Elizabeth's Blog

Just got my copy of Beginning PHP5, Apache & MySQL translated into Russian. This goes along with my Polish and my Italian copies. What cracks me up is that the screen shots are all the originals, still in English, so these poor PHPers trying to learn have no idea what a “successful” screen says, only that it matches what is shown in the book. Good luck, guys!

We have a very fat, very lovable cat named Stan who apparently has his nose out of joint for some reason. Out of the blue, he decided he was no longer going to use the litter box, or at least not every time he needed to do his business. Because we have 2 large dogs and 2 not-so-large kids as well, we have hardwood floors throughout our house and have postponed any rug purchase until which time we can be sure that damage done to said rug will be minimal.

So while it was an easy cleanup to take care of Stan’s indiscretions, it was still a pain in the ass. We tried numerous things like switching brands of litter, using lemon juice to mask the smell of previous indiscretions and putting plastic down on the touchy areas. (That’s a nice look in your living room, by the way). We also then banished him to the basement when we weren’t home to keep an eye on him. I felt bad for the poor little guy, but it had to be done if he was to maintain his position in our home.

This worked fine for a while, but I knew he was plotting his revenge- you know how cats are.

This morning I go bounding down the stairs to the basement and I see a pool of dark red liquid all over. Like everyone else, I’m sure, we had previously decided to store our half-used cans of paint right next to the basement stairs, and Stan “conveniently” found the one that was cranberry red and the lid not quite on tight enough to “accidentally” knock over.

As I was (still in my bathrobe) cleaning this sticky dark red mess I glanced down at my hands, which were of course covered in the red goo. And the bag of paper towels next to me were all soaked in red. I chuckled to myself and thought what an opportune moment it would be if a neighbor decided to stop by just then. Of course, it looked like I had massacred someone in our basement (and it still does, by the way).

I know Stan was laughing at me secretly, but he must have also realized our true love for animals (me, the vegetarian, and my husband who is so against animal testing that we boycott P&G items in our house because of their policies) … because miraculously he didn’t step in it and track it all over the place.

I’m sure there’s something on the market that will clean it all up for good, so I’m not too worried about it (in fact I thought it was kind of funny). After all, Stan’s my baby.

The latest edition of International PHP Magazine is out, with the next in my PHP From the Shop Floor series. This time I focused on a site called Collaborcare, who aims to connect people in need with people who care, all while using PHP to drive the site. It’s an interesting site and a great idea.

Despite my best efforts, I have always struggled with the “girl” things. Things like plucking eyebrows, accesorizing an outfit, putting on makeup the correct way. Those kinds of things. This morning, as I dutifully go through my routine, my full can of $15 hairspray decides to attack me. After all I’ve done for it, this is the thanks I get.

Ok, so I dropped it. On the hardwood floor. My fault, I know. But when I drop it, the little nozzle thingy gets bent and stuck in the “permanently spraying” position. So now I’m in my bathrobe trying to fix this aerosol can and not get sprayed in the eyes. Thankfully I’m a slob, so there was my towel readily available on the floor- I grab it and try to smother the thing, but it was to no avail. It’s continuing to spray (and stink up the joint I might add). I ended up throwing the thing outside where it could spray to it’s heart’s content. I know my neighbors think I’m a complete idiot. (And it’s still spraying by the way)