Phil Manser

I was working on something tonight that I thought would be fun to post on. It was, How I used Automator to extract addresses from Mail.

But I didn’t. Then I thought it was going to be, How I used Applescript to extract addresses from Mail.

But it wasn’t. Want to know what I used? PHP. Yep, no kidding.

Let me back up and explain my situation. My company has a client who is interested in details about his users as (naturally) most clients are (especially those spending a nice amount on ad campaigns). Anyhow, one key piece of information was overlooked while developing his database – user registration time. For those who might not realize the implications immediately, without this bit of information, certain queries would be impossible. Say your client wanted to know how successful his last ad campaign went and how many more users than average signed up. You’d be screwed.

In comes Providence. (Some people demand proof that there is a God, I just take a look at my life and know the answer.) For some silly reason, I set it up so that I should get a copy of each confirmation of registration message that the site generates. I didn’t think it would be too much, but over the past few days, I’ve been getting one every couple of minutes. That’s a lot of data that’s missing. And when I realized that all the data was there, I tried to think of the best way to get to it.

But the best way is not always the way you expect. I tried the apple solutions, and I’m sure I could’ve made one of them work, but I would probably be up for a couple more hours just to learn how to make them work. I even thought of trying Ruby or Python ’cause I really don’t like PHP, but in the end, it was the best solution. It was the best solution because:

• It did what I needed it to (directory listing, file reading, document creation)
• I knew how to use it

This is new to me. When I tackle a job, I’m ready to start all over from scratch. Relearn everything if necessary. This whole using the bottom of your shoe to hammer a nail thing is weird.

But it works, and I like that.

Geek Porn (yes – safe for work and young children (unless those children have geek tendencies and you are afraid they might become one))

It can’t be helped. You know that they aren’t real, but just looking at them incites that burning desire to have them. It doesn’t really matter if they’re real or not, you want to play with them. You just watch them bouncing back and forth and up and down…

Lightsabers, of course. Why? What’d you think I was talking about?

An open letter to Adobe/Macromedia regarding their insipid and arcane product activation system. From: Someone who tried

Dear Anyone Who Cares,

I bought the Macromedia MX 2004 Suite a few years ago for Flash and Fireworks because I wanted to learn how use them. I ended up really liking them. I even liked (to a lesser extent) DreamWeaver. Hell, given time, I probably would’ve liked Freehand. But screw you. I’ve just sat through about an hour and half phone session in which I was passed between 5 different people who didn’t help me at all. Apparently, I’m Somebody Else’s Problem.

What was I trying to do? Just the right thing, according to your stupid licensing crap. I was attempting to transfer a license for the MX 2004 Suite from my Win to my Mac, but instead got passed around like a hot potato until some guy from India (not certain here) told me that the other four were wrong and I couldn’t do anything with my software except transfer it to another windoze machine. I don’t care who you hire for support, how about you just make sure they’ve all RTFM, alright?

What about me then? No doubt I am was one of the last few people that says said, “If I’m going to use software, I’ll buy a legal copy of it.” Well guess what? I see where my money is going and now, I’m not Somebody Else’s Problem. I’m yours. You’ll know where to find me.

Sincerely,

A Freed User

My current favorite song: Who needs sleep? – BareNaked Ladies

A note from the admin

What better use for a blog than using it to act as a mannequin of sorts while you fit it with different outfits? So in case this place looks a little weird and / or is changing every couple minutes or so, that’s why.