Winter solstice yesterday. Shortest day of the year (for those of us living in the northern hemisphere). The word solstice comes from a latin term » solstitium, meaning sun stoppage. Extra cool with a full moon tonight.The exact time (when the sun reached its southern-most point and began heading back north was 1:08AM EST, which means winter actually began Friday night (10:08 PM) for those of us here on the Left coast.
To celebrate the event I rode my bike around the Back Bay, with Tom, his wife & daughter. My first bike-ride since getting thrown off & landing on my cranium. Nice day. Lots of sunshine.
No mountains, tho. I rode mostly with Tom's (7-yr-old) daughter, who's pace I found comfortable.
Good news » the library (Newport Beach) is gonna buy the books I recommended (both of them) » Bulletproof Web Design (2nd ed.), as recommended by Nate here » Best Book for Learning Cascading Style Sheets » CSS Mastery by Andy Budd, ..
.. and also Dreamweaver CS3: The Missing Manual. (I only have the electronic version of this one, which is harder on the eyes than paper.)
I do my homework when researching which book is best for a particular topic (since a good book can make a big difference), so I shouldn't be surprised. (Tho I am.)
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••••• today's entry continues below ••••• Finished another chapter in CSS Mastery today. Hadn't really noticed before the word Mastery in the title, at least not consciously. I merely knew it was supposed to be a good book on CSS.
But it's becoming clear the term mastery includes notions of advanced & sophisticated (concepts which this book on CSS is presenting). I mean, advanced selectors are discussed in the very first chapter, along with other sophisticated concepts.
Color Schemes
Regarding the topic of style, I've been playing with a (cool) program called Color Schemer Studio. Design skills have never been my strength, so I like that the site contains (literally) thousands of pre-configured color schemes, contributed by users and subsequently rated (by the community).
Each color scheme can be downloaded (*.cs file) and loaded into the program (to learn the hex value of each color). But this is not really necessary .. if you have a program like Color Cop (freebie).
So I've been perusing hundreds of different color schemes I might like to use when I redesign the site .. putting into practice my new web-stud skills. Sorry I can't link to the schemes I really like, but I posted a few here on this page, and anything (done by someone with design skills) is likely to be far better than what I have now.
Lastly, the bug is gone. Left a few days ago. Flew back East, with his mom, to be with her family for the holidays. I signed off. (Always do.) Altho this time he didn't seem eager to go. "I wanna stay with you, dada," he said. Actually, the first thing he said was, "I want you to come, too." .. after I tried to put a positive spin on the situation » "You're gonn a have a fun time on the big airplane."
So I've been sad. More so than expected. Got the blues. Gave up some of my days with him, so he could go. Friends don't think I should be so accommodating, considering. But he'll have a good time, and that's really what counts.
The Bug will be 3 next month. And I'm finally starting to learn a few things about this parenting thing. The *reason* parenting is such a powerful thing .. is cuz it deals with the issue survival. Nature programs us with powerful instincts that ensure the species survives.
And our offspring (in terms of the species) is even more important than the parent. This is why we find ourselves "sacrificing" for our kids. We may not make the ultimate sacrifice, but we do so in ways more subtle. Which is why our actions often bypass the decision-making process. We simply do what we must .. as dictated by our species' genetic hard-wiring.
Yes, the act of parenting has an influence on the survival of the species. If you were God, would you leave it to chance? Probably not. We have (as you know) powerful incentive to procreate, and once this is accomplished, other priorities take precedent.
Anyway, figuring out *why* I do & feel certain things, as a parent, and why the Bug always comes first .. even when I don't consciously *try* to adopt this perspective .. is a curiosity that's always intrigued me. I see it happening, but never really understood the dynamics. Now, I feel I've gained some insight. It's about survival (but not mine). This is my theory.
If you don't hear from me before then, I want to wish everybody a Merry Christmas.
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
For more along these lines, here's a Google search preconfigured for the query > html hex web color scheme design
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Now that the forum-update (to YaBB 2.2) is complete (first things first), my attention turns to Ye Olde Rad Blog .. for which I've used Movable Type (since 2003), and been waiting patiently for the release of v4.1. (Cuz it has the cool features I want.)
Quiet Christmas here in Radland .. with the Bug gone for the holidays. I miss the little guy. Come to think of it, I've never yet seen him on Christmas. There's something I can look forward to. Maybe next year.
Felt good to throw around some iron. Everybody came up, asking, "Dude, where you been?"