The 541510

Trying to get Pop Menu Magic 1.06 drop down to work with IE6 and IE8.   Don’t know if this code will help.  I was having trouble getting multi word headings to stay on one line so I used the <nobr> tag within the multiline items (ie. <li><nobr>Menu Heading</nobr></li>).  Here is some of the CSS trickery I tried.  Please note that this is for drop downs and probably will not work for menus coming out from the side.  Just stick this code in the HTML document after the menu CSS declaration.

<!--[if lte IE 6]>
<style>
#p7PMnav a {height: auto !important;}
#p7PMnav ul a {height: 1em !important;}
</style>
<![endif]-->

<!--[if IE 7]>

<style>

#p7PMnav li {
width: 1em;
float: left;
height: auto !important;
}

#p7PMnav ul li{
float:left;
clear:both;
}

#p7PMnav a {
zoom:1;
overflow:hidden;
width: auto;
}

#p7PMnav li ul li a {
float: none;
}

</style>

<![endif]-->

<!--[if IE 8]>
<style>

#p7PMnav ul li{
float:left;
clear:both;
}

</style>

<![endif]-->

Getting it to work in IE8 is just trial and error, figuring out which IE7 hacks must be carried over.

In these tough economic times it would be wise to hang on to computers as long as you possibly can.  Unfortunately the CMOS battery (which keeps your system’s clock running) can go bad and it’s something that can be a pain to replace.  Back in the days before computers being networked you could get along OK with a computer with a broken clock.  Now however with the advent of SSL Certificates which check against your local machine’s clock to determine if you should be allowed on a particular site, having a working system clock becomes important.

Fortunately if you have an internet connection you can get a program called Dimension 4 which will set your computer to the right time.  Just remember once loading the program:

• On the left, check the Load Dimension 4 on Startup and Once Loaded, Wait Until Online checkboxes
• Below that check the radio button Synchronize Once Then Exit
• In the middle bottom under Time Zone uncheck Maximum Correction (this makes it so it will correct a clock that is off by an extreme amount)
  

Just did a little more work on notation flashcards.  I’m just learning ActionScript.

Here is a MySQL (with PHP) query to search a city in a particular state that orders things so the most populous cities show up first.

//
//
select count(zip_code) as C_Star, city, state_prefix, zip_code from zip_code where UPPER(city) LIKE ".security_quotes(strtoupper("%".$_GET['q']."%"))."  and state_prefix = ".security_quotes(strtoupper($_GET['state']))." GROUP BY city ORDER BY C_Star DESC LIMIT 0,10

Searching a handy database of Zip Codes (free but may be out of date).

You may notice that the crop tool in Fireworks (at least MX 2004) doesn’t allow you to select a perfect square area (by holding shift down while drawing the square.  A way to get around this is use the Square Select tool (the dotted square) and hold shift down to make a square.  Now simply select the Crop tool and you will have a perfect square crop area.

Learning regular expressions can be a daunting task but the resources below can help:

• Regular Expression Introduction and Tutorial – A good starting point
• The Regex Coach – A Windows application that lets you test and debug your regular expressions in realtime
• Regular Expressions Cheat Sheet – A good printable resource to complement other tutorials

If you run Windows XP and have upgraded to Internet Explorer 7, there is a handy tool called MultipleIE which allows you to run Internet Explorer 6 and older versions side by side with your current version.  A great companion for all that nasty CSS debugging.

…and I begin my adventure of serious professional blogging. I tried this once before but didn’t build up enough of an audience to continue. Hopefully this time I will create more compelling content.

The title of this blog isn’t that great but I couldn’t find anything better. Basically 541510 is the North American Industry Classification for Computer Systems Design and Related Services. You have to put the number on the tax form Net Profit from Business, Schedule C of the 1040.