Just some minor updates around here…

First off is an upgrade to Textpattern 4.0.3 which doesn’t mean too much to those of you visiting this site, but adds some security patches as well as some enhancments to the comments backend and admin area (to combat comment spam).

Also, with the end of the month comes time to post new usage reports for both PNH and ChunkySoup.net.

User Agent String of the month:

W3C standards are important. Stop fucking obsessing over user-agent already.

Um, thanks for the tip!

And as always take those numbers with a pile of salt, not only are they specific to the audience(s) that visit my sites, but as hard as one can try theres only so much that can be done to combat referrer spammers or other cases of spoofing otherwise valid UAs.

Among this year’s Christmas and birthday related booty there are a few new books on my shelves:

• Donald Norman’s Emotional Design
• The Equation That Couldn’t Be Solved by Mario Livio
• Burning Chrome by William Gibson
• The Areas Of My Expertise by John Hodgeman

If I can ever finish the Baroque Cycle I’ve now got plenty of other reading waiting for me.

FirstAidPod is a new site that delivers enhanced audio downloads of first aid instructions for quick access on the go. Files are complete with instructive cover art that can be viewed in an iPod as you listen. Its an interesting premise, if a bit scary… “Don’t worry man, give me 2 minutes and i’ll learn CPR from my mp3 player”... but the idea of storing this type of information that can be easily retrieved and kinda just goes with you without thinking is interesting.

To steal a question from WorldChanging on this topic:

Regardless of the success or failure of this particular group—and I do hope they do well—this strikes me as a harbinger of a new use for digital players. iPods and similar devices may not have the immediacy of SMS or mobile phones, but they can usually store and play/display much more information. Emergency information that doesn’t need to be updated instantly, but tends to change over time, such as evacuation routes, what to do in case of a tornado/earthquake/hurricane/terrorist attack/etc., or even how to perform basic roadside repairs seem obvious candidates for this kind of treatment.

What kinds of emergency information would you like to see as a podcast?

Running around a bit today so just gonna pass on a few links worth reading…

• Internet Explorer Eolas changes and the Flash plugin – Geoff Sterns covers another Eolas related plugin chagne and how it impacts Flash use in IE
• Adium: Chatting With Style – Eric Meyer on the Adium chat client and its use of XHTML+CSS
• CAPTCHA Alternatives for a commercial product? – an overview of various CAPTHA techniques.
• FACE: Faruk’s Animated CSS Enhancements – A standarads based method of animation in CSS+JS