Every now and then I tend to get restless with this blog’s design, and these past few days have been a perfect example of this. Though this new design was built from the ground up, it is essentially a refreshed version of the last site design, entitled “Redux”. Hopefully I’ll slow down with the designing and concentrate on the actual content, but in the mean time, I hope you like this new design that I’ve appropriately dubbed Redux 2.
When applying for a job, many companies request a cover letter — an introduction to the résumé that will follow — as a way for the job-seeker to highlight their strengths and experiences for the employer, to distinguish themselves from the other applicants. Of course, the job-seeker will want to make this cover letter as appealing as possible so as to make a lasting impression on the employer that might result in an interview. In this hilarious and completely true cover letter (mirror), Wayne cuts out the fluff and, really, cuts out anything that could get him an interview! Well worth checking out, and I, personally, can’t wait to see if he does anything with it, being the clearly audacious fellow he is.
Today marks the one-year anniversary of this here blog (!), so let’s break the past year’s activity down into stats.
In the past year I have…
Here’s to another great year of Henry’s blog!
Despite the fact that the keys are quite squished together for a non-laptop keyboard, the fact that it lacks a numpad and some other keys, and above all that it costs a whopping $79, every time I see this keyboard — an intangible object, a computer input device! — I get a little surge of excitement.
Damn you, Apple. The white-on-aluminum gets me every time.
I spotted a butterfly on some particularly vibrant flowers earlier tonight and couldn’t resist getting up close and personal.
Here are the results, snapped with my beloved Nikon D40:
12:43 PM
Being a non-dual-booting Mac user, I hit a snare when working on a website the other week. I knew that it worked fine in both Safari and Firefox, but it was untested in Internet Explorer. For as much as people tend to rag on Internet Explorer, it still dominates the browser market share, and because of this, ensuring a site works in Internet Explorer is critical. Even on this blog — one I would think to be pretty technologically savvy — 62% of my visitors use Internet Explorer.
Now, back to my original dilemma: I had a website untested in Internet Explorer, and had no way of getting Internet Explorer on my computer. After some Googling, I came upon Netrenderer. It allows you to paste a URL you’d like tested, and unlike other services, instantly outputs a screenshot of your site as it would appear in IE 6 or 7, based on your preference. Though it does cut off at the fold, or the bottom of the browser window, this has proven to be an invaluable tool for me in ensuring compatibility in IE for sites I design.
I recently re-discovered a gem of an app for Mac that I believe to have downloaded several months ago called Quinn.
For as much as people tend to rag on Mac OS for its small selection of games, Quinn is, surprisingly, a free, bang-up rendition of Tetris (or the “popular falling-blocks game which, according to the Tetris Company, must not be named here,” according to the site). I can honestly say that its being a game aside, Quinn’s interface ranks as one of the best I’ve encountered on Mac. With its multi-player functionality, and ability to host games, I know that I’ve spent countless hours trying to top others’ scores as well as my own.
If you’re not a serious gamer, but are interested in a largely mindless and simple, classic game to occupy those few spare moments you might have in your day — which may be far too little time once you become as obsessed with it as I! — I highly recommend Quinn.
Oh yeah, I have a blog — I seem to have forgotten about that. In any case, what’s a guy to do when he lacks interest in actually blogging? Redesign his blog, of course. In launching this theme, this blog is on its third design revision in its near year of operation. I would say that out of every design this is by far my favorite.
Entitled “Redux,” this design is the result of my wanting a more minimal, toned-down design. Hopefully its succeeded in doing this. Also: now with at least improved IE compatibility, as I’ve been too lazy to ensure total compatibility, yet. Also, as of this writing I’ve not ensured W3 validity, but will do so shortly.
Any feedback is appreciated, and hopefully you enjoy the new design.
Following suit, and due to what we in the business call “lack of motivation,” I’ve decided to do short reviews of four movies I’ve seen recently. In fact, I like this idea so much, I may keep up with it.
Ocean’s Thirteen ☆☆☆☆☆ (3.5 / 5)
Very fun flick with big-name talent, moments of hilarity, and some very cool heist, and heist preparation, scenes. I’m not sure how it stacks up in comparison to the last two, as I’ve not seen them, but I quite enjoyed this one. Definitely worth seeing in theaters.
Shrek The Third ☆☆☆☆☆ (1 / 5)
Went from a cute series laden with jokes adults and kids could each get, respectively, to trashy, unfunny and low-quality animation at its worst.
Reservoir Dogs ☆☆☆☆☆ (4 / 5)
Though completely violent, at a certain point, the violence in its very excess becomes comical — there sure is nothing like watching someone’s ear get cut off to the tune of the “Sounds of 70’s” on the radio, playing in the background.
Knocked Up ☆☆☆☆☆ (5 / 5)
I laughed from the minute the movie started to the minute it ended. As Judd Appatow — writer and director of the film — mentioned in an article for what I believe was Time, unlike last year’s large production, Talladega Nights, there was less effort put into getting high profile actors for the movie (though these were hilarious, several hailing from the Freaks and Geeks cast) as it was directing efforts towards what ended up a hysterical script.
As talked about in length in a past post, I got a Nikon D40 about a month ago. Since then, I’ve been quite the photog, jumping at every chance I get to go out and take photos. For those looking for a D40 that want sample photos, or those just interested in seeing my progress these past four weeks, here is my best of for photos I’ve uploaded to my Flickr photo sharing account since I’ve had the rockin’ camera.
Enjoy!
