Danny Wahlquist's Blogs

My Blogs

Coding Horror: Alpha, Beta, and Sometimes Gamma from Danny Wahlquist's Blogspot News Blog, August 15, 2008

Johanna Rothman: Are We There Yet? Creating Project Dashboards to Display Project Progress from Danny Wahlquist's Blogger Mobile Blog, August 14, 2008

DocBook groups on Plaxo and LinkedIn from Danny Wahlquist's Bloglines News Blog, July 31, 2008

The Best Bird Photography Tips from Danny Wahlquist's Windows Live™ Spaces Christian Blog, October 5, 2007

DocBook V5.0CR2 The second "candidate release" of DocBook V5.0.
"At some point real soon now, we're going to have to declare V5.0 'feature complete'. Sooner rather than later, I hope." from Danny Wahlquist's Mindsay Docbook Blog, April 5, 2007

How to be a great audience from Danny Wahlquist's Multiply Localization Blog, April 1, 2007

Decemberadio
I love listening to Decemberadio in my wife's convertible :-) from Danny Wahlquist's myspace Christian Blog, April 1, 2007

Google Mobile Maps
I use GMM every day without exception. Built by the team behind Zipdash, GMM is a wonderfully rich client for our mobile device that fuses the best of Maps, Earth, and Local all in the palm of your hand. Whether I am looking for a place to eat, or just lost on the way to a meeting, GMM is a must have. It has bailed me out countless times. They even added traffic info lately! Just go to google.com/gmm from your phone's browser to install Google Mobile Maps. from Danny Wahlquist's Bloglines News Blog, April 5, 2007

How to be a great audience
"The good audiences were all the same. They leaned forward. They made eye contact. They mirrored my energy right back to me. When the talk (five minutes) was over they were filled with questions." from Danny Wahlquist's Yahoo 360 Genealogy Blog, April 1, 2007

Decemberadio
I love listening to Decemberadio in my wife's convertible :-) from Danny Wahlquist's myspace Christian Blog, April 1, 2007

Dare Obasanjo aka Carnage4Life - Open Source is Dead
"Specifically, the value of Twitter to its users is less about its functionality and more about the fact that their friends use it. This is the same as it is for other kinds of social/communications software like Facebook or Windows Live Messenger. Features are what gets the initial users in the door but it's the social network that keeps them there. This is a classic example of how social software is the new vendor lock-in." from Danny Wahlquist's WordPress Blog, March 31, 2007

What makes great worship music?
Whether you agree with him or not, Tim Challies is always insightful! "pop or rock or guitar-based music just can't capture the grandeur of this classical or baroque music. I love rock music as much as the next guy, but have to admit that it somehow just can't quite compare to the power of a choir, an orchestra, or even a really good pipe organ. Rock music tends to rely on volume rather than grandeur." from Danny Wahlquist's Windows Live™ Spaces Christian Blog, March 31, 2007

Wild at Heart: Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul by John Eldredge
Some of my favorite concepts:
Are we willing to live with the level of risk God invites us to?
Do what brings me back to my heart and the heart of God
"How" is a faithless question
Living by principles can remove conversation with God
Embrace adventure bejond control
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Gil Bailie
from Danny Wahlquist's Blogsome Blog, March 31, 2007

Chapter 1 of 6 Rules Every Man Must Break by Bill Perkins
Chapter 1 The Rule of Passivity - Bill says that the two battles that we most need to fight are legalism and hypocrisy. Legalism substitutes rules for friendship with God. Religion can train spiritual hypocrits. from Danny Wahlquist's ebay Blog, March 26, 2007

Localization Vs Personalization
"Here's the way I see it. Localization is something Google decided to implement based on Google's assumptions that localized content is more valuable than non-localized content to their users around the world. I happen to agree that this is by large a correct assumption and a right decision. But that is not personalization. Personalization requires user input and corresponding output. In Google's case, users in the UK or New Zealand did not initiate the filtering based on their personal preferences. Google did. That's not personalization in my opinion. That's a broad-stroke catch-all hack." from Danny Wahlquist's Multiply Localization Blog, March 16, 2007

Time zones are still hard
"So I wrote a post and set it to go live at 12:01 am (an hour before this one is set to go live), yet it went live at 11:01 pm the day before. Even though the changeover time isn't supposed to be midnight. And why? Well, the server is (I am told) on the East Coast of the United States, so they are well into the changeover. Even though they are translating to Pacific time on my posts since that is what my settings are. Time zones are still hard, and our software still doesn't get them most of the time. Of course in this scenario people disagree on what the behavior should be...." from Danny Wahlquist's Jroller Localization Blog, March 16, 2007

Has the Family Tomb of Jesus Been Found?
"The presentation on Sunday is called 'Has the Family Tomb of Jesus Been Found?' This is certainly to be discussed at the water coolers on Monday. And you as a Christian should be ready with some reasoned questions of your own (asked in the right spirit). So join me for this special message in our series on Tough Questions - Honest Answers. And please pray for wisdom and insight for me as I prepare." from Danny Wahlquist's Blogger Mobile Blog, March 4, 2007

