The Good Life... a weblog about life, technology, and the Opera web browser

Just today, I installed a new version of Gallery that includes an RSS newsfeed. For those unfamiliar with it, RSS is a way of getting syndicated content or updates from web sites. So, now any time there's an update to my gallery, a new item is generated in the newsfeed. If you're subscribed to the newsfeed, you'll get notification of the changes.

I have a similar newsfeed set up for this web site, actually. There's a Syndicate link that points to this site's newsfeed. You'll often see links to newsfeeds as orange XML or RSS buttons. Now, the newsfeed is in XML, so you can't read it (easily) just by clicking on it. You need a feed reader. Fortunately for me, the mail program I use (Opera) also comes with a feed reader (or aggregator) built-in. I get a variety of stuff, from headlines at Wired.com, to comics (found at Feed of the Day), to blog updates. Instead of checking web sites for updates, I get them with my mail.

If you don't feel up to using Opera, you should be able to find a decent feed reader through Google. I've never used anything other than Opera, so I can't recommend one. In any case, I hope you've enjoyed this little lesson on one of the emerging technologies on the Web. Class dismissed.

PS: RSS actually has a very complicated history, best summarized by Mark Pilgrim:

There are 9 versions of RSS, all of which are incompatible with various other versions. RSS 0.90 is incompatible with Netscape’s RSS 0.91, Netscape’s RSS 0.91 is incompatible with Userland’s RSS 0.91, Netscape’s RSS 0.91 is incompatible with RSS 1.0, Userland’s RSS 0.91 is incompatible with RSS 0.92, RSS 0.92 is incompatible with RSS 0.93, RSS 0.93 is incompatible with RSS 0.94, RSS 0.94 is incompatible with RSS 2.0, and RSS 2.0 is incompatible with itself.

PPS: Sorry, I just really enjoy that quote.

I finally finished going through my pictures from my trip to Oslo last summer, so those albums should all be labeled and cleaned up now. I noticed Rebekah also added some pictures of our wedding preparations, so I added a new album for our wedding photos and put it under there.

If you haven't had a look at my pictures before, wonder over and have a gander. I shoot digital photos with a Canon Powershot A70. My black and white photos are from an old Minolta SRT-101. There are a bunch more of my black and white photos I'd like to put up sometime, I just don't have a good scanner (yet).

I take it that most men show up at their wedding when they're told wearing what they're told. I hadn't occurred to me to not be involved in the planning, so I have been. Rebekah has been doing most of the research, but when it comes down to the final decision, she asks for my input. Perhaps it's been a bit more stressful for her (having to consider my input), but I've really enjoyed being a part of the process.

Since we have a lot to do in such a short time, we work almost every day on wedding plans. Next Tuesday, we start ballroom dance lessons. On Wednesdays, we meet with a pastor for premarital counseling. It doesn't leave a lot of time to do personal things, but it's as if we're being forced to mature into the people we'll need to be for our marriage to work.

Think about it like this: when you're on your own, your biggest responsibility is yourself, but when you're married, your biggest responsibility is someone else! Most people would fail miserably making that transition on the day they get married without some preparation. Putting a wedding together is loads of work. It took us about a month just to get all the addresses for the invitations together. Creating our wedding registry was the most intense shopping I've ever done. If I were to little things go undone, they'd become overwhelming and I'd be a stressed-out loony. However, by working on these things bit-by-bit, they're manageable. So, simply by helping to plan our marriage, I'm becoming more mature and responsible. Bonus!