Archive for May 11th, 2007
Welcome addition to dogma questioning comics
May 11th, 2007 • comic, funny, web
Culled this from my feeds earlier today and gave it a quick spin. Unlike LOL God, which also offers some pretty good macros or comics, this one comes with a discussion. The first one many of you will see is Satan betting God over Job and if Satan can turn him evil.
Many of the strips are like this and are originals, not pulled from another source. This’ll be going on my blogroll for sure.
Best MySpace-related quote ever
May 11th, 2007 • myspace, quote
The TV was left on from earlier and I just overheard the ever so wise news anchor say this at the conclusion of their Myspace segment;
Yeah, it’s amazing to see this thing go from zero to nothing.
I wish I were joking. I wish I could pull the video off my DVR for this because it’s amazing.
3 column layouts for sites
May 11th, 2007 • design, layout, reviewme, reviews, web
Many years ago, I was a web designer on the forefront of the now commonplace table-less layout. Places like CSS Zen Garden didn’t exist and many people were still stuck wrapping their heads around a 2 column table-less design. Then someone came up with the old Holy Grail: completely fluid 3 column designs. Now, three column designs are not new in any sense, they’ve been employed in other media for a very long time — namely newspapers. A lot of software back in 2002-2003 used them but only with tables, software such as PHP Nuke and all of its horrible branches used — and still do — a stock 3 column layout. You’ve all seen them: two smaller flanking columns around a larger one that is supposed to ‘attract’ your eyes to the content. Problem is they’re so widely used and so full of cruft that you frequently lose sight of the content itself. Thankfully, I left that game a long time ago when I realized everyone was going to be copying the work I’d done and the others before me.
Now there’s a new 3 column layout: a large block for content with two side-by-side flanking columns for everything else (but mostly ads). These are very common these days as well. You can find one almost anywhere, especially in the blogosphere where people want to do one thing and do it well: monetization and displaying ads. However, this design is not a true 3 column layout, the side-by-side flanking columns are almost always nested inside a larger box and split vertically. This makes them truly a two column layout with nested boxes — something not so easy when I was doing this. These designs are becoming all too common place for my liking.
This brings me to the whole point of this: the PurpleCrunch 3 column WordPress theme. Aside from being purple, I saw this design a while ago and it’s still uninspiring. It’s a pastel purple which, while easy on the eyes, reminds me of grape juice. Luckily, the only purple is the background and the link text as you can see here. This brings me full circle to the concept of 3 column layouts versus the flanking columns nested side-by-side in another box. Glancing at the source of this theme, this is exactly what this layout does. If you want to be pedantic about it, it’s actually merely three boxes. The outer box encapsulates the content and the right flanking column, each with its own <div> making them singular boxes nested in another. The flanking column is then split in two: left and right and each is given its own <div>. These designs are tired and uninspiring.
Overall, I remember when the box model of CSS2 was to be the catalyst for creative design but all I see is a bunch of the same. They were highly creative and original in late 2004 and early 2005 but that was then. These days, the problem isn’t a lack of creativity, it’s a lack of motivation to be creative. Honestly, if I’d found this theme back when I was helping maintain Greymatter, I would have dumped it and switched to WordPress far sooner. The next time I need to blend in with the crowd, I’ll think about using this theme.
The preceding has been a sponsored post.