If all else fails, move the furniture around a little bit.

Since the rules are now out the window, it seemed appropriate to direct my focus to where it was naturally drawn anyway: changing the look of the place. New header, new color scheme, some other minor tweaks here and there. I even made a feed logo to match the new title bar. You'd know that if you subscribed to my feed, which you'll notice you can do if you direct your attention to that sidebar over there on the right.

If the design still looks familiar that's because this is just a modified Blogger template. All I did was take the code from the template window in Blogger and paste it into Dreamweaver MX 2004. A little research led me in that direction. One of the good things about Dreamweaver is that it will highlight the code it doesn't recognize and sort of set it aside for you. That way you can still work with the code that it does. All I had to do was be careful not to delete anything that was referencing back to information stored in my Blogger account.

The good thing about the way the templates are set up in Blogger is that most everything is done using CSS. I knew that going into this but I really didn't understand what it meant until I got in there and starting messing with things. Not too long into the process it dawned on me that I could make 99% of the visual changes I wanted to make simply by making minor edits to the style sheet. The only "manual" change was dropping in that new banner.

This was a good project for a few reasons. First, I think it was a good beginner's exercise for working with CSS. I got to see a little bit of its potential by reverse engineering the stock template I was using and trying to get it looking a little more personalized. I'm far from the level of expertise needed to make something from scratch for the time being but I have gained more of an appreciation for CSS as a design tool.

Second, a little more work with Photoshop is always good. I had fun making the banner and feed logos and figuring out how to format them properly for their respective places. The whole design aspect of the experiment was good.

Finally, I have always been one to use changing things up as a remedy for stagnation. When I was a kid I was always changing my room around, messing with the lighting or replacing the posters tacked to the wall just to give myself the sense of having a new environment to inhabit. The outer world influences the inner one and vice versa.

The changes are a little less physical these days but have actually become more frequent: moment to moment instead of month to month. Now, instead of moving a bed to the opposite wall to get a fresh perspective I'm putting the bass down and picking up the guitar, putting the pen down and grabbing the digital camera, shutting the television off and lighting entire boxes of sparklers off in the backyard.

Incidentally, the sparkler thing was so fucking cool. Just be careful if you decide to try it. I used a cast iron outdoor fireplace in a nice, big, open space to do it. What a blast. Next time I'll get pictures.

The point is that keeping the creative output level up means feeding that need to keep things kinetic and fresh. Not only does it have the immediate benefit of ending that pointless inner staring contest that I sometimes find myself engaged in, but it opens up potential for even more alternative projects. In this case, I've come out of the experience realizing that there's a lot more tinkering to be done on this site. That's there whenever I'm ready to come back to it, just like the guitar, the camera and the pyrotechnics.

Focused, Responsible Blogging Be DAMNED!

I've tried. It's not for me. I can't do it. If you're looking for focused, topical commentary on this or that then I'm afraid you're just going to have to look elsewhere. There are several reasons why this is.

First off, I'm just like you. When I look at things it's for 2-5 seconds at a time. Yeah, I know how much time you spend here when you tumbleweeds happen to blow in. I'm watching. I'm always watching.


In the words of the immortal Geoff Tate: "I'm so close to you..."

2-5 seconds. That's it. The actual average visit time is about 10 minutes or so, but that's only because I park my browser on my own page and compulsively fuss and obsess over it for 25 minutes at a time. I do this throughout the day. When I'm not compulsively fussing over my Sitemeter stats, that is. Or checking in on my one (1) subscriber (THANK YOU FOR NOT ABANDONING ME).

I'm not complaining. This isn't an indictment of you. This is just me coming to terms with the situation. The acceptance phase. The reality is that jonglassett.com is just another lonely outpost for narcissism.

That's fine. It is what it is. A wise person once said that about something completely unrelated, but it rings true here. It is what it is. You are what you are. I am what I am. It is what it is. Stories of chipmunk rescues will only get you so many views. One has to either come to terms with that or take drastic measures like loading your blogs with scintillating search terms and tags. Placing phrases like "Screech Sex Tape" and "Dirty Goulet" and so on in your entries in the hope that some misguided cretin will roll in with the tide and stick around to read about your stumbling forays into wildlife rehabilitation.

Based on my web stats those people number in the tens. In the words of our hapless leader, "Bring it on!" Welcome, fellow misanthropes.

All of this is underscored by the fact that I am constantly trying to figure out ways to make this thing look better instead of writing better or more often. That comes with feeling technologically inadequate. This whole "chicken and egg" thing unfolds as I bounce between trying make the site look like like it was designed by a team of gov't code ninjas (ha! keep trying...) with all the hippest buttons and accoutrements and actually getting something up there that someone wants to take the time to look at.

Whoa.

Wait...is this a blog about blogging?

Being meta is so 2003.

What the hell was I saying?

Tune in next time when I talk about how, like, technology is totally awesome. I'll up the entertainment value by getting shitfaced first. That'll be swell.

-Jon

ps - I took pictures of the moon with my digital camera tonight. A couple of them turned out okay but I really would be interested in learning more about night photography. Got any links to share? Sure, I could search the information superhighway for this information myself but I want us to communicate. Actually, truth be told, even with all these resources so close at hand, a personal recommendation is always better. That's why I always ask, even at the risk of some jackass saying, "Um, yeah, there's this thing called 'Google' and you could use it to find things on the web." Yeah. Thanks, tool. There's this thing called 'outside' and you could spend some time there and learn some manners instead of playing World of Warcraft online or whatever it is you reclusive savants do when you're not trying to code virtual girlfriends or get the first bit torrent copies of Screech's sex tape.

Where was I?

A Gauntlet Has Been Thrown

Ladies and gentlemen, I have been issued a challenge. Witness this quote from a recent comment left here by my friend and co-worker, the proprietor of Almoorica:

"Inspired by your contagious enthusiasm for All Hallows Eve, Im proposing a group 'Jack-O-Lantern-Off' (yes i know i walked into a horrible masturbation joke with that sentence). Consider yerself challenged..."

Well, sir, as a matter of fact I do consider myself challenged. That notwithstanding, I accept your call to carve.

I have at my disposal an endless reservoir of creativity, an indominable will and a resplendent array of power tools. Prepare yourself for a jack o'lantern so magnificent and awe-inspiring as to cause the Headless Horseman himself to weep with joy (had he a head and, in it, eyes with which to weep).

Shall we discuss the stakes? Prizes? Punishment and humiliation for the individual who submits the most "Charlie Brown-esque" entry?

More Hot Photoshop Action

I was bored and came up with this:


Don't ask.

The Fix is In

Got to the bottom of it.

My web host had my account set at 20MB max storage when it should have been at 100MB. There was some junk in my directory that had me within 18K of my limit, so I was unable to post anything. Cleaning that up helped a lot. The support people tell me the problem should be fixed on their end in a few hours.

I've also come to realize that there's a need to better prepare the images I'm posting here so they're nice and compact but still look good. When I get a chance I'll have to go through them all and do that. Deleting them isn't a favorable option so optimization and replacement it is.

Anyone else noticing a recurring theme with out-of-control file sizes here? I've got to do a better job of that.

The feed got tweaked a little, too. That should be less unwieldy now. Again, big pic files were making some of the posts too big for Feedburner to manage.

There's much to be learned.

Broken

I'm having some technical issues, particularly with image posting and the feed from this site. Blogger's been going through some rough spots with the Beta thing, so getting help from them is a little tough. I'm doing what I can to fix things on my own and I hope to sort it all out very soon.

Thanks for your patience.

-Jon