Just thought I'd share with everyone all the modules I'm making use of here on my site since I've had a few people asking.

List of installed modules below:

I got tired of always manually upgrading the necessary files for my Drupal installation and then copying the config back over. So I've automated almost the entire upgrade process with a shell script. All that I must do myself now is put Drupal into maintenance mode.

drupal_upgrade.sh (Don't forget to make it executable: chmod +x drupal_upgrade.sh)

Note: The script assumes that it and the extracted update is in the next directory up from Drupal. Don't forget to set the Drupal directory variable. Also, obligatory "I'm not responsible if you hose you database/Drupal install". TEST THIS SCRIPT IN A SAFE ENVIRONMENT FIRST.

I reported a simple bug in Adobe AIR yesterday that concerns opening links and got this response today:

If you find yourself asking the above question, I hope to help you find the answer. In this post I'm going to look at what Drupal does well, and what some of it's competitors do better. I will not focus so much on what Drupal does that it's competitors don't do, because if I did, my post would be obsolete within a month. Everyone is emulating Drupal.

Drupal is beastly. I mean that in a literal sense. If you threw Drupal in a pit with all the other content management systems out there, I'm pretty sure Drupal would come out on top. Drupal is a very powerful system, but as Spiderman taught me, with great power, comes great responsibility. What I mean is, if you can't or are unwilling to put the time in to learn the ins and outs of Drupal, you probably won't be very impressed with what is otherwise an excellent piece of software.

So why would you choose it? Read on to find out...

I went and installed the Comment RSS module so you can all enjoy subscriptions to active comment feeds. I'm sure those following my religious debates will appreciate it.

If you don't know what RSS is, don't worry about it. You probably won't think you're missing much.

Yup, I am talking about religion again. This time I would like to share the fact that, despite my belief that there is no higher power(s), despite the fact that I am by no means a Christian (not anymore, anyway), I still celebrate Christmas. And I will tell you why: You do not have to be a Christian to enjoy quality time with your family. You don't even need a holiday as an excuse for it either, but whatever gets people to treat each other a little nicer for a couple months a year is OK with me.

So maybe I should not say I celebrate Christmas, maybe I should call it something else... who's to say. But I think we can all agree that this holiday has transcended religious boundaries in modern times and is simply a time of year that we should all enjoy and cherish. I call it Christmas because that's how I was raised and it is tradition for me, but you can call it whatever you like. Please, post your thoughts.

Just a followup on this post I made a little while back about my plans for replacing my web server. I replaced it about 2 weeks ago now and I am only now getting around to writing about it. What can I say? I've been busy.

I used old parts I had laying around because I really couldn't justify spending money on a new server at this point in time but still felt I needed it. This was a compromise. I ended up with this:

• P4 2.6ghz with hyper-threading
• 1gb (2gb soon) DDR-400
• 40gb system drive
• 160gb data drive

It seems like only a modest improvement over what I had before, but it is definitely noticeable. The improvement is most apparent with VMware Server, which I am using to host 4 virtual servers concurrently to handle other websites I host. I am still running my own sites on the hyper-visor.

The coolest thing about getting the new server though is that I now have a fully redundant backup in the old server. I use shell scripts and cron to keep the web root, Apache configuration, and databases synchronized.

I'd like to share a recent... revelation? New insight? Sudden outbreak of common sense? Whatever you want to call it, I have recently decided that I shall no longer identify myself as an atheist. To anyone that has ever asked me about my religious inclinations, that has been my response, but I have realized that it does not truly fit my beliefs and what I think is right.

Atheists are, for the most part, hypocrites. Any "atheist" who is not should probably call themselves agnostic instead. The same people who constantly criticize Christians, or Mormons, or <insert _religion_here> for trying to force their beliefs down everyones' throats are essentially doing the same thing by telling them there is no god. Admit it, whether you like it or not, you are still engaging in something like a form of theism by not believing in a higher power, and then being just as much of a jerk by telling those that do believe that they are wrong and you are right. I do not believe in that, I believe in tolerance.

I was talking about the subject of laptop security with a friend the other week and I presented an alternative model to the current trend that security-minded folk are taking now, which I wanted to share here as well.