New - B - Log

What Is a Weblogger

2005-07-22T09:24:00.000-07:00

How can you define a blogger? I thought about that and I even looked it up in dictionaries ... and the most accurate description I found is in the post by Shelley at the BurningBird on Feed the Feeds

Be prepared to see yourself in that description ... and be prepared for a good belly laugh ;)

Richard Pryor on Blogger!

2005-07-19T11:01:00.000-07:00

What a trip!

I just finished updating my profile with my interests. One of my favorite moves is One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest ... and I wanted to see who else shared that interest ... guess who I found? Richard Pryor on Blogspot!

http://richardpryor.blogspot.com/

He said he's not blogging anymore cuz he got a webpage up now with some conversations going on (It was interesting too ..... pics of George Lopez "in da house") and Richard's personal diary.

What a trip.

He was/is a brilliant comedian.

Why I need to Quit smoking

2005-06-18T19:25:00.000-07:00

Why I need to Quit smoking
Originally uploaded by b2phat.

Here's a good motivtor to quit smoking ...

Very worthwhile!

2005-06-12T21:12:00.000-07:00

I don’t even remember what life was like before I learned HTML ;o) I would be completely lost if I didn’t know it now.

Basically I taught myself by viewing source code and reading every tutorial I could get my hands on. I later took an online HTML course just so I could say I did …. and got a certificate …. but it didn’t teach me anything new … just validated it.

I REALLY encourage anyone online to do this. It’s not that difficult. I’ve got some HTML Tutorials on my site that would be a great starting point for those interested.

See more progress on: learn html

Blogosphere Cyberculture

2005-06-12T14:10:00.000-07:00

The internet is becoming a much smaller place. Through the use of technology, we're all becoming connected. Especially with the explosion of RSS, and XML ... the basis behind the newsfeeds that are so readily available. Tools such as http://www.bigbold.com/rssdigest let you display feeds of your choice from ANY available feed ... with your choice of either javascript, php or using a ssi.

Weblogs are quickly becoming the "tool of choice" for many reasons.

1. Most are free.
2. Easy to set up.
3. Allow multiple users and authors.
4. Most have built in Newsfeed abilities.
5. Easily connect to other sites with relevant content through "trackbacks" and other tools.
6. Instant communication.
7. Syndication makes your site available worldwide.
8. They provide a sense of "community".
9. No technical skills necessary ....

Even major companies are relying on weblog systems to get their information AND advertising out. Through the use of newsfeeds they can gain more readers and sell more product.

And now there are sites dedicated entirely to the blog culture. Sites such as BlogExplosion help users to get more readers by sharing and distributing traffic .... a "blog traffic exchange".

Sites such as Flickr.com, Del.icio.us, 43things.com and Technorati let you post your material and photos directly to your blog from within their interface.

The result .... the HUGE internet is becoming more interconnected ....

Got W.bloggar set up

2005-06-09T15:08:00.000-07:00

I finally broke down and got w.bloggar again.

It's actually part of my resolution to be more productive and waste less time but still provide unique, quality content (I hope). I joined 43things.com this week and it's helped in numerous ways ... and one is that I really want to be active in my weblogs but NOT spend so much time that I neglect my work.

So ... w.bloggar is part of that solution. I can post to multiple blogs AND ping multiple sites without having to go to the sites.

Desktop interface ... what more could a gal ask for?

Technorati Tags: 43things, w.bloggar, blog, blogger, weblog, blogging, time, managment, personal, development, technorati, tags

Organizing Bookmarks is easy now

2005-06-08T23:24:00.000-07:00

With Firefox and del.icio.us ... I’m actually organized and it’s Fun to add new bookmarks now! I also use MyBookMarks and some other online feed services. It’s come in handy many times after a hard drive failure too.

Technorati Tags: mybookmarks, del.icio.us, remark, online, rss, feed, organize

See more progress on: organize my bookmarks

2005-06-08T18:59:00.000-07:00

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

New job

2005-06-08T13:13:00.000-07:00

Just got a new job designing a logo, stationary and banner for a new start-up company called MyMarketingExecutive which just opened on June 1st.

Progress ;o)

See more progress on: make more money

Got CASH!

