The basic look and feel of -273 will be five years old this summer. Since that time the site has had some minor changes:

• what started out as a fixed color scheme became a user-defineable color scheme and then became a programmtically shifting color scheme.
• I added boxes, initially to the right of the main posts but now on the left, to display some extra content.

And that's about it.

To tell the truth, even the current design is just another iteration on the initial design of this site. The post boxes, the use of angle brackets here and there, and other aspects of the page are essentially the same as they were when this site was first created. The page used to be white with black text and the image at the far right of the page didn't always explode, but that's about it.

I'm thinking it's time to change.

This site has a distinctive look, which I think is a good thing, but I'm worried that it's beginning to be distinctive more for its longevity than anything else. I want to maintain the distinctive part of the look: I want people to be able to realize that it's -273 with just a glance at the page. But I want a fresh, clean look as well.

My main goal of the redesign will be to better utilize the full width of the screen. I want a full-width header and footer. I also want more readable text in the main posts. I think the width is about right (although it could be a bit wider), but the line spacing needs some work. I also want to rework the archives and put some search capabilities in place.

Most of this is stuff that could be done by tweaking the current design, but it feels like it's time to wipe the slate clean and start over from scratch.

If you have any suggestions for something new that you'd like to see, a request for something from the current design to keep, or anything else, just leave a comment.

Comments: 2 Posted by david on 22 May 2006 at 11:37 PM

The Ozzie Smith - Tony LaRussa feud has made it into the national spotlight (see here for Ozzie's initial comments and here for Tony's response). This can only be a good thing. Tony platooned Ozzie and Royce Clayton in Ozzie's final year in the big leagues, and Ozzie has never accepted the fact that his body had made him a part-time player by that point. The goal of baseball teams is to win games. That was Tony's goal. Ozzie thought the club "owed him" the starting role. Tony thought that the platoon situation would be best for the club. It probably was. The previous year Ozzie batted .199 and missed extensive time because of a shoulder injury. In 1996 -- in the platoon situation -- Ozzie batted .282. Clearly, the platooning worked. And the following year Ozzie justified Tony's assumption that he wasn't able to carry a full-time load any longer by retiring.

Ozzie has held a grudge against LaRussa for 10 years now, and it's time he grew up and got over it. Jeff Gordon summarizes both sides pretty well here.

Comments: 0 Posted by david on 22 May 2006 at 6:19 PM

Google Web Toolkit

Google has released a Java library that you can use to write ajax-y stuff for your website. What's cool is that you don't write the javascript you need for normal ajax. You write Java and the toolkit will convert your Java calls into the appropriate HTML and javascript. As google says, it is "for developers who don't speak browser quirks as a second language."

I'm hoping that this framework -- or one similar -- gains quick acceptance. Too much of software engineering is spent redoing what others -- or even you -- have done before. For example, I've written two different javascript calendar controls since I started working. And two of my co-workers have also written some calendar controls. Pretty much every one who has done any bit of web development has at some time. I think this is because software engineers are bad about leveraging systems that can make their lives easier. I can't tell you how many times, when discussing an open-source solution for doing something at work, that someone has proposed that, because it isn't that complicated, we just go ahead and implement a home-grown version of our own. Such a waste of time. But it comes up all the time. Until we start taking advantage of frameworks that make our lives easier, software engineering will be a bit more buggy and and time-consuming than it needs to be.

Comments: 0 Posted by david on 19 May 2006 at 10:01 PM

I haven't watched a single episode of The OC this year, but I gather from news reports (when did the plot of TV shows become news?) that they killed Marissa off. Good riddance. That girl had so many issues she was just becoming unbelievable as a character, even on a soap. michael and I were speculating about who they were going to kill off last night on AIM:

pity for marie: I really hope its marissa, though
David Warner: I hate her
pity for marie: her entire life has been one cry for help, and no one ever cares. life should just put her out of her misery
David Warner: put her down like an abandoned dog
pity for marie: ha
pity for marie: hahaha
pity for marie: exactly

I'm guessing neither of us is sorry to see her go.

Comments: 0 Posted by david on 19 May 2006 at 5:15 PM

This is up fronts week. The time when TV networks in the US announce their fall schedules to advertisers. And the time of the year when TV viewers discover if their favorite shows will be back for another year. The networks do their up front presentations live in New York. NBC was first, today. It will be followed by ABC on Tuesday, CBS on Wednesday, and Fox and the new CW network on Thursday. AS I've done in years past, I'll be pasting the network's shows onto a TV grid so we can get a better idea of what is going head-to-head with what, and which nights will be the most competitive. The link below takes you to this year's grid. I'll be updating it as the week progresses.

Fall 2006 Broadcast TV Schedule

Comments: 0 Posted by david on 15 May 2006 at 4:30 PM

I wonder why President Bush only likes to address the nation during sweeps? Perhaps it's a case of life imitating art: even in the real world, big events are limited to three two-week periods every year. Or maybe he's trying to drive up his Nielsenapproval ratings with some sweeps week stunts?

