January 21, 2008
Take the TAS exam
We get lots of enquiries at TAS, of all sorts. Most are what you'd expect - people looking for advice, giving feedback on the site, making link requests, that sort of thing, and on one occasion recently dog's abuse (might share that story soon).
Early last year we had a somewhat unusual request: the AQA (Assessment and Qualifications Alliance) emailed us asking if they could use some of the material from articles section of the TAS website in an english examination, to be sat in summer 2007. We said yes, on the proviso they credited us and sent us a copy of the examination paper when it was all over. They sent a very formal letter confirming the arrangement, and we heard no more.
Last week we got a very nice 'thank you' letter from them a copy of the exam paper. It was the English Language (Specification B) GCE Advanced Subsidiary Examination for Unit 1, Introduction to the Study of Language, sat on 22nd May 2007. (Remember when there was just an English O'Level?!) It consisted of 8 pieces of text from very different contexts - including dialogue from a play, poetry, an advertisement a cartoon and the introduction page from our poultry articles.
The 2 part question asked:
1. Study the texts on A-H on the next six pages. These texts illustrate different varieties of language use. Discuss various ways in which these texts can be grouped, giving reasons for your choices.
2. Taking either Text A or Text B and any two of the remaining texts, analyse some of the language features of these texts and explain how these are affected by context.
Use some of the following language frameworks where appropriate:
- lexis
- grammar
- phonology
- semantics
- discourse
- pragmatics
- graphology
Eek. I don't know about exams becoming easier - I don't know what half of those words mean!
Just goes to show some of the strange things that happen when you stick stuff on the web. Feel free to answer question 2 for the TAS article, in words of one syllable please...
December 21, 2007
Forum registration fixed
There was a temporary problem with the forum registration which has now been fixed. So if you tried to register and couldn't see the verification letters, please try again.
I did a little bit of a server clean-up yesterday because we were running short of space. Now I know what those font files I deleted were for...
December 16, 2007
Welcome "Country Living" readers!
Welcome to any readers of "Country Living" magazine!
We get a mention in the January 2008 edition of the magazine, in "the good life" section. I subscribe, so when the magazine came in last week, I was browsing through it and noticed, to my great surprise, that the website features in it.
So if you've found us from there, hello and welcome and we hope you'll stick around.
October 21, 2007
TAS forums now open
After a long time prevaricating we've finally got around to launching the TAS forums. The kick up the backside I needed to get it done came in the shape of the imminent first meeting of the smallholders' association Rosemary is trying to get up and running locally (date confirmation coming soon) - we wanted somewhere to meet virtually to make communications easy.
There's not much to see there right now, but we're hoping that lots of you will register and participate, and turn it into a valuable resource for smallholders everywhere - although it will have a Scottish flavour they are most definitely open to all.
We'll work to intergrate them into the site over the next few months, if anyone has any requests or suggestions for improvements let us know.
January 26, 2007
Diary upgrade
Tonight I've upgraded our Movable Type installation to version 3.34. This is long overdue, and will hoefully cut out a lot of the spam we've been getting the past few months.
It's also a precursor to some new stuff coming soon. The forums are installed and just need a bit of styling and testing, there are a load of recipes to be added, and the comment system will be changed to get rid of the pop-up windows. If you find any glitches with the diary please do let us know - it looks like the upgrade went smoothly but there might be some gremlins lurking in dark corners. :-)
November 20, 2006
New photos in the gallery
I've finally learnt how to put photos on the gallery. I'm such a technophobe with a huge streak of learned helplessness but I'm feeling really pleased with myself. My tutor (Dan) is now lying in a darkened room, sobbing quietly.
The real test will come tomorrow night when I try to put more on - we'll know whether it's learning by rote or whether I actually understand what I've been doing.
Anyway, some new photos of Smokey with apologies for the very casual longreining. And some new photos of Felix, Cassius and Meg.
Now how do you work that scanner...
June 11, 2005
@media 2005
It's always nice to get away, and usually even nicer to get back. Arriving home last night from the @media 2005 conference in London I have to say I had mixed emotions for a change.
Sure it was lovely to see everyone again, and travelling alone just isn't the same, but the conference was such a fantastic experience I was still buzzing when I rolled in at 9.30pm. The conference was about web standards and accessibility - if you're glazing over already that's okay, Rosemary doesn't get it so just lets me witter on about it, but to those of us who work in the industry the rise of the web standards movement is probably the most significant event since the dawn of the web.
