Most Recent

Recently, I've gone somewhere, done something, or seen something amazing I've shared in these pages. Here, you'll find my most recent posts, covering a wide range of topics that pique my interest. Whether you're passionate about travel, captivated by photography, enchanted by music, or intrigued by computer programming, there's likely to be something here for everyone!

Dive in and explore the latest insights, stories, and adventures that I have to share. Enjoy your stay!

Why Organica Web?

By: Paul S Cilwa	Posted: 11/30/2024		Page Views: 1
Why a website's framework matters, and why OrganicaWeb is a good one.

I started OrganicaWeb because I needed a framework that could handle my personal website with over 2,000 pages without becoming unwieldy. Most other frameworks require you to use online editing tools, which might work for sites with a dozen pages but falter beyond that scale. They often neglect crucial features like automatic site navigation and force designers to manage mechanics over content. Tools like the extensive CSS framework from W3Schools are powerful but overly complex and don't address navigation. OrganicaWeb natively supports page banners, global navigation, and content panels, combining ASP, HTML, CSS, VB.NET, and JavaScript to let designers focus on what matters most: the content.

The Fundamentals of ASP.net

By: Paul S Cilwa	Posted: 11/30/2024		Page Views: 1
A very brief overview, one might say a CONCEPT of an overview, of how ASP.net differs from ASP Classic.

As I began to transition from ASP Classic to ASP.NET, I immediately noticed a fundamental shift in how web applications are constructed. ASP Classic allows us to mix server-side VBScript directly with HTML, leading to code that was often messy and difficult to maintain. This was primarily due to the language it was written in: VBscript, which is not an object-oriented language.

Organizing Your OrganicaWeb Site

By: Paul S Cilwa	Posted: 11/30/2024		Page Views: 1
With folders and subfolders it's easy to create, manage and maintain a website with OrganicaWeb.

To create an OrganicaWeb site, you have two choices: Either create a site from scratch, or copy a template project. Anyone can do the latter; but this section of my site is about understanding it all. So we'll start from scratch, which means starting Visual Studio and telling it to create a new project of the type ASP.NET Web Application (.NET Framework). That brings up the configuration dialog.

WebFileInfo

By: Paul S Cilwa	Posted: 11/30/2024		Page Views: 1
HostPaths and SitePaths and OwnerPaths, Oh, My!

When I was nearing completion of this site's latest code incarnation, I realized I needed a better way to handle pathnames, especially the thumbnails representing each page, working correctly and consistently. That's why I created the WebFileInfo class, which extends .NET's FileInfo class, to simplify accessing pages within the website. It converts between different forms of pathnames: HostPath (relative to the hosting computer, starting with "c:"), SitePath (relative to the site, starting with "\"), and RelativePath (relative to the referencing page, starting with "..\" or no special leading characters at all, in the case of a simple file in the same folder, for example, an image on a page). This class became an essential building block I hadn't anticipated but ultimately helped me wrap my head around the various ways a site must handle file paths.

Flight Home

By: Paul S. Cilwa	Occurred: 10/22/2024
No matter how far we travel, the memories we make along the way are always sweeter when we finally arrive home.

I have to admit I was pretty groggy by the time my Lyft driver got me to Tampa airport. I had wheelchair service which was good since I had to be wheeled from one end of the airport to the other. I wound up with a window seat but I just kind of slept. At least, this plane's seats were a little padded. And then, when I woke, it was daytime and there were views outside the window!

Back to Tampa

By: Paul S. Cilwa	Occurred: 10/21/2024
A post-hurricane drive through Central Florida.

Today's post-reunion mission was simple: I had to drive back across the state to catch tomorrow's flight from Tampa. But I didn't want to go back the same way I'd come (I-4, mostly). First of all, I never like to go back the same way I came, anywhere. Secondly, I didn't want to repeat the plus-two-hours-standstill on the highway if I could help it. So I decided to cross over to Palatka, and through Central Florida to I-75, then to my reserved motel in Tampa. —As long as the non-highway roads were passable. After all, there've been two hurricanes here in the past month.

Reunion Brunch

By: Paul S. Cilwa	Occurred: 10/20/2024		Page Views: 1
No distance of place or lapse of time can lessen the friendship of those who are thoroughly persuaded of each other's worth

My sister was still asleep from the night shift she worked when I snuck out of her house to attend the class reunion brunch. This event, much smaller and cheaper than the night before's, was just to be St Joe graduates (and spouses).

Reunion at the Car Museum

By: Paul S. Cilwa	Occurred: 10/19/2024		Page Views: 1
A gathering of antiques.

I woke in Chris' camper sometime around 9 or 10. Chris wasn't feeling well enough to go to the reunion, so reluctantly I left him and headed for St. Augustine.

From Phoenix to Lakeland

By: Paul S. Cilwa	Occurred: 10/18/2024		Page Views: 2
Over the clouds and through the woods to Chris' house I go.

So, as I healed—slowly, to my mind—I kept trying to decide whether I should try to make this reunion. Our 55th—let's face it; how many more can we hold? I was trying to balance my fear of being miserable with my hip for the whole trip, with my desire to be with at least some of my old friends, not to mention seeing my sisters, again.

My 55th Class Reunion Journey

By: Paul S. Cilwa	Occurred: 10/18/2024		Page Views: 5
How my newly-replaced hip and I made it to post-hurricane Florida for a class reunion.

On July 19th I received this invitation in the email to my high school's 55th class reunion. Since we are all in our 70s, and my graduating class only consisted of a little over 40 students, someone decided to combine our reunion with that of St. Augustine High School. It did make sense, as a number of students went to one of St. Augustine's two high schools, then switched.