Webb Family Blog

Today has been a deceivingly productive day.  It started off with the realization that our front lawn wasn’t looking good (grass uneven in height) and that it needed to be mowed NOW!  It was about to start raining and I didn’t want it to be wet when I mowed, so I jumped out of bed, quickly threw on some clothes, and mowed the front lawn.  Kellie was initially still asleep when I started doing this… around 9:30 AM.  Bear, on the other-hand, wanted to be out front with me.  He "told" Kellie that I was outside and wanted to be there too.  As I was finishing the last strip, I was met by Kellie and Bear.  I put the lawn mower away and we headed out for a walk.  We then sat down and watched a movie… National Treasure.  It had recorded on our high-definition (HDTV) digital video recorder. 

Another task that I worked on today was… again… on my blog.  My parents have complained that the size of text was too small to read.  One solution is in your browser, go to "View" and scroll down to text size.  You can make text either larger or smaller.  After you close the browser though, it may not return to the same size the next time you come back.  I found a way that SHOULD increase the text size.  I’ve been looking into the programming of my WordPress theme.  A theme is the look and feel of the page.  There are literally thousands of themes to choose from.  Beyond that, they can also be modified, if you know what you are doing.  Essentially, this here blog is a database and a database viewer.  When I write an article, I use a program called Qumana, that is similar to a word processor.  I type in what I want to say and then hit the "Publish Post" button.  Like a word processor, I can add formatting to the text, like bold, italics and underline.  I can create links by highlighting text that I want, and telling it where I want people to go if they click on it.  When it gets posted, it adds a new entry into a database.  The new entry stores information into many new fields.  The main field is the large, formatted text that I wrote.  It also stores information like… who wrote it (Kellie or I), what category (ie.. Ron’s Ramblings, Announcements, Blog Stuff), the time it was posted, and a few other details.  The theme then translates that database into the look and feel I wanted it to be.  I can make radical changes in the way my blog looks by changing the theme, but the content will be exactly the same.  I’ve found the theme that I liked the most, but have modified it to my liking.  I’m still learning, but I found the bit about text size in the body of each post and increased the size.  The size WAS "0.75" and I changed it to "1."  I’d appreciate some feedback from people reading this as to if they can notice a difference. Just fill click on comments below and follow the instructions for leaving a comment.

Besides my blog, I also worked on something else today that makes me feel satisfied.  I currently own 3 ReplayTVs.  These are standard-definition DVRs that can stream video from one machine to another.  I had 2 currently hooked up to the big-screen TV, and one packed in a box in the attic.  The reason it was in the attic is that I didn’t have a network cable to plug it in, in the bedroom.  Back around Christmas time, I purchased a D-Link DWL-G820 Wireless Gaming Adapter, which is a wireless-ethernet bridge.  It allows me to connect wired ethernet devices to connect to my wireless access point.  Basically, I guess you can say it adds wireless capability to networked devices (computers, gaming systems or DVRs) that don’t already support wireless.  I used my original device in my computer room, but have just purchased another for the bedroom.  I hooked up the ReplayTV that had been in the attic and now I can record, pause and replay live TV in the bedroom.  I can record up to 3 different shows at the same time (since I have 3 machines) and I can watch them on either the big screen or the bedroom TV.  It’s working great now.