I have spent most of the day trying to display my most played albums as recorded on last.fm.  I still don’t have it working.  I am tired and frustrated.

The problem is getting an array to display the way I want using Smarty.  I can finally get all the elements of the array that I want to use to print in Smarty, but I am not sure now how to format them (e.g., href, image, surrounding text, etc.).

Google is an absolute wonder in helping me program.  Searches return results that are relevant and often solve my problem.  If I am not sure how to use a php function Google brings up the manual.  Decent manual especially with the comments by users.

I got lots of leads, but ultimately can’t figure it out.  I’ll post a question and see if I get an answer.

Oh, I already have a javascript link that some kid (his web page says he is 16 and lives in London, England) made that does exactly what I want to do.

So why program?

First, I firmly believe that a person’s explanation of why they did something is terribly suspect. Why did you vote for Obama/McCain? Why did you marry/divorce that person?  Why did you choose your job, house, car, hobby?  The answer is likely to be some self-serving answer that makes the person look good.  I decided to be a lawyer so I could help people.  Yeah, right.

So here are a few possibilities why I spend lots of time programming:

• It makes me look super smart,
• It is intellectually challenging,
• It is a way to hide and procrastinate,
• It is so different from the practice of law that I find it rewarding (this is how I usually answer the question),
• It is cool when it works,
• It keeps me from facing issues (God, my 401(k) has tanked!),
• It is a destructive habit that I don’t know how to shake.

So, choose.  You probably are as good–if not a better–judge of why I do something than I am.

Oh, if you know how to format a multi-element array in Smarty, please comment!

I plan to write this blog for the rest of the year.  I seriously doubt that I–self absorbed as I am–really have enough to say that I will attract readers or be able to even keep myself entertained.

Its likely that any readers will know me.  But for those of you who may not.  I am Bill Hogsett.  I am 62 (unbelievable), a corporate lawyer with Eaton Corporation in Cleveland, Ohio, married to Ann with one son, John who lives in Las Vegas.

I plan to write about politics (I am a passionate liberal Democrat), programming (my winter and nighttime hobby), sports, wine, the weather and anything that comes to my mind.  If you haven’t seen my website, look at billhogsett.com.  I made the music page and am proud of it and am updating it now.  The webcam looks out my downstairs office and is maybe 30 feet from Lake Erie.  If you see nothing it probably means the window is covered with ice.

I would appreciate comments and feedback so I can tell whether anyone is reading this or I am talking to myself.

Bill