Starting a MySQL Database January 20, 2010
Posted by flutebrarian in Web Design.Tags: databases, HTML, MySQL, programming
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Today was one of those “Eureka!” days. Last fall, the library’s web server was replaced. We had a number of web databases set up in Access and ASP using FrontPage. Life was easy, life was good.
When we upgraded, the new server no longer supported FrontPage Server Extensions and all the ASP database connections broke. Life was no longer easy.
The time had come to face the fact that I needed to learn MySQL and PHP and could no longer put it off. I took an online class on the basics of MySQL through eClasses.org and got that part under control. Taking the bull by the horns, I set up the new database on the new server and figured out how to import the nearly 8,200 records.
I’ve been working on piecing together a web form with a PHP script to add new records to the database for the past few days and this afternoon … Ta da! It worked.
I still need to figure out how to create a search form that will find various strings of data. I have a script that will pass the variable and display the results but that’s not real practical for the average user.
The saga continues …
And Now… Embedded Video November 7, 2009
Posted by flutebrarian in Web Design.Tags: benjamusic, video, Video production
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The fun doesn’t stop with embedding audio players. There is also video to consider. I’ve often wondered about how this could be done – show the first frame of the video rather than just a link to the file – so that the video is more apparent to the user than making them figure out what’s going to happen.
As I was searching for a solution, I came upon the Embedded Media HTML Generator from UCSF (http://cit.ucsf.edu/embedmedia/step1.php)
Enter the type of file you have (Flash, Real, Quicktime, or Windows Media), enter the URL of the file, and voila – the code you need is automatically generated. Copy and paste it into your web page and the user has all the player controls and a one frame preview of what’s to come.
Of course, you can also upload your 10 minute flash video file to YouTube or Facebook. Both these sites will generate the code you need as well for your web page. The advantage here is that their servers take the burden of storage and playback, both things to consider when you are paying for bandwidth and storage.
Embedding Audio Players August 29, 2009
Posted by flutebrarian in Web Design.Tags: audio, benjamusic, players
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These days, I have a bit more time on my hands for experimenting with new web tools thanks to the State of Ohio. One of my long standing web site projects is Benjamusic.com a site for a conductor/composer friend of mine, Eric Benjamin, who has written some incredible works for orchestra, chorus, and other ensembles.
We want to make this a showplace for his works so that, hopefully, he will be able to sell or rent some of his compositions. Although I think the overall concept of the site is easy to navigate and use, it’s been two years and time for some new stuff.
We have a number of mp3 files of his compositions so the potential buyer can listen to them first. I had been using plain text links to the files, which then opened an mp3 audio player in a blank window. Useful, but the user lost touch with the description of the piece and had to use the back navigation button to return to the catalog.
I knew that it was possible to embed a player onto the page next to the description, but the HTML descriptions I had found for “object” were less than useful. After browsing several google results for “embed mp3 player” I came upon the solution.
There was an Audio Player WordPress Plugin from 1pixelout that seemed to be just what I wanted. www.1pixelout.net/code/audio-player-wordpress-plugin
A tutorial for the installation of this player on a non-WordPress, or regular HTML website was also available. www.macloo.com/examples/audio_player
So it does take more than just the “object” element to make this thing work but fortunately, someone else had already written the javascript and created the shockwave flash file – two things at which I couldn’t even begin to figure out at this point.
Now on to changing the links to all the audio files on the site…
Playing Elijah February 9, 2009
Posted by flutebrarian in Music Performances.Tags: concerts, orchestra
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The first and only time that I have ever played Mendelssohn’s Elijah was as a terrified high school senior. I had been playing second flute to my flute teacher in a community orchestra with the man who would become my college flute teacher as the conductor. This year was my first experience playing in an orchestra and a great experience to prepare me for college.
Then my flute teacher dropped the bomb – she couldn’t play the Elijah concert. She wanted ME to play principal.
Shyly (as I did many things then) I agreed, not knowing what I was up against. Somehow, I made it through the performance and was completely overwhelmed by the whole experience.
Fast forward about 34 years…
Now, I have about 12 years experience as the principal flute in the Tuscarawas Philharmonic Orchestra and it’s Mendelssohn’s 200th birthday. Time to bring Elijah back to life!
