Recently in design & content Category
Most of this site is made up of "weblogs" that do not have date based archives, out of the 8 sections, only 2 are true date based weblogs. No, I didn't include pizzaorme cos, well, I didn't.
So, for writing sections the index page has the categories and individual entries, easy to do cos most entries have titles like Part 1, Part 2 etc. For picture sections the index is kind of a mix.
For d&f my biggest regret was losing the 3x3 format. So I thought about it, and tried to put the categories and entries in a div that's defined as 150x150 boxes.
So, in the index template replace:
<MTCategories> <h2 class="date"><a href="<$MTCategoryArchiveLink$>"><$MTCategoryLabel$></a></h2> <$MTCategoryDescription$><br /><br /> <MTEntries sort_by="title" sort_order="ascend"> <a href="<$MTEntryPermalink$>"><$MTEntryTitle$></a> <br /> </MTEntries> <br /> </MTCategories>
with:
<MTCategories> <div class="box150"><span class="smalltitle"><a href="<$MTCategoryArchiveLink$>"><$MTCategoryLabel$></a></span> <$MTCategoryDescription$><br /><br /> <MTEntries sort_by="title" sort_order="ascend"> <a href="<$MTEntryPermalink$>"><$MTEntryTitle$></a> <br /> </MTEntries> </div> </MTCategories>
The box 150 div class is defined as:
.box150 { /* creates boxes 150x150px */
float:left;
font-family: verdana, arial, geneva, helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size: 9px;
color: #999999;
margin: 1px;
padding: 4px;
width: 150px;
height: 150px;
border-width: thin;
border-style: solid;
border-color: #cccccc #999999 #999999 #cccccc;
}
I haven't abandoned updating this, it's just that I haven't done anything major to the site lately and definitely nothing technical. Mostly it's been updating quiet thoughts and pizzaorme.
The last few days I've done a fair bit of writing on hidden doors, now I've got 4 published stories all ongoing, one in draft form, and at least 2 in my brain waiting to be written.
I'm building content.
or more likely, running desperately behind the coat-tails of giants.
From Dave Shea, an article on mezzoblue which references a survey comparing the design of 10 famous and widely read web designers.
For me, who runs a small potato personal website, it's interesting to see where these sites are similar and where they are different. These are the supposed masters (“gurus”) of the web design world, whatever one feels, be it that they are just a bunch of mutually back-slapping geeks, or wow-inspiring gods, their work have a certain weight in the web design world.
Now, I'm not a web designer, nor even a normal designer. So these surveys are interesting to peep into what the big people do.
So how does little invisiblecompany compare?
- Are links underlined? (8/10 yes)
I didn't used to, cos I don't like underlining. But having visited so many sites where links are underlined, and mostly in a different colored text, I've gone with the flow on some parts of the site. On the weblog I use border-bottom: dotted, which looks nicer than a solid underline. On the menu and sidebar only the hover is underlined. - Are hovered links underlined? (8/10 yes)
If a link isn't underlined, hovered links are underlined. If it already has a dotted underline, it doesn't change on hover, although thinking about it, I might change that to show that the link is clickable. - Do visited links differentiate? (8/10 yes)
I'm not that keen, partly because I'm trying to keep text colours minimum. I actually hate the blue for unvisited, red for visited convention, it makes the page look ugly. - Is the layout in fixed width? (6/10 yes)
The debate on fixed width vs liquid layout is a bit over my head. - Is there a search box on the page? (50/50 split)
Where the section is MT powered, I include the search box, it searches through all the MT powered pages, ie everything in the mt-entries database. I'm not at a level where I know how to extend to the non MT pages. - Is there a right sidebar (7/10 yes)
The argument is because we read from left to right, the left side of the page catches the eye more. Hmmm, I dunno, I wonder when people started putting sidebar on the right, cos they used to be on the left. And the preponderance of the 2 column in the middle with a coloured background (MT/Typepad look), what did that happen? - Is there a left sidebar? (1/10 yes)
Yes, my sidebar is on the left. I've thought about switching to a 3 column layout, but no, it's still 2 column. - Is there a top clickable logo? (10/10 yes)
If I argue that the top menu bar is part of the logo then yes. But that's a good idea, having the logo link back to the top page of a particular section. - Is there a repetitive footer? (10/10 yes)
Er, I don't know how to do footers yet. - Is the main text on white background? (8/10 yes)
Me too. I really hate unreadable text on weird or dark backgrounds, I always click out of those sites. - Is the main text sans-serif? (9/10 yes)
Oh yes. I've never liked serif fonts. Hate 'em. - Is the DOCTYPE Strict? (6/10 yes)
Obvious, cos they're experienced designers. But even then, only 6 out of 10 go for strict xhtml. I'll stick to Transitional, thank you very much. - Do they use accesskeys? (2/10 yes)
Ok, now I feel so stupid I don't know what accesskeys are. - Do they use ‘Steal these’ buttons? (2/10 yes)
That's the geek in me, I like these buttons. - Is there a header graphic? (7/10 yes)
