Basically, because I was going to read some of my stuff to impress some kids at the bar when I realized I couldn't view my own blog on my iPhone.
The number of ways this event made me an asshole was a little too high for me.
So I thought the least I could do was make this site accessible. Everything's pretty much the same in spirit, except there's less javascript (basically none), no boxes, and no features, although I may eventually let people add comments. I doubt it. Also, due some abuse of the system (Justin), the links now get redder instead of bigger. There may be other changes. I'll let you know with another un-dated, minimally informative note like this one.
Okay. I was looking at my blog the other day, and you know what? It was ugly. Top heavy, gaudy, over-the-top, pick your design indulgence. So I wanted something new.
Then, one afternoon while getting a long overdue lunch, I was reading this thing in Discover about how blog and article sites have a particular problem, which is how to organize the past content. All blogs invariably meet their end buried deep in a never viewed archive, so the question is how to avoid losing the best (or at least readable), the most important, etc. Most approaches involve a list of top five or ten most viewed, and some listings that divide by category, etc. Ultimately, time grinds all things to dust, but as always, people are trying to fend that off in new and interesting ways.
Being especially interested in navigating my stronghold of denial through the inevitable divorce hearings of time, I put together this design, which is like a big, graphic best-of list with boring colors.
This is how it works. The last 50 or so titles get randomly scattered over the screen. Move the mouse over them and some info pops up: a cross-indexed list of moods, number of times the thing's been read, and date and time written. Click "Read" and you can read it. You can also drag them around the screen if it suits you.
Every reading is recorded. As the number of reads goes up, the font will slowly get bigger. Not sure if this will stay a linear equation or be based on the fraction of all reads; whatever. The size of the title s indicative of its popularity, or lack thereof.
Each day a blog goes without being read, it fades away a little bit. One hundred days unread, the sucker's gone.
And, if every one fades away which will only happen if I fail to write for 100 days, and nobody reads for the same 100 days, all titles will fade away, and at that time, this site is designed to erase itself, as a metaphor for death.
Enjoy.