September 2007

One of the things about doing Drupal development is one is always searching for information. There are many great sources of information and things like Planet Drupal that are a wealth of information. Then there are sites like the API site and sites for PHP and MySQL manuals that come in handy for other things. To make it easier to search the areas I needed I setup a Google Custom Search Engine for Drupal developer search. Please feel free to add additional sites that would be useful. Presently in addition to the main drupal.org sites it searches Planet Drupal, PHP, MySQL, and w3's CSS documentation.

Merlin Mann's wonderful 43 Folders site has been migrated to Drupal. It is a beautiful looking theme they've put together with the theming efforts of the folks at RoopleTheme. Having paid a visit to the RoopleTheme site it's likely that the Beale Street theme might find its way into some upcoming projects.

We've been road-tripping in the Prius. The posts about the trip will resume shortly now that the computer is back online. In the meantime I have several observations about the lackluster GPS and navigation system in the Toyota Prius. As far as I know it is the same system in all Toyotas. For some things it is great. In other ways it is horrible.

Seeing the country

This is our first trip into new country with the GPS. Actually I was in many places we're visiting twenty years ago but I haven't driven the area at all. The navigation system has an interesting effect. On one hand it knows the destination and is good about getting you there. Since I put in an address each morning marking that night's resting place I don't spend as much time with a map and thinking about the directions along the way. The Toyota system has a few options such as allowing you to choose from two quick routes or one short route. The short route choice nearly always results in seeing parts of a route that one wouldn't choose when looking at a map. Ironically at the same time because one doesn't need to study the map before getting to town to know where to find the night's lodging I don't have the same sense of many towns as I otherwise would.

A brisk dawn met us on the next day of the trip. The thin air of Susanville had a welcome crispness to it as we made the morning rounds. After breakfast at the Trailside Inn Sarah made a stop at the market for some on-the-road munchies while I topped off the fuel for the trip. The roads north of Susanville take on a distinctly different character than those so far on this trip. It isn't so much that the roads themselves are drastically different but the drivers seem to have a courtesy missing in so many other areas of the country.

Heading north on California Highway 299 we reach the town of Adin. Every summer I can recall we would stop at the old general store in Adin. With a front porch the likes of which aren't made anymore the 101 year-old Adin Supply is certainly a fixture. When last we were through more of the original hardware in the form of the white wooden bins were still in place, but otherwise this friendly outpost hasn't changed. Being a late morning stop it was a bit early for lunch but we picked up some sandwiches at the deli and proceeded up the road.