eric.setiawan.weblog

It’s been 4 months since the first time I blog. It was May 2005 and I was a fool. I think I still is.

There was Friendster. It supposed to be connecting friends and it did. I find my long lost friends here. Great. If my mind don’t fail me, this is where I made my first blog. It was nice and weird at the same time and I decided to delete that blog. It’s true.

There was Yahoo! 360. I was invited and for the first time I really do some writings here. At first I still use Bahasa Indonesia. It’s fun and I mostly wrote jokes. I enjoy it too. Everytime I read these posts I can’t stop smiling :) How can I wrote such things?

There was Blogger and not a single clue. At that time, I feel Blogger is a big step for me into the big big blogosphere. And for the first time I have to get face to face with HTML and CSS codes. Otherwise I can’t change any of my blog’s layout. No problem. In the end of this era, I can do some re-coding, get familiar with web standards, how to blog, etc. But still have no clue.

There was Blogsome. It was good. And it use Wordpress. Nice. I learn what I believe to be an intermediate class of blogging service. I can customize some of the parts but no more. This time I can get to design my own layout. Do you like it? I do. But the more I knew the more I need. I want more which Blogsome cannot give. This blog may live shortly but undoubtly memorable. Goodbye Blogsome.

There is Wordpress.com. Full of dynamics. It uses WordpressMU under Wordpress 1.6 alpha. In term of customizability, this one is certainly the worst. I can’t change virtually anything. I just post and post and post all those entries with default theme. But I don’t whine since it gave me something more. Progress and development. I can get to see firsthand of what the WP dev team doing. I do send some feedbacks to them. And I can get a chance to be listed on number 6 on Top Wordpress.com blogs today. Great. There’s some achievements I made here, some new friends and of course recognition from other bloggers. This is still going on with some deep thoughts in my mind.

There is ericsetiawan.com. The supposed to be my last home. My weblog. It still uses Wordpress, version 1.5.2 this time, and no plan to switch to other blog engine. You do yours and I’ll do mine. I get everything I dreamed of and more here. In fact, I was caught unprepared. I don’t understand PHP and now I have to face it. So now I’m using a K2 basic template, unchanged. I remembered Budi once said that now I’m turning into more of a blogger than a web designer or developer. For your information, I’m an architect. I want to learn more coding. HTML, CSS, PHP, Javascript, XML and all the stuffs. But living a life one step at a time, those stuffs are a couple of steps ahead. This is where I am now.

You know where this is going. I’m closing this weblog down. Again I use the same date, 17th. I know today is September 22nd. But I want to use 17 anyway. And by editing the time stamp, I can do so. It’ like I can travel back in time. I still keep the archives here though. I just don’t post here anymore. So I really really hope that all of you my friends and readers to start visiting my new weblog. Preferablly the ericsetiawan.com one. And you might want to change my RSS feed on your agregator too. I’ve been changing blog so often but I hope you don’t get bored of me. So please stay with me. Change the course, Mr. Zulu. We’re heading for a new destination.

So finally I get THE wordpress.com account. Not from Matt though LOL. I got it from someone else. My first impression of wordpress.com and its WPMU/WP 1.6 alpha version is that it still need lots of improvement but I see the potential. There are some changes. The CMS seems more user-friendly (so WP is for everybody not just for the tech guy). And I see that Donncha already implement some of what Matt said as the AJAXy thing. That is AJAX the asynchronous javascript and XML, not the AJAX Amsterdam. Overall, I can’t wait to try it firsthand. You all can visit my wordpress.com blog through the top navbar or simply put http://eric.wordpress.com on your browser. Don’t expect much since I can’t tweak the HTML and CSS code. Oh, and don’t you worry, I won’t leave this blog here. I will still post here. There’s some dilemma of course. But let me handle that. Just stay with me and I’ll keep writing. Promise?

So, can I self-proclaiming that I’m the first Eric ever to use wordpress.com? LOL.

Life doesn’t always have to be about running or reaching your goal. Sometimes you just need to stand there for a while, take a few step back and use that moment to really, and I mean really, re-thinking your journey in life. After all, like Steve Jobs said: “You can’t connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backwards”. So this is about me, trying to connecting my dots in life, somehow. Not that I live a depressed life or desperate or else. In fact, the way all things around me evolve lately are just fine but they were so fast it makes me a bit confused. You live your life just once and you can’t take two roads with one step at one time. You have to choose. Not an easy task but I, like everybody else, should do so. That’s what our journey is about, making choices with our conscience to reach the end. Our end and His end. It seems some of my dots are starting to show up but still need lots of adjustment work, time, and oh.. I could always use some extra time to sleep. May be the real problem is that I have (and want) to do so many things but with limited time to do it. So it’s all back to personal time management. I guess Just Relax is not so relaxed anymore LOL. See, this introspection works out just fine, even on a blog post. Now I will stop my rants and ramblings. Enjoy your life. Meanwhile I have a life to maintain here.

I tried to leave a comment on my friend’s blog. Nothing extraordinary except that I got this message afterward and I guess this mean my comment didn’t get through at all.

Sorry, you’ve been prevented from commenting on this blog.

Either your comment content was found to contain spam, or
your IP address (or a subnet of your IP address) has spammed this blog before.

If you think you got this page in error, your entered name might be too short.

You can also complain to wp.spaminator@gmail.com. View source to see why you got blocked.

