Magickal Musings

Well, I look around this website and it just doesn't seem important anymore. What am I really striving for here? I have no purpose. No time. No feeling of identity with it. Work takes up too much time. Besides the fact that no one wants to hear me talking about swimming in immeasurable depths anymore. It happens WAY to often to me. BUT...I'm still here, and I always will be, if any of you need me. I may return to this in time, who knows? Maybe it's time to start fresh...

Sheesh, I FINALLY took the time to make sure that at least my FRONT page validates with the actual xhtml 1.0 strict DTD that I am using. I will be getting the other pages done as soon as possible as I fix the rest of the site up. I didn't realize that I hadn't even LOOKED at SOOOO many of my pages in literally years, and most of them were done when I was first learning xhtml, so they really are a mess.

Anyway, on a slightly different note, I was enlisted to come up with a certain javascript at work, and I was pleased enough with the end result to offer it up for critique and/or download. I barely know javascript at ALL, so any advice, changes, improvements anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated. If it's well-received I figured I would comment it much better and zip it all up nice and pretty.

Essentially, what was needed was a pop-up script that was resizeable, accessible, and useable across many pages/features. What I came up with APPEARS to work across all browsers and platforms. I have tested it on: Mac - Safari, IE, Opera, Netscape, Camino, and Firefox. PC - IE, Netscape, Opera, and Firefox. It also works in Firefox on Ubuntu Linux. It should also degrade gracefuly is javascript is not enabled. At first I had a little clause in there to check if the popup was already open or not, but for some reason this made it so, if you clicked on the same popup you had just clicked on a second time, it wouldn't open in the popup, but just in the same window. Weird, but I removed it and it seems to work fine.

//Resizable pop-up window script written by Tricia M. Smith, 5-10-06.
//This script is released under a Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/)

var newwindow = '';
function popIt(pageName,winWidth,winHeight) {

	{
newwindow = window.open(pageName,'mypop','left=200,top=150,height='+winHeight+',width='+winWidth+',toolbar=no,directories=no,status=no,menubar=no,scrollbars=no,resizable=no');
newwindow.resizeTo(winWidth+5,winHeight+50);

}
	if (window.focus) {newwindow.focus()}
	return false;
}

And here is the code you would use to call the script: 

<a href="pic.jpg" onclick=return popIt(this.href,height,width)">Image</a>

Comments? Questions? Ridicule? :cool:

*edit* I almost forgot that of course some may want a demonstration, so I changed the coding of the images in the extended entry here so that you can see how it all works if you like.

Goodness, it's a bit dusty in here. I guess that's what happens when you are working, time just is something you no longer have. I have been working a temp job for the past 2 months, and now they have extended my contract for 3 MORE months, so I think in the meantime I may concoct a complete overhaul of this little corner of the world. I'll be trying not to change URLs and whatnot, but I can't guarantee anything, really. Time for some Spring-ness around here, anyway...see you soon!

Yes, I am actually talking about the holidays. They aren't particularly my favorite time of year, and this year was no exception. I am not sure if I can recall the last time I had a REALLY great holiday season. So I am glad they are over and I can go forward into a new year with hopefully a better outlook.

I did a little revamping of the site, which will be continuing hopefully. I put up a new layout, which now seems too simplified and uninspired compared to my other skins, but hey, that's kind of the mood I have been in, so I suppose it fits. I am also going to be removing my gallery completely from this site, only because I want to set up my other domain as my gallery/portfolio/Poser download place. I MAY be replacing the gallery with a photo gallery, though, I haven't decided yet. Who knows how long that will take to set up, but if there are people who care, I'll make sure I announce it here when it's ready.

OK, so the holidays themselves weren't actually terrible this year. The kids made out like bandits, there are so many many kind and generous people out there, it just gladdens the heart. My mother (of all people) made her once yearly guilt call around Thanksgiving, and ended up buying the boys a new set of bunkbeds. Imagine that. I bought myself a digital camera (can't afford it, really, but hey, I deserve it), which was promptly stolen when the delivery company merely left it inside the front door of my building (I was home) without ringing my bell or knocking on my apartment door. Nice! Good thing I had documentation that no signature was procured, so Dell sent along another, but not in time for Christmas. However, I managed to trade digicams with someone else who had bought one, and I will give them the one I bought when I see them next. So I did get to snap a few photos of the kids. I am still getting the hang of the thing, so hopefully the pics will get better soon. I've put a few of the better ones here in the extended entry. Enjoy. :)

99% scored higher (more stupid),
0% scored the same, and
1% scored lower (less stupid).

What does this mean? You are 1% stupid. This means...

You are our next Einstein. Wow! Keep up the great thinking.

via Samantha Burns (great weblog she has there, too!)

This Is My Life, Rated
Life:	5.3
Mind:	6.6
Body:	5.5
Spirit:	5.4
Friends/Family:	3.1
Love:	2.1
Finance:	5.9
Take the Rate My Life Quiz

Hmmmm...ok, I know it's only an internet test, but it did kind of make me step back and take notice of some things....which never hurts. I found this quiz by way of Carla. :lovey:

OK, so my last entry was not exactly fair. Nor was my remaining silent afterwards. I guess I was just going through a temporary period of high stress and started to fall back into my usual habits of withdrawal. Actually, just reading my somewhat silly words on the page had a quite theraputic effect to jump start my emergence from said old habits.

