, we would have given up long ago. We actually have individuals who are doing their best to stop us from getting anywhere. Which is horribly annoying and at the same time terribly ego-stroking. I mean if I took the time to explain the level of work and determination being put into our eradication, well... it's quite flattering. Needless to say, we have realized and do realize, that we can learn from every attack made against our group. So instead of collapsing, like we have wanted to on occasion in sheer exhaustion, we learn from each maneuver and take steps ahead. If it doesn't kill us, it only makes us stronger.

That and I believe that life is balanced, and when you spend the majority of your time trying to destroy a group that has never done you wrong... you eventually will destroy yourself. I mean how many groups exist who spend more time taking down another group than building themselves up? None. So we are patient and adaptable enough to move on.

On The Road Again

But it hasn't all be fun and games... chuckle. We also have been desperately trying to find a home for our league. And in doing so, we tried to make things work so hard, that we ended up latching onto a business that apparently could care less about concepts like honor and loyalty. After countless donations of time, energy and even money, we were lied to so many times and had our own efforts corrupted to a point where we are back on the move again.

Homeless... Derby League looking for a home!

Don't get me wrong, we saw some return on our time and efforts, but when you are told to "keep it casual" and "contracts aren't necessary", don't believe it just because your need is great. Believe it because the person saying it hasn't already reneged on previous deals and agreements.

Just because you want something to be true, or someone to be honorable, does NOT mean it will, nor that they will, even if you REALLY, REALLY need them to be.

But, what can you do? Well, you keep moving is what... until you find someone, or someplace, that will honor your acts of goodwill and dedication.