Sunday, February 15, 2004
Et voila!
Better late than never: Happy Valentine's Day everyone!!!
Back on topic, what you see is the result of boredom at just past 12 in the morning. And do you know the hardest bit? Figuring out where that "about" box should go. I decided that I didn't want one big sidebar like the first design, so I had to find some way of moving it around. I was going to have it go top-left, with the rest of the blog just kind of oozing down the middle, but that didn't look as good as I wanted. So you have the result. Probably not the last of changes either. For example, as soon as I find my copy of Photoshop, I'm going to try and whip up a nifty little title graphic to replace the rather lackluster one you see there. But that can come later, as for now it is time for me to talk about... things.
Things
So if you aren't bowing before the new layout, well, you should. I'm rather proud of it, since this is one of the more firstish forays into the fun happy land of CSS. Turns out you can do just about anything with regards to layout and styles and stuff with webpages and things. Definitely something worth learning if you plan on doing any web development. Anyways, one of the new additions made is this likes/dislikes thing at the top. Just kind of an introduction thing if you're new, which I somehow doubt that anyone reading this is. Not that I'm questioning my audience here, it's just that I have a hard time believing anyone's Googled their way here yet. And that, in turn, is largely a result of Google not having put my site into their database yet. So yeah. Anyways, I feel I should clarify the dislikes I've got there, since they may or may not cause some confusion. By "stupid people", I don't necessarily mean people who are not smart, but rather ignorant people who blind themselves to truths and refuse to learn. Pisses me off to no end. And by "double standards", I mean exactly that: things that are ok for one group for one reason or another, but not fine for another, equivalent group for no reason at all. Now some may think "that ain't right", since I'm probably one of the larger hypocrites I know, but the way I see it is that being hypocritical is fine since it's only one person. When you have many many folks being hypocritical, you have a double standard. One of those "exception becomes the norm" thingamajigs. Lastly, by "street clothes", I mean the whole "belt your pants at the ankles", "have a stocking thing under a crooked cap", and not so much wearing your insanely baggy clothes as much as hanging them on your person. Now I don't have anything against baggy clothes, it's just that you still need to conform to the purpose of said clothes, and that means belts are for waists, not knees. Call me old-fashioned, but that's my opinion. It might also have to do with the personalities of people who tend to wear said clothes rubbing me the wrong way, so there's also that. In closing, I've also added my instant message info for anyone who feels like chatting. I'm usually available whenever I'm at home (since my apartment is little more than a big room, so I can hear it bling) so feel free (only if you're not a jerk though).
More things. Hyperthings, perhaps.
So I just saw Cube 2: Hypercube recently, and figured I'd share my thoughts. Basically, if you like the first Cube, then this one probably won't disappoint... that badly. It is definitely a B-movie, with nary a celebrity in the whole thing and a hefty dose of questionable acting, but the concepts set out in the first one are (sort of) brought to the next level in Cube 2. Once again, you've got a bunch of seemingly-unconnected people stuck in a big construct of cubes, and once again, they need to figure their way out. As premises go, there are worse, and again, since the set is basically just the same room over and over again, it's easy to film, but like I said, if you've seen the first one, things are very similar here. You've got the same sort of math-slant to everything, but the puzzles are not quite the same (although references to the first one are made). Basically, it's just another really weird movie that is kinda fun to follow along, if only to see how the next person dies, or what next evil thing the cube throws at them (although all the creative traps from the first one are ditched in favor of more subtle quirks). I liked it, for the most part, but it isn't for everyone.
Another little fun thing I read about a couple of days ago (see, a lot of the stuff I write about doesn't go up as I find it, since I keep my ideas and links in a kind of queue, so to speak) is some new technology about delivering internet access. Turns out some companies down in the States are toying with the ability to deliver the 'net through the power grid (that isn't the article I read, but it covers the same thing). The idea has promise, and the FCC okayed it, last I checked, so you just may plug the modem of the future into the same outlet that can power your toaster. Also makes for interesting thoughts on appliances that use networking or the internet. Don't ask me why your oven would need email, but if someone will pay for it...
!!!sdrawkcab yaeY
Couple of links that Harrm shot me a while ago. First up is a creepy little movie off of New Grounds. I don't have a clue what it's about, but it is super cool, and has a killer soundtrack. Don't know the language though...
Next is a set of neato web games, all to do with spy stuff! Now I'm sure that this isn't how we, I mean, they do it, but it's close enough for gameplay purposes. I managed to get a 100% first try on the briefing thing! Seems having a near-photographic memory does help out every now and again.
In a very sad story, it seems we may not be able to look into space quite the same way for a little while. Seems NASA has said 'no' to the upkeep of Hubble, and the whole thing is going to crash into the Earth somewhere in 2007 or so. Too bad, really, since it's a really valuable resource for looking backwards in time, essentially. I finished reading Asimov's The Universe a while ago, and I'm curious about some of the new theories about space that have surfaced since the writing of that book (sixties or so...). I also have a copy of Carl Sagan's Cosmos here, but I'm holding off on that one. I'll let you know (as usual) how it is when I get around to it.
So I guess that's about it for now. Until tomorrow, may you never write notes to remind you of things to write about in your blog and then completely forget what they mean the next day. Like the time I forgot to mention the ice sculptures sometime last week, and I scribbled "ICE" on a scrap of paper in the middle of the night, since it occured to me, and the next day I was all like "Ice? What does that mean? Was I going to write about drinks or something?" Then I remembered and it was all good, but don't do that. It causes "teh crazy". ¶ 4:17 p.m.
