well, so microsoft finally seems to have done something right. back when i was designing this incarnation of ye olde idw, i had to kludge together a really lame method of getting the main content window to resize right. i had to kick it quite a bit, and use a ton of nasty javascript. the reason i had to was because ie6 had barely any support of the css box object model. well, microsoft has SP1 of ie6 online right now, not quite for consumer download, but literally any day now. once it's out, i'll be updating my site to reflect these nice changes.

so it supports proper box object model. that's a good start, but still no png alpha transparency. bastards. anyways, i've been working a lot lately. i've got a new site launching for mr grace in the next 48 hrs or so, and i just finished a major coding project for my old middle school, and i've nearly got a site running for a local construction company. on top of all this, i'm launching the site for my web design company some time in the next two weeks. i'll be converting all the content from my .plan to something a bit more professional, and linking it down there where my uml site currently is.

this is really about the first time i can think of that i've trully been swamped. i've got enough work queued up right now that it doesn't seem like i'll have problems with being idle for quite awhile. which all reminds me, later tonight i get to do some more designing. and somewhere in there i'd like to find some time to do something with kevin and christina. last week we got to do the mini-lan-ish-thing at andre's place, which was greatfun. could've gone a bit better, but it was still quite good. even if andre did think that renting kung pow was a good idea. we let it slide, though, cause everyone makes mistakes some times.

WHY IS THERE NOT AN EPISODE OF LAW & ORDER ON TELEVISION RIGHT THIS MINUTE? oh! oh there is! well damn, i've got better things to do than sit here and type. QUICK, ROBIN, TO DSCALER! [08.05.02@16:11]

it appears i just watched an infomercial about effectively using "special" scotch tape to stretch back your horrible saggy aging skin instead of having plastic surgery. look, it's just tape. it isn't a magical futuristic product. it's SCOTCH TAPE. also, i think they've said "lift" no less than 43,221,623,124 times in the past halfhour. they also have astounding testimonials from guys married to the tape-clad womens. such wonderful gems as this: "the first time i noticed she was wearing them, i didn't notice she was wearing them". please die. please.

generally i love infomercials, but when they promote taping your face to itself. [08.13.02@03:18]

i really suck about remembering birthdays. i remember ranges, but never exact dates. sometimes i remember them and just don't say things, which sucks, but not quite as much as remembering them, being ready to say something, and then go and start doing something else. this happened two days ago back on sencha's birthday.

can't remember who sencha is? sencha is my computer. he turned one year old back on the 16th. over the past year practically every bit of this machine has been upgraded. formatted twice, upgraded os, added tons of hardware, etc. sencha has and will continue to serve me well, for several more years. as a bit of retrospect, here's how sencha has changed in the past year:

sencha, 16 AUG 2001
processor: 1.4ghz amd athlon [w/thermaltake dragon orb 3]
ram: 256mb pc2100 ddr
motherboard: asus a7a266
video: creative tnt2 ultra
monitor: viewsonic optiquest 17.5"
hd 1: western digital 40.0gb
hd 2: western digital 12.7gb
cdrw: hp 9310i 10x/8x/32x
sound: sound blaster live
os: win98SE
nic: generic 10/100 nic
fans: 4 [1 case fan, 2 psu fans, 1 hsf]
case: enlight en7237 [w/410W enermax psu]
others: wintv go tv tuner, creative videoblaster cam, 2 extra usb ports, logitech usb optical wheel-mouse, microsoft natural keyboard, and some swish altech lansing speakers

and here's sencha now:

sencha, 18 AUG 2002
processor: 1.4ghz amd athlon [w/thermaltake tornado 7+]
ram: 768mb pc2100 ddr
motherboard: asus a7a266 [was replaced, same model]
video: gainward gf4 ti4200 64mb
monitor: viewsonic A72f
hd 1: western digital 40gb
hd 2: western digital 120gb
cdrw: hp 9310i 10x/8x/32x
sound: sound blaster live
os: windows xp professional
nic: generic 10/100 nic
fans: 6 [1 intake, 2 exhaust, 2 psu, 1 hsf]
case: enlight en7237 [w/410W enermax psu]
others: wintv go tv tuner, creative videoblaster cam, 2 extra usb ports, logitech usb optical wheel-mouse, [my second] microsoft natural keyboard, and a set of aiwa hp-x222 headphones which are never removed from my head

what's next for sencha? first off will be getting him a little friend. now that i'm running an actual company and have an actual need for some level of organization, i've decided i need an organizer for to do lists, appointments, calendars, and addresses. so . . a pda. ever since they came out, i've been eyeing the sony clie line of pda's, and as of like, last week, they released a set of three extremely cheap ones. i've narrowed it down to either the SL10 or the SJ20. it's a $50 difference between the two, with the latter being more expensive, but just . . damn. they're so good looking. and high contrast. originally i was completely and unequivocally sold on the SL10 . . but then i read that it had non-rechargeable batteries. and i thought "ok, right. next!" cause i mean, why should i bother even considering a pda if i have to find it BATTERIES. so i went to the next one up, which appears to have a clearer higher-contrast screen, and has a larger built-in memory, so i'll need to buy a memory stick much later on. AND it has the recharageable battery, and a real hotsync cradle.

though, i'll probably wait to just see what they're like in person. as i haven't been to a computer-y store since these models have been released. hmm. i wonder if there are any specials this week. i suppose i could go out and nab the paper off the driveway and see. hm. i think i'll do that, yes. [08.18.02@04:50]