JuliaKM.com

Preparation

A. Upgrade modules and Drupal core code

Although it’s tempting to move your files and database quickly, I strongly recommend doing some preparation first. Before I move Drupal site, I always first check for any new Drupal core and module updates. If there are modules that need to be updated, I do the update before moving my site. The advantage of this is that it is easier later on to debug any problems that arise during the migration if you are already using the latest version of all Drupal code.

I presented on Drupal at UNC's An Introduction to Content Management Systems workshop last week. The presentation is geared to people trying to decide between Drupal, Joomla, and Wordpress. I hope that I swayed a few to the Drupal camp!

I came back from Drupalcon excited about adding RDF into the AASHE website and making some decisions about how to tag content on the website.

I often have a hard time deciding whether to use a CCK field or the taxonomy module when building Drupal sites. At Drupalcon, I was glad to see that I am not alone in my confusion. At the Drupalcon Drupal Taxonomy Revisted session, I finally started to understand the use case for each.

These are the steps I took to add the recent tweets block you see on the right of my blog page.

1. Created a new block with the Title and Block Description, "Recent Tweets."

2. Pasted the following code into the Block Body. I originally found the code here.

<div id="twitter_div">
<ul id="twitter_update_list"></ul></div>
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://twitter.com/javascripts/blogger.js"></script>

I recently wanted to add a variable to my book template with a list of contributors to a wiki page. My "wiki" is a node type and I am using the excellent revision moderation module to let users submit revisions to nodes. I really want to recognize those who submit revisions. To do so, I decided to add a list of revision authors on each wiki page.

Eric and I have been trying to save money and after Dish let us know that prices would be going up again, I started investigating alternatives. We both have realized that we can live without cable but not without DVR. Watching American Idol live is a painful experience. It’s must skip TV.

It seems like there are two big options. We can go with a bundled system or go with a combo of software and an HD tuner stick. I already have an unused Mac Mini available for DVR duties.

In no particular order, here are the options we’re exploring.

For the past three years, I've run OscarFrenzy.com with my friend Dave. Since college, we've competed in an Oscar pool. There are my picks for this year, Dave and I also made official Oscar Frenzy picks.

Best Picture - Slumdog Millionaire

Best Director - Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire

Best Actor - Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

Best Actress - Kate Winslet, The Reader

Best Supporting Actor - Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

Best Supporting Actress - Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona