Any Ideas on:
1) embedding pictures in my posts? [via the upload file]
2) inserting html in my posts? (might even solve problem 1) [can be done, last time i just forgot a trailing quotation mark]
3) including the same heading / banner across ALL pages.... [ created some new module templates.... ]
4) ....
Movable Type. How can something that's designed to make me life easier, actually make my life more difficult? I finally have perl and php properly installed on my openbsd box, so I'm starting to tweak the layout of my movable type page . i'm even experimenting with HTML in my posts now.
I have no idea what all these options are in this program, so I'm going around just trying new things. That might be why you get some weirdness in the site, but don't worry, I'll try to fix things as I go.
Anyway, it's just ticked over to the last day of 2003, so I'll hit the sack, because tomorrow (tonight?) I'm gonna party like it's.... 2004
Well I'm back home now, but the china trip was a blast. Got heaps of stories to tell, but three things i learnt about China. One, watch out for flying spit. It seems like people feel like it's their duty to huck mouthfulls of spit in your direction at every possible moment. It's like they see using tissues as throwing money in the bin. A slight lapse in concentration, and you'll be wearing some guy's green loogie. Even chick's spit aswell, which isn't the best image at the best of times.
Secondly, the driving over there is nuts. Quite possibly the worst driving I have EVER encountered. Lane markings are merely a suggestion. On a 3 lane highway, I've seen cars lined up 5 or 6 abreast. I was surprised that it wasn't until the second last day that I saw an accident. If you're walking across a traffic light, and it turns green, it doesn't mean that you can walk safely across the street. It just means you're LESS likely to be mortally wounded by some crazy taxi driver. Also, there are special lanes down the main streets for all the bicycles, which invariably some driver barges through. There are so many bikes, my friend termed them "bikedestrians". Then, there are the buses. I took them once, and once only. We were stuck in a traffic jam, so the driver took a "shortcut" by cruising down the footpath for a few k's, beeping at all the pedestrians to jump out of the way as though THEY weren't supposed to be there.
But perhaps the most important lesson is: ALWAYS bring tissues. Sometimes the food just doesn't agree with you, and you need to use the facilities. Unfortunately, due to the previously mentioned attituted about wasting money on tissues, the public toilets are usually not stocked with any paper. And if you're "lucky" enough and it IS stocked with toilet paper, they throw it away in a basket next to the toilet. This can be VERY bad news, especially late in the day. To make matters worse, they have their own design of toilet, which I would describe as a "long drop" (basically a hole in the ground that you have to squat over).
OK, so it may sound like I had a shitty time in China, but on the contrary I had an awesome time. It's a very interesting place because of Communist rule, and how it's slowly changing to becoming a more market orientated economy. It has a similar feel to Berlin, in that respect, a new city with different beginnings. In this case it's a whole country. Shanghai in particular has a certain bastardised feel about it in that on one hand it feels very Western because of the English occupation, but at the same time it has a very heavy Chinese feel about it. I guess one good thing about having a command economy is that the public transport is very efficient. The government doesn't have to worry too much about focus groups objecting to a particular plan. They can put train lines and highways anywhere they god damn please. Perhaps this is a function of neccessity since there are so many people that they NEED a good public transport system. Chicken and egg as far as I'm concerned, all I know is that public transport rocks.
Visiting the Great Wall was a bit of a trip, it's amazing that it's still standing after all these years. And trying new food is always a favourite past time of mine, and China has obviously some of the most authentic Chinese food that you'll ever find. I really need to get a grip on Mandarin or Putong Hua before I go back there, because surviving on English is a nightmare. Even if I do speak Mandarin, I'm still screwed because they know I'm a foreigner, but at least I'm not going to be screwed over as much.