Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Tinkering with XSLT again

The cool tricks for today (since I wanted to update my syllabus) include replacements and improvements to what I did before. Since TestXSLT is PowerPC-only, I had to find an alternative method. I'm using the command 'xsltproc --output Syllabus.html opmlsyllabus2html.xsl Syllabus.opml' where Syllabus.opml is a file I edit in OmniOutliner and save as OPML, and where opmlsyllabus2html.xsl is a modified version of beigeopml2web.xsl from Buzz, as noted before. Runs like a charm on Lion!

Since I was mucking about, I decided to try to insert the current date for "Last Modified" line, and this time I found a wonderful hint to insert the current date with XSLT (see the top reply). For a brief overview of the XSLT date options, see this reference. While playing around with formatting the date, I ended up without a space where I wanted one, so I had to look for a way to insert a single space too (see the first hint in the last reply). It works, better than ever! I just needed TestXSLT to stop working to motivate me to try again.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Vacation

Day 1 (December 3)

Our flight to Fort Lauderdale was early enough that I initially set my alarm for 4:30 am. However, I didn't fall asleep as early as I wanted, so I changed it to 4:45 am. Despite those sleepy intentions, I was wide awake at 2:30 am, so I got out of bed at 4 am, knowing it would be a long day.

Day 3 (December 5)

We went to Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park at lunchtime. I went to the concession stand and asked for the cuban mix without cheese or mayo. I was told that special requests would not be honored, and if I had food allergies, I should just get the turkey sandwich. I don't want a turkey sandwich! I want ham and pulled pork and pickles, the yummy parts of a cuban mix! I really didn't like the dismissive tone of "just get a turkey sandwich," so I biked to the closest deli instead. For 75¢ more, I got a cuban mix with chips and a drink! I apologized for my food allergies, and was told, "Hon, if you're going to eat it, you should have it exactly the way you want it!" Wow, what a change from my previous ordering attempt! I am so glad I went to the Courthouse Deli instead! That one nice comment made me Very Glad I went there; I had pedaled over there because I was annoyed, but those kind words made me happy I had picked that deli.

Day 6 (December 8)

The best part of today is that I had a really good nap! This is somewhat amazing since fire alarm testing was in progress. The alarms weren't long, so I just went back to sleep every time.