Heceta Head, Oregon, USA
July 1995
2005.01.29
Okay. If this is your first time visiting, you may not notice the change. And even if you have visited this site before you probably haven't noticed the change either. But this page is now a PHP page. The date and time displayed under the title are generated using the PHP date() function instead of the javascript I was using before. What does this mean? It means the time is coming from the server this page lives on rather than from the time and date on your computer (javascript runs on your machine - PHP runs on the server.) Because the server for this page is located in California and the Pacific Standard Time zone, I added two the hours to get the correct time for Fort Walton Beach and the Central Time Zone.
That's it. But I wanted to put something up to prove I haven't been completely slacking. I've been working through Larry Ullman's PHP and MySQL for Dynamic Web Sites. Next is setting up my MySQL database.
I made the image of Heceta Head during my 1995 camping trip along the Pacific beaches of California, Oregon, and Washington in 1995. For some reason it didn't make the cut for The Black Dog Gallery, but I still think it's a fine picture. I hope you like it too.
Sand Dune and Fence, Okaloosa Island, Florida, USA
October 1, 2003
2005.01.24
Time to put something new up. Still working with PHP, but not getting very far very fast. Soon, I hope. . .
In the meantime, here's a picture I took on Okaloosa Island when we first came to Fort Walton Beach in 2003. If you're currently snow-bound you have my sympathies.
Seaside Vista on Titan
© Mike Zawistowski/ESA/NASA/U. Arizona
2005.01.20
The above image was taken by the European Space Agency's Huygens probe as it descended to the surface of Saturn's largest moon Titan on January 14th. What's neat about it is the raw image data was rendered by Mike Zawistowski, an amatuer, using a freeware program called Terragen. His, and other enthusiasts images can be seen here. You can read how they did it here.
FYI: I finally got my PHP/MySQL development server up and running and have been working through some simple scripts. I hope to add some dynamic content to this site in the near future.
Artist's conception of ESA Huygens Probe Landing on Titan.
Steve Munsinger, 2004
2005.01.14
Today the European Space Agency's Huygens probe landed on Titan, the largest of Saturn's 19 moons. Congratulations to the ESA - this is a great achievement in mankind's exploration of our solar system. You can get the latest information on the mission here
The above image is from a contest held by the ESA for young artists. The one I chose to display did not win the contest, but it's my favorite. It reminds me of the cover art of the Robert Heinlein novels I read when I was in middle school. I was a huge science fiction fan when I was a kid - it captivated my imagination and is responsible for my geek aspirations.
Bikini Contest, Biloxi, Mississippi, USA
July 1981
2005.01.08
Here's something to soothe your eyes after having to look at my first rude attempt at a stupid GIMP trick.
I decided to start scanning slides tonight and begin the cataloging process. Of course I haven't started on a database yet, much less started learning any PHP. . . Just be thankful I chose to start with this set of a bikini contest I took one Saturday in Biloxi, Mississippi while attending technical training at Keesler Air Force Base.
You're welcome.
Green Sun Rise at Oahu
2005.01.03
Get ready for stupid GIMP tricks. You'll be seeing a lot more before I'm done. . .
Speaking of stupid GIMP tricks, I googled the phrase and got this. I don't know where the stupid GIMP tricks are, but I did find a link to a load-testing app for Apache web servers. Cool!
I archived December. You can see it here.
