Raging storms 5/31/08
Last night, we got hit with some major thunder and lots of lightning. It also rained like crazy, I went outside to move 1 of my flower pots and then I could see rain rushing off my roof - it looked like a waterfall. This morning and so far most of the day has been cloudy, but lucky enough the rain hasn't started again. When I came home this morning, I went outside and mowed my lawn a huge chunk of it, afterwards I had some lunch and watched television.
After I had dinner with my parents and brother, I came home and did more yard work. I did some weed whacking around the trees, and the areas the mower couldn't get to, also I finished my whole yard "mowing the whole yard". It sure has cooled off outside compared to this morning. I also got a phone call and Steve told me that tomorrows photo shoot has been cancelled due to the nasty storms, we had yesterday!
Running smooth 5/30/08
So far so good, I have made a few minor adjustments, but overall its running smooth. I woke up wide awake this morning at 6:30am, that's early for me. I got some breakfast and now getting ready for work. Its raining outside now, so there is no need to water my flowers. It actually took some time for myself to view my new site correctly, because I had to empty my cache in my browser, but the easiest way for you to do it. If something is not working for you, click the refresh/reload button in your internet browser a few times, it'll work eventually.
It's Complete 5/29/08
The new site is finally complete, at least for the time being. I wanted this version to concentrate of showing off my work instead of having a blog on the home page. The blog is still around instead its called "News".
Since it has been released, there are gonna be some error pages, things may not work - It just happens. I'll be on the look out for anything suspicious.
*Note: Galleries have a slide show option!
Take a look around and let me know what you think! All the archives have been included, gallery redesigned and managed without software, portfolio updated, and much more. Yes many areas have been removed such as: food pics (you can still see them under the galleries section), and release notes.
Finalizing 5/27/08
The site is just about complete. The about page has been completed which included fixes in some of the paragraphs, and other minor things. The use of Google Analytics has been completely removed from my site. All pages and even the css style sheets have been reduced, by eliminating all the extra lines and spaces. Error pages have been created, along with mobile.mlk83.com has been removed.
97% Complete 5/26/08
After finishing up the rest of the galleries, the site is very close to going live - I'll have some other minor things to complete, and then some testing and then I'll be able to release it. The gallery has been completely redone, not using a generator, all hand-coded and organized to fully become compatible with my new site.
Falling behind a bit 5/26/08
Well, I wasn't able to complete a lot on my site today, because its Memorial Day and did other things besides on the computer. My mom and I went flower shopping and then we came back to my house and planted them.
Almost Completed 5/25/08
This new version and you can if you want to call it "Version 9", but since I have removed the version number from this site anyway's. Also, release notes have been removed along with some other minor things. One thing that has been improved is the organized style sheet, instead of placing multiple style sheets on each page, there is now 1 master style sheet that imports others, but makes it appear as only 1 on each page. Confusing it may sound, but makes loading the pages easier and very easy for me to add new styles.
I finally decided on switching back to regular html pages and getting away from those php pages. Yeah updating in the future my take more time, but will help me out when I am viewing the stats on my site.
Site progress details 5/24/08
The navigation at the top has been completed and is now compatible with IE7, Safari, Opera, Firefox, and IE6. This new site is fully compatible with IE6, even alternative graphics have been created for when viewing this site in IE6.
The portfolio page is 100% complete even with new designs added for 2008. The links page is also 100% complete along with the Contact page. Also, the News Archives is 100% complete! The only pages left to complete is the galleries and about.
Pushing for completion 5/24/08
While I completed most of general templates for my site, I am pushing to complete the rest of the site. I am planning on releasing this new version very soon. The main gallery is going to look different to match this new site look, but also - while browsing the gallery, it should be easier. Also within the gallery, all those error pages will be reduced because of the shortcuts found on the galleries page.
Once all the base pages are completed and working 100%, I'll then begin finishing up one page at a time. Another post will be added, explaining exactly what's happening on each page which will include: new things, scripts, changes, etc. Stay tuned for that post!
Coding has begun 5/23/08
After getting the 2 different layouts completed in Photoshop, I now began to code it into dreamweaver, this is the program I use for all my web site projects. From the photoshop files, I duplicated (without effecting the original) each file, measured, cropped, and saved each part of the graphics in a folder within the media folder within my site structure. I had to create some hacks for IE7 to correctly place the logo in the center, since IE7 was giving my some difficulties.
After a couple hours pass, I finally have completed the home page and rest of the site will be a breeze to complete. The second page I worked on was this page, the news page with archives intact.
There are 3 brand-new scripts used which include a lightbox (for the photo enlargements), dynamic date and the accordion (content switching) on those certain pages.
