I'm wondering ... shall I delete this blog?

I haven't posted in here since forever basically. Lots has changed, nothing in this blog really is applicable today.
And this post is actually some testing - after google made blogger their own.

Really Busy the past few weeks

It’s being a long time without an update. Well, a new job is so completely absorbing that there's no time for anything else really.
Also, the new kittens - arrived on 23rd July - were a handful and used up all the remaining time. Funny that I never got to take a picture of them yet. This is a pity of course, as they were really, really small at 4 weeks!!!
They could comfortably sit in the palm of one hand :-)
The main reason I didn't post about them though, is that they remained "nameless" for so long!!!
While on holiday I had Zoy and Zulu as the set names. But hey, Ayo the best friend and best cat-sitter in the world just wouldn’t like these names at all. Something about how sad it was that all of their names were to begin with a "Z".
Funny that - that is why I liked them... however, the first time Ayo caught me calling Zeebee "Zoy" he actually won the names-battle... I cannot possibly get confused when calling them out - just don't like it.
So there it stood - for a long time - the name discussion... but of course I didn't like any of the suggestions (too trivial: Mr. and Mrs.; Black and White; Widget and Muppet; and so on.
Eventually Ayo had enough, so after almost a month of cat-sitting he went home for a week or so - and I was left alone with the cats... at this stage giving them a name was absolutely imperative, otherwise all the conversations would have been with Zeebee, excluding them completely.
(Yes, it does sound weird, but if you like animals for real, you do indeed talk to them!)
So left to my own devices here's the names now: Leone (Leo being an acceptable "English" sounding alternative) and Musetto (literally translated in "little face", and "Muesly" or "Moe" acceptable English alternatives if Ayo really, really doesn't want to call them Italian names).

So, having decided on their names after so long, I suppose I'll get round to filming them as well - but not sure why, there's something that is stopping me in taking pictures... ah well - will do when I'm ready.

I'm back ... and still on holidays :-)

Had originally to go back to Venice on Friday, then spent the early part of the week trying to work out what could have been the best plan and if it was worth it actually to come back to Dublin for a couple of days - finding out that it actually was, not least for wanting to spend a night back here with friends.
Eventually there was basically no reason to go back to Venice, for the wedding of somebody I never even met, and helping mum to pack the suitcases for her mountain vacation. So, eventually, found out that after changing the flight to September, it would have been simply not cheap to move the flight from Pisa from yesterday to Friday, so here I am.
Found the place so warm that's unbelievable!!!! These houses aren't built to stand the heat - definitely. Why did they never think of putting shutters on houses I'll never know!!!
Planning on going to the zillions of places I never get to go, starting with the national art gallery and all the rest... Planning of getting a real shake up to the computers at home, eventually to throw out all the useless bits and bobs... Planning of finishing off the website (while in Pisa I actually made it to upgrade Php4, and now the moment of truth would come - the install of EzPublish - ... Planning of finishing to reorganize shoes, clothes and stuff... Planning on shape up the balcony and tidying up the plants, find out why the hydrangea looks so bad, and so on....
I don't believe for a second I'll get to do any of these... ha ha ha. That's why I'm on holiday, right? Ah well, I should, actually.

Italy wins the World Cup 2006!!!

So there! The first half was pure class, entirely dominating the field and coming back after the shock of the penalty with some courage and enthusiasm! Italians are like that, we can rest on laurel if there's any, but give us a challenge, give us some reason to really shit ourselves and we'll always show the world we can fight, and fight for real!
Our goal was the only action-goal of the match, and an excellent one at that!
The second half, admittedly, was theirs - they were simply good; as they've been through the extra time... I think every Italian suffered every single minute of it...
But then, hey, your man Zedan simply wasn't up to the standard that a player like that should have kept.. no idea what he was told to provoke such a reaction, but there's no reason in the world why such a career should end in shame this way - pity for him. And good for us, of course!
Winning at penalties isn't that sweet - as much as loosing at penalties is a bitter affair.
For me, my Dad, and lots of others, the real Final was last Tuesday with Germany - that was a much better match, and we played far better there, deserving the win with utter class against arrogance, horrid sportsmanship through the whistles during our National Anthem.
1982 was far better, of course.
However, we can debate till the end... bottom line is that WE WON!!! and we are all, absolutely happy!!!!!

