Peter Anderson’s braindump Blog

Selected as a ‘block’ with mouse, then copied CTRL+C then CTRL + B to blog it. Seems to NOT carry across any formatting – - check Yahoo 360 Blog.

Today’s Date17/07/2006 9:50:36 AMDaily Entries. Antelope Juice/Seamonkey/Flock….That heading probably got your attention. I am often amused at the pet names of software releases. When scanning the news, and surfing as I do, I often find useful applications with funny names.Antelope Juice is NOT a code name, rather it came from me. One that did grab my attention and is now in regular use, is:SeaMonkey. Hails from Mozilla and is recommended for trial.FLOCK is also worth a look.PC PresentationsEver want to present something to a group? Like to use a PC? Don’t have (or want to use) Powerpoint?The good news is you can! All you need is a working PC with your choice of Operating System, a standards based browser, and a working NET connection.Presentation Toolkit. This page will link to a number of example pages and some useful tools. The presentations themselves are web based, stand alone and require no more than the Internet Address. Example Page: Cross Browser Slide Show. M.S. Ambassador (Melbourne) Slideshow.Customisation means that all graphics will re-size with the ‘available’ screen. Re-sizing of text and graphics is available using the usual browser commands. Use FULL SCREEN [F11] for best results.Each Page conforms to the appropriate w3c standard, and is ‘open source’ for the coders…WEB Newsletter? TemplateSome time ago, during writing some code and experimenting, I came up with:A page I built that uses NO HORIZONTAL SCROLL BARS, regardless of screen size. Using lots of CSS and relative sizing, I managed to conquer a pet hate.Page Stats: Tested →IE • Mozilla Firefox • Opera 8 • FlockConformance: W3c xHTML 1.0 Strict3 Column TemplateAn example layout. An example page probably with too much happening on the page… I do have a habit of over crowding and usually go back to the page edit process and try to remember the ‘less is more’ guideline.This is a 3 column template where the right and left hand side, side bars hold links and buttons etc. The centre column contains the main content. It is a dynamic page with rotating graphics and a range of uncommon features. The top banner graphic will re-size according to the user screen size. The graphics in the RHS Side Bar will change at each page load.The top right of the page contains an experimental Navigation Panel, that is able to load new sections, pages or alternate style sheets with font, font size and colour changes.What may end up being finished, one day… ‘My Perspective’ an idea for an e-Mag of sorts.The page works and ‘conforms’ with Opera. However, I am not a fan of how it re-sizes the ‘fluid’ centre column.Example Page (My Perspective)Page Stats: Tested →IE • Mozilla Firefox • Opera 8 • FlockConformance: W3c xHTML 1.0 StrictColour Cleansing.Time Clock: 16/07/2006 1:05:07 PMI have slowed somewhat with the style sheet edits. I am more focuing on actually completing one first; then I will update the others,I quite like colours. I get terribly confused due to my colour blindness. Things, often every day things, just seem to change colour. It is common for me to have ‘no recollection’ of colour.I have started the creation of a more ‘arty’ banner for the top of the page. I am slowly editing the style sheet colours to suit.I figure the less colours there are, the less chance of them “CLASHING”.15/07/2006 ↓Rockstar SuperNova.Toby Rand is the only Australian with a chance of joining Supernova. Given that I am acquainted with him and a) believe he should win, and b) KNOW he is truly a great aussie. I thought I would use him as a topic for a trial of a new idea.Photo AlbumIdea? To put together a web based photo album that offers some different features. * Allows text AND thumbnail graphic re-sizing across all browsers. Each thumbnail is ready to link to a relevant page (some of these are operational)Excerpt from: Week 2 Elimination Recap.But Toby, who values critique (“I figure we might as well listen to you while we’ve got this opportunity because you can’t buy this kind of advice”), was given the spotlight. The hunky Aussie with the “good head on his shoulders” was asked to perform the encore and he rocked the house with his rousing version of The Killer’s “Somebody Told Me.” Million$$$ – Millionaire by Lunchtime!Thanks to Abdul Simsalabim, and several others. ALL have promised a percentage of monies, sometimes stuck in foreign, hostile countries. Totalled all together, I have had a good day! ((That is if I was to believe the bulltish spam emails…)) – which I don’t! Cheap/FREE Phone Calls (VoIP)Today, during my regular News & Forum scan, I found a really useful article. Found in the OzMS Forum, it may well, not only be useful, but SAVE you money.Voice Over I.P. VoIPCheap Phone Calls! • Landlines, Mobiles • Conference Calls • ….Thanks to Darren, the tireless Webmaster of OzMS for the info!I bore easily and like to stay busy (doing something). The result of this means that I often add articles here, that usually comprise of some esoteric topic, and often double as a test of some code.I am continuing to change, add to and update the various style sheets. This is working out well, and I am keeping busy. Some of them are more for testing and are not as readable as they should be, or WILL be. There are also some colours in need of change.Photo AlbumLatest tinkering was to piece together a photo album, or at least to outline the idea and to make a working start.First found at a CSS Resource, then edited and changed to suit. It now allows for the re-sizing of the ‘thumbnails’ along with the text.Example Page:Thumbnail Picture AlbumOther ArticlesThis section currently houses a number of ‘other’ articles, and tests of various techniques….