Apparently, Cookies are very sensitive
by Liz on Mar.26, 2010, under Web Development
So today, while trying to figure out why a cookie was mysteriously destroying itself, we stumbled upon an interesting turn of events that I can’t find anywhere on the net.
Apparently, Cookies won’t hold if they start with the word “Include”.
We had this cookie- INCLUDE_CORPORATE_BLOG , that wouldn’t transfer from page to page.
A session with the same name would, and so we were going to have to create an entire strange workaround trying to figure out why this piece of data wouldn’t hold. My colleague suggested that we try changing the name, partly joking, to which we said “couldn’t hurt”.
Turns out, in Classic ASP, you can’t have Cookies that start with the word “INCLUDE”.
Get your own info! LMGTFY as a cultrual shift
by Liz on Dec.15, 2009, under Web Development
It used to be a hallmark of geek culture, dispensing information. Having the most up-to-the-minute info about releases, or being on top of the rumor mill is one thing, but explanation was once a respected occupation of your time. Now, its become a second-class geek status.
Once, long ago in the halls of a high school or the collegiate-choked grounds of a campus were where you would find geeks patiently explaining details of complex scientific methodologies, math inundated with referential equations and the ins and outs of How To Fix Your Computer- but we have grown weary. Now that tech support has become an occupation we get paid for, no one seems to relish taking the time to educate their fellow man.
From “frustrations” tees at thinkgeek “no, I will not fix your computer” and “I read you’re e-mail”, the status has changed from “the smartest guy in the room” to “geek monkey”.
The trend of the crowd to recognize an avenue for exploitation has resulted in your average geek becoming overworked. He has coped by creating user-friendly tools for use by the massses in ascertaining their own information, rather than asking a question every time they had a thought.
Geeks however have become so used to getting their own info, and then pointing people towards Google or Wikipedia when they got a question more than a few times, they believe by now the public should have also learned this skill.
What do geeks do when faced with repetitive tasks? Create a tool that automates the process.
Hence sites like Let Me Google That For You- geeks have responded in a familiar way.
The growing trend, being irritated at questions with easily obtained answers, stems from the familiar Internet hate machine known as 4chan. One of the oldest and largest anonymous posting sites in the world, people are generally subjected to the rudest, most vile comments this side of xBox live- so it’s no wonder the trend started as a meme. This has become a legitimate tool over the months of use however- and it is now acceptable to send a link to your mother or a coworker, as long as they have at least some sense of humor.
Either way, the message is clear- geeks are tired of being your own personal search engine.
IE does what it wants
by Liz on Nov.12, 2009, under Browsers, Career, Gripes, Net Culture, Programming, Rants, Web Development
There is a Microsoft Knowledgebase Support Article that points out yet another flaw in IE8 or lower. This states that Microsoft Office can’t download documents when you set the page to expire immediately- so essentially you can’t have very secure pages if you want to export information to excel.
Firefox could do this since firefox .8
Chrome could do this from the get-go.
Safari and even Netscape Navigator have this capability, and most versions of AOL’s horrible browser can do this.
Why can’t Microsoft get with the program? The issue here is that MSIE will do what it damn well pleases. It always has, as it commands the majority of market share. Until we can get people on other, more stable web-standards compatible browsers we won’t be able to really open up the modern web.
An Open Letter to Prospective and Current Employers
by Liz on May.19, 2010, under Advertising, Career, Facebook, Net Culture, Posts that I think could help people, Rants, Self Esteem, Social Commentary, Social Networking, Status Updates, Twitter, Web Development
In the wake of all of the hubbub about facebook’s security practices, the various how-tos and informational paranoia, I am asked quite frequently by friends and family of all levels of acquaintance about my continued use of frequent facebook and twitter updates, and their varying degrees of professionalism.
I am an avid social media user. I use twitter, facebook, linkedin and a host of other services. I check-in, I tweet and I update statuses. I post pictures of myself and my friends in fun, and silly engagements, such as playing rockband in my living room. I also tweet about what I’m working on (although I no longer post any actual details due to an NDA that covers my public speech). In short, I like to talk about what I am doing, a lot.
I enjoy disclosing details about my life. The reasons I have found for doing so- as they are generally rationalizations rather than instigating reasons- are many. I feel my professional and personal lives are enriched by a living, breathing, up-to-the-minute portfolio of not just my work, but my entire personhood. I also enjoy that it is easy for people I know to keep up with my day-to-day life, as I am young and mobile, and tend to lose contact with people for months at a time before revisiting them.
Now, most of the concerns shared by those that know and follow me are this: Are you not afraid people will judge you incorrectly, see you out of context or assume false things about you?
Of course not. My twitter feed, facebook profile, buzz list and linkedin updates are me in context. No more perfectly am I captured anywhere. I have a unique personality, varied interests and am overall, complex emotionally.
The company I work for while writing this post has a leader within it’s ranks that exemplifies everything right with corporate culture, and is someone I am deeply and profoundly proud to call my boss. The main thing done correctly is the hiring of new staff, as our company is growing rapidly. Many companies, especially in times of growth, tear themselves apart by giving each applicant only a cursory glance, comparing numerical qualifications and cherry-picking only the brightest gems, polished to the glossiest shine. These gems then mix in a pool of others, all gawdy and imperfectly aligned.
The art of arranging human beings so that they will best work together, and choosing those that have not become so set in their ways, and allowing them to support those that are set correctly- this is a skill that many so-called executives will never master in a lifetime. Selecting only the optimum arrangement, the most efficient, frictionless set of gears that don’t wear each other down due to ill-fitting size and shape, this is the skill practiced here.
But this skill is not something that can be summarized in a brief interview, or a scan of a few carefully selected words by a potential interviewee- it is best summarized by a portfolio of life that grows with a person- ideas and information growing and changing with the person it represents- something a simple resume could never do.
So yes, on my portfolio, you’ll find that I am a programmer- I have experience with Classic ASP and other server-side scripting languages. You’ll see how many years I have worked and who for. You will also see the whimsy and talent, the lack of sophistication and the supreme dedication I have to perfecting the profession I have chosen- all of this information is unmeasurable on purpose- it has to be cataloged accidentally, along the course of life, and through the lens of context.