June 2005 Archives

New Book: Bulletproof Web Design

Posted at 10:11 AM

I’m happy to finally announce my new book, Bulletproof Web Design, to be published by New Riders this summer. It’s now completely written and heading to the printers this weekend. If all goes well, it should hit bookshelves in early August.

Ballad Lighter 2.0

Posted at 6:38 PM

Observered while watching a televised Duran Duran concert on high definition television: During the retro ballad “Save a Prayer”, instead of holding up the customary lighter, much of the crowd at Wembley Arena raised glowing mobile phones to the air to create the intimate atmosphere that is the “power ballad lighter thing”.

Does this mean that Duran Duran fans are now non-smokers? Or maybe Wembley doesn’t allow smoking. Or maybe everyone was bored and already talking on the phone when the song came on, and it was more convenient to lift that in that in the air, rather than dig out their lighter. And then again, this could mean that the average person is now more likely to have a mobile phone, than a lighter on them (while watching Duran Duran—an extremely scientific metric).

Whatever it means, Duran Duran is still touring—and people with mobile phones like it.

50 Comments

microformats.org Launched

Posted at 10:28 AM

Officially announced at Supernova2005 earlier this week, a new community-based site has been launched to be the official home for microformats — with a logo and simple site design from SimpleBits.

Figure 1: Current Work/Life Balance

Posted at 11:00 PM

A diagram depicting what happens when the delicate ratio of work/life gets out-of-whack.

Recommended: Ben Sherman Sneakers

Posted at 2:42 PM

I often call myself “1/2 vegetarian”, as my wife is a full 100%. Meals at home are usually meat-free. But I can also claim that my feet are 100% vegan, thanks to a pair of Ben Sherman “Compton” sneakers from VeganEssentials.com (I’m not getting paid to mention this).

It’s like a pair of suede Adidas, minus one stripe, and in (breathable) canvas. This particular pair has been nestled in the dark reaches of my closet for the past eight months or so — emerging last week for the summer season. Here’s to meat-free shoes.

42 Comments

SimpleBits T-Shirts Reprinted

Posted at 12:07 PM

The bad news: the Summer sale wiped out our inventory of official t-shirts. The good news: they’ve been reprinted, and all sizes are now back in stock. A slightly darker “bluestone” shirt (100% cotton Hanes Beefy-T) was selected this time around, with the same 3-color screen print, centered on the front. Apparently, t-shirts rule.