I need to rant.  Dreamweaver has the most frustrating, nearly non-functional implementation of FTP ever.  You would think that a product that has been around for over a decade would excel at the basic neccessities of web design.  Chief among these is the ability to manage the workflow for a designer wishing to edit files directly on a production server with FTP.

Dreamweaver allows this, but does so in a way that will probably ruin your life.

For instance, opening a file on an FTP server causes Dreamweaver to download a local version of the file, allow you to edit it, and then publish the changes upon save.  This is really great until you accidentally press “Put” and all of those local file you forgot existed are uploaded to overwrite all of those new versions you laboriously tweaked from another computer.

But of course you will only get to experience this malady if you are actually able to keep a connection to your FTP server, which Dreamweaver is unable to do.  I swear half of my development time is spent staring at a “Waiting for server” dialog.  Dreamweaver is completely unable to revive a connection that is stale.  You have to close it and reopen it, pray, cuss, and kick a small child to get it to work.

Do Adobe developers even use this piece of crap?

When it comes to syntax highlighting and things of that nature, Dreamweaver seems to keep up with most other editors, but who cares…I mean simple pieces of software like TextPad easily keep up with these features at a much more reasonable cost.

So thank you Dreamweaver for ruining my life.  I hope to return the favor someday.

In the meantime, can someone suggest a resonable alternative that won’t ruin my life?

I’m sitting in the White Hart, one of my favorite places on earth. A few minutes ago, the table behind me was occupied by three people in their 60′s or 70′s.

They were discussing last night’s debate and their criticism of John McCain was as thoughtful and reasoned as the statement “He looked so old!” This last word was uttered with particular disdain. The implication was that someone that ancient has no business running for president.

They discussed this at length. Meanwhile, I listened, thoroughly distracted.

Senior citizens voting against someone because they are old is like a black person voting against Obama because he is black. (Which, as stupid as that sounds, some have actually said this)

It is tough to participate in a political system so ruled by the whims and emotions of a populace that is unwilling to be informed and make informed decisions.

Instead, the race for presidency has degenerated into a popularity/beauty contest with a slice of “who can promise the most?” for dessert.

Gone are the days of “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” Instead it is all about “What do I want and how can I get it…at any cost.”

But, I guess I already knew that. I just don’t understand old people not voting for someone because they are old.

What hath God wrought?