For the past month or so, I've been playing around in my sandbox with an elastic layout. Things were coming along pretty well, when suddenly I threw a fit over the increasing slowness of my web host, DreamHost. I've been with them for about 3 years and we've had our ups and downs, but lately my patience has worn thin.

The middle of a redesign is probably not the best time to switch web hosts. But considering this is primarily a playground, I've thrown caution to the wind and uploaded the whole darn dev site to Media Temple. I've heard a lot of good things about them and am hoping like mad that they're true.

So a word of warning while this half-constructed heap of code changes home—watch for teetering beams and chunks of falling plaster.

This ought to be interesting.

I thought if I started acting like a real developer, maybe it would improve my code. So, I decided to install and start using MAMP on my Mac to develop locally. Mind you, this programming stuff doesn't come naturally to me. I had to ask a few questions now and then of some of my developer friends, but eventually I sort of got it working. Now I've got another problem with MAMP. Somehow it's causing very strange problems in Adium, my IM client.

Here's a screenshot of Adium when I first fire it up:

And here's another after just a few moments:

I can't figure out what's wrong. Anyone have any ideas?

It's way past time this site had a new design, and I finally came up with one I think I can live with for a while. This one feels like it will actually grow and expand and change over time, and that's important to me. I wanted a site that felt, well, roomy and comfortable like a pair of well-worn jeans.

A lot of the new elements are things I've wanted to do for a long time—although the most obvious isn't really new at all...

Launching a web site, even a redesign, is a painful experience for me. It's kind of like cramming for final exams, giving birth, and walking out on stage all at the same time...

Just a smidgeon of the dumb things I ponder...

This slideshow has been around a bit, but I haven't thought of it in a while. Then a friend mentioned it recently in conversation, and I decided to hunt it down. It's just as good the second time around. If you haven't seen it, take a few mintues to click through the slides. You might even want to check out Neumeier's book of the same name.

Missed SXSW this year? Don't despair. You can still view the programs. Over the next few weeks most of the SXSW daytime programs will be posted on the web. There's already quite a few programs listed. So, slap on your Stetson and head over to SXSW Videos and Podcasts for a virtual good time in Austin.

This was my first year at SXSWi, and now that I've experienced four solid days of Geekness, I hope to make it an annual appointment on my calendar. I had a great time...

If we're talking web design, the answer is everything. Don't believe me? Ask Kathy Sierra. She'll tell you there's one way to be successful on the web—create passionate users. And the only way to do that is to be passionate yourself.

I'm a few days late (what else is new?) with my Top Ten list, but what the heck. 2006 was an amazing year for the web...and for me, personally. I've gone from being a hard-core freelancing loner to a member of a university web development team. With a little gentle guidance, I've learned how to work as a team player--to share my projects with others and not think of them as "my" projects. (Oops. Well, most of the time, anyway.) Mostly, I've had an opportunity to learn from one of the most talented, dedicated, creative and delightfully quirky groups of people I've ever had the pleasure to meet.

To conclude these notes about fonts, I turn to the Great Size Debate. In summary, the controversy concerns what unit of measurement designers should use to size text. The topic is, of course, much more complex than that statement conveys. In fact, reams (or screens) have been written on the issue. The primary points are these...

During my venture into typography, I collected a hodgepodge of information and tips on using type on the web. In the hope of making sense of it all, I've tried to organize these jottings. Most are basics that I've included as helpful reminders, but I also found a few surprises.

For years I've been meaning to put together a "cheat sheet" of fonts and font alternatives for quick selection but never got around to it. Today I finally got so tired of Arial and Helvetica that I sat down to write a few out.

These days the Web is moving faster than most of us can keep up with. Between work and kids and keeping the family boat afloat, I feel like I'm slipping a bit further behind each day. The list of skills I want to acquire or improve on is a long one...and growing: PHP, graphic design, XML, JavaScript, usability testing, project management, Ruby-- You get the idea. I want to master it all. Perferrably now.

The inevitable has happened. Microsoft released Internet Explorer 7 Release Candidate 1 late last week. This is the final step before Microsoft pushes IE7 on an unsuspecting public... I mean, makes IE7 publicly available. No other release candidates are planned.