Miscellaneous: November 2004 Archives

No new knitting to talk about because four the last 24 hours I've been spending most of my free time trying to figure out how to get BookQueueToo installed properly with MT.

I've always been a little jealous of those TypePad folks who can easily post their current reading list. SixApart obviously does a lot of nice things for the bloggers they host. I like to read Six Apart's Professional Network blog to help me keep up with new widgets, ideas and interesting plugins for MT. And there was BookQueueToo -- my opportunity to add a book list to my blog site.

Of course, nothing comes without a little pain. I've had to ask my webhost (AddAction.com) to add a Perl module (which they did within 15 minutes of my request -- how's that for good service?). I've had to install some Perl modules in my local MT libraries (I have not quite been able to finish this to my satisfaction yet, but it's coming) and I had to find a problem in my MT config that I didn't know was a problem until today. I also had to register for some things at Amazon.com in order to be able to use their book search services.

Then I had to figure out how to add books to the list (very easy, very cool, all based on Amazon searching) and add the right tags to my template so that the books I am now reading can be seen (you can see it in the far right column, above my list of current projects, complete with pictures of the books).

I feel like I've had a tech-y victory. And you know, I didn't want to go to bed early anyway.

P.S. I'm off to see my brother in Texas (yes, a Red State, I know, but he's employed and happily married, and makes a mean creme brulee, so one has to make a few sacrifices) for the week of Thanksgiving. Not sure how regular my posting will be next week...

One of the most complicated things (I think) about voting in Chicago (and probably in Illinois) is dealing with the retention of judges. It's part of our voting process here. One of the things I will be taking with me this morning to the polls is The Chicago Council of Lawyers Judge Evaluations (you can find the full report here and the short version to take to the polls here).

While the presidential election is definitely important, this judicial retention vote should be taken seriously, too. Judges need to receive 60% of the vote to be retained. And there are some people who definitely don't deserve to be retained (Like Dorothy Jones, who impeded the adoption process for two same-sex couples because she doesn't believe in adoption for same-sex couples, and it is perfectly legal in Illinois for same sex couples to adopt.)

The Chicago Bar Association also has a recommendation list. You can find it here