Plum Cacti

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Run Time: Mar. 16, 2003 - Mar. 12, 2007

Host: (paid)

# Pages: ?

Tools: notepad, editpad lite, paint shop pro, paint, wacom

Graphics: self

Services: topica, sitemeter

I had become increasingly unhappy with the lack of color in the previous version--virtuous black and white, kiss my ass--hence the complete lack of black or white anywhere in this one. The irony is that now I don't mind the other one so much.

I also kept my word and switched to php. This, I think, is a miracle. And believe me: I wasn't at all sure that I'd actually do it this version. In fact, it wasn't solid until the day I typed my first <?php on the index page.

November's Concept:

Primary colors: olive green and purple with a bit of pink *ahem* plum as a highlight. Fancy, more graphic-heavy, three-column, index pages and plain content pages with a light background for easy reading. ... Yeah, my web site kinda thwarted me on that one.

Layout:

Last version I put everything in one block; this one I split things up more than ever before. (Hmmm, is that why it took so long to change things over?) The global navigation went to the side and also down at the bottom of every page where a link to the top of the page used to be. Index pages were split into two columns (with a few exceptions). Three columns! :)

[brain: MSKing is a three-column virgin no more! Ha ha ha] Gods, you are such a dork. Do I even know you? [brain: I don't know. Do you let strange brains climb in your bed head often? *wiggles eyebrows*] Brains don't have eyebrows and I think you've just lost your hand privileges. :p

I used a lot more CSS as well, especially positioning.

Graphics:

They were supposed to be olive with pink flowers and a little bit of plum shading on the green for interest. *sigh* So little of this turned out as I planned. I tried, folks. I tried, but the green just wouldn't go. I ended up with a plum-colored hanging cactus, no flowers, and, well, it's big. O.O What was I thinking? What happened to my careful plan and tasteful three Three! "branches" of cacti?

Even that little dotted line by the global navigation spontaneously evolved from putting periods in front of menu items instead of -.

Right now that cacti on the right is a big, fat link to the index page. I'm worried that it will a) annoy people when they click it accidentally, and b) will make it harder to read the text when it slips behind the table (although I think it's a flat enough surface). But I like it, so I'm leaving it unless someone complains. >:)

Sections:

Bit the dust! I also weeded out a number of files that I didn't want to transfer over.

• News - unchanged.
• Art - (sub) I cut back the amount of information I put by the thumbnails to just the media and went back to all one color of backgrounds.
• Tutorials - unchanged.
• Writing - see below and misc section.
  • Poetry - (sub) unchanged.
  • Wanderings - (sub) deleted. Survivors live on in the misc section.
  • Misc - (sub) moved under the writing section and gained the few surviving pieces from the humor and wanderings sections.
  • Rants & Essays - (sub) played around with the titles of the rants. *snickers* They funny now. :)
  • Short Stories - (sub) this section actually got updated.* It's a fucking miracle, people!
• Humor - (sub) deleted instead of phased under writing. Survivors live on in the misc section under writing.
• Info - (sub) unchanged.
  • MSKing - unchanged.
  • Site History - (sub) unchanged.
  • Sitemap - added a projects section in anticipation of another big project. Shhhh...
• Links - (sub) dropped having comments on some of the pages to save time. Boy, did it save time. o.O

Into Tomorrow:

So much for using style guides. I flew by the seat of my pants on this one. Dang. It took three full days to transfer the entire site over. I am very tired.

I also want to redesign the site again. Like right now. The very day that I just finished converting it to this one.

I'm sick, I know. -.- I shall channel this energy into WoodGrove. Please don't hit me. o.o