Building a Rolls Royce from scrap
I’m still working on the Anna Raccoon Archives.
If any of you have visited the site over the last few days, you may notice that the Categories list on the front page is hugely expanded. This is because I found that buried deep in the code of each page is a mention of that page’s categories, so off I went, hacking code together and running little programmes, and to my amazement, it worked.
What I love about this project [apart from it being immensely worthwhile] is the challenges it throws up. I have had to develop all sorts of little tricks and tweaks that a few weeks ago I would have doubted if they could be done. It is equivalent to building a Rolls Royce using just bits from seven different scrapyards, none of which have quite the same model as the original. The result [so far] is a fully functional car that may be missing a hub-cap or two and a heated rear window, but it works, even if it does somehow have six mix-matched seats where there should only be four.
I’m currently working on a bit of artificial intelligence that will try to weed out duplicates, which isn’t as easy as it sounds. I can’t use post titles as many titles are used multiple times. I can’t compare title and content, as Anna occasionally re-posted something and each post has a different set of comments [and the comments are as important as the post]. I could just compare content, but each source formats the content differently so I’d never get a match. It’s a tricky one! My latest idea is to take each post and strip all the formatting out of it, to just compare words. That might work?
There is only one thing I need now, and this is a bit awkward…….
Is there anyone out there who would like to sponsor the hosting of the site?
It’s not much – the price of a weekly newspaper depending on your choice of reading matter – so if you are interested, just drop me an email and I will give the details.
UPDATE:
Having given the matter a little further thought, I thought it was a bit mean of me to ask.
I have put a Donate button on the Archive site front page [waaaay down near the bottom] so if anyone wants to chuck in those coins that they find down the back of the couch…… ?
Many thanks to everyone who offered sponsorship. Frankly I was amazed at the response!
I wondered if I was going to be able to access this site today? Would the bandwidth be enough that I could comment? What with all them widows a queuing up with their mites in tow.
What? Scottish widows? What the fuck?
You had me thinking I misspelled “windows”, but I didn’t. Remarkably.
Have you no read your bible recently? The Widow’s Mite (Not that I’m too sure what a ‘mite’ actually is but…)
41 And Jesus sitting over against the treasury, beheld how the people cast money into the treasury, and many that were rich cast in much.
42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she cast in two mites, which make a farthing.
43 And calling his disciples together, he saith to them: Amen I say to you, this poor widow hath cast in more than all they who have cast into the treasury.
“Have you no read your bible recently?” About fifty five years ago. And a Mite is [by your own words] half a farthing. [*I didn’t know they had Sterling back in those days?*]