Lee Trampleasure's Blog

Introducing the Book: Help Desk

Vanessa Trampleasure, 1956-2009

It is with great sadness that I write of the death of my cousin, Vanessa Trampleasure, of Essex, UK. I never met Vanessa, although we exchanged emails several times regarding our family tree.

I’d like to take a moment to reflect on the Trampleasure family, and how technology makes our world a smaller place: Growing up, the Trampleasure clan was a small one. Living in our area were my grandmother (“Nanny”), Uncle Dave (he had two children, but an unpleasant divorce meant we only saw his kids when I were very young), my two siblings (Calvin and Grace), and my parents (Bill and Mary Lee). Somewhere around high school I decided that there must be other Trampleasures out there, so I went to the local library and started thumbing through the phone books. Eventually (I can’t remember how long I was at it), I came across another Trampleasure! Writing down the address, I went home and my mom and I wrote them a letter. We soon learned there was another line of Trampleasures living in Canada and England. Vanessa was a part of that branch.

This, occurring in the 1970s, was pre-internet. But the technology of the time, the telephone, helped us find each other.

It took us many years, but finally we were able to find the “missing link” in our family trees to prove that we were related (before that, everyone sort of knew that, with a name like Trampleasure, we had to be related).

At 17, on a bicycle trip to Seattle with some friends, I took a personal detour to the Vancouver area to look up cousins living there (Gary and Betty Anne). Being a silly youth, I didn’t make plans, and just phoned them when I got into town (Tsawwassen, BC). No one was home, and I ended up having dinner (dry cottage cheese and canned something) at a local park while watching a kids’ soccer game. I got to talking to one of the moms there, and it turned out she was a neighbor of Gary and Betty Anne’s. We bid farewell, and I took the ferry back to the States.

In my mid twenties, I took a trip to the UK, but, being twenty-something, family wasn’t too high on my list of priorities, and I’m regret to this day that I didn’t put Vanessa and the other Trampleasures on my itinerary.

Over the course of the next thirty years, several of the Trampleasures did come to visit us. Colin and Doris (Vanessa’s parents) made it out, as well as her brother, John, and his family. Gary and Betty Anne brought some of their kids down from Canada on one of their trips.

Last year, I finally made it up to visit the Trampleasures in the Vancouver area. My cousin Madison (my “fourth cousin, twice removed”) was so pleased to meet another Trampleasure that she had me hold I sign she wrote, “I’m a Trampleasure,” when she took a picture of me. That sign still hangs proudly on my wall. I had hoped to make it up there again this year, but plans didn’t work out that way. Next year it’s a priority. There’s still a few Trampleasures up there I haven’t met (and if I’m really crazy, I may extend my road trip to Alaska to visit family from my mom’s side).

Fast forward about about 20 years from the discovery at the library, and introduce computers. Family trees are now much easier to create, and I started using Family Tree Maker to track the family. Still only minimal internet, but as it grows, searching for the family gets easier. Somewhere along the line I learn that Vanessa is the true genealogist in the family. If you Google Vanessa Trampleasure, you’ll find countless genealogy web pages with her contributions. Vanessa provided me with details to help complete my version of our family tree.

2009 marks the year I start using Facebook to meet more Trampleasures. I now have 17 members of the Trampleasure family I can follow on Facebook. It’s like an ongoing family reunion. Birthdays, anniversaries, and even the sad news of Vanessa’s passing. I get to see all the posts from members of the younger generations — many, many posts — and the fewer from the “older” generation members (I probably break the trend that younger folks post more). I have my family tree printed and posted on my wall to help me keep track of who’s who, but I’m still a little unclear on some of the younger generation members . I’ve even made some connections with my long lost first cousins and their kids (Uncle Dave’s family).

The extended SF Bay Trampleasure clan, Christmas 2007

So, I send my love to all the Trampleasures who knew and loved Vanessa. I shall miss her. Losing a family member reminds us not to take each other for granted, but to keep up the communications and visits. Anyone coming to Berkeley certainly has a place to stay, and I look forward to my visits to Trampleasures the globe over.

- Lee

Interesting “ESP” site

The test

A friend sent me this. I was surprised at first, but then it didn’t take me too long to figure it out.

