My Laptop Adventure!

My laptop had a sudden encounter with a steaming cup of hot green tea today! While checking my email early this morning, I spilled a cup of freshly brewed green tea squarely into the keyboard. In fact, the full cup splashed into the keyboard! When this occurs, you suddenly wonder if the laptop is smartly designed to divert keyboard spills away from the delicate components. In this case, it appears that it is! My Compaq Presario drained the tea (unsweetened) from the lower right hand corner of the case. When I opened it, I was pleasantly surprised to see that all of the boards, hardrive, and battery were perfectly dry. The only item reached by the liquid was the touchpad circuitry, which was now causing occasional errors when it or the mouse is used. The touchpad obviously needed to be fully dried. So, I opened the case slightly to allow air to fully circulate, and allowed it to dry fully for 4 hours. In the hot, dry Arizona 102 degree heat anything will dry out in 4 hours! Truthfully, I am pretty confident that it will be in perfect working condition after drying. I'll keep you posted!

Update: After four hours of drying time the laptop is working perfectly. That is a testament to the robust design of my Compaq Presario laptop! It appears that the rubber membrane-backed based keyboard is designed to divert spills past the components, hard drive and battery. That is the sort of feature that you never consider when shopping for a computer. However, in the twinkling of an eye, it could become the most important one!

Web Designer Ramblings - Photo of the Day

When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other. - Chinese Proverb

Here is another photo of one of my favorite things. Flowers keep me humble. They remind me that no matter how much creativity we may think we have as web designers (or designers of any sort) not one of us can create a flower. Our Creator is the very embodiment of creativity.

"Old School" Web Design

Do you remember the early days of web design? VGA monitors that only displayed 256 colors ... All Internet access was dialup ... AOL (America Online) ruled the online market and Netscape was the browser of choice ... Do you remember?

I stumbled across a web design I did over ten years ago for my second paying client. It was designed in Adobe Pagemill, (the pioneer web design program of that day) and all the graphics were scanned from the client's brochure and converted to .gif graphic files.

It is a rather advanced design for that day (if I may say so myself) and reflects our determination to get around all the limitations of crude basic html we were forced to contend with. For a trip back in time, visit the original web design by following this link.

You Love the Roses . . .

You love the roses - so do I. I wish
The sky would rain down roses, as they rain
From off the shaken bush. Why will it not?
Then all the valley would be pink and white
And soft to tread on. They would fall as light
As feathers, smelling sweet; and it would be
Like sleeping and like waking, all at once!


What web designer does not appreciate a bit of George Eliot's poetry to lighten the day?

Web Design and Green Marketing

Green, or eco-friendly products are the newest marketing challenge for web designers. Unlike traditional "green" products that were typically dowdy, the new green products feature designer labels and cutting edge design. How can web designers meet the needs of this sophisticated new market?

A new article in our web design guide shows a successful web design for a new design driven green product. It outlines our key strategies in creating a successful green web site. You can view the article by following this link.

Web Designer Ramblings - Photo of the Day

Todays Photo of the Day features a beautiful visitor to the fishing lagoons of Papago Park, Phoenix, Arizona. These ducks (I believe this is a Pintail duck) visits the lagoons every winter along with other wintering birds.

Web Designer Ramblings - Photo of the Day

Today's Web Designer Ramblings - Photo of the Day is one of my favorite subjects. Flowers! This scene is from the Rio Grande Botanic Garden in Albuquerque, New Mexico, a marvelous oasis of botanical delights in the warm city of Albuquerque.

Web Designer Ramblings - Photo of the Day

The Photo of the Day features a hot-air balloon from the 2007 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. This annual event is one of the most exciting attractions in Albuquerque, bringing international participants and observers.

Web Designer Ramblings - Photo of the Day

Todays' Web Designer Ramblings - Photo of the Day is a rural setting in Bernalillo, New Mexico. I thought this photo perfectly encapsulated the relentless competitiveness that, for better or for worse, is so much a part of the American capitalist system.

The 25 Best Free Quality Fonts Blog is a great resource for any web designer looking for top-quality fonts for their web design. This is a well-chosen short-list of beautiful typefaces that range from elegant to classic. These fonts work best as titles, headings and logos as they must be converted to graphics to be used in web design. They cannot be used as html text since they must reside on the computer of the viewer to be seen. However, they are wonderful fonts for creating graphics for any website!

Web Designer Ramblings - Photo of the Day

The Web Designer Ramblings - Photo of the Day is shot in one of my favorite destinations, Taos, New Mexico. This quaint town is rich in Native American culture juxtaposed with modern style. A wonderful place to visit year round, and a skiers' delight in the winter. This scene shows the typical Anasazi Adobe architecture adopted by many of the local stores.

Oooh, Nice Design!

As a web designer, some of my best inspiration comes from other creative disciplines. When it comes to automobile design, there is occasionally a flash of brilliance that just makes you pause . . . in admiration. The BMW Gina is a concept vehicle that is a creative tour-de-force in its rethinking of the materials that go into the skin of a vehicle. In this case, a taut fabric covers engine and frame in much the way that skin covers sinew. The automotive "skin" literally ripples with activity, with seamless doors and headlights that appear under "eyelids" that appear to blink. It may never see the light of day, but is, nonetheless, a fascinating testament to creativity! Get the full story here.

Web Designer Ramblings - Photo of the Day

The Tranquil setting in today's Web Designer Ramblings - Photo of the Day is from one of my favorite parks in Arizona. Papago Park is a rambling patch of curious red rock formations sprinkled with fishing lagoons and picnic facilities. It is also home to the family of geese seen in this photo.