October 06, 2005
I set up a new dynamic web page
I tell ya, programming for the web is a kick! I know Sherri enjoys just manipulating the html code for web pages... she can do some amazing stuff with that. But I like the ability to dynamically generate the web page, using scripts on the server or on the browser to create the web page "just in time" for the reader to view it, based on the reader's preferences and the "latest information".
I got an opportunity to combine my interest in web programming along with my interest in alternative energy when I recently came in contact with Steve Bash, who is a local fellow that is working hard to spread the word about alternative fuels in the Sacramento area. His primary focus is biodiesel, which is a fuel which can be made from new or used vegetable oil or animal fat. Though he has a ton of energy and a great deal of knowledge of alternative fuels, he doesn't really know how to funnel that knowledge and energy out to the internet. His current web site is basically using Blogger with the domain name sacbiofuels.org.
I didn't think that looked very professional, so I asked Steve if I could put together a web site on volunteer time that encompassed everything that I thought should be available and everything that he needed. Things like a Blog, News, News Feeds from other web sites, a Forum, a Newsletter, Classifieds, on-line Shopping, etc, etc. He thought that wasn't a bad idea, so I went to work...
I definitely needed something that was powerful, easy to manage, easy to modify, and well supported. If it had an open source license, even better. I found quite a few options, but what looked best of all was a Content Management System called Joomla!. The installation process was pretty easy, and after going through a fairly steep learning curve, I've got something that works fairly well... check out sacbiofuels.com, which I expect will become the new home for sacbiofuels.org.
Getting the site up and adding different plug-in modules has been pretty cool... The software seems very flexible and adding new features seems to be quite easy. There are a few things that it can't do, which I haven't found any plug-in solutions for, which probably means I'll have to program the feature myself... but that should be pretty easy to do. Sherri is providing the visual imagery (something I'm not so good at, but she's great at). I'm excited to be working on a web site that is going to be viewed and used by a lot of different people... hopefully we get some good reviews... 8^)
By the way, just for the record... I want to let you know that it was my cousin (of whom I spoke in detail in More about a great couple) who got me "fueled" about alternative fuels... so if you wonder why I'm spending my time chasing zany ideas like vegetable oil as fuel, go talk to him first... 8^)
Posted by Michael at October 6, 2005 05:59 PM | Technical
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Mike wrote: "By the way, just for the record... I want to let you know that it was my cousin (of whom I spoke in detail in More about a great couple) who got me "fueled" about alternative fuels... so if you wonder why I'm spending my time chasing zany ideas like vegetable oil as fuel, go talk to him first... 8^)"
thanks for the flowers :D we're proud to fuel ideas that help the environment - and world peace ;)
Posted by: Nicole & Christoph at October 8, 2005 01:59 AM
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