I can honestly say that none of the oratorio sounded familiar, except for the crazy E major scale with the long D# trill at the end in one of the movements. This time, the run and the trill went off without a hitch. A triumph at last.
The performance went extremely well and Ron Barkett was an incredible Elijah. I found myself in a trance as I sat through my tacet movement while listening to the wonderful duet between Ron and principal cellist Elaine Anderson. Wow. Just beautiful.
And conductor Eric Benjamin – where would we be without him? His ability to pull chorus, soloists, staging and orchestra together is uncanny. He makes our work so easy and definitely never boring…
Guru Lists September 29, 2008
Posted by flutebrarian in Web Design.add a comment
There’s no doubt that Sitepoint.com is one of my favorite web sites and publishing companies. Their articles are chock full of information on all sorts of web coding topics and they are written for the average person (non-code geek) to understand. In fact, I think I’ve expanded my CSS knowledge through many of their tutorials and books.
So, when I discovered their Guru Lists, I thought they’d be a good thing for future use. A couple that are excellent for expanding your design knowledge are Color for Coders and CSS Positioning Properties At-A-Glance.
Here’s to exploring!
Taking My CSS on the Road September 22, 2008
Posted by flutebrarian in Librarianship, Web Design.Tags: CSS, Eastern Great Lakes IUG, Firefox, presentations
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Friday, I had the opportunity to present a program on CSS at the Eastern Great Lakes Innovative Users Group meeting. We get a lot of clues on how to code a document and code “cookbooks” are great for a quick fix.
But how much do we really know about how the cascade really works? How do we troubleshoot the font that appears to shrink on the screen? What kinds of tools are available for determining inheritance features?
These were the kinds of things that I covered in the presentation “CSS: Beyond the Code.” If you are interested in troubleshooting tools that you can use in Firefox, check out Janet Stewart’s presentation that preceded mine called “The Web Developer’s Best Friend: Firefox Extensions.” I’ve also created a page that includes the links from the presentation in case you’re interested.
Starting a Website August 11, 2008
Posted by flutebrarian in Web Design.Tags: Mu Phi Epsilon
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One of the websites that I created and maintain is for the Alliance Alumni of Mu Phi Epsilon.
Last week, I received a call from our chapter president that we had won the award for the best alumni website for the year! Wow – the SECOND year in a row! I’ve designed a lot of websites, but this is the only award that I have ever won. Quite an honor.
Since then, I’ve gotten a few inquiries on how to get started. So I thought that this would be a good place to share some ideas on some best practices.
The first thing to do is get your domain name registered. I use a company called 1and1.com (that’s one and one) They are very inexpensive and have a good track record for service. Other companies can also offer you this service. Search your favorite search engine for “domain name service” for a listing of companies.
Next look for a hosting service – a place to put your website. The domain service company may also offer web hosting. You can also search for “web hosting”. Or, you can try the free route through your local public library or school if your chapter is affiliated with a college or university. In our case, our public library offers free web space to non-profit organizations in our community.
These two things should at least get you started. Some companies like 1and1.com, have templates readily available that allow you to just pick a design and type in your info – voila – instant web presence that looks good!
In future installments, look for hints on good and bad design, format vs. function, and Karen’s number one rule of web design: “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.”
Another Closing of Another Show June 22, 2008
Posted by flutebrarian in Music Performances.Tags: carnation city players, community theater, musicals
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The folks at Carnation City Players (CCP) have done it again! Today wrapped up a two weekend run of the hilarious musical HONK! at the Firehouse Theater in Alliance, OH. It was a work of shear delight both to the eyes and ears.
But there was a twist to the birth of this show about the Ugly Duckling.
You see, the show was changed at the eleventh hour due to casting problems with the original show. Director Don McCallister had the original show all blocked, musical director Kim Lewis had all the musicians lined up. A couple weeks were lost in trying to fill in the crucial gaps in the casting before it was decided to jump ship and pull out Honk to replace it.
So, instead of the usual 6 or 7 weeks used to stage a musical, only 5 weeks was available. All but one cast member from the original auditions said they would participate and the preparation began. Fortunately, Don had staged this show elsewhere and had retained all his notes. Of course, his skill at pulling things together and the dedication of the all-volunteer cast and crew didn’t hurt either.
