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It was a bad day

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Written by Michael Richey Saturday, 05 May 2012 21:40

Friday was tough.

My 19 year old cat Polly was at the end of her run.  My friends and I rescued her litter after their mother disappeared.   I spent weeks bottle feeding kittens every day until the day the litter was weened, then she came home with me.  She was so tiny, I used a shallow piece of tupperware for her cat box.  The first time she used it, she got her front paws in, scratched around for a second, squatted - and crapped on the floor.  That was the only time, until recently, that she ever missed the litter box.

We're pretty sure she had a stroke a few weeks ago, and she had been going downhill ever since.  Normally, she was a bitch.  We weren't her owners - we were her servants, there for her pleasure.  It was sad to see what she had become.  She had a long life, especially when compared to the rest of her litter - which I believe she outlived by at least 15 years.

Really, she was a great cat.  When the lights went out, she would whisper, she loved bare toes in an almost obscene way, and she was a better alarm clock than any clock I've ever owned.  Everyone is going to miss her.

Monday will be just as tough.  She was well loved, so we decided to have her cremated so she can still be with us.

For those of you who have pets, love them and cherish the time you have.  They have short lives compared to us, but they can have a huge impact in their short time.

 

RicheyWeb Joomla 1.5 extensions are no longer available

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Written by Michael Richey Thursday, 26 April 2012 21:22

Joomla 1.5 reached end-of-life in April of 2012.  The Joomla core developers will continue to provide security updates for several months, but the version is no longer supported.  You can learn more by starting here:  http://docs.joomla.org/Upgrading_and_Migrating_Joomla

Likewise, those still running Joomla 1.6 or 1.7 should also consider upgrading immediately.  My extensions are compatible with these versions, but since these have also reached end-of-life, they should be abandoned for the latest 2.5 version (or greater).

For those of you still running Joomla 1.5, I must appologize for making this decision.  I spend a considerable amount of time writing and supporting Joomla extensions and maintaining a separate version for Joomla 1.5 for each of my extensions is a huge burdon.   The extensions will no longer be available for download, nor will they receive any support or updates.

 

I Snoozed... and Lost

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Written by Michael Richey Wednesday, 04 April 2012 11:21

Looking through the Joomla New Extensions feed last night, I saw a new extension named Profiler.  Can you believe it? - Profiler - the name I'd given one of my apps which is still in development.  Of course, I was initially worried that someone had  released my extension as their own - but that doesn't appear to be the case.
This Profiler extension is the biggest steaming pile of crap I've ever seen.  Not only does it barely work (in some cases - it dies with a PHP Fatal Error), but it actually perpetuates some of the things that Community Builder has done - in the worst way.  So, after spending an hour or so going through the source code to verify that it isn't my code - I came to realize that only the name was stolen.... and pissed on - thoroughly.
So, since my code is safe, I'm taking the things I've learned and rewriting it into a new extension with a new name - a secret name.
 

Is Slashdot censoring posts?

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Written by Michael Richey Wednesday, 15 February 2012 16:10

This has happened to me only twice, but it concerns me nonetheless.  Both times, I have decided to post as AC (Anonymous Coward) because of the controvercial nature of my comments.  Both times, I challenged mainstream opinion with statements by the accepted authorities.  Both times, within an hour, my post vanished.

I'm a little torn...  I've been participating with the Slashdot community for years, and I'd like to continue because it's "News for Nerds" and I claim that category.  On the other hand, I'm 100% against censorship.  I'm sure that my participation won't change their policies or practices, and I'm equally sure that they don't make any money from me (I never click ads - ever).

   

What's good for the soul...

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Last Updated on Thursday, 16 June 2011 08:47 Written by Michael Richey Thursday, 16 June 2011 08:24

... isn't necessarily good for the wallet.
At the end of April, I was laid off from the Dallas Independent School District.  I wasn't alone, 449 other people were laid off, including my entire department.  Many things can be said about the layoffs, and many are well covered in the comments in the article I linked, so I won't go into further detail...  It was a great job and I'll miss it and the people I worked with.
Since then, I've been sending out my resume and applying to local companies and doing almost everything possible to avoid taking any unemployment assistance.  I say almost because I've turned down several development requests in the last few weeks.  Rather than compromise my ideals, I'm choosing to keep my conscience clear and turn down jobs that would require me to write software for use in the porn or gambling industries.  Don't get me wrong, I don't pass judgement on anyone - that's not my place.  I think everyone is entitled to exercise their free-will, but I don't want to have any part of some activities.
 

Immitation is the best form...

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Last Updated on Wednesday, 12 October 2011 21:30 Written by Michael Richey Tuesday, 22 March 2011 18:12

That's what they say, but it still bothers me a bit.
I've been writing free extensions for Joomla for a while now.  There is one criteria that must be met before I'll write a Joomla extension:
  1. No free extension currently exists that does the same thing
It's pretty simple.
If I'm writing a free version of an existing commercial extension, I specifically avoid the commercial extension so that my code is absolutely unique and doesn't violate any copyrights.
So, this afternoon I was looking through the new extensions and found "Awo Email Login" by Seyi Awofadeju, or should I say - copied by Seyi Awofadeju.  After downloading the Awo Email Login extension and comparing the code to my Authentication - Email extension, I found that Seyi had basically deleted the language files and changed a couple of variable names and released it as his own.  Seriously, it's 100% identical to the code I released over a month earlier.
Update 10-12-2011:
Seyi Awofadeju has brought it to my attention that he, in fact, released a version of his plugin in a forum a little over two weeks prior to the release of my plugin.  He pointed out that both are based on a core Joomla plugin, and that he was offended by my accusation.  I can admit that I was wrong in making the accusation, and I appologize.  I'm sorry Seyi.
Then, I found Secure Authentication by Michael Epstein J.  I'm not as upset about this extension, because the code is distinct from my own AdminExile extension.  I don't agree with his methods, but they're effective and accomplish the same thing as my extension released over a month earlier.
OK, I'm finished with my rant.
   

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