2005-06-07T23:54:00.000-07:00

GreenZap finally launched today and I’ve got CASH! $460.00 to be exact! $150.00 in webcash and $310.00 in cash! Plus I got my free $25.00 for joining!

This might actually be the most rewarding thing I’ve joined in awhile. Might make some of my time online more profitable.

If you’re wondering what it is …. it’s an online payment processor or … maybe even like a merchant account, similar to paypal or stormpay …. but they PAY better.

I’ll let you know when I can actually SPEND the money ;o)

See more progress on: make more money

As a Designer, Unique, Lightweight designs are the Goal

2005-06-07T22:49:00.000-07:00

I would LOVE to be able to just “spit out” new CSS designs as fast as I could previously do HTML layouts.

Previously, I used .. or should I say “misused” CSS. I thought of it as “just for pretties”. Now … it’s about compatibility and I’m having a blast (or obsessive compulsive disorder) digging into it.

I just finished a 3 column pure CSS design which matches my original site design layout …. but “Look Ma, No Tables!” LOL

Compare the original (table design) NewbieHangout Table Design to the new Tableless CSS Design

I’d LOVE to hear wht you’re doing/have done with CSS.

Technorati Tags: css, cascading, style, sheets, web, standards, design, layout

See more progress on: learn CSS coding so I can make extra-spiffy layouts that no one else has!

Starting to Use Technorati Tags in my Blogging

2005-06-07T22:46:00.000-07:00

I’ve long heard about tagging but have been on the late train getting started. Kind of surprising since I jumped on the RSS/XML bandwagon ages ago on the advice of a friend who said it was “the future of the net”

So ….. time to “get in the groove” and start using tags … just need a quick tut.

Technorati Tags: technorati, tags, blog, blogging

See more progress on: Use Technorati tags in my blogs

3 Column, Pure CSS Tableless Layout with Header and Footer

2005-06-07T22:44:00.001-07:00

I just completed a 3 column Pure CSS design layout with header and footer to match my sites original design layout.

The original design used a multitude of tables. You can see it on ALL pages of my site still except for the main page. Yeah, I’m slow implementing it … just want to make sure on every aspect before I actually change every page over.

To see the original layout (tables) go to:

NewbieHangout.com using .htm at the end …. or any other page on site.

To view the new pure css layout, go straight to the homepage (index.html)

NewbieHangout.com

Everything Validates …. XHTML and CSS which took alot of time and effort but was well worth it. Right now I’m in the “test phase” to see what, if any, effect it will have on my search engine rankings. I am hoping it will improve somewhat because of the way the content is delivered to the SE’s. In a table layout, the crawlers read it as it is seen by the eye: Header, Nav bar, left column, Main Content, right column and then footer.

With the CSS layout … the content is ordered or read differently …. Head, Main content, left column, right column …. so I’m hoping that will give more relevancy or weight to my content and content keywords with the search engines.

Anyone done this or seen any effects with the content being fed first?

See more progress on: master CSS

Installing a WAMP Server on Windows 2000 Pro

2005-06-07T22:44:00.000-07:00

Is a CHALLENGE but well worth it.

I’ve used EasyPHP for ages but feel I’ve outgrown it …. so I’ve … let me rephrase … I AM still configuring my own Apache 2.054 HTTP Server with PHP 5, mySQL 4, phpMyAdmin 2, ODBC, MaxDB, Tomcat, FTP, Perl and Java.

I’m documenting my steps. The first step starts at:

Getting Prepared to Install WAMP on Windows NT 2000 Pro

See more progress on: learn PHP

Server Information

2005-06-04T11:05:00.000-07:00

Server Information
Originally uploaded by b2phat.

Setting Up Apache

We're BAAAACK!

2004-04-22T10:25:00.000-07:00

Well, we're back ;o)

Having a little difficulty with the moveabletype upgrade right now, so I'm going to be using this again to keep everyone informed.

It's been a crazy few weeks. If you've been following along in the newsletter, then you're well aware of all the changes and improvements we've made. If you've NOT been following along ... then it'll take me a few posts to catch you up!

The new portal is up and running and in full force. Even got our first hack! But it was a fantastic learning experience. I learned more about PHP and MySQL in a couple hours than I have in my entire online experience!

