I’m pretty sure those of you that follow the website have wondered as of late why I haven’t posted much. To be quite honest, it’s due to timing, crappy health, and lack of interest in writing.
However, I have a few write-ups coming.
- Why we should still consider ie6
- 4/16/07 reflection
- Journey into the world of drupal
- Sharam ‘Get Wild’ album review
Thanks to those that continue to visit.
Is it possible to be so focused in application design that you can absolutely lose your artistic touch with web design?
Lately I feel as though what comes natural isn’t anymore. Am I too focused with usability rather than a combination of usability, clean and inspiring design?
Am I under stress? I know its natural to have a dry spell.. but for this long?
Just thought I’d pass this awesome offer along to those that read the blog.
SitePoint is offering a deal to get 5 of their books in PDF format for only $29.99.
The beauty of it is that the proceeds are going to be donated to the victims of the Australian bushfires.
I’ve read a few of the books and some are hit or miss. I definitely recommend:
Check it out, its for a good cause!
For those that do a lot of work in interface design, this won’t necessarily be a new trick. However this could prove quite useful for those new to designing forms with css.
There is a bug within firefox that turns commonly important fields yellow (such as name, email or phone).
The simpliest way around the matter is to designate your input background as important. In the example below, the style is regarding all input tags.
input {
background:#fff !important;
}
Hope this helps!
February 3rd goes unrecognized to many as a significant day. However, for those that lived during the initial birth of the rock ‘n roll era, the date February 3rd, 1959 will live on forever as the day that tragedy took away three stars of the industry. The three were all pioneers of their time. Those three were one Buddy Holly, seventeen-year-old Ritchie Valens, and disc jockey J.P. Richardson - commonly known as “The Big Bopper”. Holly, arguably the most popular of the group, is cited as a major influence to many stars of the music industry including the Beatles (their name is a shout-out to Holly’s Crickets), Bob Dylan, Weezer, and many upon many more.
While on “The Winter Dance Party” tour, each of the artists played various mid-western venues. The tour had been challenging for all those on board due to the heating system failure on the bus and the treacherous winter weather that accompanied it. Along the tour’s stop in Clear Lake, Iowa on February 2nd, Holly had chartered a plane to avoid having to ride the bus to the next show. Richardson would later join the ride. Valens, as fate would have it, later won a coin toss to take the final seat on the small charter plane.
Unfortunately for the three bright stars of the rock ‘n roll era, weather and pilot inexperience would lead to doom. The plane was later found on February 3rd demolished in a corn field just outside of Clear Lake.
Don McLean later referred to it as “The Day the Music Died” in his song American Pie.
As one reads many articles written today commemorating the event, a sudden vibe of ‘this wasn’t the day the music died’ comes to mind. However, I beg to question: What if they had lived to continue their growth and influence? Holly was less than 3 years into his career, as Valens was just taking off and at least under a year into his career.
Sometimes genius is better preserved through tragedy. Then again, tragedy inspires those remaining to live up to the influence.
More Information:
The fortunate thing about a blackberry is I can write quick blogs about random thoughts.
- Thanks to all of the mentors in my life that pushed me to find answers and formulate educated opinions (meaning find the facts; hypothosize results from both arguments in the long term and THEN formulate my own opinion or choice of action).
- Ever wondered why companies are not as productive / feeling the heat of the economic stalemate? Seems like a big problem without a definite solution at the present time. Capitalism could be your best friend if you can find the solution.
- I really enjoy working with Virginia Tech. The people here are one-of-a-kind.
- Break is over… More thoughts to come….
Short and sweet - Underworld 3: Rise of the Lycans was better than the second installment (Underworld: Evolution), mostly tying the first movie. However, much like all of the Underworld movies, each have their styles that will please certain crowds, and most likely bore others.
Overall - I recommend seeing it if you need a break from reality, economy, or what Mrs. Obama will be wearing today.
Ok, I’m quite sure this will be the post that people will be the most angry about. Hopefully those of you that read this will take it with an open mind and see that its just to open thoughts and not shun.
Don’t spend what you don’t have.
This is a no-brainer for anyone wanting to get ahead in the world. Granted - it is indeed necessary sometimes to borrow money or seek investors to start a company. It goes with the saying “to make money - you have to spend money”. But overall, a lot of the time it turns out that people simply spend money that they will never earn. If you think about it, if you have millions upon millions buying more than they can afford, a government borrowing more money then it is earning, and the combo of the residents and the goverment itself spending money without turning that money around within the borders - you can easily see that some way, some how - the framework will have to eventually crumble. When it does - it will be nearly impossible to regain that super power strength.
Focus on what you need to get by
I’ve noticed in my own experiences and with many of my friends that we always like to buy things we simply don’t need. New video games, computers, cameras, shiny new clothes, and more add up to the purchases that we make on a monthly basis. I’m the most guilty of going to GameStop and buying games that are marked-down or on the $9.99 clearance rack. Do I need them? No. Do I play them and get my money’s worth? Maybe 50% of the time. Do I have the money to cover it? Yes.
The question at the end of the day though - if i cut all of those out… how much would I save each month?
Don’t bite off more than you can chew
This seems entirely like the first point that I made. Believe it or not, it is a different point entirely. Simply with the modern media, people are constantly overwhelmed with the idea of what the American dream is, how we should be living, and more. Sadly the idea has become that EVERYONE should own a big house, have a picket fence, a few pets, children, etc. The fact is - not everyone can afford to “ride the train” as my late grandpa would have put it.
What should one do? Buy what they can afford. Is a 2-bedroom house more affordable? Does it mean cutting off having a family for a few more years? Is it really a big sacrifice if it means there will be more security in the future?
Look for other ways to produce happiness
It is an age-old saying, but money doesn’t always buy happiness. Look for substance in life. Find things that may bring out a part of you that will do nothing more than bring you fufillment or happiness. This could include volunteering, exercising, helping others, taking up a hobby, going for a walk, and more. Be creative - its a wild, widespread, and adventureful life out there.
Although we live in a time of great risk, we’re not going to solve any problems by borrowing money we can’t pay back, spending money we don’t have, and by trying to over-save every dime and nickel that comes through our hands.
America is no longer a producing country and relies heavily on the service industry. Do remember that if there isn’t a money flow, the companies that assist you may not stand a chance of being around tomorrow. Together, if we are careful with our transcations, do our best to help the community and ourselves, and avoid from the doom and gloom picture painted by the media - then we can take the economy to where it needs to be.
And if you must ask…
We can bring the economy back to a point of pride - where Americans are producing for Americans, not worrying about saving a few pennies, and together strengthening the economy on the basis for which this country was founded.
It was expected that Washington D.C. Would see a lot of spectators for the historic inaguration of Barack Obama. Although, I bet network admins around the world may have not expected the large amount of online spectators.
I will post more thoughts later this evening.
*image credit to 
http://obamamedia.wordpress.com/*
One of my goals for 2009 is to launch at least 2 fan-related web sites. One that I launched in 2007, MichaelJackson1Stop.com, never really got the attention it deserved. It was a project I launched during my crucial last semester of college with a full-time 90 hour week work schedule (sounds fun right?).
The original idea was for a site that brought together various RSS feeds to produce a single web site that fans could go to to reach the various news/content/media related to Michael Jackson. However, I only found time to put up a simple Michael Jackson discography, biography, and limited links.
I have now uploaded a new layout and content to the site, which was very bare beforehand. New features include:
Check it out at www.michaeljackson1stop.com.