Front page

[dnl2ba]

Front page contents

Would those of you with MC homepages want them linked from the MC front page? It would probably just be a text link.

Besides the forum, there's really not much else to put there unless I start pimping my other services (programming / scripts, design / graphic work, UI / interaction design, etc.) through MostlyCloudy. That is a possibility, if I ever get something worth presenting.


Front page graphic



It's derived from the series 5 graphics (the current ones), so it might take a side-by-side comparison to see what's changed. Look at the top of this page or go to http://mostlycloudy.net to see 5a (at least, until I change it).

I haven't done the whole page redesign yet, but this is the direction I'm leaning in. With every revision, it gets sleeker, bolder, and more modern, compared to graphic 5a (the current one), which is still fairly modern but is much more understated. Maybe 5a was the Winter look, and this is the Spring/Summer wardrobe.

You can see other variants in the graphics directory (http://mostlycloudy.net/images/graphics/).


Logo

After leaving the cloud logo alone for like 4 years, I've finally adjusted the vector so it's rounder and cuter. The original was machine-converted from a scanned drawing or something like that, so it had tons of control points (i.e. hard to edit) and was really angular. You can't tell much in the small version, but the difference is obvious when it's blown up. So if I ever need the logo blown up for a billboard, it's ready.

[Rhys]

Truthfully, I can see the differences, but they're so subtle I find myself not really having an opinion on them. Well, I will agree that the rounder logo does look a bit better.

[dnl2ba]

Hey, uh, while you're here, do you have any intention of updating your web page to correct all the links? :p I'll have to issue a new password... again... but you know, life is tough all over.

[Rhys]

Yes, I've been meaning to get around to that, as well as adding new content. I've also been meaning to ask you how you go about sticking in one of those hassle-free updating thingies.

[dnl2ba]

I actually don't recommend the one Sheri's been using (an example quick-blog script I wrote) because it's so file-dependent. For example, it uses the "last modified" date as the post time, so if you ever edit it, you've now changed the post time (and consequently, the sorting). And you have to do the HTML in it yourself.

I'll look into stuff like LiveJournal syndication, WordPress, MovableType, etc. to see if I can integrate them with MC at all.

The one on my personal page? That's all hardcoded, not managed. :) I don't update that often enough to warrant a content management system (CMS).

[schally]

/thumbs up

I like the whiteness of it. Keep on groovin', boss.


I'll look into stuff like LiveJournal syndication, WordPress, MovableType, etc. to see if I can integrate them with MC at all.
LiveJournal integration could be cool.

[dnl2ba]

There's an API (http://www.livejournal.com/doc/server/ljp.csp.protocol.html), but basically, I need a database to mirror posts and comments from your LJ and a daemon or something that keeps the database in sync with the LJ. I don't have lots of free programming time, so I'm gonna look around to see if there's a nicely bundled package that does that already.

Probably, it'd be easiest to use something like MovableType (http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/) to publish your new posts to both LJ and MC (I would probably just need to install MT on MC, rather than writing essentially a whole program around this), but then things like comments wouldn't be shared between them. And it costs monies (http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/pricing), which will be in short supply soon-- I just gave notice today that I'm leaving my job.

As I've mentioned, I was also thinking about writing an RSS aggregator with some cool features not in any major aggregators available today. If I did that, it should be easy to adapt that to grab your posts and make links to comment pages (rather than mirroring comments).

[dnl2ba]

Embedding LiveJournal (http://www.livejournal.com/developer/embedding.bml) - paid account feature

Try the PHP or JavaScript options. The JS option doesn't make sense for XHTML because it uses document.write, but it should be fine in HTML.

[schally]

And it costs monies (http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/pricing), which will be in short supply soon-- I just gave notice today that I'm leaving my job.

Whoa... good leaving or bad leaving? Uh, if there is a thing as good leaving. I don't like my job much, but I do like eating, so I'm not going anywhere.

[dnl2ba]

Good leaving. Other opportunities. :D

Any paid subscriptors who can be guinea pigs for seeing if those integration options are really so easy?

[Rhys]

Tch, like I'd pay for my piece of shit LJ.

[schally]

I think Ballzac is the only one among us that is a paid subscriber.

[Ballz]

And I dunno how my LJ would fit in to a web page about Boogiepop Phantom.

A link on the front page would be cool.

[dnl2ba]

New front page is up.

ALL users with a "www" directory are listed by default. If you want me to add your account to the exclusion list, let me know.

icon evolution (http://mostlycloudy.net/%7Ednl2ba/utility/php/execute/gallery.php?images_directory=http://mostlycloudy.net/images/graphics/icons/&thumbnail_size=48&style=luna.css)

01ei (http://mostlycloudy.net/images/graphics/icons/mc_icon_01ei.png), as disgusting as it looks blown up, is the current favicon (the icon you see in your address bar or in MostlyCloudy bookmarks if your browser supports favicons). The 06 ones are tonight's work, and I've temporarily settled on the last one (http://mostlycloudy.net/images/graphics/icons/mc_logo_06_icon5b.png).