BeMused

As a web developer, it’s important that I check and make sure my web pages work in as many different browsers as possible (or at least, as expected). This is even more true considering I use a Mac as my primary machine. I can, and have, spent all day working on a website on my Mac, checking it in Firefox and Safari, only to utter curses when I check the layout in IE.

Here at work, I have a Windows XP machine, along with my Mac. It was a tedious process, considering my desktop arrangement, to code on the Mac, swivel around to the Windows box and his refresh. Now, however, things are quite productive.

My current setup includes 2 19-inch Dell LCDs, the one on the left showing my Windows XP machine, the one on the right, my Mac. I have my Mac keyboard and mouse controlling both boxes. This little nifty trick is done using Synergy, which I just downloaded and installed this morning. I cannot even begin to tell you how friggin cool this is. Having the two OS’s and their related browsers side-by-side has already increased my productivity. I can cut and paste between the two OS’s as well. Best of all, Synergy is free.

That and I don’t keep ripping my headphones off my head when I turn to the Windows box.

Does anyone use an RSS Newsreader to go through their sites? I’ve tried before, and never really found any benefit to it. I know that’s odd, considering an RSS newsreader is designed to help simplify your browsing. I find that I am now visiting over two dozen blogs and sites first thing in the morning. I know some people who apparently have hundreds and hundreds.

I think I’m going to give Vienna another shot. I’ve used it before, it’s free and open-source. I’d like to get comfortable with it, instead of loading a dozen tabs or more at a time within Firefox, which tends to get annoyed and bog down with that many tabs it seems.
As a side note, I horked the default design for the journal here, so I downloaded and installed K2. It’s got a nice look, something I won’t flip out over leaving up for a bit as I work on my new layout. I like the layout I’ve got going, but I’m now second-guessing my logo/header. As always.

I’ve been trying to create a new layout for my site here, and failing spectacularly. Trying to come up with a decent logo/color combination has been tedious and depressing. Simply put, I suck.

There needs to be a “Design Eye for the Shad Web” type of tutorial or something. I can’t do anything right. Color combos, logo design, layout — They all suck right now. I need Martin or Sarah to design me a new “Shad’s Pad” logo. I’ll pay them in Jelly Bellys.

I’ve been looking at sites in CSS Remix and CSS Beauty, as well as CSS Vault and the CSS Zen Garden, hopefully for inspiration. I’ve found a lot of nice sites that I like, but I don’t want to copy them. So instead of inspiration, I find discouragement instead.

OK, pity party over. Back to your regularly scheduled surfing. Hopefully I’ll have something more entertaining than the default soon.