This weekend I purchased a new HP Pavilion zv6203cl PC laptop. It uses an AMD 64 Athlon 2Ghz CPU, with 80G HD, 1G RAM, running Microsoft XP Home. Great little machine. Beautiful screen. Problem is that it would not connect to a Linksys wireless router. It would connect a Apple Express wireless router. Go figure. The second problem was that Microsoft SQL Express would not install either as a stand-alone or with Visual Studio 2005. The was the straw that broke the proverbial camels back. So I returned the computer and purchased an HP Pavilion zd8000 with a Pentium4 3Ghz CPU, 100G HD, and 2G RAM, running Microsoft XP Home. Experienced the same problems. So back it went. I am really disappointed cause the zd8000 is a beautiful machine.

Saturday, I stopped by CompUSA, to look at a laptops. Found a nice Compaq running Microsoft XP Home. It has a AMD 64 Athlon 1.6 Ghz CPU, with 60G HD, 512M RAM. It was connected to the internet so I downloaded SQL Express and .NET 2.0 redistribution kit, installed both, and found everything work. Now why did it work on the Compaq and not the HP. Now that HP owns Compaq you would not expect much difference. Verified that CompUSA had six in stock … just wanted to think about it first. Not sure but may go back and purchase it tomorrow. My only reservation is their return policy. They will not return your money only in store credit. Not a good policy. The first two I purchase from Sam’s Club which has a 6 month return policy. My plan is to contact HP and see what they have to say about my problems.

Bulletproof Web Design, Dan Cederholm. I completed the seventh book on XHTML and CSS. Again, I have not been disappointed. This book was excellent. Tabbed some 25 items for implementation on my next project. I highly recommend this book. The last chapter is really great. Here the author combines everything presented in the previous chapters into one big example. Working this last one really drove home all the presented material.

I tried to read The Mac Xcode 2 Book, by Michael and Dennis Cohen, and Andy Ihnatko the series author. But could not do it. The series of books on XHML and CSS were really well writen. This one is just a drag. Will give it a shot later.

• 1 lb navy beans (soak overnight and discard water)
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1 chicken bouillon cube
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 4 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp cayenne (however much you like)
• 2 (7 oz) cans of chopped chiles
• 2 med onions, chopped
• 4 whole chicken breasts, (cook separately), cubed
• 2 cups sour cream
• 3 cups jack cheese, shredded

Combine first 9 ingrediets. Bring to boil and simmer for 3 hours. Before serving, add last 3 ingredients (keep hot but do not boil)

Serve with garnishments: olives, tomatoes, green onions, avocado, etc…

Yields 6-8 servings.

We tried Sarah’s recipe today and it was wonderful. Soup and Chili are my favorite winter foods. This is really a simple recipe that exudes a wonder aroma throughout the house.

I took the test and found that I was;

Elrond – A stern yet benevolent organizer who often knows best, your wits are keenly fixed on aiding efforts you deem worthy. Now at this last we must take a hard road, a road unforseen. There lies our hope, if hope it be. To walk into peril to Mordor. Elrond is a character in the Middle-Earth universe. TheOneRing.net has a short biography.

Web Designer’s Reference, Dan Cederholm. I completed the sixth book on XHTML and CSS. Once again, I have not been disappointed. This book was excellent. Tabbed some 60 items I plan on implementing on my next project. What really found useful are the appendices on XHTML and CSS. I highly recommend this book. It is well written, easy to follow and contains some really great examples. In addition, it serves as a great reference.

I am now reading Bulletproof Web Design, which is another book by Dan Cederholm. For a change of pace, I am also reading The Mac Xcode 2 Book, by Michael and Dennis Cohen, and Andy Ihnatko the series author. This book was purchase some weeks ago and am finally getting around to reading and working through the exercises. I really want to code for the Mac. In my work world, I code in C# ASP.NET and XHTML/CSS. Love that environment. But as a long time Mac enthusiast, I really want to code with Cocoa. Have this vision of creating something ??? just everyone wants to use. Thats my dream…

CSS Hacks & Filters, Joseph W. Lowery.This is the fourth of five books and another great read. Once again, this is a well written book. The style is straight forward. It contains a really great collection of methodologies for solving many of the tricky CSS cross browser issues. As I read thorough the book I placed tabs on 19 sections I know will be helpful near term. Oveall this is a highly recommended read.

One more book to go… Actually, in my CSS readings I discovered several other books I want to read, like The Zen of CSS Design, More Eric Meyer on CSS, etc.. Before I can start these, I need to reread/review some UML modeling text in preparation for an upcoming major project. So much to read, so little time…

Stylin’ with CSS : A Designer’s Guide, Charles Wyke-Smith. Another great read. This is the the third of five books I committed to read before the start of our next project. Charles book is stuffed with examples that one can apply immediately and make a real difference. This book has made a significant contribution to my understanding and use of CSS. His explanation of the underpinnings of how things work is excellent. If you do Web development you really need to read this book.

designing with web standards, Jeffrey Zeldman; A must read before the start of your next web project. It is written in a down to earth style that grabs your interest. Jeffry provided examples that really hit home for me. This is the second of five books I have challenged myself to read before the start of our next project. From the info gleaned in these first two books I have started writing XHTML and CSS Standards for our use on all future projects.

The Art & Science of Web Design, Jeffrey Veen; Highly recommended reading before the start of your next web project. It is written in an easy style that holds your attention. Jeffry managed to pull the full spectrum of web development together to get one thinking about how it should be done. This is one of several books I am reading in preparations for a major project starting next month. It was a great choice and a great read.