Better late than never: Happy Valentine's Day everyone!!!
Back on topic, what you see is the result of boredom at just past 12 in the morning. And do you know the hardest bit? Figuring out where that "about" box should go. I decided that I didn't want one big sidebar like the first design, so I had to find some way of moving it around. I was going to have it go top-left, with the rest of the blog just kind of oozing down the middle, but that didn't look as good as I wanted. So you have the result. Probably not the last of changes either. For example, as soon as I find my copy of Photoshop, I'm going to try and whip up a nifty little title graphic to replace the rather lackluster one you see there. But that can come later, as for now it is time for me to talk about... things.
Things
So if you aren't bowing before the new layout, well, you should. I'm rather proud of it, since this is one of the more firstish forays into the fun happy land of CSS. Turns out you can do just about anything with regards to layout and styles and stuff with webpages and things. Definitely something worth learning if you plan on doing any web development. Anyways, one of the new additions made is this likes/dislikes thing at the top. Just kind of an introduction thing if you're new, which I somehow doubt that anyone reading this is. Not that I'm questioning my audience here, it's just that I have a hard time believing anyone's Googled their way here yet. And that, in turn, is largely a result of Google not having put my site into their database yet. So yeah. Anyways, I feel I should clarify the dislikes I've got there, since they may or may not cause some confusion. By "stupid people", I don't necessarily mean people who are not smart, but rather ignorant people who blind themselves to truths and refuse to learn. Pisses me off to no end. And by "double standards", I mean exactly that: things that are ok for one group for one reason or another, but not fine for another, equivalent group for no reason at all. Now some may think "that ain't right", since I'm probably one of the larger hypocrites I know, but the way I see it is that being hypocritical is fine since it's only one person. When you have many many folks being hypocritical, you have a double standard. One of those "exception becomes the norm" thingamajigs. Lastly, by "street clothes", I mean the whole "belt your pants at the ankles", "have a stocking thing under a crooked cap", and not so much wearing your insanely baggy clothes as much as hanging them on your person. Now I don't have anything against baggy clothes, it's just that you still need to conform to the purpose of said clothes, and that means belts are for waists, not knees. Call me old-fashioned, but that's my opinion. It might also have to do with the personalities of people who tend to wear said clothes rubbing me the wrong way, so there's also that. In closing, I've also added my instant message info for anyone who feels like chatting. I'm usually available whenever I'm at home (since my apartment is little more than a big room, so I can hear it bling) so feel free (only if you're not a jerk though).
More things. Hyperthings, perhaps.
So I just saw Cube 2: Hypercube recently, and figured I'd share my thoughts. Basically, if you like the first Cube, then this one probably won't disappoint... that badly. It is definitely a B-movie, with nary a celebrity in the whole thing and a hefty dose of questionable acting, but the concepts set out in the first one are (sort of) brought to the next level in Cube 2. Once again, you've got a bunch of seemingly-unconnected people stuck in a big construct of cubes, and once again, they need to figure their way out. As premises go, there are worse, and again, since the set is basically just the same room over and over again, it's easy to film, but like I said, if you've seen the first one, things are very similar here. You've got the same sort of math-slant to everything, but the puzzles are not quite the same (although references to the first one are made). Basically, it's just another really weird movie that is kinda fun to follow along, if only to see how the next person dies, or what next evil thing the cube throws at them (although all the creative traps from the first one are ditched in favor of more subtle quirks). I liked it, for the most part, but it isn't for everyone.
Another little fun thing I read about a couple of days ago (see, a lot of the stuff I write about doesn't go up as I find it, since I keep my ideas and links in a kind of queue, so to speak) is some new technology about delivering internet access. Turns out some companies down in the States are toying with the ability to deliver the 'net through the power grid (that isn't the article I read, but it covers the same thing). The idea has promise, and the FCC okayed it, last I checked, so you just may plug the modem of the future into the same outlet that can power your toaster. Also makes for interesting thoughts on appliances that use networking or the internet. Don't ask me why your oven would need email, but if someone will pay for it...
!!!sdrawkcab yaeY
Couple of links that Harrm shot me a while ago. First up is a creepy little movie off of New Grounds. I don't have a clue what it's about, but it is super cool, and has a killer soundtrack. Don't know the language though...
Next is a set of neato web games, all to do with spy stuff! Now I'm sure that this isn't how we, I mean, they do it, but it's close enough for gameplay purposes. I managed to get a 100% first try on the briefing thing! Seems having a near-photographic memory does help out every now and again.
In a very sad story, it seems we may not be able to look into space quite the same way for a little while. Seems NASA has said 'no' to the upkeep of Hubble, and the whole thing is going to crash into the Earth somewhere in 2007 or so. Too bad, really, since it's a really valuable resource for looking backwards in time, essentially. I finished reading Asimov's The Universe a while ago, and I'm curious about some of the new theories about space that have surfaced since the writing of that book (sixties or so...). I also have a copy of Carl Sagan's Cosmos here, but I'm holding off on that one. I'll let you know (as usual) how it is when I get around to it.
So I guess that's about it for now. Until tomorrow, may you never write notes to remind you of things to write about in your blog and then completely forget what they mean the next day. Like the time I forgot to mention the ice sculptures sometime last week, and I scribbled "ICE" on a scrap of paper in the middle of the night, since it occured to me, and the next day I was all like "Ice? What does that mean? Was I going to write about drinks or something?" Then I remembered and it was all good, but don't do that. It causes "teh crazy". ¶ 4:17 p.m.
