Mosaic Minds Update Process
Mar. 31st, 2004 05:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
same_skyI just now finished up completely with the third issue of Mosaic Minds.. it'll be waiting on me tonight when it's time to upload. I thought I would do a bit of time analysis for my Mosaic Minds work this month. I have a small program (Time Stamp) that tracks projects and tasks and where the time goes. I use it for clients already, so I thought it would be nice to use for this--and next month, I'll know approximately how much time I actually need for the site. I've tried to keep most of the other MM tasks that I do out of this.
March 25, 2004
0:00:00: I start off preparing the site for new issue. The header, page background and menu changes with each issue.
0:7:42. Realize that the masthead Liz sent is the wrong size. Must write email.
0:11:20. Finish email. Go ahead with the site work.
0:18:42. Finish changing background and links. Add the blue background headings to the testing server setup and realize that it looks really stupid. Back to drawing board.
0:23:10. Finish again with background and links, except for the header--will need to do the first eight minutes of work over again when I receive new file, but everything I can do right now has been done.
0:30:52. Moving on the poetry section. Liz sent those files this time, so there won't be nearly as much work as normal. I throw everything in place and upload to check. Oops. All include links reference mosaicminds.net and I'm using another server for testing purposes. Close all files, search and replace to testing server address. Reupload. Damn. I just noticed that I also need to change the secondary header with the author name, too--completely the wrong color.
0:33:46. Right, that's done--not too happy with it. I might have to come back to this later. Back to poetry for now.
0:50:49. Finish up with the poetry section. Everything is validated, no funky characters, author text added in two files. Think Marie is too creative for one person to possibly be. I also changed the photos for this section to hang out on the right side of the screen instead of the left. I'm not thrilled with this idea, for consistency's sake, but I guess it's the best option for right now. I will need to go back and fix this for the previous two issues at some point--not right now. I'm trying to make myself prioritize better this month.
0:52:26. I've also changed the article files for the poetry section. You can't see it if you look at the source code, but each page is made up of several different files (I'm going to call them includes from here on out), pulled together by the server. That way, I can update one file and it will reflect the changes throughout the site. (Perfect for things like the navigation, the article lists for each section, the upcoming themes.) This would probably be a good time to change the name of the fiction section to prose, as requested by Liz and Beverly.
0:58:43. Man, I really hope that worked. Extended search and replace kicks ass. Guess I might as well do the fiction section articles while I'm at it.
1:00:12. Oh. I should also change the references to Fiction in the title bars of all the fiction pieces.
1:01:07. Right. Back to the new fiction pieces.
Argh. Forgot to turn the timer back on--missed about five minutes of time on the clock.
1:18:18. Fiction section is done--Susan Griffin's is missing but the file is ready and waiting, at least--just need to add the content. It's really bothering me now that all of the includes for the prose section, as well as the CSS selectors (those things that make the word Prose in the navigation bar turn to italics when you're on that page) are named fiction and it should be prose. (Example: creative_fiction_winging as opposed to creative_prose_wing.) Darn, but I really really hate that. I don't want to change it right now, though--too many other things to get done. That's a find and replace for another day. :) Anyway, I need to update the wiki so everyone knows that I'm not happily accepting changes any more to the completed articles. It occurs to me that this will be very nice for seeing what I have left to do, as well.
1:18:34. Ha! The last fiction is there now! Great timing, Carrie!
1:20:58. Yay! Now the fiction is completely done--back to updating the wiki.
1:25:52. Hmm.. what next? Science? Or wouldn't it be nice if I got rid of some of the entertainment section and didn't have to do all of that stuff last? I really really hate doing the entertainment section though. It's so fiddly. Maybe if I wait a while it will do itself. Hmm. Need to change the link on the index for the creative section, too.
1:26:24. Right.
1:39:30. Science section is done! It wouldn't have taken so long, but I had a billion errors in one file caused by one paragraph with a <p> instead of a </p>--took me forever to find it.
1:40:17. Wiki updated. This is beginning to be really boring, and now I'm feeling queasy. I think I'll stop working on this for now. I'm feeling unhappy with the accent colors and the way they clash with the blue headings. I'm going to have to change those too--it will look much better that way, I think. I hate to do that, though, because the blog star graphics and featured links are that color. I could just comment out the graphics for this month, though, and replace them with text headers. That would probably be the easiest. But that's for tomorrow.
March 26, 2004
I'm actually looking forward to this--I've been seriously cleaning house all day, so a chance to work on something that doesn't involve grease on the stove is terrific. I probably won't be able to work for very long before we go out for dinner, though. I had a response from Liz today with the updated file--I'll start with the site prettification again. It's easier to get motivated about a new issue like that.
