I'm Nic Long. I run room271 web design and make websites. I like technology and enjoy writing on a range of subjects - books, economics, faith, anything that interests me really. Check out my blog below! Please note I am currently working for actency in Strasbourg and am not looking for work.

Être, Avoir, Faire

The use of these key verbs can differ from their usage in English. Below are some examples which I found easy to forget...

Vous avez froid.

Il fait frais. (More generally, any weather related thing tends to be faire)

J'ai mal au coeur.

Elles ont tort. (lit: they have wrong.)

Quel temps fait-il ?

Ils font un beau couple.

Cela fait 3 ans que je ne fume pas.

Ils ont sommeil (lit: they have sleep)

Elle fait l'étudiante dans << La Leçon >> . (Faire for jobs)

Rules:

Use avoir with:

Sun, 12/04/2011 - 19:31

Les adjectifs

Unlike in English, adjectives in French can be before or after the noun. Here are two simple rules for where to put them...

Bags

To work out where an adjective should go, the 'BAGS' acronym is useful:

  • Beauty
  • Age
  • Good and bad
  • Size

So for example, we say:

Tue, 11/22/2011 - 19:39

Power with Responsibility

Our democracy is not as strong as we thing. The compelling tale of NotW and the Guardian:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/nov/10/phone-hacking-truth-alan-rus...

Sat, 11/12/2011 - 14:30

This code stinks...

Code smells are indicators of bad coding practice and possible problems down the line. By learning how to identify these stinks we can write cleaner code which is easier to read, easier to maintain, and which is less prone to unexpected behaviour.

Sun, 09/11/2011 - 16:35

How to install Xdebug in Ubuntu

Xdebug is a nifty PHP extension which provides a range of useful features for PHP developers such as better pretty-printing of variables and error messages (both useful in debugging). More advanced features include tracing and profiling.

How to install?

Installing applications through the command line can be a bit confusing if the documentation is not very good and/or one is new to linux. Thankfully Xdebug has a brilliant helper script on its website which provides an install guide tailored to your (PHP) set-up.

Mon, 08/15/2011 - 16:38

A good drupal workflow (for theming)...

For the inexperienced, Drupal development can be slow. How can we speed up the process and achieve a better workflow?

Tue, 03/22/2011 - 22:53

Preprocess functions in Drupal

In Drupal theming there are often occasions when the variable spat out isn't quite as you'd like it. How do we change variables like body classes, or even create new variables? The answer: preprocess functions...

Preprocess functions allows us to alter/add the variables associated with page.tpl.php after they have been constructed at the module layer but before they are displayed to the end user. Preprocess functions, therefore, take existing data fields and transform them/construct new ones from them in order to alter the display of a site.

Tue, 03/22/2011 - 22:36

Book Review: The Wise Man's Fear

***THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MINOR SPOILERS***

The Wise Man's Fear is Rothfuss' sequel to his first novel, The Name of the Wind. Picking up from where the first book left off, the story centers around Kvothe and his attempts to find out more about the wicked Chandrian who murdered his parents. His journey will take him out of the University and across the sea in search of answers. During this period Kvothe is taught to fight by the Adem Mercenaries and encounters the irresistably-beautiful fae Felurian. And, of course, Denna makes a return too.

Tue, 03/15/2011 - 20:02

New site is up and running, and an exciting new project...

Finally (!) the room271 site is up and running. The site should be relatively straightforward to navigate, and visually uncluttered. I'm still populating the site with content and this will be complete in the next few days. All feedback most definitely welcome - just use the site contact form.

Sat, 02/05/2011 - 14:56