Here’s the test: http://sprott.physics.wisc.edu/Pickover/esp.html

Try it out (it will open in a new window), then return here if you can’t figure it out.

Scroll down for the solution.

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The solution

Hint: there is only one image for the “before” and only one for the “after.”

Scroll down for more details.

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Here’s the “before” image:

Here’s the “after” image:

Can you solve it now?

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Notice there are NO identical cards from the first set to the second.

Folks will focus so much on the card they want, that they don’t notice that none of the original cards are present.

California Action Alert on Employment & Disability

Dear Advocates,

AB 1269 is important for Californians with disabilities who want to or do work. If you’re unfamiliar with Medi-Cal’s California Working Disabled Program, please see the following text link that describes the current program. http://www.chiip.org/longdesc/medi-cal_brochure_english.html

AB 1269 adds desperately needed improvements to California’s Medicaid Buy-In Program that were vetoed by the governor two legislative cycles ago because of legal language flaws, and again during the last legislative cycle because of the budget. Advocates have worked closely with the governor’s staff and the state’s fiscal actuaries, and are confident that we have addressed concerns expressed by this administration.

Please let Assemblymember Brownley know that you support her bill as she ushers it through the committee process. It is important to ask people in your personal life and business associates to also send letters of support. Please spread the word.

ACTION ALERT!

Write Letters to Members of the Assembly Committee on Health by April 16, 2009

AB 1269-Fundamental Fairness!

CALIFORNIA WORK GROUP On Work Incentives and Health Care  the CWG

PLEASE SEND TO YOUR COLLEAGUES AND NETWORKS

Dear CWG Participants & AB 1269 Supporters,

We need you, your friends, family, and colleagues to write letters of support by the end of this week!

ACTION STEPS:

1.   Write your letter of support! See our sample letter below that you can edit with your own stories, Assembly contact person, and your personal contact information.

2.   Please send or fax a letter of support to Julia Brownley, the bill’s author attention Irene Ho.

Office of Assembly Member Julia Brownley

Attn: Irene Ho
State Capitol
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0041
Tel: (916) 319-2041
Fax: (916) 319-2141

3.  Send or fax a copy of your letter to Ginny Murphy:

Ginny Murphy
World Institute on Disability
510 16th St. Ste 100
Oakland CA 94612
Ginny@wid.org
Phone: (510) 251-4340
Fax: (510) 763-4109

4.   Forward this email to a friend or colleague who can join us in supporting AB 1269. Consider sending them your letter so they can see why you support the California Working Disabled Program.

Thank you for your action and support! Please contact us if you have any questions. If you need any assistance with this AB 1269 letter of support over the next two days please contact Burns Vick, Policy Consultant, at fburnsvick@sbcglobal.net.

Sincerely,

Bryon MacDonald
Program Director
California Work Incentives Initiative
The World Institute on Disability

Ginny Murphy
Projects Coordinator
California Work Incentives Initiative
World Institute on Disability

Sample letter

“Cut and paste” the following letter into your word processor, then make the needed changes to personalize it:

April ____, 2009

The Honorable Julia Brownley
State Capitol
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0041

Dear Assembly Member Brownley:

YOUR NAME or ORGANIZATION in YOUR CITY is deeply committed to support the improvement of Medi-Cal’s California Working Disabled Program with the features and the fundamental fairness found in your pending legislation AB 1269. ____________A BRIEF EXPLANATION OF WHY YOU SUPPORT AB 1269… ________________________.

Medi-Cal’s California Working Disabled program (CWD) came about so California workers with a disability who have earned income under 250% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) can buy into Medi-Cal by paying an affordable monthly premium. This bill would reform the program to enable more disabled individuals to save their earnings without consequence, and enable them to retain their health coverage and hard-earned savings when changing employment during these hard economic times, and when they receive retirement income.

AB 1269 improvements to the California Working Disabled Program:

• Allow enrollees who are temporarily unemployed to remain in the program for up to 26 weeks (6 ½ months) during a work transition;
• Allow enrollees to save their earnings without any limit or ceiling as long as they save them in a separate bank account; and
• Allow enrollees to stay in the program and work by exempting Social Security disability income that converts to retirement income.