Paradise is...

There's millions of Paradises of course... this one is among the best though: lying in a cool, fresh pool in the middle of the trees, icy cold white wine in one hand, ciggy in the other, the noise of zillions of summer insects all around (there's one noise in particular, no idea what's the English for it though), and in front of you the panorama of the whole Pisa plain, with the wonderful Piazza dei Miracoli standing out, the blue of the sea in the distance, the air so clear you can make out a bit of Corsica on the one side, and a bit of whichever island in front (forgot which one, shame on me)... and the dog barking loud at the few cyclists that venture up our road...
This is truly, completely marvelous.... and yes, I'm blogging now, but I'm going to be right back in the pool in a second :-)

Tidbits

Simply to record the 2nd stage of the Mint Pineapple Chops:
slapped the content of the bowl directly into the wok, covered, and let simmer slowly for 20 mins. Side is boiled baby potatoes, and a happy salad (lettuce, fennel, corn, feta cheese, tomatoes dressed in olive oil and white vinegar).
Well, we did like it a lot! Glad I logged it.

The Quest

EZpublish is without a doubt the one that looks better: a CMS that's database, platform and browser independent. Distributed under GNU, has the following system requirements:
Apache 1.3 only
PHP 4.4.xlatest configured to use MySql. With the php.ini modified so that default "memory_settings" equals 64MB instead of the usual (eZpublish is a hungry beast).
Image conversion system (GD that comes with PHP is ok)
MySql any version (or others)
Why didn't it work? because the upgrade to php4.4 failed miserably as I installed with EasyPhp... I suppose the only way out is to do the manual install...

Even looked at Hotcakes CMS... for install under IIS5 with ASP... puah!!! horrid...
Thank god that didn't work either :-D
And because I'm really, really lazy, I'm still looking at a WAMP that mounts the requirements for eZpublish... (the one I found, is great, but doesn't mount MySql, and the Apache version is 2.. !!!)

[to be continued]

Stuck...

To go between php 4.3.x to 4.4.x is not an easy task... especially if you cheated with EasyPhp as I did ;-)
After screwing up an installation I began reading up - and, oh god, people get stuck during a default normal install, let alone mine!
So - of course - got a break and decided to cook up something that had to be cooked tonight anyway (but zero appetite, so it was to be perfect for tomorrow).
Ayo always complains he gets to eat great stuff but always only once, as I forget what I do with it, so better begin to log it.
So here it is.. jump it out as this is quite girly.. I promise I'll add a separate Recipe section ASAP!
Disclaimer: this is for myself.. hence, I assume people have the same cooking skills, and will jump out obvious steps. If it doesn't turn out, don't bother reading other recipes as they won't turn out either.
Objective: 4 pork chops to be cooked but eaten (hence perfect for) tomorrow.
So this is a recipe to be done in 2 stages, and this is 1st stage of the preparation process.
MINT PINAPPLE CHOPS
(Preparation=50mins including preparation and washing up)
There's 4 of them, so stir frying has to be done in 2 different pans (one after the other, or two at the same time) to allow them to room about.
(for 1 pan): Stir fry half a big white onion in a good, fuming, oil mix (olive oil as base, 4 drops mustard oil, 2 drops sesame oil, 1 drop chili oil, good splash of groundnut oil) at really high heat.
In the meantime chops are washed (they use a saw to cut them around here, so there's always plenty of bone-dust to get rid of) and have been abundantly dusted (and pressed) with the following mixture of spices: a lot of paprika, good ground salt, ground cumin, ground ginger, fresh chopped mint.
Fry the chops at medium heat in the fresh onion stir fry mixture (by now golden brown).
Once almost ready, pile them up in a tall bowl alternating with layers of fresh pineapple pieces and whole mint leaves - add the leftover oil and caramelized onion pieces.
Cover and let cool down - ready for the fridge in a couple of hours.
2nd stage of cooking can be done the day after or the day after that (max).
Will post it whenever I'm making it, as not sure what to do with them yet, nor the side to have with it.
At this stage, cooking is finished, posting about it also, so got to continue study how to make this bloody php upgrade, as it's frustrating not to be able to go on just because of it!!!!

