Weblogs Archives
...the website of the same name is actually quite good. I am rather enjoying reading Modern Life is Rubbish. Their Web Typography Cheat Sheet and a rundown on current trends in blog technology and more style are great. and I just like the way the site looks (well except for the huge Google ad in the middle of the page). The site offers some fresh takes on stuff we have been posting about for years with many new insights. Bloody good show, Stuart!
I have to say a few words about the nice but, perhaps misused Hemingway Theme for Wordpress among other blogging applications. The growing popularity of this theme cannot be questioned (there are nearly 440,000 results for "Powered by Hemingway".)
I believe that the layout for individual post pages using this theme is very nice. There is a very good delineation between post, post meta info, and comments while still allowing the comments to flow like a conversation from the original post. The site meta info and additional links at the bottom also works on this page type (assuming that this information doesn't get out of hand). Where this theme tends to break down is its implementation for blog homepages. People can (and have) debate about the merits of fewer or more blog posts per page and I could be persuaded either way depending upon the context and type (and frequency) of the posts, however, what is not argued as often is the convention of having chronological blog posts appearing above and below each other.
In the Hemingway theme homepage template, the most often seen configuration is to have the last 2 posts appear next to each other at the top, with links to earlier posts down below, often mixed in with other content to the point where it is difficult to determine where to go next for more "content". In addition to this shortcoming, the other problem with Hemingway is that, if abused, the footer section at the bottom of each page with "about" text, and recent post listings, becomes unwieldy and ugly. Not to pick on a couple friends but the theme that seems to work so well for post pages, breaks down on home pages as shown to varying degrees.
The designer, Kyle Neath knows this and takes care to only show samples that are neat and clean. Minimal meta data and navigation in these screenshots maintain clarity and make finding what you need in the footer, much easier.
I never like to criticize without suggestions and positive feedback and so here is some:
- Keep the information in the footer simple. Keep lists of things to 10 or less
- Visually differentiate the part of the footer that contains links to the recent posts as that is what people will want to find the most.
- Write longer posts so that the posts at the top don't look funny. (this one is hard, I know)
- Failing #4, at least try to keep your posts about the same size (also nearly impossible and impractical)
- Drop the second, recent post down and just show the most recent post at the top (refer to #4)
- Move post of only links to another area of the site (perhaps the footer?) as they look strange in the top section.
At the minnēbar conference in May I presented a session titled Agile Design (slides) and a great discussion ensued. The talk centered around the concepts and ideas of the Agile Method, but, you guessed it, as it related to information and visual design. I have had a great opportunity in my current role to help to define and evolve our process and practices surrounding software design and development. I love the team I work with and hope to continue breaking new ground with them.
I also wanted to post a bit about some ongoing and upcoming projects I am involved in so you know what I have been up to and what to expect.
First, I am planning to launch a new site with some peers of mine that will be focused on the agile method and particularly how it pertains to the development of "web 2.0" apps. You might think of it as a Signal vs. Noise type blog with less of a marketing spin.
I am also helping to plan OpenBar for the fall of 2006. OpenBar will pick up where minnēbar left off but its entire focus will be on open source software, using open source in your business, and is aimed at developing, enriching, and bringing together Minnesota's large but disjointed open source community.
I also have a Minnesota blog aggregation site brewing slowly, but my decision to write in Ruby and on the Rails framework (as my first foray into such technologies) is retarding my progress. Hopefully, I will post more on this soon.
Lastly, this site is on the verge of another facelift. I really like the new visual design a lot, but am more excited by some of the ways the new site will be organized as well as some of the additional features and content I will be adding. Not sure when this will happen, but I am hoping for a June launch.
Here are couple quick observations from the O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference 2006:
1. Don't wear your goddamned bluetooth ear piece the whole time - not sure why I get so irrationally annoyed with this, but I do.
2. Newsflash: Apple overtakes PC laptop market with strong 70% share - or so it would seem by the looks of things here.
3. There is nothing sadder than a bunch of full-grown "hard-core" programmer types forcing themselves to fake their excitement about now doing JavaScript coding.
4. Some men can apparently pull off wearing a skirt - oh sorry a util-i-kilt
5. Web 2.0 means "we realized that crappy looking interfaces weren't selling and so now we hired a designer".
In a move that surely indicates boredom and a disregard for original thought, area blogger, Ben Edwards, blatantly rips off the new CNN International style. The style change could also have been said to have influences from Magnetbox.com and adhesive label tape. News at 11.
If I am a liitle late to the party on this you can blame a lot of people but you can only blame Mark for me actually participating.
