about
Life goes on around me and until recently I've just let it. But since I've been working on this site, I have found that there are many things that annoy me about the world, and that there is also lots that make me laugh. Additionally I never cease to be amazed at the bizarre (to me) nature of the world and its inhabitants. I figure my opinions are of very little interest to anyone - but I enjoy using this 'blog' as my own aide memoire and makeshift diary. The site contains all manner of subject matter. Rants and raves, commentary on world news events and technology, my pictures and occasional articles on photography. Plus items about software and hardware that I use. Add to this the odd bit of history, politics, and art and you you've got - well a bit of a mess really. This doesn't bother me particularly, the nature of the site mirrors my life.
The main site is built on the excellent Drupal content management system (CMS) which I have used before, but now it has reached maturity, it is proving itself excellent for storing anything and everything of interest to me and hopefully to others. But - I have struggled to put together a coherent system for storing photographic images. Drupal falls short in this area (with the myriad modules) making it more complex than it should be. So I have variously tried a static page solution Jalbum, and two dedicaed database methods Coppermine and Gallery. All of which made everything look a bit samey (without monumental amounts of work) and/or had weaknesses that out-weighed their strengths. What I've ended up with feels a little like using a slege hammer to crack a walnut - with a Wordpress installation using the NextGen gallery plugin by Alex Rabe. This kind of works in a way that I find logical, is easier to maintain and importantly is something I can skin easily to blend in with the main site.
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