Friday, March 29, 2019
I am not a web designer (more software developer), that said I do all of the work -including web design for my sites.
As mentioned in the last post, I recently updated the look for the Business Blog, Remix. I liked the way the new header graphic worked out so I thought I would do something similar for this blog.
Initially, I tried a photo image, however the results were not what I expected. I searched through stock clip-art I keep on hand and found a graphic I thought I could use.
The new header graphic for this blog looks similar to the one created for the business blog, however I am going to keep both headers for the time being.
Why not hire a web designer? Nerdy programmer cannot afford a web designer. Because of security issues, I have put on hold most of my programming projects, and began updating the graphics on several areas of my site (qisoftware.com). That said, programming is easier for me.
Other things I have been working?
- WiredPages Events-- added quite a few events.
- Hanover Maryland Events-- here, again added quite a few events.
- Updating the Stores:
By the way, have you noticed the relatively new widget on the WiredPages Real Estate page?
Unique properties are added to the interface (lower right corner on the page) on Tuesdays & Fridays. There are quite a few noteworthy (expensive) homes that you may want to scroll through. I have spent a little time going through the interiors of most of the homes. If you love great design be sure to check out the details by clicking on the links.
Want your Unique Property listed? A project I am considering.
Tuesday, March 26, 2019
Over the weekend, I updated the header graphics and elements of the CSS for the QiSoftware Business Blog, Remix.
In coming weeks, you may notice changes to other areas of the QiSoftware site and its sub domains.
QiSoftware site areas include (but not limited to):
- QiSoftware
- WiredPages
- Business Directory
- Remix
- It's Personal (this blog)
- Product Descriptions
QiSoftware updates in conjunction with new features and other enhancements planned for the site.
Wednesday, March 20, 2019
Spent most of the day, yesterday at the Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) Express Services facility in Columbia, MD renewing my driver's license.
Why? Although, I set an appointment for Friday, March 29th, 2019, I decided I wanted to get this process out of the way as soon as possible. My first mistake. I should have stayed with the original appointment.
Key to my driver's license renewal process was having my prescription for glasses updated and certified by a doctor. Saturday, I picked up the glasses and Sunday, the MVA paperwork signed by my doctor detailing my corrected vision with the prescription.
So this prompted the desire to have the license renewed sooner rather than later.
The second mistake- I photo copied my birth certificate and did not take the original with me to the MVA facility. I returned home to get the original. Although, I returned to the facility by 11:00 AM, I did not leave the center until after 3:00 PM.
Based on my experience, I thought I would post things you might do to avoid problems:
- Certified copy of your Birth Certificate
- Recent Passport (either this or the Birth Certificate)
- Original Social Security Card (How do I apply for a new or replacement Social Security number card?
- Understand Federal Law relating to Real ID. Wikipedia info about Real ID
- Set up an appointment and keep it.
Your State will probably provide the exact details as to the documents required for the renewal process, however the list above provides a good starting point.
My birthday, is not until July, so I had a little time to complete the process, however I wanted to make sure I had my eyes certified by a doctor before I went in to renew my license.
Maryland notified me in February that I could start my renewal process at anytime. The notification and collection of documents made me a little apprehensive at first, however I had more than enough in the large folder I used to collect the copies, including copies of diplomas, social security card, birth certificate, a motor vehicle registration, bank card statements, recent tax returns and official correspondence from state agencies.
Be sure to read carefully your State's requirements for the renewal process.
Saturday, March 16, 2019
Went by Visionworks @ArundelMills this morning to pick up my new glasses.
Pretty pleased with how this turned out. Took advantage of a "Buy One, Get One Free" offer.
Wednesday, March 13, 2019
Spring is right around the corner, along with the rainy season. In anticipation, I have been thinking about things I would like to own.
I added the above items to the "Just Want" store...
The socks are a little late in the season, however when I find this type of sock, I always want to stock up.
Tuesday, March 05, 2019
Last week, I had an eye appointment for new glasses. I ordered two pairs. Normally, I wear contacts during the day and glasses at night, however I have not purchased new prescription glasses in over 10 years so I thought it was time.
The new glasses are on the way. With all of the advancements in eye care treatment, I am rather old school as to how I handle my eye care needs:
- Very near-sighted
- Astigmatic
- Aging eyes (need reading glasses)
- Use computers a lot
I prefer to handle each of these issues separately rather than a single correction (contacts or glasses). The reason? The astigmatic issue, in my case- eyes are slightly off center, and at times causes dizziness and headaches depending on the type of vision wear.
I prefer contacts and over the counter reading glasses most of the time and prescription glasses without the bifocal for night time wear.
PS- Why do I have on PJs and makeup? I work from a home-office and often leave my hair pinned up, unless going out. When I have to take it out (should be every other day), sometimes I want to see if I still know how to apply makeup. I took photos because I thought my hair looked nice. Photo on the right shows the squinting issue without my reading glasses.
Monday, March 04, 2019
On February 24, 2019, I installed a new tool for job seekers, refer to this post.
On the first of March, I noticed both CareerOneStop resources I installed on the WiredPages Employment page no longer worked. I tweeted about it.
The Occupation Wage Data tool as discussed in this post, was installed September 23, 2018.
The CareerOneStop APIs are offered by the U.S. Department of Labor. On March 1st both tools were rendered inoperable because of a new requirement dealing with TLS protocols put into place by the government agency running the API service.
On Saturday, March 2, 2019, I fixed the TLS handshake problem by adding the following line of code to each of the Java servlets used in the deployment of the tools (keep in mind I use a private JVM on my hosting platform):
static {System.setProperty("https.protocols", "TLSv1,TLSv1.1,TLSv1.2");}
This morning, the tools are again inoperable.
Go Figure.......................................
More information: As I indicated the tools were operable all day Saturday and Sunday, however this morning the Protocol Handler was paused (reviewing Private JVM log files-- not shown "null pointer returned" for each request). Not sure why.
Mar 03, 2019 3:01:27 PM org.apache.catalina.core.StandardServer await
INFO: A valid shutdown command was received via the shutdown port. Stopping the Server instance.
Mar 03, 2019 3:01:27 PM org.apache.coyote.AbstractProtocol pause
INFO: Pausing ProtocolHandler ["http-apr-13895"]
Mar 03, 2019 3:01:27 PM org.apache.catalina.core.StandardService stopInternal
INFO: Stopping service Catalina
Mar 03, 2019 3:01:27 PM org.apache.catalina.loader.WebappClassLoaderBase clearReferencesJdbc
SEVERE: The web application [] registered the JDBC driver [com.mysql.jdbc.Driver] but failed to unregister it when the web application was stopped. To prevent a memory leak, the JDBC Driver has been forcibly unregistered.
Mar 03, 2019 3:01:27 PM org.apache.catalina.loader.WebappClassLoaderBase clearReferencesThreads
SEVERE: The web application [] appears to have started a thread named [Abandoned connection cleanup thread] but has failed to stop it. This is very likely to create a memory leak.
Mar 03, 2019 3:01:27 PM org.apache.coyote.AbstractProtocol stop
INFO: Stopping ProtocolHandler ["http-apr-13895"]
Mar 03, 2019 3:01:27 PM org.apache.coyote.AbstractProtocol destroy
INFO: Destroying ProtocolHandler ["http-apr-13895"]
A lot of my case involves, how could all of this have happened. When I work hard to install operable tools and someone interferes with my efforts, I have to show how and why these issues might be in play. Just wanted this issue noted.
I spent a bit of time researching and developing these tools. I do not like my work tampered with, especially when I have an ongoing case.
