It has come to my attention that all the rage in web page layout is CSS positioning, as compared to using a table arrangement.  The real advantages, as I have come to be told, have yet to sink in as I have just started playing with CSS positioning.  I have laid out the Homepage using only CSS and compared it to the previous version, which was arranged in a table of rows and columns.  You may open both versions and see for yourself by clicking the image above for the table version and the image below for the CSS version.  I do believe that the CSS version does open a little faster.  Other than that the differences are a little blurry (to me).  But I suppose that, like anything else, the advantages of CSS will become clearer as I gain experience.

I have found that WordPress and Windows Live Writer do play very well together, so I guess that I’ll stick with them.  As such, we will now see how easy it is to add a picture that will enlarge in the Lightbox, as we discussed, well, I mentioned, in the previous post.  I will insert a small image here:

Then I’ll do a little behind-the-scenes magic…

Then you will click on the image of the Shuttle and it will open in the Lightbox interface.

Tada!  OK, I have to admit, it didn’t work the first time. I had to go find a version that works with WordPress.  Thank you WordPress Forums!  And thank you Safirul Alredha.

Please read previous post…

I’ll wait…

You back?  OK.  I found another script at DynamicDrive that shows images in the, now ubiquitous, “Lightbox” effect that all of the popular kids are using these days.  The challenge was to meld it with my scrolling filmstrip and huge enlargements, as I wasn’t willing to part with either.  Well, my shoulder really hurts, from patting myself on the back.

Now, if you click on one of the thumbnails, the page darkens and a medium sized enlargement appears in the window.  At the bottom of the Polaroid-like frame is a link to open an even larger representation in a new window.  Overlaid on the “Polaroid” image are next/previous navigation tabs, when you move your cursor to one side or the other, to flip through the images in the filmstrip.  You may either click “Close” or click outside of the image frame to exit the Lightbox and return to the page.  Coolness.

I am eventually going to work this effect into the Journal for any images in posts for which I would like to offer a closer look.  Stay Tuned…

I got rid of the static image of a three frame film strip (see two posts down) to play around with a little JavaScript.  If you place your pointer over the film strip, and move the cursor left and right, the strip will scroll, fast or slow depending on the cursor’s distance from the center.  The images in the film strip are also “clickable”, if you would like a closer look at the individual pics.  The basis for this script, called “CMotion Gallery” can be downloaded from DynamicDrive.com, and used freely.

I have also added a link on the front page to MySpace.  A little silliness to draw a few people here.  The Answer.com “Double-click anywhere…” interface was added to assist in the understanding of the highly technical nature of this portal.  

One last change, and a major one, is the comment system.  I completely deleted the message board that I was using, too much maintenance getting rid of fake posts from loser spammers.  All links on the site referencing “Comments” now lead to the Comments page of this journal.  Akismet does a pretty good job of taking care of crap left by wandering numbnuts.

I Haven’t decided yet as to which program I want to use to post to this Journal/Blog.  It seems that I will settle on either Windows Live Writer or Adobe Contribute CS3.  The image below is of the building I worship in. (One of the insert toys in WLW)

This bugger is even checking my text as I type, cool beans as I can’t type worth a crap!. I’ll probably choose Live Writer, it has a smaller footprint on my system and has a lot more cool toys to play with.   Oh, and did I mention that it’s FREE!?  I like free.