1:58:42. Header changed and uploaded, and a smaller version for the archive has been created. I've also fiddled with the colors and brought out the green more--I like this much better. It looked okay before, but now it blends together better--reminds us of Easter. M is my official test person for these things, although he tends to think that it looks fine before I'm ready to call it done.
1:59:26. Removed funky characters from the last piece (Escape) Abigail sent and added it to the wiki. Still not sure who wrote one of the travel pieces.
2:18:23. I went through the entertainment section and created a file with the Amazon affiliate code for each review that needed it. This is extremely irritating, but I think doing it all at once will make me dislike the entertainment section less later on. First, I have to see what the review is about, then go off to Amazon to find the product (if it's there) and then copy the product number into the affiliate site, search, customize the link to remove the border and then copy the html. But because Amazon's code isn't properly written, it also needs tinkered with manually. I have it down to a science, but it's quite fiddly anyway. Time for a dinner break.
2:43:13. I'm determined to get the entertainment section out of my way. Treasure Box has now been updated. I had to come up with a bit of a design solution--Katrina wanted the record label at the top of the page so it would be more visible. I don't really agree that it's necessary--I don't really think people care what label it is, actually--but there's also not a reason NOT to do it in this case. Since consistency is very important, I also had to redo the back issues to match. That will be less fun when it gets to the music reviews..
2:49:34. No Rock n Roll Fun finished and the wiki updated accordingly.
March 27, 2004
3:32:02. Have now finished the music section--minus formatting the header for the two previous issues (because I had to move the label. I've decided to be more concerned about getting this issue done, which is hard for me. Have I mentioned how much the entertainment section sucks? I wonder if Liz will let me foist it off on her next month..? :)
3:29.54. Movies done. Only one movie. Someone will complain about clicking around since there's only one movie review this month. Can't be helped.
3:53:38. Wiki and emails, then fixed a bit of a design flaw with the new header style that moved the label to the top of the page. Still haven't updated past issues for Music to the new style.
4:08:46. I'm done with entertainment! This is a huge relief, as perhaps I have made clear previously that it sucks. It's very.. fiddly. I use that word a lot, don't I? Now I just need to do Travel, Living and Features. Features can be annoying but it's not too bad, at least. Must go off to update the wiki.
4:24:22. I'm clearly losing a little interest in the documentation--I've been doing more and more things between each update. I figure that's alright. I'm not adding this to the timer, of course, so I guess I'm feeling less like writing and more like having it done. Clear Conscience, Click It and Online Outlook are all done, but I'm missing next month's question. Will need to ask someone about that.
March 28, 3004
4:44:03. Have caught up on some emails. While replying to Abbey, I glanced at the calendar while coming up with something to say and realized that I actually have two days longer than I thought! I have been working all this time as if it was going live on Monday night, but it's not all due until Wednesday night. I can't believe what great news that is! :) Last month, I just had until the 29th.. that must have been what I was thinking about. The extra time is pretty wonderful, though, I must say--this has been hanging over my head all weekend. Good news!
March 29, 2004
5:03:11. Caught up on the wiki and email. I'd like to get this stuff done asap and out of my hair. Will try to be more concise today. I will add that I haven't logged most of the time I spend on email, and none of the time on the planning board. I even answered one mail just now without it being logged. It's too hard to keep track of all of it, and I want to keep track of just the time spent working on THIS issue, not the time I spend on Mosaic Minds in general.
5:29:03. Shifting Spaces done. Escape is probably done, but my internet connection went out so I can't finish it up and validate it.
6:02:34. Escape and Secret Pieces are done, along with the View, which means that the Travel section is complete! Just Living and Features left to do.
7:16:04. I'm trying to get Slapdash done, and then the only thing left will be the feature articles. My internet connection is really bad, though, so I'm moving at a snail's pace. I would have kept working, but since it's so bad, I'll take myself off and do something else as soon as I get Slapdash checked over. Those pictures are kind of time-consuming.
March 30, 2004
7:24:21. I had to give up after I wrote that and go to bed. Hopefully, the connection will behave itself a little better tonight. Finished up with Slapdash.. now to do the Features.
8:58:21. Features are done! I think. Next up: wiki, email, last-minute questions, etc. Archive, too.
9:12:46. The archive is ready, and some errors found and fixed.
9:23:13. Emails sent--one to Carrie to let her know it was ready for looking over, one to Beverly regarding two author bios that are too long. Bug-checking commences tomorrow.
