One day I was really really really really bored, have been up all night, hanging around here, writing some code, when a derek3000 came in needing some help with HTML::TokeParser, a module I've never used before (seen it, it was on my list). Having the need to parse HTML ( a part of what i was working on ), I decided I might as well learn to parse HTML.

So I took at look at derek's code, took at look at HTML::TokeParser, then read HTML::TokeParser, learned to love HTML::TokeParser and messed around with the code.

After about a half hour to an hour of intense pod reading and coding, I came up with something that solved his dilemma.

Here is the respective code that was born that night (some mine, some not, i can't remember the order it was created in)

http://crazyinsomniac.perlmonk.org/perl/misc/dereks.stuff.txt
http://crazyinsomniac.perlmonk.org/perl/misc/dereks.stuff.modified.txt
http://crazyinsomniac.perlmonk.org/perl/misc/derek.simple.txt
http://crazyinsomniac.perlmonk.org/perl/misc/derek300.txt
http://crazyinsomniac.perlmonk.org/perl/misc/derek3000.txt
http://crazyinsomniac.perlmonk.org/perl/misc/damiancpan.txt

In the midst of my reading, damian1301 stopped in and asked how one'd go about duplicating the CPAN nodelet (or something like that), and so I whipped up that while I was at it. That's how the HTML::TokeParser Tutorial was born ( a few hours later ).

I had always liked pod, even though my views on usage changed a little (__END__ versus inline, i'm an inline man now), but it's been a while since I read anything so intensly and passionately in such a short period of time.

When properly motivated, I can grok =pod with the best of them, hence podmaster. I always got a ActivePerl HTML Docs frame window open for easy reference. I use perldoc mostly for function lookups and applications. It's cause the html versions don't scroll nasty and always give me a nice overview of everything (and i love that _to_top link, yeah!)

Realizing that my new powers didn't merely enhance my old self, but transformed me into a whole new person, I created my alterego, podmaster.

Lately though, it has become my ego (and my cpanid), even though I still don't sleep some nights ;)

update: Forget ActivePerl::DocTools, Pod::Master for ever (hey, Randy Kobes loves it)

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** The Third rule of perl club is a statement of fact: pod is sexy.

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