Judebert.com

I started my studying today by looking at Programming Interviews Exposed. The author indicates that linked-list problems are common in coding interviews, because they can be solved relatively quickly, but they still expose the coder's thought processes.

As a Java programmer, I don't have much use for linked lists. Java includes a LinkedList class that takes care of all the operations for me. But according to the book, I might still be asked to implement a linked list of my own and solve some linked list problems... because it will expose my thought process.

Okay, I remember linked lists from back when I was a hot-shot C programmer. (I used to think Java was a flash in a pan. With the recent security vulnerabilities, it may turn out that way after all.) I can do this. But perhaps I should pass on the brain teaser for today. The list problems can be my brain teaser.

Implement a singly-linked list. Given a doubly-linked list (with tail pointer) where each node may have a doubly-linked list (without head or tail pointers) as a child, and the children may have their own children, flatten it to a plain doubly-linked list. Now put it back.

When I changed web hosting, my emails couldn't be copied (curse you, PowWeb!). I had to back them up myself.

I do most of my work on the web, so that I have the same data everywhere. To back up the emails, I needed to copy them locally.

I knew that Thunderbird keeps its emails in the Unix-standard mbox format, and I thought that might be helpful for restoring. A quick survey of other email clients (a dying breed, by the way) didn't discover anything better, so I installed T-bird despite its impending end-of-life.

Backing up and restoring was surprisingly easy. Here's how I did it.

We recently purchased a used 1996 Geo Metro Sedan (in the forum parlance, a "4/5"). It was cheap, and mechanically sound (so far as we could determine), but it had a lot of minor problems: cosmetic, trim, and electrical.

One of the biggest problems was that the driver's door didn't open from the inside. It doesn't sound huge, but coupled with the frequent Florida rain, and the driver's window not seating properly when rolled up... well, it needed immediate fixing. I had thought the problem was just a slipped actuator rod, but it turned out that the latch mechanism was borked.

Locks online were $70 and up. Junkyards didn't have much in the way of Metros. I eventually found a '96 Metro Hatchback with a working lock; it looked the same to me. 30 minutes of swearing, 1/8 teaspoon of blood, and $20 later, I was ready to fulfill my wife's fondest wishes.

I found a fantastic explanation of .htaccess control of PHP error logging. I've bookmarked it (and now I've webmarked it via my site!), and you should, too. Invaluable information for developers and tech support pesonnel.

The "criterion" Template

Judebert.com may be powered by the Serendipity blog engine, but it's really more like a website than a blog. There's a lot of information, some of which is not dynamic, like Contraction Timer or the EV conversion diary.

To make the information more available, I decided to redesign. I visited Free CSS Templates to find a template with big, immediately visible tabs, clear text, and a well-defined separation for links and sidebar items.

After some searching among many excellent alternatives, I picked criterion for my website. Although it was presented as a corporate template, it looked like it would fit my layout without too much modification. An easy fit was important because this would be my first template port.

The Bulletproof template made porting a breeze. Here's how I did it.