Colophon
Style and Structure
The overarching goal is clean, well-formed and semantic mark-up. CSS instead of tables for layout. Secondly, I use this site to teach myself new things. So, I'm using the Baseline CSS grid and HTML5.
Relying on evolving standards means some browsers aren't going to show the site as intended. Generally, if you're using Safari 4, Google Chrome, Firefox 3.6 or Opera 10, you'll probably be fine. No guarantees made for Internet Explorer, however IE 8 is likely to be a much better experience than earlier versions. Please upgrade.
The body copy should be in Lucida Grande, headers in Helvetica. Backup fonts are specified.
Software
"It's a poor craftsman, who blames his tools." Simply put, the site turned out the way I intended, not what a particular tool made me do.
This site is possible through the generosity of several communities fo open source software developers. The licenses can vary, as do the considerations of what each project wants for itself. But, the fact remains, much of the software the site stands upon was freely provided for community benefit by some wonderful software developers.
Site editing and testing
Image processing
Server software
Hosting
We run on a Slicehost virtual private server. Sign up yourself and help me offset the cost of running this site.
Notable gems and other niceties
- BlueCloth gem (a Ruby implementation of Markdown)
- rubypants gem (a Ruby implementation of Smarty Pants)
- Collective Idea's fork of the delayed_job Rails plugin.
Tip of the hat
My site design is influenced by and benefits from reading about and reviewing the work of several CSS and design luminaries.
Sites I've appreciated the design or practice of:
- John Gruber's Daring Fireball
- Khoi Vinh's Subtraction
- Coudal Partners
- Dave Shea's Mezzoblue
- Rebecca Blood's What's in Rebecca's Pocket
- Derek Powazek's Powazek.com
- Heather Champ's HChamp
- 37signals' Signal vs. Noise
Design reference
The following are noted for a wealth of material that served as reference or inspiration:
- Dan Cederholm's Simple Bits
- Jeffery Zeldman Presents
- A List Apart