March 31, 2004
9:31:22. I couldn't stand it any more--I've fixed the fiction/prose thing in my include files. Uploading now to make sure it all works as planned. While I wait, I'm going to look at the poetry in the previous two issues.
9:46:12. Nifty. Two minor/major irritations taken care of. I'll fix the music label placement for back issues now.
9:55:11. Ladada. This is going well. I think I'll play with find and replace again, cleaning up the code. Lots of em/i discrepancies. I know that em might be preferable on a theoretical basis, but not when one is working with twenty other people who try really hard to mark up as much as possible, bless their hearts. I figure it's better to have them all the same than have a few here and there--and it wouldn't work to turn them all into em.. (most of them are referring to things that need to be italicized.. like book titles.)
9:59:02. Just remembered to replace the two lengthy author bios, which Beverly had sent to me before I even got out of bed this morning. Nice with the time zones that way.
Alrighty then. I'm done--all that's left now is to upload tonight at around midnight (just after one final find-and-replace, changing absolute URLs back to mosaicminds.net!) I guess it's a little arbitrary that I do it at midnight EST, but I figure it's as good a time as any--it's the very beginning of April 1 for ME at least.
Let's see.. final thoughts on the update process, in case anyone at all is still reading. The wiki system was a rousing success, I think. There were a few little quirks.. like.. one of the articles was about a guy named LeMaster. The wiki made that a wiki word (mixed case words become wiki links), so when I copied it, the text actually said LeMaster? throughout. That was easy to replace, though. It also messed up the html links. Those were pretty small things, though, considering all the things that could be done to the text in advance.. getting rid of the smart quotes and dashes, adding html, etc. I couldn't do that before because I kept getting changes. It was also becoming a huge mess with email, since I was receiving lots of individual pieces of mail that had to be sorted through. And hopefully, the editors have now caught most of the things they would have pointed out after launch, since they could look over the content beforehand.
And also, I do hope that none of my find-and-replace antics this time have messed anything else up. It all looks fine to me, but you never can tell. If you're still reading (and I really don't blame you if you're not) I hope you enjoyed seeing what it is that I do.
17:15 Administrivia--Email, Wiki, etc. 32:46 Random Debugging 57:41 Site Design
4:25 CREATIVE 26:08 Poetry 24:39 Prose
0:00 FEATURES 1:38:14 Feature Articles 1:36 Feisty Females 5:00 Audacious Muse
0:00 LIVING 43:14 Slapdash 12:44 Gravy Train 5:21 Gush 1:12 Joyful Girl
0:00 TRAVEL 6:17 Clear Conscience 35:26 Escape 8:12 Shifting Spaces 12:38 Secret Pieces 7:13 Online Outlook
0:49 SCIENCE 2:44 Inquiring Minds 9:33 Sapphire Wire
0:02 ENTERTAINMENT 5:07 No Rock n Roll Fun 24:50 Treasure Box 51:27 Music 15:08 Books 10:23 Movies 18:58 Amazon
March 25, 2004
0:00:00: I start off preparing the site for new issue. The header, page background and menu changes with each issue.
0:7:42. Realize that the masthead Liz sent is the wrong size. Must write email.
0:11:20. Finish email. Go ahead with the site work.
0:18:42. Finish changing background and links. Add the blue background headings to the testing server setup and realize that it looks really stupid. Back to drawing board.
0:23:10. Finish again with background and links, except for the header--will need to do the first eight minutes of work over again when I receive new file, but everything I can do right now has been done.
0:30:52. Moving on the poetry section. Liz sent those files this time, so there won't be nearly as much work as normal. I throw everything in place and upload to check. Oops. All include links reference mosaicminds.net and I'm using another server for testing purposes. Close all files, search and replace to testing server address. Reupload. Damn. I just noticed that I also need to change the secondary header with the author name, too--completely the wrong color.
0:33:46. Right, that's done--not too happy with it. I might have to come back to this later. Back to poetry for now.
0:50:49. Finish up with the poetry section. Everything is validated, no funky characters, author text added in two files. Think Marie is too creative for one person to possibly be. I also changed the photos for this section to hang out on the right side of the screen instead of the left. I'm not thrilled with this idea, for consistency's sake, but I guess it's the best option for right now. I will need to go back and fix this for the previous two issues at some point--not right now. I'm trying to make myself prioritize better this month.
0:52:26. I've also changed the article files for the poetry section. You can't see it if you look at the source code, but each page is made up of several different files (I'm going to call them includes from here on out), pulled together by the server. That way, I can update one file and it will reflect the changes throughout the site. (Perfect for things like the navigation, the article lists for each section, the upcoming themes.) This would probably be a good time to change the name of the fiction section to prose, as requested by Liz and Beverly.
