Author: kiusau

Life is full of surprises. Still, you can quit at anytime, if you have grown weary of their outcome. For, after all, survival is but a first step; it is a primitive instinct that does not distinguish us, humans, from other animals. Accordingly, if it is all that you can achieve in life, do not be surprised that others treat you like an ordinary animal. Alas, if it is all there is left, and you have grown weary, it is good justification to depart. Before you go, however, look deep inside and determine if you are not the cause of your own demise. For, in the end, society owes you nothing, and even your parents are likely to forsake you, if you have not been grateful. Have you said thanks for all that you have received, and have you given in return for all that you have taken? John F. Kennedy once stated "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country". Obviously, he was not thinking of taxes, but the help that he would require to become an effective president. Little that is great can be achieved alone. Then too, it takes great leaders to motivate society and move it forward in a manner that will pave the way to a better tomorrow. The world is in need of good leaders. Maybe you are one of them in disguise. Indeed, no one owes you a living, but if people see you struggling they are apt to lend a hand. Just do not be afraid to reach out. And, do not quit, if nothing is given in return. For, many people simply do not care, and you must not let them get you down. You have a right to your own life and the pursuit of your own happiness, so do not be afraid to claim what is yours. Just do not take what belongs to others, if it not without their permission or obtained in fair competition. And, cry out when you have been cheated, but only if there is something to be gained from your cries, for few people like a cry-baby. Be judicious, strategic, and select your battles wisely. Do not waste your time with trivial injustices, for we all make errors, and we are all, therefore, subject to the injustice of others. It is the very thought of exercising my freedom of last resort that keeps me alive, for it is the comfort that I can put an end to my suffering at any time that allows me to endure enormous pain. It is what gives me the courage to fight for what is right without fear of losing. It is a powerful freedom that you should never surrender! Just do not make pain your goal, or you will surely finish a loser. Then too, never place pleasure over goodness and know to distinguish between the two. In liberty, Roddy

You Cannot Read What You Do Not Wtite

Obviously an untrue statement unless you are reading from a private database. So, why all the hubris?

I discovered that the variable type of the value attribute must be consistent across option elements in order to avoid complications.
In any case, the podcast category type has now been added to the form template for building RSS feeds.

The more automation now, the more substantive content later.

Roddy

Grammar Captive’s 1st Anniversary

One full year has passed since the first version of the Grammar Captive website was uploaded to the internet.

It has been a very long year with numerous and major set-backs.  Still, many good things have happened.  And, in celebration of today’s anniversary, I would like to bring to your attention to the newest feature of the  developmental podcast host page.

From this moment forward each new podcast will be tagged with one of five categories including Concept, Form and Use, or one of the three Grammar Captive techniques: Clausal Analysis, Linear Analysis, and Socratic Inversion.  Not only will users be able to select podcasts according to category, but all podcasts will be listed in order of their publication with the most recent appearing first.

Under the category Chronology all podcasts, no matter their category tag are listed together in chronological order.

Although no podcast has yet been produced, click on the heading Chronology in the podcast hostpage‘s navigation bar.  You will know that you have reached the end when you have clicked on a link called Click and Listen and the selected podcast appears.  Enjoy!

It was a major technical feat to achieve this highly organized display style, but it was well worth the effort.  For now, users will be able to find what they are looking for with a minimum of effort.

Roddy

Automatic Column Height Adjustment

Although not a complete solution the column heights on the podcast webpage are now equal in height no matter the amount of material contained in each.  One simply scrolls to see the rest.

Further adjustment must still be made for smart-phone viewing where absolute heights are highly undesirable.  Correcting this short-coming will be tomorrow’s adventure.

Have a good night (Seattle time)!

Roddy

Category Selection and Pagination

As expected, this week was full of new surprises.  In particular, users can now select a category of podcasts and have only podcasts within that category display in chronological order beginning with the most recent first. What is more, users can scroll through the list with a pagination widget that displays only a set number of podcasts at a time.  In other words, with knowledge of the number of a particular podcast one has merely to select the page on which that podcast number is likely to be found, and it will very likely be there.  No need to scroll through the entire list!

Go to the podcast_dev_copy.php file, find the navigator bar, and click on Chronology.  Then look for the phrase Podcast Index …, and click again.  Make sure that the bottom of the resulting page is visible, for there is a surprise at the bottom.

Have a great weekend!

Roddy

日本人も「文法キャプチブ」を使い！

最近の状況と努力で新しい時刻表が成ってきました。現在は、日本人も「文法キャプチブ」を都合のよい時間で使用することができます。昼ご飯の前後「文法キャプブ」のウェブビナーに参加するし、その個別指導のオンラインのサービスも使うことができます。

なお、「文法キャプチブ」の主要なページを開き、ナビバーの「Other」のメニューの下に「Time Schedule」をクリックして、日本地帯の「文法キャプチブ」の使う時間を選びやすいです。そうしたら、同様のナビバーの中「Products」のメニューの下にウェビナー又は「GC Tutor」の項目を選んで、サインアップすることもできます。

英語があなりできない方がメールを送信して、日本語で問い合わせられます。

じゃ、又ね！

Roddy

New Time Schedule

Circumstances and endeavor have made it possible for Grammar Captive to offer its paid webinars to a much larger audience.  For example,

  • Someone living in Europe, Africa, or the Middle East now has access to Grammar Captive’s online webinars throughout most of the evening.
  • Those living in Northeast, East, and Southeast Asia have access before, during, and after lunch.
  • Excluding the wee hours of the morning South and Central Americans have nearly the entire day; only late afternoon and very early evening are excluded.

What is more, SKYPE, has so advanced both in the quality of its features and performance, it is now Grammar Captive’s preferred networking utility.  If you do not SKYPE, start now.  The SKYPE platform will not cost you anything and is easy to install.  It is safe, reliable, and available to everyone.

And, if you do not like Microsoft, you can use Apple’s FaceTime or Google HangOuts.  Yes, Grammar Captive is flexible!

So, click on the words Time Schedule at the top of the Other menu in Grammar Captive’s main page navigation bar and choose a time for you.  Then, sign up for  a webinar and discover what you have been missing all along!

Roddy

The Fall Solstice Update

It would have been nice to have everything ready to go in September, but simply put, there have been too many delays.  Important is that the temporary loss of momentum and focus has been regained.

In my effort to understand and employ AJAX I have discovered a variety of popular CRUD suites on the net. CRUD stands for Create, Read, Update, and Delete.  Though such suites are beyond the immediate needs of Grammar Captive, they  do provide valuable functionality beyond the mere selection and retrieval of selected podcast data that can be used  later on.   In short, another investment, another sacrifice, and another risk!  Tant pis!

In preparation for the installation of  CRUD functionality on the Grammar Captive podcast page more aesthetic and organizational enhancements have been undertaken.

When taken one step at a time, Grammar is not difficult.  When taken all at once it can be overwhelming.  An important goal of Grammar Captive is to organize and simplify with many little steps that render difficult matters clear and easy to understand.

This coming week’s focus will be on organization — a task that has already begun at Grammar Captive Weekly Podcasts.

Roddy