May 28, 2007

No more authentication… for now

I’ve wondered whether my lack of feedback is from a lack of visitors or the fact that it requires authentication with Typekey. On top of that, it doesn’t work in Safari for some reason, and I loathe using Firefox’s gimpy form to reply to the few comments I get. (You know who you are; thank you!) Anyway, whatever, I’ve disabled it and have added two plug-ins to defeat spam. You’ll notice a little question at the bottom now. Comments are now disabled on posts older than 10 days. Thank you.

Now to see whether this affects my gigantic number of “unique visitors” who are dragging down my visit time stats. Wanna bet they’re 90% spam? Who the heck hits the search button 10 times and for what purpose?

Update May 30

Erika: 1; spammers: 0.

May 26, 2007

I’m an unrealistic dreamer

There are a lot of things in this world I would change. Call me a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I may be the only one I’ve ever heard of, however, dreaming about the day that food—well, processed food—doesn’t contain allergens, crap and genetically-modified ingredients. I want my grain products without things like soy lecithin, corn syrup, modified milk ingredients, and x-y-z’s… without paying a premium. If everything was expensive, period, then organic cereal wouldn’t be such a big deal to pay for. The good news is, pure processed foods aren’t always bad: Gesundheit Bakery in Abbotsford, BC makes rye bread so good I ate four small pieces while waiting for the bus right after I bought it. I then went home and ate at least two more, plain. No scary crap or things I can’t eat on my food-sensitivity diet.

Continue reading I’m an unrealistic dreamer »

May 25, 2007

Heartbreak!

I have perhaps never been so disappointed in my life. Well, except that time A Perfect Circle cancelled their show here because Maynard was “sick.” Or that time I set the ol’ VCR wrong. Or when I travelled a long way only to have a friend or family member cancel.

Despite those disappointments, they didn’t seem to come with such heartbreak. An Event Apart* in Seattle is sold out. And I was just about to write in a cover letter how I wanted to attend so badly. I even realised it was motivation to get myself a great job ASAP.

Le sigh!

Well, next year I guess. In the meantime I’ll be searching for some books by Jeffrey Zeldman, Eric Meyer and Andy Budd. And maybe someone will hire me and fly me to Chicago for the event in August! Oh wait, I don’t have a passport. Books, it is.

* An Event Apart is a 2-day conference for web designers featuring six well-known speakers from the industry. No non-geeks allowed 😉

May 21, 2007

Worm graveyard: death by carpet

They creep in through a gap in the doorframe. They swiftly inch their way across the carpet, picking up whatever small bits of dust and dirt they might encounter. Some have been known to make it all the way across the room, only to perish; others make it only part of the way. The morning after a heavy rainshower, there may be five or six scattered around the room. If they’re lucky, one or two may survive the night.

When I was a child walking home from school one day, I sang to myself, “Don’t step on the wormiiiees…” la dee da. I recalled it again walking home one recent evening when I could barely tell the difference between worms and bits of sticks on the black asphalt, surrounded by grass on either side, its wet surface gleaming occasionally under the white soccer field lights nearby. “Don’t step on the wormies.” I tried my best not to while I wondered whether the person a distance ahead of me was thinking the same thing.

Continue reading Worm graveyard: death by carpet »

May 18, 2007

A List Apart web designers survey

Expensive food on a small budget

I’ve realised lately how much I value food that I’ve paid good money for. I don’t take it for granted and devour it to my heart’s content without due thought. We are in the habit of going for the cheapest price possible, with a few exceptions, so most items we eat don’t have to be moderated based on cost. This would include milk, eggs, and bread. Cereal, on the contrary, is an expensive food to be eating as a snack, so my indulgence was limited… until now.

Continue reading Expensive food on a small budget »

May 4, 2007

Emily Carr Institute grad website official launch!

Emily Carr Grad Site

Go here now! grad2007.eciad.ca

Over 200 students’ work from our 7 diverse programs are showcased on the website. Be sure to click the images for a larger view. Special thanks to all our volunteers, coordinators, and partner designers. Thanks also to Lokesh Dhakar for Lightbox 2 and Millstream for “Cross-fade Anything” (ver. 4.1), and to John Gruber (daringfireball.net) for Markdown and Smartypants MovableType plug-ins.

Emily Carr Grad Site in the exhibition

So it was a gruelling month, but tomorrow I graduate, and tonight I had the pleasure of seeing a piece of me on 4 gorgeous computer screens, and of watching people interact with it. My partner in crime design, Richard Tom, was absent but I’ll be sure to send him a photo.

So come to the opening tomorrow night, 7 – 11 pm. My work is in room 340, and 6 computers displaying the grad site are in the two buildings (4 in the South Building in the design area, shown above, and 2 in the North Building in the foyer).

See you there!