Blog entries tagged "blogging"
You didn't even need to ask. I could just tell by the way you looked at my site that you wanted more material from me. Sure, my kids are awesome, my wife is amazing, and you love reading my entries about other topics, but what you really want are links to other sites, so you don't have to read my original material. I read a number of things on the interweb, both through feeds as well as random surfing. I like to keep track of some of that stuff – stuff that is either of interest to me, or which I think others might enjoy (or both).
Previously, I used a service called ma.gnolia to keep track this stuff. Unfortunately, ma.gnolia went down in a flaming fire (they suffered massive data loss and nobody was keeping backups (me included)). Instead of using another third party, I decided to let Movable Type's awesomenessocity track my awesome links, right here on this site.
You may like the material, you may not. Subscribe to the feed and see what you think of it. The title leads you to the material, and you can see my own comments and sources where applicable. Additionally, I've incorporated the links into the site, and you may notice some changes as I work to further accomplish that. (P.S. Thanks to Andy Baio for answering some question about how his links work)
Sure, I initially wanted to blog more in September… but I didn't. I sure do like Twitter though, and use it far more frequently. 140 characters to say what you want to say. Sure, it could be as random as a note about Miracle Whip an update on the latest car crap I'm dealing with, or even some weekend entertainment. The point is, I think it just gives you a better idea of what's going on. Admit it. You're sick of reading/writing long blog posts. Sometimes you just want to say a little blurp. You can, and should. Don't forget to follow me.
This past weekend, in addition to doing a bit of reorganization of my physical home, I took the time give my site a bit of a face lift and upgrade the content management system. Stop on by, check it out and let me know what you think. Read on if you care about the gritty details of this one.
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I was talking with someone the other day about freelance web design/development. As we were talking, they said something along the lines of, “I can't help but notice you talk more about the code than you do about the design. I thought you were more interested in the design side.” (both true statements). “So, if you're so interested in the code, then why claim to enjoy the designing more?” Good question. It all comes down to math. I spend more time working on the code than I do on the design. It'd be great if we could all code faster. That would be fabulous, but that's just not how it works. It's not that I skip out on a decent design. I do my best, but the actual building of the site takes longer. Like a chef, creating a new dish. They're familiar with all their ingredients. They're familiar with the pieces and steps to making a good dish. They have an imagination and a goal, but once it comes time to perfect that new dish, they'll spend more time standing in the kitchen working on it, than they will sitting at their desk coming up with the idea.
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>