I am not exactly sure what has been going on with me lately. I have had almost an aversion to doing what I enjoyed so much before. Writing. Art. Communication. Bleh. I've been hoping it will pass, but so far it seems more stubborn than my 5 year old in a full out revolt.

Anyway, the reason I had been so stressed out at the time of my last post was that Gregory has just been suspended from school AND his afterschool program all in the same week. I was a bit at my wit's end, and he was behaving impossibly EVERYWHERE. Thankfully, it has passed and we are on more of an even keel for now, but I think his very first (and BETTER BE only) suspension from school affected me far more than it did him. I reverted temporarily to the old “What have I done wrong?” mantra that every parent happens across now and again, but which I have heard in my mind MUCH too often lately.

Yes, I know that's it's not entirely my fault. And we are working diligently on figuring out what IS going on, both in school with the teachers, and in therapy with his counselor. We'll find the answer. Hopefully before I end up in the old folks home by mistake by virtue of all my gray hair. :lmao:

And now for something completely different...I found something mildly creepy yet fascinating while going through old photos the other day. Behold:

Me as a baby (awwww, aren't I cute?):

DJ as a baby (much cuter):

Note the eerie resemblance, despite having different racial makeups. LoL. I was actually quite fascinated by this, because I remember several times seeing images of someone's family where baby pictures were compared and were scarily similar, but had never experienced it myself (although one of my cousins and I could basically be twins, although 8 years or so apart - but as babies we looked nothing alike).

So anyway, that's my mesmerizing foray into family history for today. Tune in next time when I explore the horrors of 70s fashion and the mental anguish it inflicts. (lol, ok, just kidding)

Is there some kind of demented rule that dictates the amount of suckage in one's life?

Sheesh, lately it seems so hard to really keep myself focused on all the different things I have going on. Anyway, I just wanted to drop in really quick to let everyone know that I AM still alive, and not doing so very badly. Especially when it comes to the weight loss thing! I have now lost a total of 46 pounds!! Woooo, go me! I have also slightly adjusted my goal weight from 130 to 150 so that I feel like I can actually reach it. I know I've been doing good, but lately there are times when I feel like I will NEVER be done. I will try to write out a longer update very soon. I still love all of you, don't ever doubt that! :lovey:

*walks in dazedly, swatting at the dust swirls in the stale air*

It's been a while, hasn't it. It seems to be OK, though, apparently no one even missed me. LoL. Well, anyway, even though I'm not sure I am feeling this blog thing so much anymore, I figured I'd come back and let people know what's been going on.

In a nutshell, the first major thing that happened was my old computer died. The motherboard apparently fried. Kaput. Done for. I was heartbroken, and kind of dumbfounded and wondering what the HECK I could do. My first thought was to try and replace the motherboard (which I will still, in fact, attempt so that I can try and give that computer to the boys). But for the past 6 months or so it had become increasingly apparent to me that my little 800 mhz machine, no matter how dear to me, was falling behind performance-wise, and it really was time for a new, or at least newer, machine. So I tried Compaq. No luck, no financing. I was pretty discouraged after that one try, mostly because I am so used to not being able to get financing because of having such bad credit for so long. But I have been working at it for almost 3 years now, so there was still SOME hope in the back of my mind that I might get somewhere. After all, I had recently been able to get a cell phone with NO deposit down with Sprint, so I know SOME things had to be better.

So, I have a friend that works in Dell tech support, and he encouraged me to call them. Oh, man. I don't think I even heard anything after "Sure, we can finance you." LoL!! So, here is me back on the net with a brand spanking new smooooth pretty Dell computer!! Go, me! And go, me, for all of my hard work on my credit. I know for a fact that I won't be screwing up again, but only making things better now that I have not one but two bills working in accord to build my good credit rating once again.

Another good thing that happened is I lost ANOTHER 7 pounds, bringing my total weight loss now to 34 pounds! I'm not always proud of myself for how I eat day to day, but the important thing is that I am trying not to give in to beating myself up and eating more. I just take it day to day and start each day as a fresh try, and I really think this time it is going to happen.

Things are still tough for Gregory. He got into another fight on Friday, and this time he had to have a suspension hearing this morning. Thank GOODNESS he didn't get suspended this time, only two days of detention, but we really need to get a handle on this NOW before he gets older. He did have an evaluation meeting for special education services and was determined to be not eligible for an IEP, mostly because all of his cognitive tests put him ABOVE grade level in EVERY area (proud Mama moment), but he will have a 504 plan, which is one step down from a full-blown IEP and will allow him to stay in regular ed while still getting the help and services (mostly for emotional and social support) that he needs, so I think I am pretty content with that. I have put in for a transfer for him for next year, so even though I KNOW a different school isn't going to solve all of his problems, hopefuly being in a different school with higher expectations and different goals WILL help in the long run. *crosses fingers*

DJ is doing well, and is starting to get really excited about Kingergarten in September. And that's pretty much all of the updates I have right now. Anything else you are just DYING to know, just ask.