The gate is open, but the dog is asleep!

[Doug Boze]

Chris Hurd,

The XL-2 Watchdog is slumbering mightily.

How are you going to let the cat out of the bag while sleeping dogs lie? Is it because you don't want to change horses in mid-stream while going up the creek without a paddle? Or perhaps scoring an own-goal while the balloon goes up? If you don't spill the beans you may be opening a can of worms! Please, I'm not asking you to change signals mid-game, as it would upset the team but, the XL-2 Watchdog site is falling behind the times when it should be cutting the edge!

Hey, I'm selling off my old gear to move to the XL-2, and what do I find? The Watchdog is rumbling only because his stomach is empty. As dangerous as a starved hound is, surely some minor updates are in order. Even I, in researching the illustrious XL-2, have gleaned some variegated versimilitudes apropos appertaining thereto.

Lead us on, not to wander!

Feed the dog, lest he bite the hand that eschews it. ;-)

[Mike Teutsch]

Originally Posted by Doug Boze

Chris Hurd,

The XL-2 Watchdog is slumbering mightily.

How are you going to let the cat out of the bag while sleeping dogs lie? Is it because you don't want to change horses in mid-stream while going up the creek without a paddle? Or perhaps scoring an own-goal while the balloon goes up? If you don't spill the beans you may be opening a can of worms! Please, I'm not asking you to change signals mid-game, as it would upset the team but, the XL-2 Watchdog site is falling behind the times when it should be cutting the edge!

Hey, I'm selling off my old gear to move to the XL-2, and what do I find? The Watchdog is rumbling only because his stomach is empty. As dangerous as a starved hound is, surely some minor updates are in order. Even I, in researching the illustrious XL-2, have gleaned some variegated versimilitudes apropos appertaining thereto.

Lead us on, not to wander!

Feed the dog, lest he bite the hand that eschews it. ;-)

Me thinks you have had too much booze Boze. Go to sleep and wake up sober. You think it is Chris' job to supply you with more than what he does. Peruse, experiment, play, listen, contribute and learn but don't just criticize and complain. It is a playground open to all who wish to contribute and learn!


Mike

[Chris Hurd]

Actually that was a pretty good post from Doug in my opinion. All I can say is, I wish the only thing I had to worry about is updating the Watchdog. The best answer I have at the moment is that I'm currently exploring ways to make the content side of the site a little more dynamic so that if you have an article that would be good for the Watchdog, then *you* can upload it and update the site. That's the goal. Thanks very much for the input, that was a very well written post by the way. Easily my favorite of the day.

[Doug Boze]

Originally Posted by Mike Teutsch

Me thinks you have had too much booze Boze. Go to sleep and wake up sober.

Thanks, Mike. I'd put a lump of coal in your stocking, but I'd rather give it to someone who can take the heat.

[Mike Teutsch]

Originally Posted by Doug Boze

Thanks, Mike. I'd put a lump of coal in your stocking, but I'd rather give it to someone who can take the heat.

Doug,

Oh, I can take it. Sorry I guess it is late and I miss interpreted your post. I did like the way it was written though, cool.

Sorry------Mike

[Doug Boze]

Originally Posted by Chris Hurd

I'm currently exploring ways to make the content side of the site a little more dynamic so that if you have an article that would be good for the Watchdog, then *you* can upload it and update the site. That's the goal. Thanks very much for the input, that was a very well written post by the way. Easily my favorite of the day.

Thanks, Chris!

Funny thing is, that's what I've been thinking of, too. Something dynamic and adaptive. Unfortunately, whether it be HTML or XML or DHTML, let alone XL-2, it's difficult to do. Not quite a blog or a Wiki-sort-of-thing.

I was looking up lens field-of-view and battery longevity info earlier which got me to wax unpoetic upon the issue of the Watchdog. That thar's a dawg without a bone! I know how difficult, if not downright tiresome, it is to update a website.

I will be keeping my 95 watt-hour generic V-mount 14.4V batts and getting the IDX A-E2XL1 adapter. I'm thunking that'll power the XL-2 for up to 13+ hours a piece. I was amazed at how well they powered my DXC-327A+DSR-1 combo in sub-freezing temps for days on end. Something as frugal as the XL-2 will doubtless run rings around old-school equipment like that.

I'm making my list of accessories, and checking it twice, thrice, and twice thrice again. All that without raping Thrace thrice or being all over it like white on rice!

Comments, Mike...? <g>

[Mike Teutsch]

Originally Posted by Doug Boze

Thanks, Chris!

Funny thing is, that's what I've been thinking of, too. Something dynamic and adaptive. Unfortunately, whether it be HTML or XML or DHTML, let alone XL-2, it's difficult to do. Not quite a blog or a Wiki-sort-of-thing.