In 1999, California passed legislation (AB 155-Migden) that established the California Working Disabled program. While creation of the California Working Disabled program successfully facilitated the return to work for some workers with a disability, program enrollment rates have been much lower than every state projection since 1999. These long sought, non-controversial improvements, and promotion of them by the State of California, can improve employment outcomes for many more California residents working and living with a significant disability.

Thank you for your leadership.

Sincerely,

YOUR SIGNATURE, PRINTED NAME AND ADDRESS or ORGANIZATION’S INFORMATION

—
Ginny Murphy
Projects Coordinator
California Work Incentives Initiative
World Institute on Disability
Phone: (510) 251-4340
Fax: (510) 763-4109
Ginny@wid.org

So you want a web site for your business

I have lots of requests from friends, businesses (from ShopInBerkeley.com connections), and work colleagues who ask me about creating web sites. I’ve created quite a few, from the “old days” of HTML code without CSS or Javascripts to current database driven, css rich sites. I have three main words for folks who want a web site these days: Open source and Wordpress.

Before I explain why these three words are important, I’ll present a few questions you should ask any web designer who you wish to have design your new or revamped web site.

Questions to ask your web designer

1. If you go out of business, get hit by a truck, raise your rates, or otherwise are unable to continue maintaining my site, how easy will it be for me or anyone else to figure out the code of my site?
   1. How much documentation will you provide for the code on my site?
   2. Are you holding any keys and/or code that I’ll need later if you decide you no longer want my account (or I decide I no longer want to hire you)?
2. I’ll want to make some minor changes to my site from time to time. How easy will it be for me to do this (without depending on you or taking a course in web design)?
3. How much of my budget am I spending on creating the “backend” (the code that creates pages) and how much am I spending on the “look and feel”?
4. Will visitors be able to “subscribe” to my web site to recieve notices when I post updates? If so, how easy will this be for them?
5. Is your design accessible to visitors with disabilities who may be using screen readers or other adaptive software?

Answers to these questions from a WordPress designer

1. If you we decide to discontinue our relationship, any of the thousands of WordPress designers can easily figure out what I’ve done.
   1. WordPress and it’s Themes and Plugins are highly documented already. I’ll give you a few notes about what alterations I’ve done, but even if I don’t it would be easy for any WordPress designer to look at the site and see what I’ve done.
   2. No keys or code. I’ll make you an “administrator” of the site, which will allow you to delete my account if you desire.
2. Adding to or editing your site is easy. Just log in adn use the WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor. If you can surf the web and use a word processor, you can edit your site.
3. About 20-30 percent of your budget goes to setting up WordPress and installing a few Plugins, the rest will be used for generating graphics and color themes to create the look and feel you desire.
4. WordPress is RSS enabled, so anyone with an RSS reader (online web sites or programs on their computer) can subscribe to your site. They don’t have to provide you with their email address, so they don’t have to worry about the security of your email list.
5. Most WordPress themes comply with accessibility guidelines. I’ll make sure that the ones we use on your site are. And remember, search engines are “blind” to images and can only read text. When you design for disabled access, you’re designing for search engines as well.

A bit of background on Open Source software and WordPress

Open Source software is code written by an open group of people, using special techniques that allow them to find errors, report them to each other, and fix them. This cross-germination of ideas allows for development of new components to the product in addition to fixing the bugs therein. For more details on Open Source, see the Open Source Initiative site or the Wikipedia page on open source.

My favorite software for web sites is WordPress. WordPress started as blog software (well, actually it morphed from b2/cafelog, more evidence of how open source software can grow), but has grown way beyond that. The home page of a WordPress site may look like a traditional “blog”–with the newest post appearing at the top and older ones migrating down and off the page as new ones are added–or it can be a special page. In both cases, all of its web pages can be accessed through “category” links in menus on the side or top.

One of the strengths of WordPress is its use of a database for holding all the content of a web site: all your text and images are stored in this database. If you want to change the layout of your site, these changes are made to “Themes,” and all your old content is instantly converted to the new theme. There are hundreds of pre-packaged themes, but you’ll probably want to start with one and make a few changes to make it look uniquely yours.