Webdesign

It was what..? 5 years since I was playing with the web? Amazing.
And - of course - I forgot the lot, all the details. Just remember there were tons of fileconfig changes in millions of modules... and because of Tobozo and the gang I just was starting with the assumption that it was way too complex. Me and my insecurities! That got me wasting years.
Anyway - those are simply not there anymore, or destroyed (finally) by constantly proving to myself I can achieve absolutely anything I want to.
So here I am - with an entirely different attitude - to build finally that scary website I have always had in mind.
#################
Objectives:
#################
Nothing to say, I do want to start big, never liked the small steps in between... !!
On a simple Apache, Php, MySql platform (shamefully on Win32) there's going to be an amazing CMS (just found a great one!) with zillions of features, this blog, a good TWiki for repository, an educational software app (Moodle might run here) to write tutorials to my heart content whenever I'm bitten by that bug.
##############
Roadmap:
#############
It will be quite a slow process... most certainly will run locally, and might actually put it in a VM image, just to be able to play with it from my portable HDD. That wouldn't be a bad idea actually... might leave the laptop at home and just bring the HDD on holidays...
Given the holidays I'm planning, it's going to be truly wonderful!!!
Let's say it'll take a couple of months to put it together, it's going to be around September I map it to thejollyzone.net and release it from current DNS.
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ETA:
##########
I'm looking at December I believe, before the full site is up in production.
And then of course, there will be the great part of adding all content and playing with it!!!
###################
Expectations:
###################
Incredibly high, of course, when I'm both the user and the developer... no limit to enhancement requests really.... although some strong PM will be needed to avoid running the risk incurred into years ago... where the whole lot failed because the scope was continuously stretched to accommodate new things.
I suppose the reason for this post is simply a statement to keep the scope fixed (albeit admittedly farfetched).
#######################
Resources so far:
#######################
EasyPhp 1.8 download
EasyPhp Install and basic Configuration
Installing Apache on Win32
Configuring Apache on Win32

Download PHP v 4.4.2. This is system requirements for eZpublish, because EasyPhp installs PHP 4.3.9
Current CSM of choice - Download eZpublish
System requirements for eZpublish

Under review....

Matia's editing skills and pc skills are much needed.... don't be surprised if the blog will be sanitized shortly, it's currently spinning completely out of control :-)

Ayo is always right!!!

And there you go, me stubborn as always. I have the advantage of a friend that not only is usually right, he's absolutely always right, and has been continuously for the past ten years... and what do I do? I consistently ask him for advice, and then I do the exact opposite of what he says...
And I wake up in the morning, and I see a reply to a text I forgot I sent, and I should have not sent, and... "Holy Sh*T!!!"

Stonehenge in the Amazon!!

Archaeologists with the Amapa Institute of Scientific and Technological Research said they uncovered the ruins near Calcoene, 390 kilometers (240 miles) from Macapa, the capital of Amapa state, near Brazil's border with French Guyana.

"Only a society with a complex culture could have built such a monument," archaeologist Mariana Petry Cabral, of the Amapa Institute of Scientific and Technological Research (IEPA)

The pre-colonial observatory was built of 127 blocks of granite each three meters (10 feet) high, arranged upright and evenly spaced in circles in an open field. The archaeologists do not know yet when the structure was built, but ceramic fragments found nearby suggest that it is between 500 and 2,000 years old.

