Mom and baby were doing well. I'll get Erin to send me a photo for posting. We visited them in the hospital and took some shots.

Today's NY Times article gave an excellent summary of the growing number of choices in web browsers. Customizeability is prime time. This article should be a must-read for all web users, especially clients.

The article points out, of course, that even IE can be modified to support tabs. But why spend the $40 bucks...

Beyond the high-level information, I thought it was a shame that they forgot to mention that these options only scratch the surface on what's available. Ironically, there is a great Buffalo, NY-based archive of virtually every browser ever. A browser collection at http://browsers.evolt.org

Take your pick.

Ainsly Law is an emerging firm in Raleigh and is in the process of expanded their family law practice. Erin will be helping to spearhead the expansion. Its an exciting opportunity for her.

Small firms have that 'front lines' appeal that I would love as an attorney. In a larger setting, an attorney may not get a chance at litigation until years down the road. Or so I'm told.

Erin and I are both very excited for her new opportunity. I had the opportunity to meet her co-workers, as well as the firm's principal. All very nice people.

A plus is Beer 30 Wednesday's. Go Erin!

Everybody always seems to guess on how to set up a folding job within a quality DTP pagelayout program. I often wonder how accurate they are.

Enter FOLDFactory, a online resource for such things. The price is a bit steep, but the creative possibilities are a real eye opener. The online tool is exceptionally implemented. Hat's off to Trish Witkowski!

My commercial sites these days are opting to go with fixed base page widths that snap to the center, instead of liquid design that consume more browser realestate. Grabers uses this technique in the page you are viewing.

Although fluid design certainly has some advantages, implementation is often a less-than-comforting. Designers want to know how much space they got; a 'jello' design allows them to.

Erin's favorite team is the Steelers. Being from Pittsburgh and all, I can hardly blame her. Well it turns out that even 15-1 couldn't get them to the Super Bowl. Beating Brady in a big game is a big chore.

As usual we watched the game at Sharky's. In the grand scheme of things, it was pretty crowded. Much more so than in the beginning of the year.

I thought they were still in it up until that 3rd and 17 play where they got called for holding. That was huge. Turned out the Patriots scored two plays later and put the game out of reach.

If only it would of been different.

Well, I get to watch Brady in the Super Bowl again in a couple of weeks. I've been saying since 2001 that he could be the greatest quarterback the game has seen. His numbers a pointing to that..

We'll have to see what happens...

What was really just a minor dusting of snow - approx 1 inch - created such a mess in and around Raleigh, that the governor declared a state of emergency.

Erin and myself got stuck in traffic on Glenwood for about two hours before we eventually gave up on where we were going and turned around. We ate at the Red Robin for the first time.

One of the nice things about living in Raleigh that I've come to realise - and count on - is the fact that snow around here turns to ice very quickly. When it does, all bets are off and the city shuts down. Snow days are great any way they come. I'll take em.

So we got a bit of a snow day today. Things are clearing up - basically back to normal. I guess the forecast is calling for more snow tomorrow.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed...

The belief is that if the proper model could be created, customers would be able to take advantage of a wider range of products and services. In doing so,
Grabers could offer thos

Unfortunately, lack to professional training in relational database design
made this task daunting and time consuming.

What follows is what we have come up with. This article will describe the various parts of the database.

The Products

The Vendors

The Customers

The Orders

The Order Process

To set the stage, I've been trying to model the web content of the Academy's website. This has been an on-and-off little puzzle since I redesigned their website initially.

Because there was such a varied amount of content, with the pages containing varied sections, all of which vary, I had trouble abstracting a solution out in my mind.

Finally, however I believe I have come up with something. I believe the model below can help get there. Now I just need to figure out the SQL to get the data I want.

It started out the my mortgage broker transferred to another part of the company and left me hanging. The new broker that took over my account eventually left himself.

When the date of closing got moved up unexpectedly, I needed to get the ball rolling so everything would be inline. Turns out I was given wrong information.

I was pissed. I called the company - CTX Mortgage - ranting and raving. I thought it was terrible how I was being treated. Well, that got their attention, but now I didnt' believe a word they said. One person told me one thing, another told me another. All this for being a 'slam dunk' transaction.

I decided to call another one of the preferred lendors. This time things are going much more smoothly. I secured a better rate and looks like I'll receive some better perks for the life of the loan.

That'a something mortgage brokers can't offer.

I'll update this entry when everything is complete. I'm certain there will be atleast one surprise.

When Erin and myself were in Buffalo for New Year's, we all went to the Emmerts for a visit. I had good time. Lynn, Nig, Judy, Charlie were there. We all chatted and took photos. It was good to be there.

Sadly, Jack passed away some days later.

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EMMERT - John G., painter and decorator
1/8/2005

John G. Emmert of the City of Tonawanda, a retired self-employed painter and decorator, died Thursday in Kenmore Mercy Hospital after a lengthy illness. He was 78.

Known as "Jack," Mr. Emmert was born in Buffalo and was a Navy veteran of World War II, serving in the European and Asiatic-Pacific theaters with the rank of painter 3rd class.

Self-employed for more than 35 years with Emmert Decorators, Mr. Emmert was an artist and craftsman who had a passion for the works he created. He also worked for the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport, from 1982 until his retirement in 1992.

Mr. Emmert was a member of Knights of Columbus in Kenmore. His hobbies included golf, bowling and gardening.

Survivors include his wife of 52 years, the former Maryann Brown of the City of Tonawanda; two daughters, Maureen Adolf of New York City and Donna M. of Buffalo; two sons, John B. of Washington, D.C., and David W. of Rochester; a half-sister, Phyllis Ketterer of Hamburg; a brother, Donald of Williamsville; a half-brother, Brad Hafner of Lake View; and three grandchildren.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 9:30 a.m. Monday in St. Christopher's Catholic Church, 2660 Niagara Falls Blvd., Town of Tonawanda. Private burial will be in Mount Olivet Cemetery, Town of Tonawanda.

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Although the entries really didn't provide any competitive insight, it does provide a glimpse on what's on the radar screem with some of the executives.

Then there's Red Hat People Blog. In this one you get a better feel for the company and what's going on under the hood - especially for Linux power users.

It'll be interesting to watch as more organizations use these.

It started yesterday when I looked closely at a statement that came from WVU. I regularly just quickly glance at them, or ignore them altogether.

As I looked, I noticed that I'd been overcharged multi thousands of dollars on my tuition and a refund was due to me. This is a 'normal' thing I was assured by the FinAid office. A quick glance at my online account confirmed it, but doubly so. Seems they did the same last semester, too.

Normal, really.

So I called them, and the good fortune that I suspected- some $2,400 - is owed to me. They'll be cutting the check in the coming days.

My bet is that I can make more with the money than just paying down the loan. It's already been earmarked for the house.

Nice.

A busy day nonetheless. Sue turned 60 and we had a party. A normal day.

I got to thinking how hard it can be keeping up with entries. Things happen pretty quick. Now that vacation's over, we'll try to continually post.

Samuel's Grande Manor in Clarence was the place for New Year's Eve. There was about 600-700 people here. What was cool about it was that they served breakfast at the end, at about 1:00 a.m.

We got to the stadium at about 9:15 a.m. We hooked up with Dennis for our free tix and had a beer with him. It was good talking to him. I saw Tom Ottis for the first time in years. After hanging a bit, we went back over to Nigs shop and hungout.

Erin got to take a look at all of the memorabilia and shit. We bought a hat for Tiffany and went back to the shop. Mark Hummel got to meet E.

Turned out that the Bills lost. Didn't make the playoffs. Oh Well