Strike count: 5

To my friend, if you read this, it’s okay. Really. I find it quite amusing instead. Although I am a bit worried if my IP address somehow has “spammed this blog” before. I ruled out the posibility of entering my name too short since I always use that name on every comment I wrote before. Or is it possible that I wrote something spammy? I never thought of myself as a spammer before. I just don’t want to end up on Priyadi’s list of spammer on his Disinfo Busting category. I am curious though. Do I even have the look to be one?

You might have guessed it right and you find it silly. Yes, this has connection with my previous entry. As silly as this might be, I am sure this will be helpful for the beginner bloggers like me. Have you ever wonder what type of font should we use on our blog? I’ve tried some of on-the-list fonts such as Trebuchet, Arial, Georgia. But now I’m settle with the Lucida Grande. If you don’t have this font on your computer I guess you’re working on a non-Mac. And if you do have, then you’re a Mac-lover or you install it on your PC. Then the PC-users (that including me, the authors himself who still use a PC) should have another good font to look at. My choice went to either Tahoma or Verdana. And I chose not to blow its size on the monitor. Instead I use 11px size and the magic is within the next clue. Use 15-17px line-height. That should do it. At least for me, I now see my blog’s entry easy and nice to read. Combine with my previous hint, you get yourself a good look for your blog. Enough talking (that’s me) and reading (that’s you), now you can try it yourself. If you have other hints and tips, you can just share it here.

Maybe I was so ignorant or just plain dumb. I just realized there is something different about my blog than others. I never thought about font-color until today. My friend Budi asked me to check some other blogs. Upon seeing all those blogs and seeing the CSSes (not that I steal something, it’s just for learning purposes only) I realize that they don’t use the color: #000 anymore. Though they looked the same at first glance, but they are different as the color are greyish. The one that I now applied on my blog is #333 (do you see the difference?). This not so black font color is softer than the pure black one and proven to be useful when reading a long entry of a blog. Care for your eyes and for the readers’. Call me silly but now I know it.

The Republic of Indonesia celebrating its 60th Independence Day on August 17th. It’s funny when I read on newspaper that Netherland, the country who invaded us, acknowledge our independence this year. So apparently, to them on August 17th, 1945 Indonesia never really be free and independent. Another stories about this day every year would be about all those silly games we used to play. It was once fun but later become boring due to the lack of variety and creativity. And this year, I must added annoying to the list. Some of my neighbours seems to have an idea to throw a late party to celebrate this day. It won’t be such a big deal if they not held the party in the middle of the road with all those big lousy speakers, right in front of my house, in the middle of the night. They were all applauding, cheering, laughing and playing dangdut music. I’ve known for not being to supportive of this kind of music although I do appreciate some musician trying to play dangdut accoustic version. But what these people played were disco-remixed-dangdut which supposedly played on a discotheque rather than on the street. I feel sorry for the elderly on my neigbourhood if last night they have trouble to get some nice and decent sleep. So have I. Can I have my freedom, please?

“Bu, apa anaknya mau dihitung?” That’s the question of the driver of angkot in Bandung. He was asking a mother whether she want her child to have a seat or just sit on her lap. If the child to be seated, then she has to pay for two persons. And if not, then it’s free. Hey, where are those time when children can paid for half the adult price? Even more, can the driver imagine having to sit on a small minivan, full of people with mixed body odors, with a child on your lap? I think Bandung needs a new kind of public transportation. A cheap, mass and better one where where children and the elderly can take a sit nicely and safely. One MRT for Bandung, please!

If you use GMail, despite all the rumor out there about them reading our mails, you will find some funny message. Try deleting all the spams you got and there come the response “Hooray, no spam here!” Maybe it a small thing but I find it fun and nice to see. Imagine you got all the automatic response such as “No spam detected” it will be plain ordinary. It’s all about personal touch. The writer of that message has made me smile a bit upon reading it. And to add the list here is a message I got a while back from Flickr.

The Flickr team has up and moved this week to Californ-i-a and has been singing Beach Boys songs non-stop since arrival. And you’re moving too!

We’re moving each and every pixel, bit, and byte, all your data, lock, stock, and barrel, from our humble server shack in Canada to our new server palace in the U.S. of A!

This process will begin during the week of June 28 and will result in speediness, stableness, and happiness. For more information, please visit the FAQ about the data center move.

Thank you, Flickreebies, for making Flickr such a wonderful place to share, connect, and befriend. We love you! (In an entirely non-creepy way.)

- The Flickroobies

Such messages are fun folks. If you own a company you should try this instead of the usually boring memo or announcement. So like what the Flickroobies said, I love all of you who read my blog here. Also in an entirely non-creepy way.

I got some bad cough for some time. No, I don’t smoke but yes sometimes I take my shower late at night, too late I guess. After trying some of the generic medicine, I haven’t got any better. And I thought it’s been too long and too tiring and too uncomfortable and it’s enough. Luckily, my girlfriend gave me a medicine she used to take when having bad cough (thanks honey). She said the dose is quite strong but effective. So I prepare for the worst because in my experience, the good medicine always taste bad. And if it tasted good then it’s a bad one. But when I took a sip (it’s a powder medicine so I have to mix it with water) it taste like orange juice. Hey, what is this? Will this work? Now I can say it work perfectly fine. Not without the side effect. Last night I got to get all those slimy, yucky, .. (okay, you get my picture, right? It’s simply awful) things out of my throat. And this morning I feel a lot better. Who said that the good medicine have to taste bad?