Look, people. Defaults and standards exist for a reason. Have a site that is supposed to receive applications for Visas? It's default action should be to begin that application. Or, if one has already been begun by the user, it should go there. Super simple.

The other thing - defaults. ASP.NET and IIS have "default.(something)", where something can be among "aspx", "html", "htm", whatever. That's if you navigate to some directory, it goes by default (heh, guess that naming scheme makes sense now, don't it? :P) to that page. So it shouldn't be the second page in your workflow. It should be the default page. Default. Has that name for a reason. Apache and most of the other world uses "index.whatever". That name also makes sense, and shouldn't be the 2nd or 3rd page in your application workflow.

Also I hate my blogging software and want to make my own.

About those resolutions...

Eeegads. 61 days later, and my resolutions are looking like insurmountable goals at this point...

• Haven't gone to a retreat yet (ok, this will still be easy)
• Haven't learned any of those prayers, nor started to learn (I think it might do to learn one every 2 months or something. That seems surmountable)
• No writing since my last blog post. That's fun...
• My desk has yet to be completed, largely due to a mix of poor weather (can't stain in the rain; don't have the infrastructure to be staining inside. Especially with a mixed polyurethane/staining solution that I got. That's another issue)
• I've decided to scrap making the room assignment software in Django, and instead write it using .net MVC, which is stuff I'll be needing for work, but I've also done a lot of stuff in C# for work, and I think it comes more easily than Python, which I haven't done much in, and I don't use for work. So it's like trudging up a muddy hill. In the snow.
• I've decided to redirect the money that would be going to an Ireland trip towards getting a motorcycle. My workplace decided they would start charging for the shuttles they offer. Parking there also costs close to $1000/yr, so that's not an option I want to take up. I'm also putting money towards Ireland, but it's at a much slower rate. So not likely to have saved enough for a trip this year. Next year, though, I will be going for sure.

And a changing name

I've used the name "Thrdcross" for quite awhile - I think maybe 8 years. I've used it to refer not to the cross of Jesus or the thief who curses him, but to the repentant thief, whose featured scripture verses have been some of my favorite. The change of name comes largely due to the fact that I've decided to take up woodworking. And Jesus, by most accounts and traditions, is said to have been a woodworker. I figure I'll be posting some of my woodworking [mis]adventures, and I hardly claim to be proficient (hence the stumbling). See the about page for more information about this, because I'm sure you'll be regaled with it all.

Looking back, to 2012, there's a lot that happened that's pretty cool. This might go a little out of order, but I think people should be able to deal. First, my two best friends got married, and not to mention a few other couples who also got engaged - I think the rule is that if you know a lot of people getting married, you're officially old. The other rule is if a lot of your friends are welcoming their own children into this world, it's an even greater indicator that you're getting old - and there were a few this year. The Broncos picked up Peyton Manning for which has caused me such incredible amounts of joy (11 game winning streak so far, and the #1 AFC seed). I had a great trip up to Seattle in June where I got to help my sister move onto [hopefully] the next part of her life, and see old friends while up there, and then some more folks as I was winding my way back down the west coast (and managed to pick up a speeding ticket, gross). Steubenville San Diego came and went with more craziness than I've ever remembered, but also with a greater sense of spiritual peace than I've ever felt before - I like the move to USD, even if it can be a bit cramped. And with one of my roommates moving out due to marriage, we looked for another guy - and found someone who fit in perfectly; pretty much every point I hit in the craigslist ad he matched nicely.

Looking forward, this year also promises to be pretty good - with the weddings of the aforementioned engaged couples in standout position again this year. Steubenville SD should be less crazy this year with a year at USD under our belts, and hopefully I can finish off the software I was writing to make dorm assignment a breeze.

Lastly, there's a few things I want to make sure happen this year - resolutions, we'll say.

• First is to go to a retreat where I'm being led and fed, instead of any kind of logistical planning or leading.
• Second is to learn the following prayers (I know, I know, I should already know them): The Memorare, The Angelus, the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel and St. Patrick's Breastplate.
• Third, to write more (I even set up a blog, so you know I'm serious...); whether it's blogging or short stories, or whatever
• Fourth (okay, this is seeming like a lot, but it's really not), to complete not only a desk but a bed frame.
• Finish the room assignment software for Steubenville
• And, finally, to have enough money set aside solely for a trip to Ireland - I may not get there this year, but I want to make it happen sooner rather than later