Four jobs I've had
- Stocked shelves and helped people feed their consumerism at the very first Target Greatland store
- Called cabs for drunkards at the long defunct Mississippi Live group of bars and clubs
- Decided the fates of small, short-term student loan applicants
- Part of a team of people, who if together today could be doing really great things, that helped two less brilliant people make fistfuls of cash
Four movies I can watch over and over
- Any movie containing at least 15% hobbits
- Blazing Saddles
- Army of Darkness
- Rushmore
Four places I've lived
- A room in a house shared with a crazy, roid-rager who would throw his furniture around in the room next-door.
- A small room atop a run-down fraternity house in Minneapolis
- A large concrete co-op (where I served as president) in Dinkytown (Minneapolis)
- Mexico for 4 months, 3 weeks (cumulative)
- A town home in New Brighton (Minnesota) where I spent the first nights married to my beautiful wife and playing with my crazy puppy. (those were separate occasions)
Four TV shows I love
- Arrested Development
- Lost
- The West Wing
- The Daily Show / The Colbert Report (not cheating as one is basically an extension of the other)
Four places I've vacationed
- Europe (Paris, Amsterdam, Bruges)
- Wisconsin Dells
- The Dominican Republic (where I proposed to Jena)
- Hawaii
Four of my favorite dishes (soooo many things!)
- Dark chocolate truffles and milk
- Lobster scampi
- Sushi (though not sashimi)
- Authentic Mexican tacos (al pastor)
Four sites I visit daily (I am assuming mail.google.com doesn’t count)
- Bitterpill.org (I enjoy disappointment)
- Flickr.com
- RobotWisdom.com
- AltText.com (I am kinda of a narcissist)
Four places I would rather be right now
- On vacation (New Zealand, Africa, China, Cuba top the list)
- In bed
- Playing basketball, volleyball, kickball, tennis or nearly any team sport
- Anywhere with my best friend and wife (having that be the same person really saves on expenses)
Four bloggers I am tagging
- Cam
- Casey
- Dack
- James
I have made some significant progress on some changes that have been long overdue for this site. First, as previously mentioned I have had a hard time with the "one-post" home screen design I implemented a while back and I realized that it, along with the fact that I did not have a good way of posting simple links to things, was really deterring me from posting. I felt I didn't want to knock a "good post" "off the front page" for simply a bunch of links, but then when I finally got around to posting the links they were past due and no longer as relevant or fresh as they could have been.
The changes I have put in place are probably not going to be as exciting to you as they are to me but they do allow me to post to any of 3 separate weblogs (alt text main, media consumption, and links) each with their own fields and stylings and have a post to any of these rebuild the indexes for all 3. This is going to improve a lot of the key-wording for entries and pave the way for another feature coming later this month to Alt Text concerning tagging. I can't be more specific right now...seriously I really can't.
The last two features I really want to add to improve my posting life immensely are: 1) setting up a scheduled posting service to run on the server and 2) and adding a new spell-checking plugin, MTSpeling (which I have done) that also requires a module be installed on our server to allow access to Ispell (which I need).
I finally succumbed and put all the recent posts "inline" here on the homepage of Alt Text. While I work through some more kinks regarding how to best post one off links and such (like the one below, feel free to check out some of my latest ratings of some media I have consumed (at right).
I love Defective Yeti and can relate to an entry like this.
- The Polaroidonizer - I think this is pretty neat - give any image url to the Polaroidonizer, adjust some settings and it cranks out Polaroid® looking image complete with drop shadows and tilting like the image at right.
- James Mathias is The Shavior - Mathias' experiment in facial hair aside, the rest of his site is pretty good and so I am going to be adding it to my rotation.
- Kick Ass Kung Fu - I want this - Use your own body - both movements and likeness - in a game where you can kick the collective asses of whomever is loaded in. Video games and fitness you say?
- File Me Away - Another nice looking site, added here for diversity.
- HousingMaps.com - what do you get when you combine housing listings from Craig's list and Google Maps? HousingMaps.com is what.
- Zombie dogs - Despite the sensationalistic title and terrible photo this story actually shows some promising developments in science aimed at treating critically injured people by replacing their blood with icy water. Seriously.
- Power Failure - A look at how the proposed energy policies by the GOP fall far short in their dealing with issues of oil.
- Virus present in 80% of the population kills cancer cells - Why is a potential "cure" for cancer such a under-reported story?
This post title and possible new section of Alt Text courtesy of Lance Arthur.
one.point.zero combines the kind of design that has been prevalent for a while among the kids, with the idea of a weblog to create a good compromise.
The dullest blog in the world is actually quite funny. What does this say about Alt Text? [If Then Else]
Some Requisitioned LinksTM from Kottke.org: Rounded Corners in CSS and Usabilty Myths, Debunked.