Has the Family Tomb of Jesus Been Found?
"The presentation on Sunday is called Has the Family Tomb of Jesus Been Found? This is certainly to be discussed at the water coolers on Monday. And you as a Christian should be ready with some reasoned questions of your own (asked in the right spirit). So join me for this special message in our series on Tough Questions - Honest Answers. And please pray for wisdom and insight for me as I prepare." from Danny Wahlquist's BlogSpirit Christian Blog, March 4, 2007

Creating Passionate Users: The best user manuals EVER
"Just imagine... what would it be like if you had learning materials like that? Not in the budget? Charge extra. Why not? Look how much money O'Reilly, Wiley, Prentice-Hall, etc. are making thanks to all the missing/useless/painful docs. Better yet, be the first in your market to blow minds with world-class user learning materials. How long will it take before the companies that do this can start slashing their marketing budgets..." from Danny Wahlquist's Blogspot News Blog, March 2, 2007

Too many companies are like bad marriages
"Unfortunately, too many companies are all candle-lit dinners, fine wine, and "let's talk about you" until the deal is sealed. Once they have you (i.e. you became a paying customer), you realize you got a bait-and-switch relationship." from Danny Wahlquist's AOL Blog, February 26, 2006

LarryBoy and the Bad Apple Trailer
The boys love this! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMJhAazkHYo from Danny Wahlquist's LiveJournal Blogging Blog, February 24, 2007

Facing the Giants Trailer
My favorite movie of the year! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zciqppDGzGo from Danny Wahlquist's WordPress Blog, February 24, 2007

Amazing Grace movie trailer
Can't wait to see this! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6Cv5P9H9qU from Danny Wahlquist's Blogspot Mobile Blog, February 24, 2007

Immanuel Baptist Church is now on MyChurch.org
I just set up my church, Immanuel Baptist Church of Richmond, VA on MyChurch. This is a very impressive online infrastructure! http://www.mychurch.org/ from Danny Wahlquist's Xanga Web Blog, February 23, 2007

Types of XML Interoperability
"Content Model Interoperability is centered around enabling all or part of one standard's content model to be included as part of another standard. For example, DITA's specialization capabilities could be employed to create custom topic types for DocBook sections or refentries (in a DITA-like way). Conversely, DocBook's DTDs are designed to create customizations on top of the core content model." from Danny Wahlquist's Mindsay Docbook Blog, February 21, 2007

Getting MarkDown and SmartyPants working with EditPad Pro
MarkDown is a simple processor that converts text to HTML. For example, it converts *text surrounded by asterisks* to italics. SmartyPants replaces "straight quotes" with "curly quotes" and makes a few other typographic improvements. EditPad Pro is a very respectable text editor for Windows. It's fast and contains scrillions of useful features. It's not the fanciest thing in the world, but if you're still using Notepad for the occasional bits of text, it's a fine drop-in replacement. from Danny Wahlquist's Bloglines News Blog, February 19, 2006

Using source control tools on huge projects - Joel on Software
"When you're working with source control on a huge team, the best way to organize things is to create branches and sub-branches that correspond to your individual feature teams, down to a high level of granularity. If your tools support it, you can even have private branches for every developer. So they can check in as often as they want, only merging up when they feel that their code is stable. Your QA department owns the 'junction points' above each merge. That is, as soon as a developer merges their private branch with their team branch, QA gets to look at it and they only merge it up if it meets their quality bar." from Danny Wahlquist's Blogspot Mobile Blog, February 19, 2007

Dare Obasanjo aka Carnage4Life - Vision vs. Shipping Code
"What the company needs now is more focus on shipping code and less focus on vision. Quite frankly, I'd be quite happy to never get another vision memo or speech from Ray as long as I'm sure he's out there making sure we aren't working on any more obviously bad ideas. One of the reasons I'm still at Microsoft [specifically Windows Live] is that I believe that our current leadership believes in shipping code. I've also gotten the same vibe from Ray which is also goodness in my book. Time will tell whether my confidence is warranted or not." Don't we all! from Danny Wahlquist's Blogspot News Blog, February 19, 2007

The Blogging Church by Brian Bailey
"Brian Bailey makes two things crystal clear in this book: if you've got a church, then you need to spread your story. And if you need to spread your story, blogs are now an essential tool. Time to pay attention!" - Seth Godin, author, Small Is the New Big from Danny Wahlquist's LiveJournal Blogging Blog, February 18, 2007

Congrats to Casting Crowns!
"Casting Crowns is celebrating its sixth consecutive No.1 song with 'Does Anybody Hear Her.' This is the third No.1 single from the band's RIAA Gold-certified Lifesong album. Over its three-year career, Casting Crowns has been the most played artist on all Christian radio formats combined. The band has sold more than 2.3 million albums, with RIAA certifications including two Platinum records and two Gold records. Casting Crowns won a GRAMMY for its sophomore studio release, Lifesong, and was named Group of the Year for the second consecutive year at the 37th Annual Gospel Music Awards. Lead singer and songwriter Mark Hall has been a student pastor for 15 years. He currently serves on staff at Eagle's Landing First Baptist Church in Atlanta." from Danny Wahlquist's Xanga Web Blog, February 18, 2007

