Version 2.0
Years ago, maybe five, I set myself up for a productive failure. I started building my web-based literary empire. The venture taught me all I know now about programming for the web, about PHP, MySQL and JavaScript. I think I finished the empire two years ago, the code at least. I had spent so much time fussing with this line of code and that that I didn’t have any content for the thing. What’s a literary empire without anything literary? I would have to delay the launch until there was something to put in my glorious code. Then, of course, we went to Poland. Then, I realised that I didn’t like the code or the way the site worked (or would have worked if it was actually live). I had learned enough to see all my newbie mistakes. And still I had no content.
About four months ago, I decided to abandon the literary empire. I could fuss with the code forever, and for some reason, it’s easier to mess around with code than it is to focus on writing, so out with the code. I planned to focus on the existing pioro.net site, a much humbler endeavour. That would be that.
Then, in the course of some compulsive web surfing, I came across Wordpress, a blogging application. I was smitten. It had all the features I had worked into my old code, it had other things that I wanted. The kicker is the little blurb that runs at the bottom of the Wordpress pages: “Code is Poetry.” Any crew of programmers who can see the connection between well-written code and a sonnet are my kind of people.
Now pioro.net is all Wordpress. Goodbye, Blogger. The last three years have been good, but it’s time to move on. Though, on to what, who knows? I’m not exactly sure what direction pioro.net will be taking. At the moment, I envision a broadening and deepening of scope—maybe a fusion of the old Itchy Feet and the abandoned literary empire. I hope it will be my “Who’s Next” to what was a “Lifehouse.” We’ll see. I’m hesitant about grand pronouncements. Things have a way of changing on you. Some things get dropped.
I must thank the folks at Wordpress for designing such a fabulous app, which more and more people are finding out about. Thanks also to Michael Heilemann. I’ve used his Kubrick template as a means to work my own template into the Wordpress environment. Finally, as a tip to anyone trying to implement the new Wordpress, make sure you get these updates. They will save a lot of hair-pulling.
Stay tuned.