The cast there was truly stellar - from North America there was Jeffrey Zeldman, Doug Bowman, Joe Clark, Molly Holzschlag, Derek Featherstone, and from the UK, where we have more than our fair share of prominent industry figures, people like Andy Budd, Andy Clarke and Jeremy Keith.
I met a lot of really nice people, learnt a lot, and probably most importantly for me I discovered a renewed enthusiasm for the web. So expect changes around here soon, I need to practice somewhere!
May 30, 2004
High contrast style
This morning I got an email from a reader who was struggling with the black text of the site on the green background. I can see why - looking more closely myself it isn't the easiest combination to read.
As a temporary measure I've written a quick style switcher which provides a higher contrast background, does away with the graphical headings and the background images. Use the 'high contrast' link in the left column to turn it on, and 'normal' to turn it off. Something more elegant will follow, plus a print style to pretty up those printed pages and save on that hideously overpriced ink.
May 28, 2004
Pig articles
I finally got around to adding the pig articles to the site. Next up will be some more vegetable growing guides. We're going to add a book review section soon, if anyone wants to contribute please let us know.
May 3, 2004
Gallery additions
I've added a load of photos to the gallery - 22 in all. Should keep the wife happy for another few days...
February 27, 2004
New article and links
Added a new article, 'Why grow vegetables?', and a few links to animal welfare sites. Plans for the weekend include fixing sheep netting to the new pigpens and building the gates for them. There is some outstanding sowing to be down but the spell of cold, frosty weather we've been experiencing is set to remain with us for a few days yet, so the parsnips and spring onions will have to wait awhile.
I should also mention the kind gift we got from a friend - thanks Graham, that's a fine scoop!
February 22, 2004
Gallery now open
The gallery is now open, and almost finished. It's based on Photostack, a nice little PHP package written by Noel Jackson.
I say 'almost' because there are a lot more images to be added, and because there's something wrong with the PHP which detects the current page, so the left menu isn't working properly (although it seems to be across the site, so I've obviously broken something). I not quite happy with the layout yet either...
February 5, 2004
Site progress
Slowly but surely the site is now coming together and we're starting to feel less embarassed by visitors finding their way here from the few seeds we've sown so far in cyberspace. The About Us page is complete, the Links database is up and running and just needs populating and some work on the styling, and Rosemary assures me she has more text for articles to come this weekend. The search engine is also completed, with the index being updated each night.
Once all this is done it will be time to start adding the wee features which add a bit more value and hopefully make your visit more enjoyable - things like email this page to a friend, links to books and online resources from each article, virtual postcards (once I get the gallery sorted). If you've got any suggestions for features or functions you'd like to see please tell us - but you'll need to wait until Rosemary has written the contact page....
January 28, 2004
I love CSS
I've not been a proponent of CSS for very long, but now I'm well and truly hooked. Yes I read DWWS some time ago, and yes I've read Eric Meyer and yes I've been a subscriber to css-discuss for ages, but it isn't until now that I've been working with this stuff for a while that it's actually clicked. Reusable, rapid development, global changes with a swish of your mouse (well, click of your keyboard really but that doesn't sound as good), it's a powerful beast.
The downside - I think I'm going to become a CSS bore and a standards Nazi.
January 26, 2004
Scottish Blogs
Yesterday evening I registered the diary with Scottish Blogs, the most excellent portal for, you've guessed it, Scottish blogs. This is the first bit of publicity we've undertaken for the site, mostly because it's still some way from being finished, so if you've arrived from SB please accept my apologies - apart from this diary not much else on the site is complete and fully functional.
I'm hoping the added pressure of knowing there's a chance that someone will be looking at the site will make me get my finger out and get it finished. It's never worked before though.
December 29, 2003
Website developments
The website is coming on now, and with another week's holiday to look forward to I hope to have all features completed before mid-January. Then all we have to do is write the content and publicise this obscure corner of the web :O)
The search is installed and tested, just needs styling, tweaking and the indexer added as a cron job. We're using mnoGoSearch, so far a very impressive product and well worth a look if you're not using Google. like the rest of the world seem to be.