0:58:43. Man, I really hope that worked. Extended search and replace kicks ass. Guess I might as well do the fiction section articles while I'm at it.
1:00:12. Oh. I should also change the references to Fiction in the title bars of all the fiction pieces.
1:01:07. Right. Back to the new fiction pieces.
Argh. Forgot to turn the timer back on--missed about five minutes of time on the clock.
1:18:18. Fiction section is done--Susan Griffin's is missing but the file is ready and waiting, at least--just need to add the content. It's really bothering me now that all of the includes for the prose section, as well as the CSS selectors (those things that make the word Prose in the navigation bar turn to italics when you're on that page) are named fiction and it should be prose. (Example: creative_fiction_winging as opposed to creative_prose_wing.) Darn, but I really really hate that. I don't want to change it right now, though--too many other things to get done. That's a find and replace for another day. :) Anyway, I need to update the wiki so everyone knows that I'm not happily accepting changes any more to the completed articles. It occurs to me that this will be very nice for seeing what I have left to do, as well.
1:18:34. Ha! The last fiction is there now! Great timing, Carrie!
1:20:58. Yay! Now the fiction is completely done--back to updating the wiki.
1:25:52. Hmm.. what next? Science? Or wouldn't it be nice if I got rid of some of the entertainment section and didn't have to do all of that stuff last? I really really hate doing the entertainment section though. It's so fiddly. Maybe if I wait a while it will do itself. Hmm. Need to change the link on the index for the creative section, too.
1:26:24. Right.
1:39:30. Science section is done! It wouldn't have taken so long, but I had a billion errors in one file caused by one paragraph with a <p> instead of a </p>--took me forever to find it.
1:40:17. Wiki updated. This is beginning to be really boring, and now I'm feeling queasy. I think I'll stop working on this for now. I'm feeling unhappy with the accent colors and the way they clash with the blue headings. I'm going to have to change those too--it will look much better that way, I think. I hate to do that, though, because the blog star graphics and featured links are that color. I could just comment out the graphics for this month, though, and replace them with text headers. That would probably be the easiest. But that's for tomorrow.
March 26, 2004
I'm actually looking forward to this--I've been seriously cleaning house all day, so a chance to work on something that doesn't involve grease on the stove is terrific. I probably won't be able to work for very long before we go out for dinner, though. I had a response from Liz today with the updated file--I'll start with the site prettification again. It's easier to get motivated about a new issue like that.
1:58:42. Header changed and uploaded, and a smaller version for the archive has been created. I've also fiddled with the colors and brought out the green more--I like this much better. It looked okay before, but now it blends together better--reminds us of Easter. M is my official test person for these things, although he tends to think that it looks fine before I'm ready to call it done.
1:59:26. Removed funky characters from the last piece (Escape) Abigail sent and added it to the wiki. Still not sure who wrote one of the travel pieces.
2:18:23. I went through the entertainment section and created a file with the Amazon affiliate code for each review that needed it. This is extremely irritating, but I think doing it all at once will make me dislike the entertainment section less later on. First, I have to see what the review is about, then go off to Amazon to find the product (if it's there) and then copy the product number into the affiliate site, search, customize the link to remove the border and then copy the html. But because Amazon's code isn't properly written, it also needs tinkered with manually. I have it down to a science, but it's quite fiddly anyway. Time for a dinner break.
2:43:13. I'm determined to get the entertainment section out of my way. Treasure Box has now been updated. I had to come up with a bit of a design solution--Katrina wanted the record label at the top of the page so it would be more visible. I don't really agree that it's necessary--I don't really think people care what label it is, actually--but there's also not a reason NOT to do it in this case. Since consistency is very important, I also had to redo the back issues to match. That will be less fun when it gets to the music reviews..
2:49:34. No Rock n Roll Fun finished and the wiki updated accordingly.
March 27, 2004
3:32:02. Have now finished the music section--minus formatting the header for the two previous issues (because I had to move the label. I've decided to be more concerned about getting this issue done, which is hard for me. Have I mentioned how much the entertainment section sucks? I wonder if Liz will let me foist it off on her next month..? :)
3:29.54. Movies done. Only one movie. Someone will complain about clicking around since there's only one movie review this month. Can't be helped.
3:53:38. Wiki and emails, then fixed a bit of a design flaw with the new header style that moved the label to the top of the page. Still haven't updated past issues for Music to the new style.
4:08:46. I'm done with entertainment! This is a huge relief, as perhaps I have made clear previously that it sucks. It's very.. fiddly. I use that word a lot, don't I? Now I just need to do Travel, Living and Features. Features can be annoying but it's not too bad, at least. Must go off to update the wiki.
