Kerner.net

WEC: Installation & HTTP Compression

Installation of the Web Empowered Church platform was smooth and easy. I was a php software developer prior to entering ministry, so  there were no difficulties with the installation. The symlinked install approach even made the upgrade to the 4.1 version of Typo3 very  easy. The docs from WEC make the process simple enough that anybody with basic linux web server administration experience could set it up. The only thing that might make it easier would be to offer it on a vm image with a basic linux installation.

The biggest gripe that I had with WEC after initial configuration was the size of the css it generates. My css customizations and the default set generated by all of the plugins result in a total CSS overhead of nearly 90k. Our front page is graphpically intensive, and includes 125k of graphics/flash.  My goal for the redesign was to keep the entire footprint of the home page under 150k. This wasn't a problem based on my template materials and the planned content. The problem happened when I realized that nearly 90k of css was required, bringing the total size of the page to about 245k. That doesn't seem to bad if you're sitting on a broadband connection, but about 10% of our population is on dialup (according to Google analytics). A 56k connection would take nearly a minute to download the page.

HTTP compression to the rescue. Last Thursday I decided to enable the mod_deflate Apache module and configure our WEC site to utilize it for all content except for images, flash, mp3, etc. We're basically making sure that everything leaving our web server is compressed - either within the file itself or via the mod_deflate compression. We're running a SuSE linux system as our main web server and the setup was painless. Enable the module that was already installed with Apache 2 and configure it for the virtualhost/directories with our WEC site. 

According to the new compression logs I put in place the overal size of the page has dropped to 135k with minimal impact on server performance. I haven't done any stress testing yet, but I don't suspect there will be a problem on the system we're using. Simply by turning on compression I can shave over 100k off our main page load.  Most every modern browser supports http compression and if a browser won't support it they'll get uncompressed content.

I do wonder about the size of the generated CSS, but with the http compression enabled it will be awhile before I bother to optimize it.

Creative Idea Generation

I love Creating Passionate Users and Kathy has a great post that I'm going to have to try the next time we do do a large scale creative idea generating session. It's a Product Design Dinner Party. We generally attack these sessions with a group of people from various fields and with various levels of experience in a round-table set up. This will take a bit longer, but I think it will make for some outstanding ideas. What do you think?

Pzizz

I generally don't fall asleep at night very well. I have a really hard time turning my brain off long enough to relax. It usually takes between 45 minutes to an hour for me to fall asleep when I get into bed, a fact that Sarah very much dislikes (because I bug her while I'm still awake). Last weekend I downloaded the sample file from Pzizz and was out before the 15 minute mp3 finished. I went ahead and bought both the sleep and the energizer modules. It's a great deal if you're a student, only $10 each. This past week I've taken quick naps (15-20 minutes) using files exported from the software and have been amazingly more productive in the late afternoon. I'm also sleeping solidly at night, although Sarah can't stand the voice in the music. She's dealing with it because I'm asleep so much more quickly this way. A good night's sleep, no drugs required - take that Ambien.

Schweitzer Web 2007 - Web Empowered Church

 

 

 

We're very close to launching the new design for the Schweitzer web site. This update is more substantial than a design refresh, it is a complete overhaul. One of my first goals when I came on staff was to migrate away from using static pages for the web site. Last year we implemented a Joomla system that has served us fairly well, but is severely lacking in workflow tools tht will let us empower each ministry to maintain their section of the web site. This year we've made the leap to typo3 and the Web Empowered Church platform. Over the next week I'll be writing about several of the components of this migration.

To launch our WEC powered web site required:

• installing and learning the WEC/typo3 platform (then later upgrading typo3 to 4.1)
• designing a custom template for the templaVoila plugin
• reforming our content to fit a new hierarchy then migrating the content
  
• casting the vision for the myConnection section of the web site
• implementing http compression

I'm presenting the final layout and structure to the full staff on Monday after getting the sign off from Bob, our senior pastor, on Thursday. We'll do content migration from the existing site this week and start shooting myConnection videos next week. The goal is to launch the site on Palm Sunday. Special thanks to the folks who stuck around during Media Lab on Wednesday night to help hash out the action based content hierarchy, but more about that later.

Anecdotes

Seth Godin had a great post last weekend about how what we do today is tomorrow's anecdote for somebody. I think this really holds true in ministry settings. Think about the last time you had either an exceptional or a very bad experience with customer service in a store or restaurant. These experiences stick with us and are oftentimes the stories we tell to other people. In the church we should be working to make sure that the anecdotes people have about experiences with us are related to life-transformation, joy, and hope. These are the stories that people love to both experience and share.

G5 Update

Good news at the end of last week about the G5. The problem was indeed a dead power supply that was covered by Apple. The first replacement was DOA which prompted a frantic budget reorganization to figure out how to buy a MacPro while the problem was identified. The lack of any other brokenness showing up lead the tech to order a second replacement power supply and it worked. The G5 is now happily back beneath my desk and the budget for the year remains as originally planned. I do have to admit that I was a bit excited about a shiny new MacPro.

Sausage, Red Onion, and Sun Dried Tomato Lasagna

I'm a huge fan of lasagna, but every time I make it I like to mix things up a bit. Earlier this week I had the chance to make a quick lasagna for dinner. A quick lasagna is one that doesn't require an exceptional amount of prep work - it still takes an hour in the oven, but prior to baking is fairly fast. One of the ways to achieve this to not boil the pasta - it cooks just fine while the lasagna bakes. Another key is that all of the ingredients are purchased - no homemade pasta or sauce.

In addition to the standard ingredients I combined a finely diced red onion, a chopped head of garlic, and 3oz of sun dried tomatoes. The sweetness from the sun dried tomato and carmalized onion is quite noticeable in this dish. The garlic is strong, but not overpowering. 

Sausage, Red Onion, and Sun Dried Tomato Lasagna

• 1lb Italian sausage
• large red onion, chopped finely
• head of garlic, chopped finely
• 3oz sun dried tomatoes, chopped finely
• 1 tbs dried red pepper flakes
  
• 1 package ricotta cheese (I used light)
• 3 cups shredded mozzarella, reserve 1 cup for top of lasagna
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
  
• 1 egg (apparently optional as it got left out with no ill effect)
• 1-2 jars of sauce
  

Preheat oven to 350° F. In a saute pan, brown sausage, and drain leaving enough fat in the pan for onions. Sweat onions over medium-low heat until carmalized. Add garlic, sun dried tomato, and red pepper flakes and cook over medium heat until garlic is cooked. Return sausage to pan,  add 1 cup of sauce, and combine well. Remove from heat to cool slightly. Combine cheeses and egg and mix well. Pour 1 cup of sauce into the bottom of a lasagna pan and add a layer of noodles. Top noodles with sausage mixture, then cheese mixture. Repeat with additional layers of noodles. Top the last layer with noodles and cover with sauce. Bake covered for 40 minutes. Uncover, add remaining mozzarella and bake for another 15-20 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes and serve. 

Prep: 35 minutes Cook: 60 minutes