A little while ago I was in need of a way to take tab separated data sets and make HTML tables out of them cleanly. Mostly this was from data copied from a spreadsheet, but sometimes copying from web pages or even text documents has brought this need up for me. So in keeping with my mantra of "Why not write a program to do that?" I decided to write a simple HTML table maker that will take in tab separated, structured data and return an HTML table from it, complete with column headings, a caption and a summary (sidenote: I know that table summaries are being deprecated... still, I included it because at the moment they are still in use for pre-HTML5 markup).
So without further ado, I bring you my simple HTML table maker. It isn't the most robust thing in the world, but it is still pretty neat. Plus? It totally serves my purpose to the tee. So if you don't like it, why not gank the code for it and make it better?
Another thanksgiving is upon us. It seems in recent years that we are cycling through holidays at breakneck speed, never being able enjoy any one particular holiday because the next holiday is already up in stores or being advertised on the Internet. This saddens me, especially at thanksgiving time, since we often times neglect the spirit of giving thanks for the rush of acquiring more crap on the morning after.
Being thankful is something I've tried to teach my kids for a while now. It's also something I've tried to live my life by as well, although I am nowhere near perfect at it so inevitably I overlook something I should be thankful for, usually in favor of being cranky about something else. This past 12 months it has been way easier to count my curses than it has been to count my blessings. But I've had a quiet last few weeks, time that I've been able to spend thinking about my life and the many blessings that surround me daily.
While the past year has been challenging, the blessings in my life have shown themselves to me clearly. Among these blessings are the tangibles and the intangibles, the valuable and the invaluable. Although I'm sure I'm forgetting many, it would be silly of me not to at least try to address the more prominent blessings in my life.
- My kids - My children have been the greatest blessing to me and continue to be. Not a day goes by that I am not totally and completely amazed by them in some way. Whether it be their creative outward expressions or their tender, sincere, loving hearts toward me and their siblings, I'm reminded everyday of just how powerful a blessing my children are.
- My family - My family has shown me this past year just what love is and to just what lengths they will go in order to care for me and my kids. When I say "my family" I am most definitely talking about my blood family (my brother, my sister, my cousins, my nieces and my nephews). But I am also talking about my mother-in-law, my father-in-law, my sisters-in-law and my brothers-in-law. My entire family seemed to rally around my immediate family this year and even through the hardest of times have stayed by my side.
- My friends - I'd like to think that everyone has friends. And although I have a crapload of friends on Facebook and Twitter, I can count the number of close friends I have on one hand. But this year my closest friends really showed themselves. They came out of the woodwork to encourage me, make me laugh and generally just have my back. I don't know where I'd be on this thanksgiving if not for my friends reaching out to me, talking to me and listening to me. You know who you are. I just hope you know how thankful I am for you.
- My possessions - I know that stuff is just stuff, but I count among my stuff the basic necessities of life: a house, a car, electricity, running water, etc. Yes, I also include toys and gadgets in my "stuff" (I mean who doesn't love their phone) but being able to keep my kids warm, fed, clothed and sheltered is a tremendous blessing to me.
- My skills - I love being a nerd. I've said it before and I'll continue to say it. What started out at a hobby for me has blossomed into a career. A well paying, lucrative career. I'm thankful that I've been blessed with an inquisitive mind and a passion for learning, and that I can leverage that into a skill set that continues to provide for my children.
- My health - I've worked hard to get myself healthy. I've worked hard to stay healthy. I'm blessed to say that I don't need medication everyday just to live and that I can experience life with my children with energy, fervor and passion, never missing a thing with them because "daddy doesn't feel like it today kids".
- My struggles - Anyone that knows me knows that I like to push myself to achieve things that I might not be able to achieve under normal circumstances. And most folks that know me know that I'm not one to get smacked on the chin without swinging back. This year has shown this more clearly than any other. The struggles came in droves this year, each one presenting a new challenge, a new problem that needed a new and different way to approach it. To say that this past year was trying would be minimizing what actually took place. Still, through each of the struggles came an equally rewarding victory and a promise of a brighter future. And for that I am immeasurably blessed.
