Overview forblog

Back to business

That month long gap since the last blog post was due to me working on the backend of the website.  The CMS I used recently released a huge update that needed a bit more involvement on my part than the typical upgrade.  And due to the fact that I’m just a schlub hack of a web engineer, it took me longer than expected to go forward with it compared to someone who actually knows what they’re doing.

First was understanding the requirements which basically were at the threshold which my web provider could support.  For it, I needed to make some adjustments to make sure all of the minimum requirements were cleared for the upgrade.  Next was making all of the backups and massaging the upgrade package to conform to my webserver’s settings.  Then came the upgrade which didn’t go as smoothly as I wanted it to.

But after my third attempt it looks like it finally worked out and now I’m done with the backend and can go back to posting more stuff about celebrating the shallow.  But don’t think I was resting on my laurels when it comes to content.  In fact, I have some cool stuff I hope to roll out during the next few months.  Those, plus I still have a few more entries to post for the games journal.  So if you like what you see on this site, come back in the coming months for new stuff to check out.

But as always, I’d like to thank the CMS dev team for doing such a great job of making a super flexible management system that novice like me or experts can work with all for the super low cost of free.

Things I see on my morning commute

huh...

An evening at Chavez Ravine

Went to another Dodger’s game during the weekend, and this one was full of goodies. It was my brother’s birthday gift to go to a game and I came along for the ride.

We went to a different spot again, with this one probably being the best angle I’ve seen for watching a game. We were on the top deck right up front on the edge with the fence so no obstructions were in the way of us viewing the field. Last year when we went to the right pavilion, it was a terrible way to watch the game due to 1) you can’t see the jumbo screens 2) you are facing the direction of the sun set (which btw takes forever to set) and 3) all the players are facing their butts at you except for the batter and catcher. The only major benefit for pavilion seating was the free all-you-can-eat meals.

With this new spot, however, there was one catch: the height.

Eek! We were really high up with a view almost showing what was directly below us. With a fear of heights, this was a terrible place to sit. I was terrified for the first few innings, fearful of accidently dropping something over the fence which is very short, only being about eye’s height when sitting down. On top of that the wiring mesh was spaced large enough to where something as large as a cell phone could slip through. So while it was designed for viewing the game with the least amount of obstructions, the safety aspect seemed skimpy (at least to a scardy cat like me). But after a while I got used to it and all was good.

Being right behind and above home place was really cool. Not only do you have a great view of the field, but the jumbo screens as well, and just the whole park in general. And since we were at the top deck, we were a short climb upstairs to the snack bar and the main store.

This game had a promotion gift at the gate entrance and this one was a model replica of Dodger Stadium. Although it was really detailed with colors and the overall shape of the stadium, it was lacking on quality. When inspecting up close, it looks rather cheap. To me, the box it came in looked better than the replica itself. Oh well, it’s better than the dumb bottle opener I got last time I was here. Still a neat freebie, though. (The pic below makes it look like it's a cake)

Snack wise I kept it simple with a Dodger Dog and a soda. Well actually it was a Super Dodger Dog, which I think is just a longer version of the Dodger Dog. For the drink I got the one that comes with a collectors cup with Clayton Kershaw embossed on it. This will go well with my Adrian Gonzalez cup that I got from a previous visit.

Whenever I go to the merchandise shop, I always look around but never actually buy anything, but this time I was determined to get something. I wanted to finally get a hat. And this time I succeeded in accomplishing that goal. Check it out!

Pretty rad, right? This one has a classic, old-school style look to it. Rather than a new hat that has a dome type of shape with the front flattened a bit for the team name, this cap is more rounded with a low profile build. The LA logo is large with an effect that looks like its been brushed to I guess age it, and the color blue is vibrant with the color under the bill being a kelly green that most caps used to sport. If anything, it reminds me of the cap Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez wore in The Sandlot. Now I just need a loose #30 jersey and a pair of P.F. Flyers and I'll be set!

In all, good times were had by all. The Dodgers won, the game wasn’t too short or too long, the weather was great, and I got a lot of stuff.

Subliminal message

Back on Friday Google celebrated Sigmund Freud’s birthday by making a doodle of him and slapping it their homepage as they normally do for iconic names throughout history. And whenever I looked at the doodle, I saw this:

Happy belated birthday, Mr. Freud!

Japan’s pretty cool

I ordered something from Japan on eBay, and in addition to what I bought, I also got this neat little bonus.

Pretty cute ^_^

Manic Monday

Don’t smile, box! Don’t you understand how dangerous of a situation you were just in?!

I’ve been tracking this box for the past week and I was surprised to find out that UPS decided to leave it near my front door. This was odd because this was the first time they've done this to me. Normally they keep it because a signature or something is required. Normally I would reroute it to a UPS Store near my job after the first failed attempt, but I nearly had a heart attack when I was at work and noticed the status of “delivered” followed by the desination of “porch.”

Since I work near where I live I was able to quickly get back to my place before any poachers decided to swipe it. Doesn’t help that the news has been recently giving reports on people following trucks and then grabbing the packages off from the front porch after they checked that no one is home. Normally I wouldn’t sweat it, but this item is rather expensive (at least it is to me), so I was extra nervous about the whole situation.

I guess I was lucky that I was able to get it without incident, so all's well that ends well, but I really wish Amazon would show who the delivery service is so I can change the destination to a UPS Store whenever they are picked.