Don’t mind me…

I’ll just be here in the background breaking s**t.

If you’re a regular visitor to the site you may have noticed a few changes over the past few days. Apart from the delicious rotating eye candy that I implemented on the home page last night, there have been a few other more subtle additions.

After a few weeks casually thinking about a supposed “upgrade” to the site, I decided that I like it the way it is. As Dalaila had earlier commented, “everyone is loving your blog for its simple layout and good articles”. I can’t comment on the quality of the articles 😉 , but I do know that I am partial to its simple layout.

After viewing loads of possible themes, including paid premium ones, I concluded that this one is still the best fit for HuntsmansLodge.com. Rather than reinvent the wheel, I contacted the developer of this template and asked if he was planning an update for it in the near future. I also made some feature requests, including… you guessed it… threaded comments. This theme does not support them in its current version.

He graciously replied to my e-mail and indicated that he was going to work on these revisions. Needless to say, I was very impressed with his prompt and courteous reply. Now I just need to patiently await the updated theme files. 🙂

Alrighty… so apart from ensuring that there was going to be further development done for this template, I’ve decided to take it upon myself to add a few odds and ends to enhance my visitors’ experience. Now granted I do a lot of this type of stuff for a living, I’m not the expert programmer and codesmith that you may think I am. I’m just a simple Beast Master, so trying to get Motools to play nicely with Jquery is serious business for me. Ultimately, that struggle ended poorly. 🙁

I have what I’d consider a good eye for design, along with an intermediate level knowledge of html, css and most web based applications. However, I have a PHD in Google. My approach to web development is not unlike this quote from Chris Gardner, played by Will Smith in the film, “The Pursuit of Happyness”.

“I’m the type of person, if you ask me a question and I don’t know the answer, I’m gonna tell you that I don’t know. But I bet you what. I know how to find the answer and I will find the answer.”

Excellent film by the way. One of my favorites of the past five years or so.

Anyone who’s explored the world of blogging knows that often times these fantastic little plugins that developers write can cause a host of problems. It’s especially frustrating when your favorite ones clash.

Armed with some patience and and determination, I set out on a tedious journey across the interwebs in search of enlightenment. After a few hours of trial and error and a flurry of cussing that would make a truck stop hooker blush, I finally attained glory.

All I had to do was simply edit the code in this document pictured here on the right, along with its equally (sarcasm, of course) friendly stylesheet. Ah… good times.

End result… I’ve regained my much beloved lightbox effect on post pages and I finally have the featured content gallery I’ve lusted after for months. Best part is… “the web-a-site… she-a-stays-a-the-same”! (that’s supposed to be said with an Italian accent for proper effect) Sorry, I’m a little sleep deprived and loopy at the moment.

Wednesdays are one of my two days per week that I’m in charge of our two year old son. He doesn’t care if daddy stayed up late the night before editing code that would make a bomb squad specialist sweat, he wants to go… go… go..!

Pinky Dinky Doo’s almost over, so I’d better cut this post off. Time to entertain the little monster. Of course, I say that with the utmost affection. 😀