- My failures - If there was one thing I can say I am more blessed by this year than last year it would have to be my realization of my own imperfection and my coming to grips with many of my behaviors, attitudes and actions that have led to failure in many areas of my life. It's been said that if you want to continue to get the same results of your actions simply keep doing the same thing. I realized this year that I did not want to keep getting the same results in life I've always gotten and that in order to change course I had to take a deep look within myself to identify those areas of myself that may have been preventing my own success. That has been painful to say the least, but it has also been an indescribable blessing in that for the first time in my life I've come face to face with many of my shortcomings and have been able to begin rectifying them. Change is good, even if it is uncomfortable.
There is so much more that I should be thankful for. But as I sit behind the keys staring at the emptiness of what will soon become the last few lines of this post, I'm reminded that I have a house full of kids that need their daddy's attention and affection. And that is a blessing I can no longer pass up.
Happy thanksgiving. May this holiday season be a blessing to you and may it open you up to be a blessing to others.
A little over a year ago I posted about an upcoming career change that I was embarking on. I'm not at all the kind of person that likes to bounce around from job to job nor am I a huge risk taker when it comes to matters of finance, career growth and personal change. However, sometimes life happens, and sometimes things happen beyond your control that put you into a position of having to pull back the reins and get things in order once again, even if you have to take a risk to do it. To that end, I am heading down a path that I've not even so much as entertained the idea of let alone had the guts to pursue. I am changing jobs again.
This change is much needed for various reasons which I don't need to go into here. But let me just say that while I look back on the last year of my work with mixed emotions, when I look forward I look on with excitement, butterflies and a determination to make some magic happen. I am leaving the comfort of something stable for the vast wonderland of something that is far from proven. I am taking a risk. A big risk. But one I absolutely need to take at this point in my life.
Starting next week I will be the lead architect and head engineer of a niche marketing company in Concord. I will be working a short term contact with long term potential and will be able to make an immediate, very visible impact of the business operations of the company. I will be a part owner and I will be responsible for making business, technology, architecture, implementation and deployment decisions the likes of which I've yet to do in my career. I'm more than a little nervous about that. But I am also more than a little excited about that.
There is just something about looking out over the great expanse of the unknown and seeing for yourself what that landscape looks like. Then stepping off the ledge of safety into that unknown, preparing to face all sorts of unexpected happenings and trusting in yourself to not only get through it but kick ass along the way to a major victory in your life. Yeah, I feel like a boxer throwing punches in the locker room just before a title fight. This is going to be freaking awesome and I am looking forward to it.
I do have to say however that there are some people I will miss from my current employer. While I've only been here a year I have had a chance to develop some strong professional and personal relationships with some amazing people that do some amazing things day in and day out. I've had to work with these folks daily, supporting them, being challenged by them and working with them collaboratively to achieve common goals and mutual awesomeness:
- Ravi - Dude, I don't know how you manage to do what you do every day without blowing a gasket. You only have two hands yet you work like an army of employees daily, getting things done by yourself that I've seen entire teams not get done at all.
- Jay - I've had more fun working with you, talking with you, debating with you and collaborating with you than anyone else in the office. You are a great developer and I see big things for your future. Also? Competing in triathlons? Bad. Ass.
- Fai - You are a gifted and talented front end designer and developer. Don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise. You have an eye for style, color, relationships of objects... all of it. You were an asset to our company from the day you came on board.
- Kim - What can I say dude, you are just bad ass from top to bottom. You get things done, you handle your business, you see a need before the client does and have an amazing work ethic. Any company would be blessed to have you on their team. It has been a tremendous pleasure working with you. And don't cover up those tattoos. If there isn't a handbook saying you have to there isn't a rule saying you have to.
- Adrian - Bro, you made my job so much more bearable, so much more sane. I'm glad we had a chance to work together, and I am glad you always brought a positive spin to the table every single day. Even if things were awful in my office, you coming over made things better. I hope you realize what an asset you are. Thanks for making my job as wonderful as you did bro.
And there you have it... news of yet another change in my life. So many changes in such a short period of time... and they aren't done yet. Just you wait and see. 