In addition to themes, there are hundreds of “Plugins” that allow you to extend WordPress. Plugins may help you post Google maps on your site, post photos from a photo gallery page, optimize your site for visitors using “smartphones,” protect your comments from spam, and much more.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for a new web site or web site redesign, print out this page and bring it to your designer. Ask he for her opinion on it. Ask her for her answers to my questions. Ask for her price. Then, if she’s not using an open source, database driven software, find a WordPress designer and ask for a quote from her. My guess is you’ll be quite surprised at how much you can save using WordPress (the city of Albert Lea, MN saved a projected $19,000, having their entire city web site created for $750).

Some WordPress web sites I’ve built

Here’s a few WordPress web sites I’ve built and maintain (other than the one you’re reading now):

• Berkeley Partners for Parks
• Norther California/Nevade American Association of Physics Teachers
• Aquatic Park EGRET
• Berkeley Alumin Association
• Jesse Arreguin for Berkeley City Council

You’ll notice some similarity in these web sites (which is good: menus found in the same location makes navigating different sites easier), but also significanlly different color and design themes.

10 Excellent web sites for teaching?

Scott McCleod posts: A seemingly simple question

ShopInBerkeley is closing

I’ve been running the web directory ShopInBerkeley.com for about eight years. My goal has always been to provide high quality, free and low cost web pages to Berkeley businesses. For the past year or two I’ve been evaluating the need for ShopInBerkeley.com, and have come to the conclusion that the value of the web site is less than the work I put into it (I’ve always made a bit of money from the site, but not nearly enough to live off of).

So, here’s a short (incomplete) list of reasons why I’m closing:

1. It’s too hard to convice businesses that ShopInBerkeley wasn’t a scam. Many small business owners aren’t that “web saavy” and are confronted with many solicitations from web designers to create a web site and/or put them on a “free” directory. I come along with a free product that isn’t a scam, and they don’t believe it.
2. It takes too much time to keep the site updated. While I received many updates from business owners and visitors to the site, many of the pages were just getting so old that the hours listed could not be counted on to be accurate. The nature of the site was that it depended on business owners to contact me with updates, and not enough did that.
3. I’ve got too many things going on in my life; time to thin down. Teaching (my day job) can take up one’s entire life. I teach part-time in order to have some time left for me, but ShopInBerkeley was just requiring too much time to keep updated (see #2).
4. There are many good alternatives out there. While none of them are quite the same as my site (see shopinberkeley.com/index.php/about/), having another directory out there also creates another site for small business owners to need to keep updated when their hours or other business details change.
5. Business districts are too parochial and neighborhood-centric to see the value of a city-wide site. Berkeley loves its neighborhoods, and most seem to have their own neighborhood business web site. But what do you do if you’re looking for shoes in the Elmwood and can’t find a store that carries the kind you want? If you’re on the www.elmwoodshop.com web site, you’re out of luck. A well-designed city-wide web directory could return results in your desired neighborhood at the top, then more distant neighborhoods below (Yelp does a good job at this, I never quite got it implemented).

So, the next few months will include time to make redirects for the 800+ pages on ShopInBerkeley. These are important so links from other web pages don’t go dead (e.g. there’s a game producer out there whose web site links to Mr. Mopps page on ShopInBerkeley — they don’t have their own web site).

It’s been a great eight years, and I’m sad about letting ShopInBerkeley go, but I think it’s the right time.

-Lee

Article on accessibility in WordPress

Here’s a great article on making accessible WordPress themes, including the authors own theme. The article is titled Surprise! Your “semantic, accessible, search engine friendly” WordPress theme is none of the above.

www.bushidodesigns.net/blog/semantic-accessible-seo-friendly-wordpress-theme/

In addition to the theme, the article provides good insite into making a web site/WordPress blog accessible.

I like the theme, but although it’s a bit bare. Adding a bit of color and it looks great.

January 1st is Public Domain Day

January 1st is Public Domain Day, the day many works take their place in the ultimate destination for all works which were previously under the temporary copyright monopoly.  Wallace McLean has continued his Public Domain Day tradition by publishing an extensive list of authors whose works are now in the public domain.

ShopInBerkeley undergoing major remodel

I’ve been running ShopInBerkeley.com since 2001, and it’s time for a face lift. I’m converting it to a WordPress run site, although getting all my pages over to WP will take several months. The new format should be easier to navigate, and be easier for me to update. It will also have the ability for visitors to make comments on the individual business pages.