Researchers are comparing the discovery to Stonehenge, a mysterious stone circle in southern England that was built between 3000 and 1600 BC

Read the full story here:

News Mongabay
or in Italian (translate with Bablefish)_ more accurate content here:
La Repubblica

Warm healthy salad

Lettuce, red and yellow peppers, scallions, beef tomatoes, roasted and chopped aubergines, spicy turkey strips
Apparently it was a success! and having Martin and Sofia over was great, finally we get the bear out of his poker cave :-D
Unbelievably left the place tidy, and - a lot less unbelievably - went to bed way too late once again... so today I'm asleep while walking once again... I can't wait for winter to come over, so that I'll go into hibernation again... summertime is wonderful, but extremely tiring... I need to sleep badly!!! (And do tell it to Zeebee, who wakes me up punctually at 6 each and every morning... but hey, how can you hold it against him, when the only reason why he wakes me up is that he was missing me through the night and wants to play? I cannot wait until his little sister joins the family, maybe they'll play together and let me sleep....) !!!!
Ah yes, of course, didn't post this one yet.
To the dismay of a recently acquired friend (who cannot stand cats, now, never heard anything so terrible!!!) Zeebee and I had "booked" a little sister for him a couple of months ago, and been waiting for her to be born and then to reach an age such than she can survive without her mother.
Given upcoming holidays and all the rest, she'll join the family at the end of July, and unless her face is going to be completely different than what I expect, her name will be Zoy.
In theory she could have come over mid-July, but I'm not here, and Ayo-the-best is going to stay over and look after Zeebee... and I would die of jealousy if he was to enjoy Zeebee and Zoy all on his own... cannot have that!!!
And really cannot wait to have this other new kitten... may be she'll stand smoke better than Zeebee? Each time "something" is lit, Zeebee simply goes off and looks at me soo reproachingly that's unbelievable.

Sleepless in Dublin

Without all of those connotations of the movie (don't even remember if I liked it or not? Which one was it?) the title is appropriate for last night alright.
Managed to hear it all about Simon's kids, guitars, cars, women, recent successes and difficulties - it's always wonderful to become friends, and it's such a slow process that it's even nicer when it happens. It makes me very happy really.
And then did have a great night with another friend, now, I do believe I'm lucky :-)
Only problem is that I'm supposed to be writing this serious stuff, which isn't even boring, mind you, but my eyes are closing on their own accord at the moment, so posting on the blog might wake me up.
Another cup of coffee won't go wasted either, had no espresso left this morning!!!
Anyway: another day, another busy day, another happy day. The glass continues to be half full, and it's been half full for so long that it's marvelous.
And no, I don't flee reality, I just find reality wonderful and interesting and alive :-)

Monday evening... prospect is bleak!!!

Ok, I actually realised I cannot post stuff about these things anymore... but I'm glad to report I've been already successful in influencing the new director's decisions... let's just hope I'll be able to do this for the money also, then it's going to be real cool....
The best news of the day is that I'll be reporting to her, and she's as cool as a breeze, I'll learn tons in a flash!!!!! Just seriously cannot wait :-)
As for tonight.... hummm..... complex thingy here:
1) catch up with Ayo [did I have to do anything on my pc? I can't remember!]
2) catch up with Simon at the 12th lock [ simply cannot say no!!!]
3) catch up with Sofia and offer the shoulder and a much needed hug
3) catch up with Mananan [strenuous exercise needed]
4) kind of trying to straighten up my place?
This is a pretty complex evening.... considering that it won't start before 6 because of the match and the rest....
Ok, but I do need to do something for myself, right?
Guess I cannot say no to Simon and Sofia, might try to squeeze in Mananan, but that's about it... oh lord, why don't days have a span of 48hours?

>>> and as an afterthought... when am I to sleep??????????????????

Monday morning... and I'm dead!!!

ok, last nite I really overdid it....
5 hours sleep aren't enough. Period.
no amount of coffee will put me right today...
and the mood is gray and rainy as it is outside right now...
and didn't even have my ice-cream ... which I guess is icy, stone cold still in the freezer.. ah well!!!!

Delightful weekend!!!

