Until I can afford the real thing, this Flash koi pond will have to suffice. A bit of tinkering produced the colours, and you can feed the fish with a left-click, as they follow your mouse. Original gadget posted here.
Continue reading "My Koi Pond"
All for the sake of a single ">", or closing bracket, my site was unreadable in Internet Explorer for the last couple weeks. Firefox still displayed it fine, so I didn't realize there was a problem right away. I can't wait until all browsers render code the same way.
Chances are if you're reading this, you've noticed a new look for the site, together with a new name along the top. With the wedding came a new last name for both Jenn and myself, MacLean, in celebration of our Scottish roots and wedding. So, 'KyleMartin.ca' has morphed into the new, improved (and married), 'KyleMacLean.com'.
You'll still find the same witty banter and biting sarcasm that marked the old site, just with a shiny coat of paint, tighter code, and eventually, some updated photos. Have a look around, and leave some comments to let me know what you think.
Kyle
Well, it's 3:38 am, and I'm supposed to be working on my thesis right about now. So I think this is a perfect time to worry about XHTML Validation of my web pages. Normally, the dreaded ampersand, '&' poses a big problem in terms of getting my website to 'properly' validate, mainly because the validator is a boor.
As of today however, the reign of ampersand terror ends, as I detail (below) the installation of the Amputator plugin for MovableType. Hope all goes well.
Continue reading "The Reign of Ampersand, No More"
After a couple months of procrastination, the new photo album is finally live. Please head over and check it out, and let me know what you think. As time permits, I'll continue to add new photos and galleries.
One note - I'm a grad student, not a web designer, so in the interests of not having to change the underlying code to accomodate every browser under the sun, I can only guarantee that the album will display correctly in Internet Explorer 6.0 and above. Of course, it works perfectly in all versions of Mozilla and Firefox (you should really use those anyway!).
The new site layout is up and at em. Please feel free to check out the new wedding area. I apologize for the horrible state of the Photos, but they will have to wait until a first draft of my thesis is complete.
Enjoy, and let me know what you think!
So this is just to let everyone know that after almost 2 years of this particular scheme, blog boredom is beginning to set in. In preparation for launching a new "Wedding" section to the site, I've decided it's time for a revamp of the esthetic as well. Stay tuned, and don't be surprised if I'm out for a while.
Kyle
Well not really, but this site returns as the number one hit on google for "kyle martin". This is pretty swell, although in terms of reality, counts for diddley-squat.
This will most likely be integrated into the main page somehow. Just a test for now.
This will be my first post to the site this year. It's also (dubiously) the first post in a while. I've noticed a trend over the last few years - around the holidays I seem to retire away from all things computer. I only checked my email for the first time in 2 weeks yesterday.
I generally attribute this internet-hermit tendency to the stress of the holidays - both family and friend related. In all honesty though, it often feels like a return from a relaxing spa - I've temporarily lost my routine and perhaps gained something from it.
Luckily though, I'm looking forward to upcoming links, comments, and general rants. Hope everyone out there had some fun last year, and here's hoping this year brings even more.
I've decided to reinstate my old policy of dressing the site up a bit around the holidays. If you're not sure as to what I mean, look left at the cyber snowman. More to come, maybe. I don't want this to get out of hand, or else I might wind up having to design pics for countless holidays: Secretary's Day, First Landing on the Moon Day, etc.
I really don't like Internet Explorer. Having switched to using Mozilla I really don't have the patience required for IE anymore. For those of you who've never heard about it, Mozilla is an open source browser that is, and I repeat, standards compliant. This means that when I write code for a page on my site, I know exactly how it will behave in all versions of Mozilla. This article sums the problem up best.
Unfortunately the same cannot be said for IE. That is why I just spent the last hour or so resizing fonts and rewriting code to make IE stop cutting of letters in my entries. This was not a fun process, but I had heard enough feedback about it to make me invest the time.
Since 95% of computers come preinstalled with IE, M$ really has no compulsion to keep their browser up to date and bug free. If standards or convenience don't interest you, then perhaps the litany of computer bugs discovered on a routine basis in IE will.
Welcome to the official opening of KyleMartin.ca, Version 3.0. This represents the culmination of much behind the scenes tinkering and writing done in the last few weeks (usually in the wee hours of the morning).
For those of you with a little curiosity about the old site, here's some info:
Originally launched November 8, 2000
Maintained banner free since March 14, 2001
Some of the more astute webcoders out there may notice that the entire site is executed and authored in MovableType - one of the leading blogware titles out there. New to this release - KyleMartin.ca is now totally compliant with CSS 2.0 and XHTML 1.0 Transistional. Go on, give it a try!
I've blown through the archive pages. Managed to get the search button fixed also. This is still alot of work, but I'm enjoying how well this blog is coming together. I've been shopping around for photoblogs, but no luck so far. Have I mentioned how much I llke MovableType lately?
Well it's been 7 days since my first posting here....I knew that setting up this thing was going to be a challenge, but man is the going ever slow.
I think it will be worth it once it's done though...I've almost finished laying out the navigation and related pages. I had to cave and do the nav section with a table - I'm just too impatient right now to do it with css. Another setback is that I discovered last night that my photo album script doesn't work in Mozilla. Aarrggh! This might be a good thing however - it will force me to do the album through my blog. I'll probably launch the site before photos are done....we'll see.
