Site Enhancements
August 31, 2006
Maybe it's the summer doldrums that have been keeping me from posting an entry on this blog for the past couple weeks, or maybe it's the photography gigs I've had, or maybe it's just the lack of anything interesting to write.
One thing is for sure, though — I haven't been collecting dust. And while the site's content has been getting stale, some of the innards have been freshened up. I've made the search feature more robust, and added a little "advanced search" option on every page. I haven't the foggiest idea what anyone would want to search for, but the capability is there if anyone wants to use it.
Also, I know that when I switched the design of the site to use a fixed-width layout for the main content, some people with really wide, high-resolution monitors were confronted with a lot of wasted space. So, I put together a little "widescreen bonus" section that only appears if your browser window is wide enough to accommodate it. For some reason, I can't get it to work quite right on the Safari web browser for the Mac (it only appears when you manually resize the window, not immediately when a page loads), but it shows up just fine in IE and Firefox. The bonus column shows links and descriptions of noteworthy articles that I've read on the web as well as a "blogroll," or list of links to other blogs and web sites that I like to visit.
There are some other little tweaks here and there, little usability things not worth mentioning and barely noticeable to anyone not looking for them. But there is one other added feature that I'm particularly fond of, a little Harry Potteresqe magic trick that changes the entire look of the site. A hidden key somewhere on the home page unlocks a whole new look to the site — one that is a little rough around the edges but just fine for the few people that might stumble upon it. And how to get back to the old world charm? Seek the children. Oooh, mysterious!
Comments (6)
I'm sure that Debbi and I have lots of company - it was fun to find the key, and what it unlocks!
Sep 1, 2006 ; 8:25 AM
Hey, glad you guys found the key and liked the little surprise. Our family, especially Ben, has been on a Harry Potter binge this summer, so it was fun to drop a little "portkey" into this tiny corner of our Muggle world.
Sep 1, 2006 ; 8:34 AM
Help! I want to find said key; any clues?
~Nicole
Sep 8, 2006 ; 10:43 AM
For you, Nicole, sure:
- If you're using Internet Explorer, get Firefox and use it instead. It's a much better browser. The key will be easier to find with Firefox, and prettier once you do find it.
- Look for a place on the page where a key is likely to go.
- In other words, look for a keyhole
- ...at the top of the page
- ...on the home page.
Sep 8, 2006 ; 11:19 AM
Hi!
I had tried to find the key in this exact place (I'm not as dumb as I look!), but you were correct, natch, that using Firefox made the task easier. HOw fun, especially to see the pic of Ben and Lucia in color.
Thanks again, genius boy...
Nicole
Sep 11, 2006 ; 7:20 PM
I found the key! I am so excited! Oh the things that excite you at 7:13 am! I like the little picture of Ben and Lucy in the left corner-- the shade of green makes them appear almost ghost-like, was that intentional? Very neat idea!
Sep 1, 2006 ; 7:15 AM