Author: kiusau

Life is full of surprises. Still, you can quit at anytime, if you have grown weary of their outcome. For, after all, survival is but a first step; it is a primitive instinct that does not distinguish us, humans, from other animals. Accordingly, if it is all that you can achieve in life, do not be surprised that others treat you like an ordinary animal. Alas, if it is all there is left, and you have grown weary, it is good justification to depart. Before you go, however, look deep inside and determine if you are not the cause of your own demise. For, in the end, society owes you nothing, and even your parents are likely to forsake you, if you have not been grateful. Have you said thanks for all that you have received, and have you given in return for all that you have taken? John F. Kennedy once stated "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country". Obviously, he was not thinking of taxes, but the help that he would require to become an effective president. Little that is great can be achieved alone. Then too, it takes great leaders to motivate society and move it forward in a manner that will pave the way to a better tomorrow. The world is in need of good leaders. Maybe you are one of them in disguise. Indeed, no one owes you a living, but if people see you struggling they are apt to lend a hand. Just do not be afraid to reach out. And, do not quit, if nothing is given in return. For, many people simply do not care, and you must not let them get you down. You have a right to your own life and the pursuit of your own happiness, so do not be afraid to claim what is yours. Just do not take what belongs to others, if it not without their permission or obtained in fair competition. And, cry out when you have been cheated, but only if there is something to be gained from your cries, for few people like a cry-baby. Be judicious, strategic, and select your battles wisely. Do not waste your time with trivial injustices, for we all make errors, and we are all, therefore, subject to the injustice of others. It is the very thought of exercising my freedom of last resort that keeps me alive, for it is the comfort that I can put an end to my suffering at any time that allows me to endure enormous pain. It is what gives me the courage to fight for what is right without fear of losing. It is a powerful freedom that you should never surrender! Just do not make pain your goal, or you will surely finish a loser. Then too, never place pleasure over goodness and know to distinguish between the two. In liberty, Roddy

PHP Sessions

In order to produce an outstanding user experience Grammar Captive must incorporate a PHP session variable on its podcast webpage.  As this is a new adventure some additional time is required.

In the meantime, work has already begun on the Grammar Captive introductory podcasts.

Roddy

New Location – Again

This was not the time to do it, but it had to be done. Grammar Captive is now resident at Galvanize in Pioneer Square. Galvanize is an IT training center and host for young software entrepreneurs. It is located in Seattle’s charming old town not far from Seattle’s international and financial districts. After a full three weeks of struggle with no or only an unsecure and unreliable internet connection Grammar Captive now has both. Accordingly, the iTunes podcast feed has finally been completed, and Grammar Captive is able to generate automatically a new XML-RSS feed with each new podcast for both iTunes and other podcast hosts. Hooray, hooray.
Next up is a podcast webpage devoted to Grammar Captives upcoming weekly podcasts and completion and automation of Seven Gates, Grammar Captive’s weekly newsletter.
Roddy

Transition

Although at a great address SURF Incubator has proven unacceptable for further development.  Grammar Captive has moved a little further south to the Impact Hub where there is more technical expertise better suited for website development.

As soon as the Grammar Captive website has been updated, I will let you know more.  The daily time schedule remains the same, even though the dates are no longer appropriate.  Hopefully this problem will be fixed very soon.

Roddy

First Fully Specified Feed Channel

As predicted, adding new channel elements has proven easy. Adding new subelements to the item elements is only slightly more difficult and moving forward at good speed.

One more thing needs to be accomplished before returning to the automation of the Seven Gates newsletter, however:  a Grammar Captive podcast landing page — a place to go once the newsletter has been received and interested in the current week’s podcast has been generated.

I am building a funnel, but it is not out of the box.  It may succeed right away; it may require further adjustment.  Certainly it will not have been copied once complete.  In any case, it will be custom Grammar Captive.

Roddy

Success!

I was beginning to think that it would never happen, but yesterday evening, just before leaving the office, there it was — my first automatically created podcast feed.

Although there were only seven variables in my test feed, adding the rest should be a piece of cake in comparison.

After three different PHP libraries I finally discovered one that not only services ATOM, RFD, and RSS2 feeds, but one that is rock solid in design, very flexible in application, and actually works.

Best wishes to Anis Uddin Ahmad and Michael Bremmer for making FeedWriter what it is!

Roddy

Automated RSS Feed

Selection of the appropriate software for the creation of an automated RSS feed for Grammar Captive’s podcast series and Seven Gates — Grammar Captive’s weekly newsletter — has proven problematic.

Although an important lesson has been learned and much accomplished in regard to the manipulation of Grammar Captive’s database, the first selected piece of software has been abandoned and replaced.

This delay, although most unfortunate, will lead to greater and more reliable flexibility than was previously expected.  Grammar Captive continues to move ahead.

Roddy

An Important Source of Political and Economic Freedom

The English language has become the world’s premier lingua franca. There are a variety of reasons for its dominance; foremost among these are political and economic.

During the course of World Wars I and II the British empire changed hands. Where before the British pound had reigned, today it is the US dollar. This was not the way intended by America’s founding fathers, and the world should be loathe to follow in America’s footsteps. For, as a nation the American people have abandoned the principles set forth by their founding fathers.

Look not to America for world leadership, look to its founding documents and the writings of those who founded America. For therein lies the notion of political and economic liberty and the essence of good government to the extent that any government cans be considered little more than the necessary evil understood by America’s founding fathers.

Happy July 4th!
Roddy

Installation of New Introductory Video Complete

The technical integration of Grammar Captive’s new introductory video has been realized and work on the automated generation of Grammar Captive’s RSS feed has begun.

In order to see the new video simply click on the “captive” on Grammar Captive’s landing page at www.grammarcaptive.com.  Many thanks to Richard Wu at Precarious Heights for his superb cinematic creation and promotional effort on behalf of Grammar Captive.

Roddy

Podcast Tables Are Readied

Once the structure of a table is created the code necessary to fill the table with the form data must be written and tested. This task has now been completed. With one click the data from three distinct form fieldsets is loaded into three separate MySQL tables.

Next up is the creation of a corresponding automated podcast feed. Before the code for this task is initiated, however, Grammar Captive (GC)’s new introductory video will be integrated into the GC landing page. The code to achieve this integration is already underway!

Roddy