Archive for March, 2006:

I’ve finished the so-called Parody site:

Click here for a link.

As you can see, it looks rather simple. But it’s in the simplicity that lies something that I can’t think of a word for…

Anyway, take a look, tell me what you think. It’s a parody, so none of it is entirely true (if at all).

For those interested - it’s been created mostly in Photoshop, with the slicing completed in ImageReady, and the coding tweaked in Dreamweaver. I was aiming for a ‘Flash’ look, without using Flash, or indeed scalable vector graphics.

It’s given me a few more ideas for the new-look slickhouse.com.

I consider myself to be good at spelling. Nah, fantastic.

It’s probably due to several things (all those assignments, all that touch-typing…), but all you need to know is that it’s good, well fantastic.

Though, as with everything in life, there’s always a time that your knowledge doesn’t stretch far enough - in this case, you have to double-check the spelling.

Fair enough, I’d just grab the nearest dictionary. But I don’t have one. In this digital age that we live in, books are a bit rare - with dictionaries being even rarer. On the otherhand, we do have computers - dictionaries with circuits if you like.

I tend to just open up Microsoft Word, and type in the word(s) as best as I can. But there’s two problems with this… the first is that Microsoft is American. So by default, the dictionary is setup as US English. This problem can easily be overcome if setup properly prior to spell-checking.

The second problem is that Word is almost in its twelth revision, and with each version it appears to become more and more bloated. I’m not kidding when I say I used to benchmark PCs on the speed that Word 2000 opened. I remember my previous laptop getting around 20 seconds.

The alternative to Word is Google.

Google, however, is a website - so a browser such as Internet Explorer, or (even better) Firefox is needed. But, if you’re like me, you most likely have at least one browser open at any one time. So it’s a quick alt-tab and a search on Google that solves your spelling woes.

Though one day soon, Google will probably accept my stupid spelling mistake, and let me carry on with my search… when that day comes, I should look for an open source stand-alone spell checker (if there is such a thing). Though I’ll still need Google to look for it.

Often people daydream… I daydream often.

And when I often daydream, I often daydream about what slickhouse.com could be.

I wont give away too much, but titles such as:

* Slickhouse Studios
* Slickhouse Records
* Slickhouse Systems
* Slickhouse Property (or should it be Slickhouses?)

Anyway, also whilst daydreaming, I came up with a new concept for a site, which lead to me creating the first few versions of a parody site for slickhouse.com!

I’m making heavy use of the guides and rulers in Photoshop to create a pixel-perfect layout, which will use rollovers to the maxxx.

Shit, what’s with this geeky jibber jabber? At least I can admit it I guess.

Beer testing would be a dream job for all but the alcoholics anonymous folk…

Simon (known to some as Simion, The Jamaican and indeed, The_Jamaican) was given homework yesterday after only 4 days at his new job.

It wasn’t any ordinary homework though - he had to do some beer testing!

While I have to spend 3 hours each week at Lincoln College, gaining a qualification that’s not anything to do with IT, Simon has to drink Beer.

Maybe Adam’s new job will insist he becomes a part time gynecologist?

Today I’ve come to realise that Friday is the best day of the week, making every Friday the best days of the year…

It’s for several reasons - firstly the fact that the weekend is here. You’ve just got a few hours at work then the evening leads into the weekend nicely. Secondly, work tends to die down by the end of the week, making the day relatively easy in comparison with Monday to Thursday.

So, what’s everyone else up to this Friday, and more importantly, this weekend?