What is this place?

This website originated as a home for the MiniScore User's Guide & also as a place to test CGIs that I write before deploying them to production websites. Since then, it's branched out considerably, but there's still a lot of "research & development" going on here. Above all, this site demonstrates the kind of web programming work that I do -- everything from database-driven sites to automated newsfeed systems to set-up for common freeware. Need help? Drop me a note.

In late 2002, I began experimenting extensively with RSS newsfeed files on djeaux.com. In collaboration with Arthur Louie of Dylan Pool fame, I pieced together Dylanfreak Headline News, scraping newsfeeds from existing web pages. There's some fun scripting behind Dylanfreak in addition to all the newsfeed displays. For example, the Weather Report shows the weather.com report for the next stop on the Never-Ending Tour, when it's available & when I'm not too lazy to enter all the dates for a tour. Djeaux.com custom-scrapes RSS newsfeeds for the bobdylan.com discussion forums, two Google Groups, the HWY61L mailing list & several Yahoo! groups to support Dylanfreak.

Beginning in December 2002, djeaux.com began scraping headline information from various computer security mailing lists archived at insecure.org. There are 15 RSS newsfeeds available at djeaux.com, updated hourly. Scott Granneman called the service "essential" to computer & network security pros. It's extremely popular: since January 2003, over two million copies of these files have been downloaded!

I've been playing with Netscape "My Sidebar" tabs for a couple of years. My latest offerings are here, including the bobdylan.com sidebar & the security news sidebar. These integrate the Mozilla sidebar with RSS technology to provide hourly news updates to your Mozilla or Netscape 6/7 browser.

What's this "djeaux" business?

Just say "Joe." The "d" is silent, as in "Django Reinhardt." Were it pronounced "Dee," it would have an "i" in it, like "Dijon." Of course "eaux" is pronounced "oh," same as the names of a gazillion folks in Louisiana. "Geaux Tigers" is a common sports bumpersticker, even over here in Mississippi. But no, I'm not a cajun! I didn't attend LSU, either.

There's no crazy story me using the name "djeaux," either. When I was a kid, my dad loved puns & funny spellings; I think "djeaux" first showed up on a Christmas present when I was in junior high. I simply remembered the spelling trick when I was first trying to think up an IRC alias! When I decided to register a domain, it was the first (and only) thing that came to mind!

What are all the funky pictures?

The black-and-white line art that appears on most djeaux.com pages (except this one) was scanned from an old set of prints intended to be traced onto mimeograph stencils. The box contains all manner of marketing, holiday & newsletter type designs. The cover sheet in the set bears the name of the "Speed-O-Print Corporation," but no copyright date. Because there are several pages of World War II era designs, I assume the set was produced in the mid-to-late 40s.

Feel free to use any of these images you wish in your own work. Given the original purpose for which they were intended & their age, I certainly can't take credit for them. Enjoy :-)

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