While I am on the topic of links and Kottke.org I should commend him in always thinking of the little things that make his site so good to visit. By first creating his "Remaindered Links" list and then moving it over into its own permanent home, Jason has create a slick way to provide much more "content" without the need to comment on each and every link. There are plenty of things I would like to post about or point people to, but I either a) don't have time or b) cannot think of anything that is insightful/hasn't been said before on that topic. These little links and tidbits then tend to just get lost in a seas of draft posts destined to never see the light of page. Kudos Jason - you keep doing the thinking and we'll keep using it.
A theme song for Alt Text? That's right.
This bit of music was generated by looking at the URL for Alt Text. Go to
this site and see for yourself; or go
here for many more ways to play with music and computers. [
Hiromi]
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Just when you write off the folks at
Sakebomb they go and add content to their site. In between their own hijinks they stop and take time to work on the upcoming
Jackass: The Movie website
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A memorial service will be held for Paul Wellstone tomorrow night at 6:30.
| What: |
Official Memorial Service |
| When: |
Tuesday, October 29, 6:30 PM |
| Where: |
Williams Arena
University of MN
(Minneapolis Campus)
1925 University Ave SE
Minneapolis |
You can check
here for more info and updates.
... if not dedicated. I really admire his dedication. He is always looking at ways to improve his site and the sites of other around him. Sure I look for these improvement opportunities too, but when he finds them he actually acts and changes things. Me I just make lists of things I should do.
On my list for the past 3 months has been many of the changes he has made to
Kottke.org in the last 3 weeks. I am very impressed and hope to make some changes and additions soon. Plus there will be more posts. I am turning off the TV for the summer and so I hope to have a lot more time with which to get back to 2 things I love but don't get time to do much of lately, surf/write/create on the web and camp with my wife.
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On a side note - I don't have phone service or an internet connection at home for the first time in, well since the internet started pretty much. I miss the internet much more than I miss TV. Now if I could just get that central air thing I would be set.
Alt Text has been included as one of 10 weblogs in a study/project in developing an open source search tool called
latent semantic indexing (LSI). From what I have seen it is pretty promising. Some of the results may not contain the keywords you entered, but use the LSI algorithm to determine relevancy based on like words and topics.
There are still some holes in it as it is in development. It works with keywords only - there are no phrase searches allowed. Words that appear in only one post are not indexed, and the interface leaves a lot to be desired, but it is a very cool idea that I hope spreads.
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My dad on
President W's recent surgery: "They are looking for his head."
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Electric SUV coming (to California) from Toyota
You may someday find yourself in much the same position I am in now... that's right, I have been bumped down to
Kottke.org's 2nd tier of links. I know what you're thinking and I have thought about locking myself in a bathroom with a 2-week supply of Haagen-Dazs, but I just don't know if that will make Jason love me again. Was it something I said? More likely something I didn't say... That's a bitter pill to swallow.
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If you commute in the Mpls-St. Paul area you may find
this link useful. It is an
interactive map of the major roadways with traffic cams.
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No matter where you are from, you are likely to find this cool. They are able to restore sight in many cases by
implanting a solar-powered microchip into the eye as a silicon retina. The study shows good results, so good in fact that I do not doubt we will someday have technology that makes the
VISOR worn by
Gordi LaForge look primitive.
I don't really know what to expect of
SXSW. I have gone to other web conferences before but they were huge and the focus was much more on design principles and specific technologies. They were faceless, monolithic productions. I get the sense that SXSW is much more focused on the web design and development
communities. I am excited, but also fearful of this idea. I am really looking forward to meeting many of the people whose site's I have been reading, enjoying, learning from, and copying for, in some cases, years. I am talking about sites like:
whole lotta nothing,
bluishorange,
jish,
cam world,
praystation,
zeldman,
37signals,
anil dash,
little yellow different,
bradlands,
harrumph,
dollar short,
six different ways,
movable type,
ben brown,
cockybastard.com,
jjg, and
so many more
There will be some folks there whom I know including:
Jason who I consider a friend as well as ex-coworker and I have at least met
Meg,
Derek (at Web 2000 or was it Builder?),
Peter (Web 2000 also), and
Jeff (Web 2000).
Then I get to wondering how many of these people have been to my site? How many of them have never heard of it? Worse, how many have come and clicked away out of boredom. These feelings of "fitting in" bring me back to my junior high days. Those were not good. Were they for anybody? The awkwardness associated with those days was overwhelming at times. These anxieties aren't enough to dull my excitement however. Not even the fact that I may not be able to speak (as I have by this time nearly lost all ability to speak due to some mysterious throat issues) and thus miss out on a bunch of great opportunities for interesting conversation, has me down.
