Ultra Mundane: Scottitude on EF22Blogs

For anyone that's too busy doing constructive things to have explored all the bells and whistles Keith built in to the new EFx2 Blogs homepage (which looks and feels incredibly familiar, BTW) The Forums are now active!

The Forums require separate registration and profile/control panel management just like always so even if you don't blog here, you can still sign up and interact with all the cool people who do!

NYT Photo Op

On my way out of Detroit Metro the other day, I was finishing a meal at the Fox Sports Bar, one of the two "smoking allowed" establishments in the entire airport when I overheard a guy with a huge camera asking another patron if he could take a few shots of him checking email on his laptop while his cigarette smoldered in the ashtray. The photographer explained that he worked for the New York Times and was shooting images for a story on smoking in airports.

Thinking it would be cool to shoot the shooter, I flipped open my phone and snapped a quick pic.

I was listening to the Hip on my Zen when I realized the photographer was saying something to me. I nervously popped out an earbud and lowered the volume, certain that he was going to chastise me for shooting him shooting his subject when he asked to snap a few shots of me enjoying my last cigarette before I hustled off to catch my flight. Naturally, I obliged him.

If it gets published I'll probably be identified as another weak human with a nasty habit thoughtlessly killing others with my second-hand smoke while millions of alcoholics *ahem* "social drinkers" violently kill innocents on a daily basis with no government or judicial body even considering a public ban on their vice of choice.

Still, if it happens, it'll be cool to see myself in such a renowned publication!

Lest all the drinkers get too upset, I have no problem with booze or those who drink at home but it's unconscionable that society allows nay, promotes and encourages its public sale and consumption.

A New Tradition, A New Beginning...

Well, well, well... I get in from an exhaustive business trip and find that Keith has utilized the generous contributions of Periodically Demented and many others to get the newer and improved-er EFx2Blogs community up and running.

I took a few minutes to slightly modify a stock template just to check out the new blog-engine and while I still have a long way to go, I'm diggin it much more than the WPMU-based site we had when I was last on-line.

If I have the time, I'll tinker and tweak a little bit more this weekend but I wanted to get at least one post up and thought I'd start with the inspiration behind my Ultra Mundane EFx2 blog by sharing a snippet of lyrics and high quality, fully legal MP3 of the Tragically Hip tune Ultra Mundane, a bonus track from the 2002 release "In Violet Light"

I just have three questions: where's that confounded PayPal link, am I missing the spill-chuck function, and why won't my link color-changes take? Anyone? Bueller?

Fully, Completely, Finished

...For now, anyway. I'm thoroughly impressed with the simplicity and speed of Keith's ReStyle. Turns out, the only frustration I experienced was self created by some long forgotten sloppy post code.

I'll still tinker around a bit with a little tweak here and there and I have to add my custom menus but I'm very satisfied with the look and feel.

If you like the look or want to use it as the basis for your own design, go ahead and install the skin. Links to the images are included the design info so feel free to download and use them, just please don't hotlink.

Getting There

I wouldn't call it done quite yet but the design transition has begun. I'm a novice like many of you and struggle to keep track of what's what. Even the old Legacy template took me a lot of trial and error.

That's why I'm fairly impressed with the ReStyle engine. I started with Keith's 3 Column Layout #1, tinkered with some of the CSS values until I kind of 'got' it and then systematically worked through the requisite CSS changes until I successfully recreated the basic color scheme of my Steel Mesh design.

Like I said, I'm a novice and it was the first time I seriously attempted to "edit" a designs CSS. The whole process took me about an hour. And I'm starting to overcome my fear of CSS. I'm not sayin' I grasp it, but it's not so foreign anymore.

I'm not sure when I'll have time to continue re-decorating but in the meantime, the place looks a little more like home.

'tude.

Re-Styled

It's awesome that EFx2 Restyle has launched. I'm still wanderin' around a bit trying to get a grasp on the new process so when I can make the time, I'll have it half-way figured out.

Coming soon(er or later): a custom Restyle design.

Check-Tyew-Threeee - taptaptap - Is This Thing On?

It's been over a month since I've had time to even think about a reading a blog, let alone post anything. I'm really tired of starting posts with an apology for my inattention to my online digs so I won't; the part of my life that puts coffee in the cup and broadband in the wall always comes first.

The month of May found me on an over-nighter to Cleveland, a day-trip to Orlando, a four day trip to Vegas (working, not playing), and securing and inhabiting (unexpectedly) a new domicile. So yeah, I've been a little busy.

The tale of the circumstances that led to the move is worth the telling but the back-story and set-up would take more time than I can spare this evening so I'll save it for another day. If you're a bottom-line-only person, it can be summed up in two words: karma and schadenfreude.

The summer TV season is on the horizon signaling the return of The 4400 (Sun June 17), Kyle-XY (Mon June 11), Big Brother (Thu July 5), and eventually Weeds (Mon July 30) so there will be no shortage of blog-fodder.

In the meantime, I'll be nosin' 'round a bit.

Howard Stern vs. the Superficial Friends

Heavy.com's The Superficial Friends are funny enough but throw in an hysterical parody of The Howard Stern Show, complete with the Whack-Pack. and you have cartoon gold! The animators at Camp Chaos are clearly Stern fans; they captured all the subtleties and inside(r) jokes that you're likely to hear on any given day.

Check it out...

[originally posted at Every Irrelevance]

Last.FM -Scottitude Radio

Blonde Solid

I also updated the original post but a new, cleaner version of The Tragically Hip's Blonde Solid MP3 warrants its own post. I replaced the original file with one I edited with Nero. The sound is better; it's still not great, but it's about the best a very old MP3 from a cassette tape is gonna sound and it does sound better then before.

So, download it. Or don't. Whatever.

Listen to Blonde Solid:

If the player doesn't display properly, blame the QuickTime plugin. Activate the stupid QuickTime player by clicking on it, press 'spacebar' once, and a second time to play the track.

Download Blonde_Solid.mp3 (7259.6K)

Forums On-line at EFx2Blogs

NYT Photo Op

A New Tradition, A New Beginning...

Fully, Completely, Finished

Getting There

Re-Styled

Check-Tyew-Threeee - taptaptap - Is This Thing On?

Howard Stern vs. the Superficial Friends

Last.FM -Scottitude Radio

Blonde Solid

About Me

Links

Categories

Recent Entries

Shouts & Giggles

Friends

Widgetude