September 2009

Attending the DrupalCon Paris Sept 1-5, 2009

Submitted by Diliny C.
on Wednesday, 2nd September 2009 - 2:46
Drupal
Paris

Fast-fwd two weeks and will have to find some time to post on our trip through Italy and adventure back to Paris. At the moment enjoying Paris with good friends and colleagues while attending the Drupal Conference in Paris. I'm hoping to vastly increase my skill set. That said, its hard to concentrate while listening to English being spoken by native speakers for the first time in weeks! Had a great night on the town visiting Versailles, China-town Paris (near Porte d'Italie) and then later at a wine cellar in the Luxembourg/St-Germain area of Paris yesterday with Heather, Ronan and later Stella, Dermot and crowd.

 

Recap of the end of August in Italy!

Submitted by Diliny C.
on Monday, 7th September 2009 - 8:40
travel
Italy

Guidebook for the trip: The Rough Guide to Italy (We found this to be adequate to our budgeting needs though it's lacking the history and detail of some of the other books.  Ideally would have taken the DK guide - but decided budget factored over history and interesting detail.  This english version was bought at the last minute from the Gibert Juene in St Michel, Paris.

Places visited:

Highlights:

  • The food was amazing in the smaller places we visited... major cities seem to all be very much the same.
  • Finding amazing accomodation at the last minute in Lecce
  • Arriving in time for a night market/festival Ravenna and Lecce
  • Spectacular views (Milan duomo at night, sunset at the Lido near Ravenna, Matera, short cliffs of Polignano a Mare, Cliffs near Sorrento, the city of Lecce)
  • Sri Lankan food - string hoppers and fantastic kothu roti in Lecce (courtesy of Chitra who we ran into at the internet spot)
  • Gelatto, gelatto, gelatto
  • Pizza really is amazing in Italy
  • Picking Herculaneum over Pompeii (smaller and less busy venue, more quality over quantity!)

Things to never do again:

  • Camping in a 2 person tent in the height of the summer heat (Ravenna)
  • St Giovanni di Rotanda (wasted trip as arrived there to sleep only to turn around and head elsewhere in the morning)
  • Naples (unless you like the busy messy warren of streets)
  • Overnight train Naples-Milan
  • Booking last minute

Twiddling our thumbs in France

Submitted by Diliny C.
on Friday, 11th September 2009 - 6:20
Drupal
themes
France
jQuery
Craig's List

In France for another week - all documents for entering the US have been obtained and we're good to go.  I'm dreading the re-shuffle of things in our bags to ensure that the weight is all within the requirments of Iceland Air. 

For the moment, we're working diligently on minor projects (and in Steph's case major ones as the RDF in Drupal 7.x core does not come lightly).  I've taken the time to update all the websites I have in my keeping with the latest and greatest versions of Drupal and respective modules being used.  I've also re-themed my site to be a little more flexible and to have a cleaner layout.  This was done by combining the images from Theme 008 with the functionality of Blog Grail. I'm also tinkering with jQuery and css to teach myself more about how they can used.

I've been eyeing the properties for the Cambridge/Somerville area on Craig's List.  There aren't as many as there were in August and September but I did find a few that were nice enough to consider.  I think I have a minor panic attack whenever I think of trying to find a nice home.  I can't wait for the day when we buy our own house and can be done with the living from boxes and suitcases.  Then again, by the nature of our work - maybe we'll always be renting.  It's a hard pill to swallow. 

Learning to use jQuery with Drupal

Submitted by Diliny C.
on Sunday, 13th September 2009 - 17:38
Drupal
themes
jQuery
UI

I started by looking at jQuery UI to see what can be done with jQuery.  Then I had the problem of trying to figure out how to incorporate these into my website.  I came across an excellent post by Sean Buscay titled "Where and How to Start using jQuery to Enhance your Drupal Site (jQuery Mini-series Part 3 of 3)".  

Then I managed to get my head around a few modules (jcarousel, views carousel, jquery_ui, views accordion) and to add some new features to my website. 

  • To Browse all sites (added in the bottom right corner of the page)
  • A recipe page (added to the menu above)

So that's quite a bit of practice for one day (combined with the usual holiday stuff associated with being with my husband's family and it being a Sunday and all!)

Infinite picture of the Earth (National Geographic)

Submitted by Diliny C.
on Thursday, 17th September 2009 - 8:56
Photography
Nature

www.thegreenguide.com

A cool photograph worth seeing that helps you think about how small our world and interconnected it really is.  Reminds me of something from MIB.

In Boston - Found a home - moved in.. ;)

Submitted by Diliny C.
on Friday, 25th September 2009 - 7:57
Boston
USA
As an update to all of the people who have been anticipating news of our move to the US, we arrived safely! We also found an apartment on the second day in town. It's about a half hour walk to Harvard Sq. - a 20 min walk to Porter Sq. and a 15 minute walk to Davis Sq. So pretty central in my opinion. Only difficulty is setting everything up with out an American SSN. Even to get a phone this is tricky. So it will be another week or two before I have direct internet. For the moment resorting to outside cafes. Incidentally, Steph is working with a great bunch of people. So far I've only met two of them. I spend my time searching for the necessities for the apt. Today I'm in search of groceries!

Mmm.. what a fresh morning! What's that I smell? SKUNK!

Submitted by Diliny C.
on Tuesday, 29th September 2009 - 7:58
Leisure
Medford

I am finally hooked up with internet and a mobile phone! This last week without has led me to start crawling up the wall - especially with furniture being delivered to our empty apartment.

Nice things about Boston/Cambridge/Somerville/Medford

  • Found a corner store that sells Barry's Tea (imported from Ireland)
  • Beautiful weather - it's been mainly sunny and hot since we've arrived
  • People are nice (though had only 1 bad-Am. experience so far - type of thing you would never experience in Can.)
  • Boston accent is nice to hear (you just want to squeeze cheeks... granted, I doubt they'd appreciate that!)
  • Walk friendly city... been walking everywhere! Like Galway, it's better for walking than taking public transport.

So have managed to get my bearings.  But still haven't found a department store where I can buy pillows and bed sheets.

Yell