30 Day Husband Encouragement Challenge.
"I have long been looking for resources which enable women to creatively encourage the men in their lives (whether it be family, husbands, or brothers-in-the-Lord). Nancy Leigh DeMoss has an excellent 30 Day Husband Encouragement Challenge." from Danny Wahlquist's WordPress Blog, February 18, 2007

Sandra White Goble died on February 9, 2007
At 2:30 AM on Friday, February 9, 2007, Sandra White Goble died. I never met her, but she helped me research information on Grandma and Great Grandma after Dad died in 2005. from Danny Wahlquist's Yahoo 360 Genealogy Blog, February 18, 2007

Abraham Lincoln Quote
"I know there is a God, and that He hates injustice and slavery. I see the storm coming, and I know that His hand is in it. If he has a place and work for me-and I think He has-I believe I am ready." Abraham Lincoln from Danny Wahlquist's myspace Christian Blog, February 18, 2007

George Washington Prayer
"Almighty God: We make our earnest prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States in Thy holy protection: that Thou wilt incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government, and entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another and their fellow citizens of the United States at large. . . Grant our supplication, we beseech Thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." George Washington from Danny Wahlquist's Windows Live™ Spaces Christian Blog, February 18, 2007

Interoperability Framework presentation at DITA West 2007
"We will be posting our whitepaper and slides to the docstandards-interop-tech list and the Flatirons Solutions website shortly. Thanks to all who attended! UPDATE: I've posted a copy of our presentation to the Flatirons Solutions site here." from Danny Wahlquist's Mindsay Docbook Blog, February 17, 2007

Map Your Ideas With bubbl.us
"Need a visual way to brainstorm your ideas? Try bubbl.us, a simple yet powerful mind mapping application. The concept is pretty basic: you write your thoughts in bubbles, which you can then connect to other bubbles, eventually creating as complex (or not) diagram as you could possibly want. It's a great way to quickly jot down and map your ideas; and you can create as many of these as you want. Got any other favorite mind-mapping apps you'd like to share? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. - Wendy Boswell from Danny Wahlquist's AOL Blog, February 17, 2007

Abraham Lincoln, March 30, 1863
We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us! - Abraham Lincoln, March 30, 1863 from Danny Wahlquist's Blogsome Blog, February 17, 2007

Google Maps Is the New Bible Atlas
"BibleMap.org integrates Google Maps and the ESV text to create an interactive Bible atlas. You browse to a chapter in the Bible, and all the place names are links. Click one of the names to go that place on the map. Then click the pushpin to show some background information on the place." from Danny Wahlquist's BlogSpirit Christian Blog, February 17, 2007

Wild at Heart: Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul
Great book. One of my favorite quotes: "Are we willing to live with the level of risk God invites us to?" from Danny Wahlquist's ebay Blog, February 17, 2007

Where is the character?
"I have found in recent years that http://www.fileformat.info/ is a great place to easily look. If you go the page for either U+2183 or U+2184, for example, you will see a link near the top that talks about the fonts that support the character. And by the looks of things there is at least Code2000 from James Kass that is a very inexpensive shareware font.... On that page, there is also a link to the Custom Font Report tool which will give you the list of characters supported by a font on your machine (you can also use a program like Character Map to look for anything on the BMP or the Word Insert Symbol dialog in Word 2003 or later to find anything on or off the BMP in a font." from Danny Wahlquist's Multiply Localization Blog, February 17, 2007

I'm sorry, but Microsoft does not get time zones
"Okay, it's official. We still don't know anything whatsoever about reasonable customer time zone experiences at Microsoft." Time zones are not easy. from Danny Wahlquist's Jroller Localization Blog, February 17, 2007

Reverse-engineering user reviews
"If you're creating something to win awards, or to impress people, or to gain praise and recognition, that might lead to an award-winning, impressive product that leaves the user behind. I hear a lot of companies claim to care about what the userthinks, but they're still focused on what the user thinks of them or the product. I don't want people to praise us. I want them to thank us for helping them earn the praise of others." from Danny Wahlquist's Bloglines News Blog, February 17, 2007

Vista-powered desktops, notebooks now on Dell site
"What you are seeing up there is a grab of Dell letting you know they are now selling Vista-enabled PCs and notebooks. Final preparations are being made to formally activate the order process." from Danny Wahlquist's Blogspot Mobile Blog, February 4, 2007

Bill Gates: Microsoft vs. Google Checkout, eBay PayPal Digital Markets ZDNet.com
"At Microsoft's 'Think Week', a development plan was set for an online payment system 'that will be cheaper than credit card transactions, making it possible for companies to charge small fees for Web-based content and services they now offer for free,' according to Dow Jones reports." from Danny Wahlquist's Blogspot News Blog, February 4, 2007

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