Yes, I did the logo. - Is the copyright explicit? (9/10 yes)
Nope, it's hidden as white text on white background. See next question. - Is the designer’s full name present? (8/10 yes)
No. No. No. This is a personal website. I'm not selling anything, I'm not selling my services. Plus parts of this site doesn't pass the is it Mom-safe test. So no. - Is there a print style sheet? (6/10 yes)
Nope. I don't get (m)any visitors, let alone visitors who want to print the pages. - Does the navigation bar use image rollovers? (6/10 yes)
Bit beyond my abilities right now. - Is the page UTF-8 encoded? (6/10 yes)
See question above. - Is the page XHTML? (7/10 yes)
Oh yes. I wonder who the other 3 are. - Is there a XML prolog? (0/10 yes)
Nah. I'm with the pros there. - Are quotes educated? (8/10 yes)
I try to use “ and ” or &#ldquo; and &#rdquot; nowadays, except there's a bit temptation to just type and sometimes I forget. - Is there a 404 page? (6/10 yes)
I think he means custom 404 page. Then yes. It's more than a boring 404 page but isn't full blown fun like some, I happen to think that error pages shouldn't look too much like regular pages, otherwise people don't realise they're on an error page. - Is there more than 6 navigation elements? (1/10 yes)
Meaning is there more than 6 sections? Yeah, but I'd like to think the sections are pretty clear.
I'm basically going to use MT to power the semi-static pages like the writing pages, the gallery and travels section.
First thing after creating the new weblog is to delete the date-based archives. I can set "posts" to display according to alphabetical rather than chronological order. In the main index template where entries are displayed set the rules:
<MTEntries sort_by="title" sort_order="ascend">
For innermost room I have:
Categories = sections
Entries = pieces
I don't have long pieces that need to be split up, so it's ok to stop at that level. Displaying category archive pages end up showing all the entries, but that's no big.
For hidden doors I have:
Categories = stories, category descriptions is where the rating, summary info is held
Entries = chapters, summary of each chapter in the excerpt
I set the category archive so the excerpt is displayed with each chapter rather than the entire chapter. Where MTEntries normall go, replace with:
<$MTEntryExcerpt$>
</$MTEntryExcerpt$><br />
(<MTWordCount> words)
Oh yeah, I downloaded this nifty plugin that counts words in each entry.
For gull's way I have:
Categories = country
Entries = trips
I don't even need subcategories. Well, not yet anyway.
I'm using MT to power shiny parts, so updates are in weblog format. I created a new weblog in the MT edit menu and copied the templates over from quiet thoughts. I'll also be moving the technical entries over from quiet thoughs to shiny parts. While I'm at it I'm switching the pages to php.
There will be a few pages within shiny parts that are not inside MT, like the sitemap, siteplan and old homepages. They'll just sit in the folder.
Yet another page converted to php and, look, no tables!
I've been reading up a lot on MT, CSS, php and learnt a great deal. Some people power their entire website on MT. I've decided not to do that 100%, because some of it doesn't sit in a weblog interface environment. Also I have Dreamweaver, and I'm beginning to handcode some pages, so I don't need to rely solely on MT. Even though I think the people who do use MT all through their sites do so because they are so good at it.
The biggest advantages are: consistency, structure and the ability to update using a web interface. I like it.
But as usual, once I discover something it changes and something which may be perceived to be better comes along. Just after I get properly started on MT, and I'm on MT 2.661, they announce MT3D, a developers edition of version 3. Lots more new stuff, but at a price. They've just today announced they are revising the pricing structure, still it's $70 for a personal license, that provides support and is limited to 5 authors. It's a better deal than the first pricing proposal, which limits the number of weblogs also. If the no. of logs are limited, people like me won't then have the luxury of using one log per section.
Then after reading up more, I discover WordPress. Sigh. Just great.
I moved all the tripod weblog entries over here, painstakingly, manually. So now I'm on Movable Type. Cool.
For the website, conversion to xhtml is complete, but there's a whole lot more work to be done on formats and stuff. Next project is to convert to php, of course.
Content-wise, I'm adding to recipes, and need to start working on the food & drink pages. Writing on both innermost room and hidden doors continue.
One step at a time, right.
The travel section is up at gull's way. Where does the name come from? It's been in my mind since I was young, one of those that came to me suddenly and stuck around. Mostly pictures I don't really know what to write.
It's so clichéd isn't it, every personal webpage has a My Travels section. They usually also have ubituitous My writing and My Pictures sections too. I hate being normal and boring like that. It's so frustrating.
What's left? Finish miscellaneous section, invite members to join, do an faq and start on restricted section. Oh, and move the weblog. Still a fair way to go.