So if you are reading this and you happen to be attending SXSW and a person comes up to you, tries to audiblize a greeting but only a few hoarse croaks come out, rest assured that it is just me expressing my compliments on you and your beautiful site.
The cast of Red Dragon, the prequel to The Silence oof the Lambs makes me think the movie has a very good chance of being good. Anthony Hopkins, Edward Norton, Ralph Fiennes, Harvey Keitel, Mary-Louise Parker, and Philip Seymour Hoffman usually would make for a good flick. I hadn't even heard of this film until I saw a post on my "neighbor's" site,
The Hermit's Tower. It is scheduled to open this November
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My "neighbor" to the right is moving. Sure she'll still be living in Australia but
her site may not be.
Incidentally, all this talk of neighbors (or neighbours if you want to speak
English english), is regarding
Jish's Webloggers webring that I am a part of.
A while back (actually in July of this year) I, or rather Alt Text, was
reviewed at Blog You! Blog You! Blog You!: A Consumers Guide to Weblogs. It had been the first site of its kind that I had seen - devoted to critiquing the online journals of thousands of webloggers across the web. How did I fare? Well I received 3 Donalds (they rate on a Donald Sutherland scale 4 Donalds being the best while scoring 1 Kiefer is bad). Aside from a relatively good review, I was said to have a strange "Kottke hero worship." That seems unfair really, I mean have you seen that
Kottke fellow? Everyone agrees he ain't nothing special to look at. =P
...america for which it stands....
What does America stand for to you ? (note: requires participation, please post your thoughts)
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I think
CamWorld is my single source of inspiration these days. If I wasn't so lazy, Alt Text would uncover the same quantity and quality links and info that Cameron does. Whenever I get down on the web these days, salvation is just a
single click away.
But it isn't just praise Cam day, I actually wanted to post about some links that he has posted lately:
I have been interested in creating some form of family tree of the world religions, mainly for my own benefit and information, but also to share with you all. This site, adherents.com will go a long way towards helping me do that. What a great resource about the religions of the world.
Cam also made the mistake I did by watching the local news coverage of the latest anthrax cases. I didn't even watch but saw a preview for the news and the anchor man said something to the affect of : "Who's got anthrax now? You'll never guess." My wife and I just looked at each other and laughed because they are presenting it almost in a Where's Waldo type way. I think the news media in general has to start being more responsible in how they are presenting these cases and to put them into perspective instead of trying to create more viewership/readership through promoting fear and uncertainty. Please send the "man are you guys stupid" mail to WCCO News or your own local stupid news outlets.
I also must admit some desire on my part to get off the anti-Amazon kick. It is just so hard, but like so many things today, people find it hard to keep up with a cause over long periods of time. Too much energy is needed and not enough people care - complacency wins out because it is easy. I still have not forgiven Amazon for its dirty legal practices but I may almost be ready to forget it for a while. I would hate to see them go under but I really wish they hadn't gone and tried to patent commonplace internet ideas and practices (affiliate programs, one-click purchases - i.e. cookies, and recommendation services) because I am just stubborn enough to continue depriving myself of one of the better online commerce experiences.
A possible new tagline for Apple's new iPod? Here is some more info.
When I was younger my favorite movie was Stand By Me. Something about the camaraderie and experiences that the characters shared appealed to me. And although I was always partial to River Phoenix's character,
Wil Wheaton is now a closer second as I learn more about him on
his very own website, which he runs himself. His interests and geekhood are inline with my own and this
interview on slashdot confirms most of it. Wil Wheaton I salute you!
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I am posting this from a
Minnesota Wild game...from
my phone. I feel like kicking my own ass right now.
Cameron has been on quite a roll latley over at
Camworld. I love his site. So much information, so little sleep.
I have sensed around me and indeed felt in myself, an underlying sense of anger and discord recently. After reading many other web log sites, I see that many of my peers are feeling angry as well.
New
M40. You can launch poop at that wiley, graphics hating Swede, Jakob.
I am getting so sick of the web. I am tired of journals and weblogs (what the fuck is the difference! I am sick of "e" and commercials about companies that don't even make money. I am fed up with
epinions, ecommerce,
and ebay.
I am tired of using 216 colors, and looking at the world through a 600 x 400 pixel box. I am tired of dithering and aliasing, and verdana. I am bored by the "web-culture" out there, and of clients choosing the worst designs.
I am soo over this site and all my sites and
all my friends' sites
I am tired of ranting and I know I feel like this every once and a while.
I need something to fall in love with again. I need to work outside of the industry for a while. I need to get time for my own thoughts and ideas to grow and evolve. I need the kick in the ass to really learn the programs I used often. I need inspiration to take that first damn art class.
I need to quit my bitching.