<<– snippets –>>Worldwide, tobacco causes one in five cancer deaths, or 1.4 million deaths each year…..Worldwide, tobacco causes one in five cancer deaths, or 1.4 million deaths each year. An estimated 1.25 billion men and women around the globe smoke cigarettes. The staggering statistics, detailed in the new Cancer Atlas and updated Tobacco Atlas, were released at the International Union Against Cancer conference in Washington, D.C., on Monday. Health officials said that reducing tobacco use, improving nutrition and decreasing infection by cancer-causing viruses could cut global cancer rates sharply. “We know with cancer, if we take action now, we can save two million lives a year by 2020 and 6.5 million by 2040,” said Dr. Judith Mackay, a World Health Organization senior policy adviser. The numbers in Canada are similarly sobering with tobacco use accounting for almost 30 per cent of all fatal cancers. Health Canada projects 153,100 new cases of cancer and 70,400 cancer deaths for 2006. According to Statistics Canada, 22 per cent of Canadians aged 12 or older were smokers in 2005, down from 23 per cent in 2003. The cancer and tobacco atlases were published by the American Cancer Society with assistance from the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.↓ What is M.S? ↓date13/07/2006 1:31:01 PMThis is an example News Item. Each entry on this page is contained in a closed drawerWhat is Multiple Sclerosis?An unpredictable disease of the central nervous system, multiple sclerosis (MS) can range from relatively benign to somewhat disabling to devastating, as communication between the brain and other parts of the body is disrupted. Many investigators believe MS to be an autoimmune disease — one in which the body, through its immune system, launches a defensive attack against its own tissues. In the case of MS, it is the nerve-insulating myelin that comes under assault. Such assaults may be linked to an unknown environmental trigger, perhaps a virus.Most people experience their first symptoms of MS between the ages of 20 and 40; the initial symptom of MS is often blurred or double vision, red-green color distortion, or even blindness in one eye. Most MS patients experience muscle weakness in their extremities and difficulty with coordination and balance. These symptoms may be severe enough to impair walking or even standing. In the worst cases, MS can produce partial or complete paralysis. Most people with MS also exhibit paresthesias, transitory abnormal sensory feelings such as numbness, prickling, or “pins and needles” sensations. Some may also experience pain. Speech impediments, tremors, and dizziness are other frequent complaints. Occasionally, people with MS have hearing loss. Approximately half of all people with MS experience cognitive impairments such as difficulties with concentration, attention, memory, and poor judgment, but such symptoms are usually mild and are frequently overlooked. Depression is another common feature of MS.Is there any treatment?There is as yet no cure for MS. Many patients do well with no therapy at all, especially since many medications have serious side effects and some carry significant risks. However, three forms of beta interferon (Avonex, Betaseron, and Rebif) have now been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for treatment of relapsing-remitting MS. Beta interferon has been shown to reduce the number of exacerbations and may slow the progression of physical disability. When attacks do occur, they tend to be shorter and less severe. The FDA also has approved a synthetic form of myelin basic protein, called copolymer I (Copaxone), for the treatment of relapsing-remitting MS. Copolymer I has few side effects, and studies indicate that the agent can reduce the relapse rate by almost one third. An immunosuppressant treatment, Novantrone (mitoxantrone ), is approved by the FDA for the treatment of advanced or chronic MS…………..↓ Rockstar Supernova ↓Toby RandRockstar Supernova. A friend of Nicole (my daughter) is currently in Los Angeles in the Supernova reality show – search for a Rock Star. He is quickly being recognised as a real Aussie Talent! From a shared coffee with an old guy…. A real genuine, nice bloke!Update: Toby survived the second round, as expected. He was chosen as the ’standout’ performer this week, and got to perform an encore (which I think was was not as good).Re-Instatement after upgrade of facilities. pbWiki. A page that can be used for collaboration and can be edited by anyone.

Peter Anderson, Melbourne Australia. Project: Overflow 001 11/07/2006 9:39:41 AM.

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