I'm making my list of accessories, and checking it twice, thrice, and twice thrice again. All that without raping Thrace thrice or being all over it like white on rice!

Comments, Mike...? <g>

That would be very interesting and exciting for all of us XL2 owners and those considering it.

Just got off of the roof, skinned up my knees, no accessories this Christmas for me. Sealed up the chiminy good and tight, and left a map for Santa to a new site. All goodies and accessories, destined for me, should now go to Washington, and I don't mean D.C.!


Merry Christmas to all and to all a good morning, er Night!

Mike

[Martin French]

Maybe you should consider Wikifying the watchdog section so folks can do just that?

http://wiki.org/wiki.cgi?WhatIsWiki

[Frank Moss]

nonlinear dynamics? chaos theory? community authoring? - even better...
Chris... if you run the site off a PHP enabled server there are very skinnable, and free solutions for you.
post nuke, php-nuke, Xoops. I used post-nuke to start a media rights and ethics site that never took off... so now it just sites there... of course I don't have any time to work on it nor authors to contribute... but it's there. (lastrights.net)

it has a feature where you can allow registered users to submit a story then you can approve it before it it shows up on the site.
www.postnuke.org

Frank

[Chris Hurd]

Anybody is welcome to submit articles for the Watchdog site... you write 'em and I'm happy to host 'em. The original XL1 Watchdog site ran that way for years. Most of the content on the XL1 Watchdog is written by people other than me. The XL2 Watchdog could easily operate the same way and have just as much content, but nobody submits anything to the site anymore, because the message boards cover all of it these days. In other words, when I launched the message boards, that was when folks stopped sending me Watchdog articles and started posting here instead (and there ain't nothing wrong with that; I'm just saying, that's what happened).

The Watchdog is officially open for submissions, and always has been, for anyone to contribute articles or whatever. I'm happy to make the site available to anybody for that purpose. Just like the previous XL1 Watchdog site. It's my fault for never making that clear, I guess.

I won't point to other sites, though, because we have the required framework for getting the information out right here, and this really is the best way to reach folks (that is, by putting the material on the Watchdog, as opposed to some other site). So feel free to contribute to *this* community, and help your fellow shooter by submitting articles here. But no I can't help promote something else that isn't a part of what we're already doing with the Watchdog or these message boards. Hope that's understandable,

[Doug Boze]

The strength of the site will be determined by the contribution of its patrons, this much is fact. I'm steadily working, or selling, my way towards an XL-2 outfit right now. I am eternally indebted to Chris Hurd and all the square-shouldered, upturned-jawed pioneers who have contributed to the Watchdog.

As for the free-flow amorphous Watchdog format that has been suggested, please, do consider form! It's easy to heap fertilizer on a plant only to have it wither and die. All things in moderation! I have learned much in all aspects of videography this past decade, and I truly hope, and indeed expect, given the examples provided, we can create a truly remarkable fount of info the likes of which will form the basis of songs to come.

Right now, I'm in the processs of divestment of old equipment and ideas. A thorough housecleaning and brain-cleansing (not in the W sense) and, generally, a new slating. As I type this missive, I hear the fireworks that herald the new year. With how much we freight this transistion! I'm all there, so much as my ideals hold. Forward, friends, into the wonder that is our collective imagination!

[Frank Moss]

Originally Posted by Chris Hurd

I won't point to other sites, though, because we have the required framework for getting the information out right here, and this really is the best way to reach folks (that is, by putting the material on the Watchdog, as opposed to some other site). So feel free to contribute to *this* community, and help your fellow shooter by submitting articles here. But no I can't help promote something else that isn't a part of what we're already doing with the Watchdog or these message boards. Hope that's understandable,

I'm sorry Chris.. I think you misunderstood what I was getting at. I was more pointing to software to run the watchdog... not divert traffic from this great site to another. I provided those links as examples of the software not for the content.

[Chris Hurd]

Oh, I understand and appreciate that, Frank, and my response wasn't directed toward you at all, it was just a sort of general statement. If I could find the right CMS solution, I would implement it today. But I haven't been too happy with the "sameness" that all the Nuke sites seem to have that I've ever seen. I'm not too keen on Mambo, either. But if somebody has some other CMS suggestions, I'm all ears. I would like to preserve the current Watchdog "skin" though, and would like to avoid the stereotypical Nuke site look.

[Frank Moss]

I apparently missed the post you were talking about.
anyway... here is a list of the CMS clients i know about
Drupal
Geeklog
Mambo Open Source
PHP-Nuke
phpWCMS
phpWebSite
Post-Nuke
Siteframe
TYPO3
Xoops
and I also was not to terrribly happy with those so I wrote my own but it is a bit under featured compared to the rest of them. if you want to see the backend of mine please let me know via email and we can go from there.