Comments: 0 Posted by david on 15 May 2006 at 11:01 AM

I'm a big fan of the Chain of Rocks Bridge in north county. This is primarily because of my obsession with the two water intake stations located just south of the bridge. Their design is more than a bit whimsical, and I am impressed that these two structures would have been created in such a nonutilitarian way. Certainly, they wouldn't look the way that they do if they were designed today. Another interesting feature of the bridge is the 22-degree bend in the middle of the bridge. Anyway, the bridge is open to pedestrian and bike traffic, and I recommend it. You get a bit of exercise walking the length of the bridge, since the bridge runs for a mile from shore to shore. From the Missouri side, the bridge is accessible from Riverview Drive. I usually take 70 to Broadway to Riverview when I'm driving there, but this is probably non-optimal as you can just exit 270 onto Riverview about half a mile north of the bridge. Bellefontaine and Calvary Cemeteries are also in the neighborhood, and make for an interesting visit, if you're into that sort of thing.

Comments: 0 Posted by david on 9 May 2006 at 12:01 PM

This is old news, but I found it funny enough to share here. This is the best college prank I've read about it years. And it doesn't involve any heavy lifting or cross-country transportation, just a little social engineering. Well done.

Comments: 0 Posted by david on 5 May 2006 at 10:18 AM

A few more thoughts on Louis Rukeyser and public broadcasting. His passing is getting much public attention, probably because he's been out of the spotlight for a few years now. Nonetheless, he was a PBS staple for many years and an example of the evolution of public broadcasting in general. His ouster in '02 in favor of younger talent is reminiscent of Bob Edwards' 2004 departure from NPR's Morning Edition despite the fact that Morning Edition was the most listened to morning program on radio. The lesson learned from both these moves is that public broadcasting is more and more becoming a business and it is looking more and more like its non-public competition. Whether this change is for the best, we'll just have to wait and see.

Comments: 0 Posted by david on 4 May 2006 at 10:31 AM

Louis Rukeyser, until 2002 the long-time host of the PBS program Wall $treet Week with Louis Rukeyser, died on Tuesday. After being fired from Wall $treet Week in 2002, Rukeyser took his message to cable, where he hosted Louis Rukeyser's Wall Street on CNBC. However, health problems forced Rukeyser to take his new program off the air in 2004. Meanwhile, the original W$W, rebranded as Wall $treet Week with FORTUNE, went off the air in 2005.

Comments: 0 Posted by david on 4 May 2006 at 10:04 AM

I'm pretty angry at the writers of "Veronica Mars." Last night's episode was just ridiculous. I understand that you often have to suspend belief when watching tv shows, but the way that the Aaron Echols trial played out was just insane. I realize they wanted Aaron found not guilty in order to increase the dramatic tension, but couldn't they have done so without looking so stupid? If this were real life (or Law & Order) the judge would have declared a mistrial and Aaron's lawyer would be facing disbarment. It was just so, so dumb. Hopefully they redeem themselves next week.

Comments: 0 Posted by david on 3 May 2006 at 8:22 AM

So the Cardinals are offering a "Limited Edition Aerial Photograph of the Inaugural game at the New Busch Stadium." The photo is a monster: 27" x 39". But so is the price. As someone with a keen interest in Cardinal-themed photography, I was initially very excited by this offer. I've been looking for a photo of Busch III to put up on my wall for a while. But the thing costs $98 before they tack on $25 extra for shipping, handling, and convenience (whatever that means). And given the print's size, I'd need to drop at least $150 to have it framed. So there's no way I'll be getting it. And really that's for the best. The stadium looks good in the shot, but the big dirt pit where the old Stadium used to be looks pretty bad. It would be nice if they could put some grass there or something until the Ballpark Village construction starts in the fall.

Comments: 0 Posted by david on 1 May 2006 at 9:17 PM

I have a small obsession when it comes to leveraging cell phones to do more than talk on the phone. I like seeing applications and services that leverage existing technology that many of us already have to do cool things. They're cool in their own right, but they also tell us a lot about what the future will hold for us in terms of technology. ScanR is an example of one of those apps. Using just a camera phone's picture taking capability, you can convert a whiteboard of notes into a neat and clean, searchable pdf. Admittedly, you need a camera that takes at least 1mp pictures. But while that's the top of the market today, it won't be a top of the market feature forever. I think there are cool applications that can be built that combine gps and pictures as well. Taking a picture of a business's sign and cross-referencing the gps location can give you a quick and simple address book application, for example. So, in my mind, ScanR is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to camera-based services that will be targeted toward camera phone owners. It's a big market, so it makes sense to build services for that market.

Comments: 0 Posted by david on 1 May 2006 at 4:20 PM