willoller.com http://www.willoller.com Learning to match the beat of the Old World man. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:20:17 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5 en The Process http://www.willoller.com/the-process/ http://www.willoller.com/the-process/#comments Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:20:17 +0000 will http://www.willoller.com/?p=115 via Big Noob

We just took a certain client’s site live this week. This was how the whole process went.

]]> http://www.willoller.com/the-process/feed/ eMusic: “Maths is hard!” http://www.willoller.com/emusic-maths-is-hard/ http://www.willoller.com/emusic-maths-is-hard/#comments Wed, 18 Jun 2008 00:50:51 +0000 will http://www.willoller.com/?p=110 Just got an email from eMusic informing me of their price for the 30/month plan increasing from $9.99 to $11.99. But, because they love me so much, they’ll throw in an additional 10 downloads, making my $11.99 worth 40 downloads.

Less is not more.

Then they show me a nice table and declare “[I] will actually pay less per download.”

Emusic\'s cost comparison

This is a nice gesture, showing me the breakdown and everything. Next time, though, somebody might want to re-check the math and send a slightly modified email: not only is the math wrong (11.99/40 = 0.29975) but the bad math tells me I will be paying more per download. If I wasn’t the kind of guy who carries a calculator around and likes to correct everybody, I’d have thought “You guys are idiots; I’m not paying more for less.”

Before Excel we are all equally wise - and equally foolish

Formulas can be unruly beasts, but this is also a simple matter of proofreading. It reminds me of their ongoing problem with mismatched track names. It would be a shame to lose a customer due to a misapplied Excel formula.

]]> http://www.willoller.com/emusic-maths-is-hard/feed/ Home from vacation. Photos to … http://www.willoller.com/home-from-vacation-photos-to/ http://www.willoller.com/home-from-vacation-photos-to/#comments Thu, 22 May 2008 04:47:36 +0000 will http://www.willoller.com/home-from-vacation-photos-to/ Home from vacation. Photos to follow!

]]> http://www.willoller.com/home-from-vacation-photos-to/feed/ If you install Myspace Chat or… http://www.willoller.com/if-you-install-myspace-chat-or/ http://www.willoller.com/if-you-install-myspace-chat-or/#comments Mon, 19 May 2008 04:13:23 +0000 will http://www.willoller.com/if-you-install-myspace-chat-or/ If you install Myspace Chat or uTorrent on a public terminal PC, you are a bastard and I hate you.

]]> http://www.willoller.com/if-you-install-myspace-chat-or/feed/ On vacation in Yellowstone. http://www.willoller.com/on-vacation-in-yellowstone/ http://www.willoller.com/on-vacation-in-yellowstone/#comments Fri, 16 May 2008 04:11:35 +0000 will http://www.willoller.com/on-vacation-in-yellowstone-b/ On vacation in Yellowstone. Be back to work on Thursday.

]]> http://www.willoller.com/on-vacation-in-yellowstone/feed/ Use Firebug to Update A Huge Form http://www.willoller.com/use-firebug-to-update-a-huge-form/ http://www.willoller.com/use-firebug-to-update-a-huge-form/#comments Tue, 13 May 2008 04:43:08 +0000 will http://www.willoller.com/?p=38 Had a problem recently where I had to update hundreds of input fields within a shopping cart, setting prices of product variants from $200 to $49.

They were named in sequence:

PLAIN TEXT
JAVASCRIPT:
  1. ...
  2. <input name="vs[1667][price]" value="200" />
  3. <input name="vs[1668][price]" value="200" />
  4. <input name="vs[1669][price]" value="200" />
  5. ...

So I busted out the command line in Firebug.

PLAIN TEXT
JAVASCRIPT:
  1. for (var i=0; i<10000; i++) {
  2.    if(document.productvariantsform.elements["vs[" + i + "][price]"].value) {
  3.       document.productvariantsform.elements["vs[" + i + "][price]"].value = "49.00";
  4.    }
  5. }

but all I got were "has no properties" errors.

I got in touch with my local Javascript guru who helped me come up with some code that did work:

PLAIN TEXT
JAVASCRIPT:
  1. var frm = document.productvariantsform;
  2. for (var i=0; i <frm.elements.length; i++) {
  3.    if ((frm.elements[i].name.match(/\[price\]$/)) && (frm.elements[i].value)) {
  4.       frm.elements[i].value = "49.00";
  5.    }
  6. }

This saved literally hours of [TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][Ctrl+V].
Thank you Firebug!

]]> http://www.willoller.com/use-firebug-to-update-a-huge-form/feed/ Turns out if I’m drunk and you… http://www.willoller.com/turns-out-if-im-drunk-and-you/ http://www.willoller.com/turns-out-if-im-drunk-and-you/#comments Mon, 12 May 2008 16:51:37 +0000 will http://www.willoller.com/turns-out-if-im-drunk-and-you/ Turns out if I'm drunk and you ask me an economics question, I can't play guitar hero until I explain supply-side economics to you.

]]> http://www.willoller.com/turns-out-if-im-drunk-and-you/feed/ Oh yeah. Goin’ to AEA SF08. Th… http://www.willoller.com/oh-yeah-goin-to-aea-sf08-th/ http://www.willoller.com/oh-yeah-goin-to-aea-sf08-th/#comments Sat, 03 May 2008 00:36:10 +0000 will http://www.willoller.com/oh-yeah-goin-to-aea-sf08-th/ Oh yeah. Goin' to AEA SF08. Thanks, Mike!

]]> http://www.willoller.com/oh-yeah-goin-to-aea-sf08-th/feed/ There is a tide in the affairs… http://www.willoller.com/there-is-a-tide-in-the-affairs/ http://www.willoller.com/there-is-a-tide-in-the-affairs/#comments Wed, 30 Apr 2008 22:00:49 +0000 will http://www.willoller.com/there-is-a-tide-in-the-affairs/

There is a tide in the affairs of men
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat;
And we must take the current when it serves,
Or lose the ventures before us.

- William Shakespeare, Julias Ceasar

]]> http://www.willoller.com/there-is-a-tide-in-the-affairs/feed/ A lesson in procrastination: I… http://www.willoller.com/a-lesson-in-procrastination-i/ http://www.willoller.com/a-lesson-in-procrastination-i/#comments Mon, 28 Apr 2008 16:01:49 +0000 will http://www.willoller.com/a-lesson-in-procrastination-i/ A lesson in procrastination: If you wonder to yourself "should I get my bag out of the car now or wait until tomorrow morning?" - you should go get it now, because in the morning your wife is going to leave for work and take the car, and your bag.

]]> http://www.willoller.com/a-lesson-in-procrastination-i/feed/