I would just like to take the chance that while I may develop using django and rather enjoy the output of the django project, this blog is not exclusively about django.  It’s more of a blog about what interests me enough for me to write a post on at the time.  Right now, this is django.  In a little bit, I may drift back to music or to some other topic.  I am trying to get around to posting on this blog more often, though.

Basic Design for ProviasDigital.

I actually sat down today and started working on ProviasDigital.com.  Here is the latest screenshot from the development version of the website.  I hope to complete the site and start working on content soon.

Yes, it is being developed with django.

I have a full plate infront of me with school adding on heavily.  However, in computing and music, I have a few projects lined up.  Besides some smaller projects that I’m keeping hidden, I still have MusicHostr.com and ProviasDigital lined up for development.  I have a new piece of music in the works.  I may even be getting my hands dirty with some video work here in the next few weeks.  It looks like I’ll be busy these next couple of weeks.  However, I will also try to keep this blog updated.  I will try to post new content every day or every couple of days, depending on the availability of time.

Be prepared for some updates in the next few weeks.

I might as well share my latest piece of music titled “Apex”

It was done with Sibelius, Garritan Jazz and Big Band, Garritan Concert and Marching Band, Kontakt 2, and Soundtrack Pro.  The only instruments that were used were Alto Sax, Tenor Sax, Bari Sax, Piano, Drum Kit, and Electric Guitar.

Apex by Colton Provias

I’m just curious if anyone else seems to have problems with Macs not working as well as they used to after a few months.  I have a quad-core Mac Pro and it seems like it has seen better days.  The system is slowing down and the software is starting to malfunction more than it used to.  Heck, the software is even crashing, which is something it rarely did before.  I’ve just had Sibelius, Kontakt, and Soundtrack Pro crash several times each in the span of a half hour.  It’s becoming quite the pain at this point.  There is nothing quite as bad as software crashing when you need it to work.

Then again, I need to clean my computer anyways.  That might help somewhat.

I thought I might as well share a small snippet of django code that I use all the time in my projects.  The renderRequest function simplifies rendering of templates using RequestContext but also includes a SITE_URL variable for some easier.

# renderRequest by Colton Provias
from django.http import HttpResponse
from django.template import RequestContext, loader

# Replace with your site's base URL
SITE_URL = "http://example.com/"

def renderRequest(request, template, vars):
    vars["SITE_URL"] = SITE_URL
    vars["PATH"] = request.path
    return HttpResponse(loader.get_template(template).render(RequestContext(request, vars)))

The usage of this function is easy.  Instead of renter render_to_response or whatever other method you are using, use the following:

return renderRequest(request, template, vars)

For example, let’s say that I have a template named “demo/base.html” and wanted to send it a couple of variables:

return renderRequest(request, "demo/base.html", {"vara": "Hello", "varb": "World"})

In the template, you can then use {{ vara }}, {{ varb }}, {{ SITE_URL }}, and {{ PATH }}.  Also, since we are using RequestContext, you also get the added benefit of {{ user }}, {{ messages }}, and etc.

Today when I returned from cross country practice, I checked the access logs and found that somebody had discovered my blog.  Yet, they searched for “colton provias” on Google, which has me wondering…do I have a stalker or something of the sort?  Who searches for me on Google, anyways?  I’m not that well known, am I?

In this post, I’m assuming you followed the steps to download and install the subversion version of django as laid out in my previous post.

Start by opening the Terminal up and running the following commands:

svn up ~/Documents/django/django-trunk
sudo python ~/Documents/django/django-trunk/setup.py install

Make sure you enter your password when the process asks for it.  When it is done, you should have django updated to the latest build from the subversion trunk.

I have been searching for a method of setting up Django on Mac OS X Leopard and it seems that people like to over complicate the process. Here is a simplified set of instructions for installing Django on Mac OS X Leopard.

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It has come to my attention on numerous occasions that MusicHostr.com was missing its target audience, the composer.  It’s rather far from that target, actually.  When looking at the options, the best option I could find was to recode it from the ground up.  The previous website is being deleted tonight at 5:00 PM Eastern Time

So, I ask you today, what features would you like to see on a music hosting website?  Feel free to suggest your ideas in a comment on this post.