For those of you who are fellow nukers .... if you haven't already patched your site against SQL injection ... do so NOW! And I also highly recommend you install the Protector Module

It is like fortknox .. the system protects EVERYTHING and automatically updates your .htaccess file with rewrite rules, banned ip's and just about anything else you ned for your PHP-Nuke site.

I'll post more about SQLl injection and security later ... just wanted to let everyone know what's up ;o)

Protector Module from "Warcenter'

Packing up and Moving to Moveable Type

2004-01-15T03:11:00.000-08:00

I'm not exactly sure how you "break" a blog ... but we managed to do it here!
The bottom of the page is missing ;o) The page cuts off after just a couple posts ... and the archives aren't working correctly.

I thought it must be due to the upgrade to our server which we just completed. It's much more secure and world writing isn't an option anymore. Everything is done solely through the owner and scripts are run differently now. It's a much more secure method ... so I figured that must be the problem. But ... I deleted it all and rebuilt it through Blogger. But it remains the same.

So ... after hearing good reports on Moveable Type ... that's where we're headed. You can visit the new site here at the

New New-B-Log

The RSS, XML and feeds are a webmasters dream! All automatically written and Promoted for you! The control panel is awesome. The installation is a little complicated, but the results are well worth it.

I started transferring some posts earlier today from work (shhhh! not a word!) but it's going to be a bit before it's done. I will start using it and updating it starting now though. Once it's completed, I'm going to delete the old old log.

If you have any tools and resources for Moveable Type .... we'd love to hear them. And .... I might get a little contest going on "Create a NHO Template contest going. In fact .. we will!

If you would like to enter the contest and help dress the NHO. Post here and and contact us Contact Us

Packing Up and Moving to Moveable Type

2004-01-15T03:05:00.000-08:00

I'm not exactly sure how you "break" a blog ... but we managed to do it here!
The bottom of the page is missing ;o) The page cuts off after just a couple posts ... and the archives aren't working correctly.

I thought it must be due to the upgrade to our server which we just completed. It's much more secure and world writing isn't an option anymore. Everything is done solely through the owner and scripts are run differently now. It's a much more secure method ... so I figured that must be the problem. But ... I deleted it all and rebuilt it through Blogger. But it remains the same.

So ... after hearing good reports on Moveable Type ... that's where we're headed. You can visit the new site here at the

New New-B-Log

The RSS, XML and feeds are a webmasters dream! All automatically written and Promoted for you! The control panel is awesome. The installation is a little complicatedd, but the results are well worth it.

I started transferring some posts earlier today from work (shhhh! not a word!) but it's going to be a bit before it's done. I will start using it and updating it starting now though. Once it's completed, I'm going to delete the old old log.

If you have any tools and resources for Moveable Type .... we'd love to hear them. And .... I might get a little contest going on "Create a NHOTemplate contest going. In fact .. we will!

If you would like to enter the contest and help dress the NHO. Post here and and contact us Contact Us

2004-01-13T19:49:00.000-08:00

The Paypal Email Spoof

Remember the email I told you about yesterday that was supposedly from Paypal? Well ..... it was actually a virus in that attachment.

Here's the word from Payap:

Dear Darla,

Thank you for contacting PayPal.

We can confirm that the email you received was not sent by PayPal. The
attachment contained within this email is a virus that has circulated
around the internet. If you have opened the attachment, your computer may
have been infected.

Do not surrender any personal or financial information that may be
requested. If you have previously submitted this information, we suggest
you contact your issuing financial institution to report the incident.

For additional information regarding this virus, including how to prevent
or disinfect your computer, please contact your anti-virus software or
program provider.

If you have any further questions, please let us know.

Sincerely,

The PayPal Team

2004-01-13T19:47:00.000-08:00

Virus Alert from Symantec

This is in from Symantec .... remember to always be safe and never open attachments unless you know the person and are expecting an attachment from them.

Trojan.Xombe
Discovered on: January 09, 2004
Last Updated on: January 09, 2004 03:51:41 PM

Trojan.Xombe is a Trojan horse that has at least two components: a 4,096 byte downloader and a 27,136 byte Trojan. The downloader component will retrieve the Trojan file from a predetermined Web site.

