Recently...
3 MAR 2001
1PM 
The team at bareSquare takes a satirical look web design paractices in the Flash-animated Writers Block. Interesting, because it's true. Now, if I can just find a way to include some random phrases around the edges of this page...
28 FEB 2001
11PM
Dave Elfving of Greasy Skillet has created this table-less version of the Skillet log page. Though the revamped layout won't go into regular use, it serves as a valuable proof of concept. In Mr. Elfving's words, "It can be done."
27 FEB 2001
8AM
Because I know you're dying to know: Centering with CSS.
25 FEB 2001
4PM
Dairy Queen is now accepting $200 bills bearing the likeness of President George W. Bush. It's all about the Dubyas, baybee. On a related but unrelated note, The Smoking Gun has footage of our 43rd President at a wedding reception.
For your entertainment, stick figures interpret five of your favorite movies over at Dack.com's Cell Phone Theater. Don't worry - you can view the movies on your personal computer too. And I'm sure the chatters out there will appreciate Habbo Hotel, a Shockwave-based graphical chat environment. You might even spot me in the hotel lobby sometime... but probably not.
23 FEB 2001
1PM
If you have a couple of minutes to burn, play a little Traffic Trouble 2.0 - a game at delicious62. Warning: Flash required. I cannot link directly to the game, so you'll have to find it yourself - the site uses HTML frames and Flash. Someone at delicious62 should think a little more about usability.
I may disagree with David Chess about the value of Cascading Style Sheets, but his short essay on the subject is rather amusing. If you know of any other online writings lamenting the imminent death of presentational markup (FONT tags, CENTER tags, etc.), please email the URL's to me. I'll post them here.
21 FEB 2001
6PM
It's an honor to appear (as a link) on Mr. Zeldman's Daily Report. I'll consider this to be positive feedback - motivation to continue my work here. At least I know that my weekend-long web standards binge was not in vain.
On a web design and development note... Remember that separating style from structure is not about using Cascading Style Sheets to format your table-based HTML layouts. It's about using HTML to indicate the logical structure of a document. Then CSS can help to make it pretty for selected media. Those of us toiling in the world of e-commerce web development will be living with evil table-based layouts for a while to come. But no-one should still be using the FONT tag. Browser support for basic CSS text formatting is adequate to good for the vast majority of web users, making it difficult to justify the use of the structurally meaningless FONT tag. Some quick guidelines from the W3C.
Are there any Palm users out there? I'm interested to know if this site is usable on mobile computing devices. I'd appreciate your comments - email me.
18 FEB 2001
10PM
You are now free to move about the cabin - BlueRobot version 1.1 is off the ground. Since version 1.1 complies with current web standards, those of you with "older" browsers may experience some turbulence. For the best user experience, upgrade to a browser that supports web standards.
For the code-geeks: Yes, it validates. An account of my web standards adventure will surface here soon. It will include at least two reasons why IE5/Mac is not the super-browser you think it is.
16 FEB 2001
4PM
My current life (look for the blue flames), as mapped to Heather Champ's triangular theory of life.
3PM
Yesterday, I ate lunch at a place called Bagels.com, a bagel shop and internet café combined. Great concept. One problem: there isn't even a real web page at the domain bagels.com. Hmmm... Please tell me that the café owns the domain, but hasn't yet launched a website. Because the alternative (having a dot-com restaurant name without owning the actual domain) is just plain laughable.
11AM
A List Apart has been redesigned to comply with web standards. Bravo, Zeldman and company! Version 1.1 of this site will be constructed using standards-compliant markup, so upgrade your browsers.
15 FEB 2001
1PM
It's 1PM. I'm waiting in a colorful lobby, while Jill battles in a room one floor above.
It's an interview. The kind of interview that husbands take time off from work to drive their wives to.
It's 1PM. To calm my nerves and pass the time, I sketch my wristwatch with a mechanical pencil.
It's a watch that Jill gave to me. The type of watch that scuba divers use, or at least I imagine so.
It's 1PM. I shouldn't be this nervous...
14 FEB 2001
11AM
In our continuing Simpsons dialectic, SwankyAl has "figured out what is wrong with America".
10AM
I'm late to the party, but I must say I love Lynda Barry's One Hundred Demons. It's a shame that we will have to wait for the next installment, while Lynda Barry concentrates on writing her next book. If her books are as engaging as One Hundred Demons, I may find myself reading a book without the word "Web" on its cover.
13 FEB 2001
11AM
Who will control the music? It could be Microsoft.
12 FEB 2001
9PM
Slate calls for the cancellation of The Simpsons and Mr. Kottke agrees. Thanks, guys. With The Simpsons out of the way, FOX can finally squeeze a quality show into its Sunday night lineup. I suggest Temptation Island II, or maybe Jerry Springer's Dance Party.
4PM
Another gratuitous website is born... I present to you, this weblog - the cold, dry seed that will someday sprout into a blooming masterpiece. We'll ignore the rest of the lifecycle. You know, the part where the beautiful flower withers, dies, and becomes food for worms and the next crop of seedling websites.