This brand-spanking new look of mlk83.com, features new scripts, appearance and overall usage!
Research & Development begins 5/22/08
After work, I did some research of other sites that I liked and shortly I found the one which would replace my current one. In this version of mlk83.com, well take a step back... "versions have been removed". Since I am always involved with the web, if I find something better - I'll want it. There are always going to be changes, even some of our clients at SWS change the look of their site within a few months of its official release. Some can call it version 9.0, and others may be thinking to themselves, why another one?
The version of 8.9 was nice - I guess it was more of an experiment that was completed successfully, but there will always be changes in my line of work.
Day 1 - I started the development in photoshop by finding the look I wanted, and worked off that by laying out the header, banners, type, colors, and other stuff. As you can see in the screen-shot below, this is what the original concept looked like, its almost identical to the real thing, right?
As you can see from the screen-shot above, all the layers (and the rest you cant see) it took to create this look.
Re-thinking 5/21/08
While getting ready for bed, I thought about making some changes to my site. Why not really show people what I can do with a web site, yeah the one I have now is great for showing a blog on the front page. Since now a days, I'm really busy and don't have as much time as I did 5 months ago. This new version should concentrate on showcasing off my portfolio and my photographs without having to maintain it much, like the blog.
5/13/08
Well today was exciting, I was finally able to watch my buddy's house get tore down - Tom and his Family. Actually, I didn't expect to be there all day, but it was well worth the time. I took one final walk through the house and took pics and then shortly after, the excavation had begun. The trucks finally started to arrive, so the excavator could load the broken down house into the back of it. Lunch time arrived, so all of us (Jacquie, Tom, Julian "hopefully I spelled his name right", and myself), walked down the alley to Burger King, where the Auch's treated me to lunch - Thanks! After lunch, the work has begun again.
The lot where his house was standing now seems larger. The overall event was loud, hearing the wood crushing, ripping, tearing, breaking, etc and all the dust and old dry wood, things flying all over the place - lots of fun and over 550 photographs I took of this special event. After browsing, editing and deleting, all the photographs, they are now ready to give to the Auch Family! These photos will become available on my site soon.
Update: 9:47pm, here is the online gallery for today's photographs (click here). Warning, there are 295 photographs.
In TC, the price of gas is at $3.99 at most stations - sucks a bit!
5/10/08
Another week, where I didn't post or update anything on my site, well here are a few reasons why! One of the things, is work, we are working on some huge projects and still catching up on others, then after work - I want to play, then snacking and then going to bed. Sometimes, I am exhausted and then I don't want to do anything else. At times throughout this month, and this season, updating my site will most likely become limited. I'll try and update it when I can, if not you should understand why.
In other news, I got my dinner table yesterday, and its very nice. More photographs of my house will be shown on my site, after certain individuals see it in person.
Update: Photos from April have finally been added to my gallery, click here to view them!
5/2/08
**Attention: Just to let everyone know, the beta version of 8.9 has changed to release candidate v.1 "RC.1"- its almost ready!! Once it reaches RC 1.0, it'll be considered v9.0. Stay up to date with the release notes, they are located in the top right of all pages on my site.
*Update: This new mouse is kicking butt and the best thing is... I don't have to turn it on :) .
*Update: When viewing my site in the obsolete browser of IE6, it looks much better than it did yesterday. After some extensive graphic work, css optimization, and ideas - its running better, but with some features removed, check out the release notes for all the details.
Well, I had another good day at work, didn't get much done, but caught up on things that we forgot about. I did some maintenance with older clients that were still using space on our server, so we deleted them to make space. We are not running out of space, but why have them on there if they are not with us anymore. I also printed out some reports, security scan (we are good), updated email addresses, and created a mailing list that we will be sending out to our clients in the next couple weeks.
Most of the day, its been raining here in TC, but we need it. Well, I am gonna take a break from work for the rest of the night and maybe watch a movie or play Command and Conquer 3 for a while.
5/1/08
*Update: The mouse thing has been fixed, it was simple - buy a new mouse, but don't buy an expensive one, so I did just that. This new one only cost $40.00, its corded, simple and still has the laser technology. There are a few things about wireless that I hate and they are: recharge the battery and sometimes the lack of response time from the receiver. I use a corded mouse at work and it has a ball for traction, yeah its old - but there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. Anyway's, my problem has been fixed and now I can continue to work without any issues.
So, have you noticed all the new designs added? Check them out, and plus there are plenty more coming soon too! Well, I'm gonna get ready to watch tv and the Office and then I'll be off to bed.