If you’ve been here before (for any of the sites 2-3 week existence), you’ll have noticed a bit of a change. To be honest it was necessary. The last design took all of 2 hours to mark-up and design; hence it looked a bit shit.

This time I’ve spent a bit more time coming up with a design (probably about an hour – no major mark-up changes to bog me down) and had an idea of what I wanted the site to look like.

The idea was to go for a very minimalist look: clean solid blocks of colour, made slightly uneven by various techniques. Only 1 main colour was used, on top of the black and white (with a few other colours used in minor places), to really pull the visual design together.

Now, those of you using standards compliant browsers will see a little bit more than those using non-standards compliant browsers. It’s nothing essential (that would be bad for accessibility) but it does enhance the site. For an example, mouse-over the page heading “Solitude”. There are a few other minor touches like that scattered around – and more will be added when they enhance the site. Oh wait, you can’t see anything unusual? Get a better browser.

While I was at it, I thought I’d make my site Bobby 508 and AAA accessible, which nicely compliments the existing XHTML, CSS and RSS compliance. Showing off ends here.

I was sitting, blankly enough. No ideas and little real understanding of the subject matter. I could see what to do on a very superficial level, but lacked the language to consolidate it into something usable; something more workable.

The thing is I had left it a little late. I only really began working on it the day before, and even then it was a very vague look to try and get the outline into my head; to start thinking about thinking about it.

A day later, I’m sat working on it. The clock eats away at the deadline, and fear is all around. Not just from me. The others are rushing around: either refusing to accept that failure is inevitable or calmy banging their heads off the nearest wall.

Except for that one guy. You know the one: he started weeks ago. He was done days before anyone else bothered to look at what was required. He’s only there to look down his nose at everyone else, interspersed with small bouts of “This is so easy”. He’s not impressing anyone though.

And then BAM! It takes a few seconds for it to hit in all it’s glory, but you start working without really knowing why, what or how you’re doing it. Everything glues together for just a few minutes, creative dams in your mind burst and flow into the work. THIS WILL WORK!.

As you finish, you kick out of your Zen-like focus and worry. Will it work? Of course. Nothing is quite like the feeling of being “in the zone”, as some put it.

Yes, it works. And yes, it is accepted. And yes, you get the credit you deserve. But no, the smart-arse who started first doesn’t combust spontaneously.

You’re probably wondering what I’m talking about. While it was actually a program I had to write that I was talking about, that does not matter. A moment of pure focus and creativity is all it takes to go from a blank slate to a finished and polished fully-working creation.

So remember the next time you’re on a tight deadline: clear your mind and just work. You’ll thank me for it.

In a predictable move, I’ve made yet another link to places on the web. There is a Blog Tree button on my navigation bar (as part of my nice little collection).

It shows where this site drew initial influence from (think “parent” sites). If, in the future, anyone is influenced by me, I might become a proud “parent” myself, with my own children. That’s a long way away though.

You might have noticed a tiny xml button appear on the navigation bar. Those in the know will, well, know that it’s an RSS button. The front page of this site is now available in the RSS format for those that have aggregators. Don’t say I’m not good to you.

When making omlettes ensure the following:

• Use enough eggs,
• Make sure the oil is heated properly,
• Don’t attempt to use a technique that you only half saw a professional chef use to make it,
• and, importantly, know how to cook.

The end result was… interesting.