May 2008 Archives

Steve at DeGraeve.com wins. It's not like there was a competition, just insane jealousy on my part. Sure, there are some options out there that let you upload a picture and it'll generate a decent palette for you. I didn't/don't want to be tied to somebody else's tool like that, and their generated palettes weren't as nice as Steve's. So, I looked around and tried out a couple pre-made options which I modified and hosted myself – but the colors generated by them just weren't right. (sorry, but I can't find all the links to the different things I tried)

Finally, I tried brewing my own, using a whole family of PHP functions with which I wasn't entirely familiar, and which didn't get me much further than the pre-made solutions. No matter what I did, though, I couldn't communicate in PHP what I wanted to do with the information I had. Unfortunately (or fortunately), since I work with databases all day, when I deal with arrays, they're just a bit sloppy, and don't behave how I think they should.

I knew it was going to be an uphill battle once I realized I was just trying to replicate somebody else's work. As we all know, a copy rarely turns out as good as the original. Why bother with this? I want(ed) to dynamically generate a color palette (which could be plugged into a CSS file through some magic) and have the accompanying photo show as well - to give the photos a better visual continuity. It's somewhat similar to what Dave Shea has going on, but a bit more dynamic. Who knows, maybe I'll still go through with it, but I don't see myself trying to do the full, on-the-fly palette generation. </geekiness>

We recently returned from a trip to California. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, and were sad to leave. I had to share a story about Cecilia while we were driving down. If you've ever driven into southern California on I-15, you might remember coming down through the Cajon Pass. It's the roaming freeway stretch just as you're coming out of the high desert and entering the seemingly never-ending spread of LA. We were on that part of our drive, and knew we were getting very close to our destination. Maria and I were putting in our last bit of energy to keep the kids from melting down. Cecilia had obviously gotten re-excited as she asked us from the back seat, “Can I get a 'what what?'” Another fine example of our impressive parenting skills. Unfortunately I can't take any credit for that one. Maria… good on you.

I've included a couple photos from while we were down there. The first of Cecilia washing the Cozy Coupe. She had just helped wash two other cars and knew the dusty 'ol Coupe could use some love. The second of Becky enjoying herself outside. Her right hand is right in the middle of her waving process (it's all about the wrist for her).

Much like what I did with Cecilia at her first birthday, I wish to tell the story of Becky's birth. This may not be for anybody else out there, but at least the story is getting documented for posterity's sake, literally. I'll address the rest of this entry to her