English Rules

Learning jQuery

October 15, 2006

Over the past month or so I've been having an affair of sorts. No, not that kind of affair. I've just been splitting my time between English Rules and my new techie blog, Learning jQuery. jQuery is a new JavaScript library that lets programming neophytes like me do cool things on web pages. It's what has allowed me to dynamically load "noteworthy articles" and my "blogroll" in the Widescreen Bonus section of my web pages. It made my secret, Harry Potteresque, skeleton-key style switcher pretty easy to accomplish. And it helped me slick up the home page of the David LaGrand for State Senate web site with images that fade in and out and big buttons that reveal forms for ordering bumper stickers and yard signs.

Update: The big buttons aren't on David LaGrand' home page anymore, because the campaign is over.

jQuery DEVO hat

Learning jQuery chronicles some of the things I've been learning and offers up my discoveries to others who are new to jQuery or JavaScript or web development in general. It's been a lot of fun to be involved in the community of jQuery developers and learn from them and also give back a little bit through the blog.

The only problem with the new blog is that I have no time for it. I mean, I barely have enough time to keep English Rules running, what with work and family and my other little hobbies. I once heard someone suggest to packrats that for every new item they bring into the house, they discard two — whether they sell them on eBay or donate them to Goodwill or throw them in the trash. As a hobby packrat, I'm beginning to wonder if I should drop two interests for every new one that I pursue. It's so hard to let things go, though. Know what I mean?

Comments (2)

1michelle wrote:

Wow! I want to take time to REALLY read through your other site. It is very cool!!

Oct 16, 2006 ; 11:48 AM

2nicole wrote:

Hi! I knew you were computer savvy, but geesh, Karl, is there no end to your brilliance? As far as your hobby packrat theory of discarding two in order to make room for a new one is concerned, you need only do this if, like a new piece of furniture, the new hobby is causing clutter--in this case in your enormous cranium. But hey, if there's enough room for all of it, then hobby away...
Nicole

Oct 16, 2006 ; 12:39 PM

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© Karl Swedberg

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Noteworthy Articles

Once Elected, Palin Hired Friends and Lashed Foes (New York Times)

Ms. Havemeister was one of at least five schoolmates Ms. Palin hired, often at salaries far exceeding their private sector wages.

Obama to Palin: 'Don't Mock the Constitution' | The Trail | washingtonpost.com

Sen. Barack Obama delivered an impassioned defense of the Constitution and the rights of terrorism suspects tonight, striking back at one of the biggest applause lines in Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin's speech to the GOP convention...

Attacks, praise stretch truth at GOP convention - (Associated Press

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and her Republican supporters held back little Wednesday as they issued dismissive attacks on Barack Obama and flattering praise on her credentials to be vice president. In some cases, the reproach and the praise stretched the truth.

State of the Art - New Nikon Holds a Secret - NYTimes.com

If you saw it just sitting there, you?d never guess that the new Nikon D90 is a mind-blowing, game-changing camera...

Captcha is broken - now what? (The Guardian)

Websites use Captchas in an attempt to disrupt the spam and malware economy - but they are not working...

Hoping It's Biden (New York Times)

Barack Obama has decided upon a vice-presidential running mate. And while I don't know who it is as I write, for the good of the country, I hope he picked Joe Biden...

The Candidate We Still Don?t Know (New York Times)

Most Americans still don't know, as Marshall writes, that on the campaign trail "McCain frequently forgets key elements of policies, gets countries' names wrong, forgets things he?s said only hours or days before and is frequently just confused." ...

Is Jon Stewart the Most Trusted Man in America? (New York Times)

Mr. Stewart describes his job as "throwing spitballs" from the back of the room and points out that "The Daily Show" mandate is to entertain, not inform. Still, he and his writers have energetically tackled the big issues of the day...

10 Things to Scratch From Your Worry List (NYTimes.com)

I?ve rounded up a list of 10 things not to worry about on your vacation.

The Disadvantages of an Elite Education (The American Scholar)

Our best universities have forgotten that the reason they exist is to make minds, not careers...z

We're Not Laughing at You, or With You (NYTimes.com)

Let's talk about the bloody crossroads where satire goes searching for its target...

Turf War (The New Yorker)

Americans can?t live without their lawns--but how long can they live with them?

Graffiti artist Banksy unmasked (Daily Mail)

He is perhaps the most famous, or infamous, artist alive. To some a genius, to others a vandal. Always controversial, he inspires admiration and provokes outrage in equal measure...

Behind the Bush Bust - Op-Ed (New York Times)

Other politicians besides Mr. Bush share the blame for the mess we?re in ? but most of them are Republicans...

On Day Care, Google Makes a Rare Fumble (NYTimes.com)

Parents who had been paying $1,425 a month for infant care would see their costs rise to nearly $2,500 ? well above the market rate. For parents with toddlers and preschoolers, who were charged less, the price increases were equally eye-popping