The download component has been distributed in an unsolicited email, purporting to be a security update for Windows XP, sent by Microsoft.

The email has the following characteristics

From: windowsupdate@microsoft.com
Subject: Windows XP Service Pack 1 (Express) - Critical Update.
Attachment: winxp_sp1.exe(4,096 KB)

The Trojan is packed with UPX

Also Known As: Xombe [FSecure], Downloader-GJ [McAfee], Troj/Dloader-L [Sophos]

Type: Trojan Horse

Systems Affected: Windows 2000, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows NT, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP
Systems Not Affected: Linux, Macintosh, OS/2, UNIX, Windows 3.x

2004-01-13T05:01:00.000-08:00

PayPal Spoof

The people who have nothing better to do than try and mess up other people's computers are at it again. This time it is in the form of an email looking like it's from paypal. It also contains an attachment called "pp_app.zip".

DO NOT OPEN THE ATTACHMENT

I'll post what the message looks like below. If you get a copy of it, forward it to spoof@paypal.com

*** GREAT NEW YEAR OFFER FROM PAYPAL.COM ***

Dear PayPal.com Member,

We here at PayPal.com are pleased to announce that we have a special New Year offer for you! If you currently have an account with PayPal then you will be eligible to receive a terrific prize from PayPal.com for the New Year. For a limited time only PayPal is offering to add 10 percent of the total balance in your PayPal account to your account and all you have to do is register yourself within the next five business days with our application (see attachment)!

If at this time you do not have a PayPal account of your own you can also register yourself with our secure application and get this great New Year bonus! If you fill out the secure form we have provided PayPal will create an account for you (it's free) and you will receive a confirmation e-mail that your account has been created.

That's not all! If you resend this letter (with its attachment) to all of your friends you may be eligible to receive another New Year bonus because the 1000 PayPal members that send the most of these to their friends will get the bonus. If you are one of these 1000 lucky members then PayPal will add 17 percent of your total balance to your account!

Registration is simple. Just unpack the attachment with WinZip, run the application, and follow the instructions we have provided. If you have problems opening the application then you may want to try downloading a free version of WinZip from http://www.winzip.com

Do not miss your chance at this fantastic opportunity! Thousands of our current customers have already received their prizes and now it's your turn; so hurry up and take advantage of this special offer!

Best of luck in the New Year,
PayPal.com Team

Be safe, don't open attachments from people you don't know ... and know that paypal, ebay and microsoft will not be sending you an attachment.

Paint Shop Pro 8 Tutorial - Easy Blinkie and Blinkie Template

2004-01-13T01:04:00.000-08:00

Just got a new beginner's tutorial uploaded. Actually, it was there before but disappeared during the server move.

It's a simple tutorial for beginner's that uses a template to instruct how to create a simple blinkie. Hope you enjoy it!

Paint Shop Pro 8 Tutorial - Easy Blinkie and Blinkie Template

Bandwidth Theft - Hall of Shame

2004-01-12T04:01:00.000-08:00

Here's another bandwidth bandit.

I was just going through our server logs and found this site had tons of hits to us. Went to go say "Hi" and found out they were using our dancing angels graphic as their background.

Tsk, tsk, tsk. Now come on ...... you know that's not polite. You didn't even ask or say "please."

donzerella2002's 9/100 REG Tournament

Now I know ...

2004-01-12T01:57:00.000-08:00

Now I know why the Opera browser has appealed to me so much!

Just check out the management. Young and cute!

Opera People

2004-01-11T02:31:00.000-08:00

The Web from Your Cellphone

Did you know that if you by hitting SHIFT+F11 in Opera (or select view/small-screen), you will be able to browse the Internet in SSR modus. But that's getting ready to change. Soon, opera won't be using the SSR technology. Instead, .. if you hit SHIFT+F11 Opera will shift from the "Screen" style sheet to the "handheld" technology.

Opera is AWESOME! Not only for their technology, but the ease of use, the speed and ... the community! Just got me an Opera Journal (like I need another blog!)

And we have a customized Opera Browser if you wanna use the NHO browser!

Download will belocated at: Opera Download Site in a couple hours.

In the meantime if you just gotta try Opera, check out:

All About Opera