This is paradise. Back in dear old Dublin, with these summer temperatures that are so cool you need a fleece most of the time, and you definitely know if you have a window open as you're basically freezing. Wonderful!!!
Paradise today is to spend it like yesterday: smoking a good few thingies and drinking black coffee - a refreshing pause from the late wine drinking - and spending all the time online, blissfully ignoring the entire and complete mess my place (the lot of it!) is now in.
Oh yes, I should iron some ton of clothes - clean but wringed, so I can't wear it.. and oh yes, I should actually tidy up at least the living room as I can't even walk around anymore, let alone find stuff...
Instead I'm curled up in my armchair, enjoying the latest huge painting (yes, I did it, but it's still a very nice one..), regretting not having my digi-cam anymore, so I cannot upload the painting up here for you all to enjoy (or sneer, whichever).
My wonderful friend Ayo has began restoring one of my computers, and of course I can't be bothered in assisting him (he's a great tech, anyway, despite what he thinks!!! and he knows only too well, that assisting in doing tech stuff is far too similar to work for me to enjoy doing it anymore)...
However, all of his work has resulted in my system being back up and running, and with good enough specs that I'm thinking to actually bother go buy some serious hdd and host TheJollyZone on my own.
At the end of the day, I do need to put some order among my stuff - and even if the room is messy, the bedroom can't be walked in, the kitchen is impassable, the guest room is ok simply because Ayo straightened it out, the bathrooms are some funky experience... well, in this full and complete mess, what am I thinking of reorganizing? My docs and tech stuff, of course!!!!
If I'll actually leave the tech world as it looks likely at this stage, I really do not want to see these ten years of hard, passionate work lost.
And yet, I'm so much 100% into what I do, that I leave zero memory allocated to the past, and this usually results in forgetting everything.
I forgot all there was to forget of my previous life: don't know anymore anything about history, philosophy, literature, theater, art, linguistics, glottology, even grammar (as this blog is - I'm painfully aware - full of grammatical and spelling mistakes.. something that ten years ago would have never happened!)
I want to restore TheJollyZone for good, and put it in a repository fashion. Put there all the gigs of documentation I read in these ten years, all the utilities and tools I fell in love with, basically all my stuff - before I get to forget it.
So there you go - found my DNS hosting, and studying TWiki - the love of the moment.
As for men?
Well, some exercise goes a long way in keeping me fit :-)
And although the best of the best risks to get me falling in love head over heals, but doesn't seem to care that much - right now that I do - of course... well, I might give a call back to Mananan, his idea of a sporty friendship mightn't be that foolish, after all.
Don't know... all of that requires time, and at the moment I'm having a great ball simply tech-ing about :-)

From Venice with... sweat!!!

And here we go, back in Venice and it's warm, really warm!
Defending myself with a big huge ventilator at the back, plus another one in the front, and still dripping sweat while sitting down and not moving at all.... My goodness, and thinking I used to live around here... !!! wow...

Spending a little time teaching my mum how to use the internet - yes, some still need to learn, and it's never too late!!! and it's really a humbling experience to do this and then writing on your blog using another nationality's keyboard... it took the full 60seconds of 1 minute before I could find the apostrophe in the Italian keyboard... now, that was just as frustratingly infuriating as it must be for my mum to learn how to view things in a web page...
Of course, people that haven't a clue about the internet get swayed and misled by the myriads of things any web page presents to them... we forget sometimes, but this is such a new way of communicate for people of different generations that it is still incredible to see how difficult it is for them... exactly as it was for us all that time ago.. But we do forget that, don't we? Like we forget how difficult it was to learn to read and write, and so on.

Anyway, back now to my hot Venice and my delightful little niece :-)

(And yes, I will post her picture sooner rather than later!!!)

Oh yeah... got it alright!!

And it did happen... it's the longest time I've been in the same company, but it's paying off... promoted again :-)
And.. The job is going to be absolutely wonderful!!!!!
I really cannot wait for it to be announced, for me to begin working on it. Absolutely smashing!!!!

TheJollyZone... the business?

Ah, finally.... I think I do know now what to do with this.
It'll take a year to get cert in the relevant skills - then a few months to get info and draw up a business plan...
After all - with the format of the business I have in mind - I should be able to continue working as of now without any problem, dedicating to the business a couple of nights a week and 1 weekend day....
Will do the business plan alright - and if the figure match, there you go, TheJollyZone Inc will be born :-)