4:24:22. I'm clearly losing a little interest in the documentation--I've been doing more and more things between each update. I figure that's alright. I'm not adding this to the timer, of course, so I guess I'm feeling less like writing and more like having it done. Clear Conscience, Click It and Online Outlook are all done, but I'm missing next month's question. Will need to ask someone about that.
March 28, 3004
4:44:03. Have caught up on some emails. While replying to Abbey, I glanced at the calendar while coming up with something to say and realized that I actually have two days longer than I thought! I have been working all this time as if it was going live on Monday night, but it's not all due until Wednesday night. I can't believe what great news that is! :) Last month, I just had until the 29th.. that must have been what I was thinking about. The extra time is pretty wonderful, though, I must say--this has been hanging over my head all weekend. Good news!
March 29, 2004
5:03:11. Caught up on the wiki and email. I'd like to get this stuff done asap and out of my hair. Will try to be more concise today. I will add that I haven't logged most of the time I spend on email, and none of the time on the planning board. I even answered one mail just now without it being logged. It's too hard to keep track of all of it, and I want to keep track of just the time spent working on THIS issue, not the time I spend on Mosaic Minds in general.
5:29:03. Shifting Spaces done. Escape is probably done, but my internet connection went out so I can't finish it up and validate it.
6:02:34. Escape and Secret Pieces are done, along with the View, which means that the Travel section is complete! Just Living and Features left to do.
7:16:04. I'm trying to get Slapdash done, and then the only thing left will be the feature articles. My internet connection is really bad, though, so I'm moving at a snail's pace. I would have kept working, but since it's so bad, I'll take myself off and do something else as soon as I get Slapdash checked over. Those pictures are kind of time-consuming.
March 30, 2004
7:24:21. I had to give up after I wrote that and go to bed. Hopefully, the connection will behave itself a little better tonight. Finished up with Slapdash.. now to do the Features.
8:58:21. Features are done! I think. Next up: wiki, email, last-minute questions, etc. Archive, too.
9:12:46. The archive is ready, and some errors found and fixed.
9:23:13. Emails sent--one to Carrie to let her know it was ready for looking over, one to Beverly regarding two author bios that are too long. Bug-checking commences tomorrow.
March 31, 2004
9:31:22. I couldn't stand it any more--I've fixed the fiction/prose thing in my include files. Uploading now to make sure it all works as planned. While I wait, I'm going to look at the poetry in the previous two issues.
9:46:12. Nifty. Two minor/major irritations taken care of. I'll fix the music label placement for back issues now.
9:55:11. Ladada. This is going well. I think I'll play with find and replace again, cleaning up the code. Lots of em/i discrepancies. I know that em might be preferable on a theoretical basis, but not when one is working with twenty other people who try really hard to mark up as much as possible, bless their hearts. I figure it's better to have them all the same than have a few here and there--and it wouldn't work to turn them all into em.. (most of them are referring to things that need to be italicized.. like book titles.)
9:59:02. Just remembered to replace the two lengthy author bios, which Beverly had sent to me before I even got out of bed this morning. Nice with the time zones that way.
Alrighty then. I'm done--all that's left now is to upload tonight at around midnight (just after one final find-and-replace, changing absolute URLs back to mosaicminds.net!) I guess it's a little arbitrary that I do it at midnight EST, but I figure it's as good a time as any--it's the very beginning of April 1 for ME at least.
Let's see.. final thoughts on the update process, in case anyone at all is still reading. The wiki system was a rousing success, I think. There were a few little quirks.. like.. one of the articles was about a guy named LeMaster. The wiki made that a wiki word (mixed case words become wiki links), so when I copied it, the text actually said LeMaster? throughout. That was easy to replace, though. It also messed up the html links. Those were pretty small things, though, considering all the things that could be done to the text in advance.. getting rid of the smart quotes and dashes, adding html, etc. I couldn't do that before because I kept getting changes. It was also becoming a huge mess with email, since I was receiving lots of individual pieces of mail that had to be sorted through. And hopefully, the editors have now caught most of the things they would have pointed out after launch, since they could look over the content beforehand.
And also, I do hope that none of my find-and-replace antics this time have messed anything else up. It all looks fine to me, but you never can tell. If you're still reading (and I really don't blame you if you're not) I hope you enjoyed seeing what it is that I do.
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Date: 2004-03-31 04:20 pm (UTC)I can't believe it is coming out at midnight tonight! I better get my ass over there and do another look see.
So would it be better for you if we didn't do any html mark up? I don't want to cause you additional work.
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