Completed about 75% of delicacies & frivolities which, for want of a better description, is the catch-all miscellaneous section for various homes, food, iPod and other stuff that's important to me.
habitat
Where I put floorplans of the places I've lived in, it was something I started when I moved to NY, to show friends and family how my apartment looked like. I have to be careful to keep to the theme of this section and not digress into travelogue and pictures which needs to go into the travel section. So far only NY and Zurich are finished.
musicality
My mp3s. When I downloaded the full list it was too big to open in Simpletext so I had to email it to work and sort it out in Word and Excel. Sigh. I really have to succumb to prejudice and get Office at home. This is the only page with frames, not keen on them but I need to show the title of the list. Split the entire list up according to playlists, cos that's how I think of how the iPod is organised anyway.
use your loaf
This is a favourite phrase of ours at work right now. Loaf of bread is rhyming slang for head, so use your loaf means use your head dummy. Hee. Anyway it took me the whole day to organise and type out the recipes and I was quite tired of it at the end. Should be useful though, no need to flip through books, magazines or notebooks. Can send to other people easily as well.
drive
A picture of the Golf, that's all.
Last night I started work on the travel section. Lots of photos to organise and diatribe to write. Started with Hokkaido cos it's the most recent trip and the one where I had the most pictures (we took nearly 10 rolls of film altogether). Even with splitting the trip to 2 pages and trying to trim down the size of the jpgs I need to test how it would load on a 56k connection. This whole travel section will probably end up bigger that I expected.
As if it matters. Website is currently at 6MB, I have 327MB left. It's a no brainer.
Some weekends I'm so busy I don't have time to fire up the machine. Others are so free I do nothing but sit in front of the screen all day. This weekend was a mixture of both. Saturday I was out virtually all day and I only had a 30 minute window which I used to look at scanners. Today was a productive day. Added a couple more pages.
Stained glass window of our soul
Finally, some pictures. Lakes. Mountains. Coastlines. Houses. Collected over the years. No portraits yet. I don't have any with people I think can be added here.
Took a whole day to sort out these babies. Resize. Layers. Adjust curves. Make thumbnail. Combine to make image map so the first page doesn't take forever to load on slower machines.
First uploade has 21 pictures, one html page per image. Now you know why it took all day.
Sum of all shiny parts
Derived from "the sum of all parts". Image of various macs layered in Photoshop and made into an animated gif in ImageReady.
Mainly a log for myself to follow the progress. And to show technical stuff. Yes people, there is a master plan of sorts.
Initial results were not good, text size too big, wrong font on display, wrong position on screen, crappy table format. So I knew I had to bite the bullet, switch to a newer version of Dreamweaver and learn CSS. I know, I know, I'm so far behind the times I'm only now learning how to use style sheets? Would I be a misguided, overly proud person if I said I managed to learn the basics in one afternoon? Alright, I'm not an expert but I got the results I wanted. The price is I have to re-do every page I'd done so far.
Homepage
The image on the top right that looks like two hands around a shiny light crystal ball is a photo I had since forever, I think it's an overexposure at the end of a roll of a film. It's a real, untouched photo. I'm using it as my logo. The logo itself was constructed using a program called TOFFY at my previous company.
The photo on the left is of Luzern in Beautiful Switzerland. Unfortunately this will not be the last time you'll hear me pronounce my profound adoration of Switzerland.
Messages from the innermost room
The title came from some lyrics I wrote a long time ago. The lyrics weren't very good but I like the title. The photo of the boat was taken in the Lake District and overexposed on photoshop.
At some stage of a friendship I will ask a friend what they really wanted to do if they didn't have to work and money wasn't an issue. For me, the answer is to write. I don't pretend to be a professional or even an amateur with a modicum of talent. All I know is I need to get the thoughts and feelings out of my head. Most of my writing was done in a splurge when I was in college, as soon as I started working I found it difficult to tap into the proverbial creative wells. No big surprise, I'm as normal as the next person.
One of the reasons behind getting the website going again is to get all the random bits of paper floating round into one place in the hope that I can work on them. Recently getting into fanfic helps in the motivation factor also.
Started work on homepage. In continuous change. It's the most important page so I need to put most work into it.
Personal page is a collection of little bits about me yet they don't reveal too much. Title comes from my desire to include hangups (paranoia) and other stuff (paraphernalia). Image is of the beach chair in Nice plus a diffusion filter.
A long time ago I registered invisiblecompany.com. 1997 I think. Or 1999. Way back when xoom hosted free webpages that's where the site was. Very basic design on Claris Homepage, incorrect use of tables, no CSS, crappy images. A bit embarassing really.
Last updated page on my machine was dated 15 Sep 2000.
In the intervening years I had other things on my mind, like moving countries 3 times in 3 years, different work environments, changing jobs, breaking up, making up.
Now my interest is back, so here I am. Major redesign. Managed to learn a few tricks this time round. There's actually a siteplan.