Not only did the director have to shift gears, but costumes, sets, lighting and props had to be changed quickly as well.
And change they did. We no longer had soldiers on stage, but ducks, turkeys, frogs, and chickens. Oh, and don’t forget the cats and swans.
Mama duck and the duck family were wonderful and Ugly’s transition through “the molt” was mesmerizing. But the cast members who stole the show were the cats and the bullfrog. I’ll never look at my cat the same way again….
Things They Never Taught Me in Library School May 7, 2008
Posted by flutebrarian in Librarianship.Tags: Interviews, Oral history, Video production
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When I attended library school back in the dark ages of the early 1980s, my instructors always told us that there would be lots of things that we would need to do that they would never teach us. Well, I think I’m in the middle of all that these days!
What I did learn was that part of the mission of the public library was to develop collections and preserve local history for future generations. What I didn’t learn was how to scan photographs, documents, and conduct video interviews of prominent local people. Oh yeah, and then there is post production editing and creation of archival tapes and DVDs. Of course, none of these procedures existed then.
We have started identifying persons to be interviewed and over the past several weeks have conducted three interviews with another one scheduled for next week. That, as it turns out, is the EASY part!
After taping, we load the tape into Pinnacle software for editing – Since these are oral histories, there’s not much to do to the bulk of the interview. What we do need to do is add chapters, titles, transitions in and transitions out. We check for audio levels so that all the speaking is clear and a consistent volume level.
The next part is to feed the data back to mini DV, creating a master archival copy and to create DVD copies for end users. We label the DVD using a Casio disc writer, capture a shot of the person being interviewed from the video, and then place that in a template I’ve created in Photoshop and Publisher for the cover.
But wait! We’re not done yet!
The file now needs to be converted to streaming media so that we can place it on the web. We have a Helio server so Real Media will be created, but Windows Media will probably also be created. Fortunately, Pinnacle can handle all these formats with ease!
Final steps include creating a timeline, indexing, and *gulp* transcribing. Well, two out of three learned in library school will be useful. Transcription skills, anyone?
IUG Day 2 April 29, 2008
Posted by flutebrarian in Librarianship.Tags: IUG16, IUG2008
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Yeah, I know. What happened to day 1? We’ve jumped from pre-conference to day 2. Well, day 1 was pretty hectic with the opening session (Larry Irving was terrific), poster sessions, and three terrific afternoon sessions, well, for the most part anyway.
After the sessions, we grabbed an early dinner at the hotel and then on to hear Mark Russell in the aptly named Mark Russell Martini Lounge at the hotel. He came for two weeks and stayed for 20 years! In this year of the presidential election, there is certainly plenty of fodder for political satirists. In other words, he was terrific!
The evening was capped off with the annual Innovative dessert reception. They had wonderful cherry and apple cobblers with a big scoop of ice cream on top. On our way to get a drink, we ran into friends from Buffalo who we haven’t seen in probably 15 years or more. It was good to catch up, but we never made it past the corner of the room the whole evening.
So back to day 2.
I started out with an appointment with a Baker & Taylor representative. We have just started using them as our main jobber and I needed to get more info on how their system worked and how to best work it into our workflow. It’s still a little fuzzy, but I think we’re on the right track.
As expected, Bob Duncan’s program “Webpub.def: the Untold Story” was packed. Luckily the room was changed from the postage stamp-sized room it was originally scheduled to be in. I had never heard him speak but have read his postings on the list for years. He was very thorough and led us step by step through the enigma of the dreaded webpub.def file.
I followed this with the program on editing the webPAC Pro example set. One of my goals this year was to be brave enough to face the arduous task of moving to Pro without making my site lose its clarity and branding to match the rest of our web site. After these two programs, and the prospect of release 2007 FINALLY becoming available, I think I’m ready to start tackling this project.
The day ended with our fifth traditional Ethiopian dinner. Karen J. outdid herself again this year by finding a great restaurant called Dukem. Fortunately, she also knows what all the food is on the menu and we are all too happy to let her take control and do the ordering. And it was great!
