Darnology | Life + Design

Make your web better. Learn how.

Brett — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 15:46:48 +0000

Drudging through my endless list of RSS feeds today, I found this great little article. If you are in the wide world of web on a daily basis and developing content, you should really check this out. It is a great article from a great site. It’s pieces like this that really make me check my own practices to make sure I am doing the right processes in developing great sites.

8 Ideas, Techniques & Tricks for your Web Design Toolkit

Change is moving in…

Brett — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 19:40:38 +0000

So as you can see, it’s been a solid month since my last post here at Darnology. Life has been kicked into overdrive, and quite honestly there are just not enough hours in the day! A lot of that change is going to effect Darnology in a pretty big way. Although I am not 100% certain about the exact time frame of this change, do stay tuned as it is surely on it’s way. Maybe a slight change in direction? Sort of. It’s a wait and see kind of thing.

Bigger, better, more better [like the proper english?] things will be happening here sooner than you think. It will be much different and perhaps shake things up a bit, but there will always be a Darnology one way or another. That’s all for now class…

Secrets don’t make friends…

Brett — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 15:06:08 +0000

…but they sure are fun! I just had to drop a snippet of an up and coming project that I think is quite cool. I am working with with a pal of mine to create a really great web experience. I will get into that more as it gets closer to launch [could be a while, as this is a big undertaking for a couple of nerds], but in the mean time, have fun trying to read the name, and enjoy the friendly mascot.

It’s not old…it’s vintage…or retro.

Brett — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 19:26:53 +0000

Without a doubt, Smashing Magazine is my favorite daily blog read for fantastic inspirational posts that cover all venues of design in the world as we know it. Their latest post is definitely near and dear to my heart as I am rather fund of retro and vintage stylings of things in our modern world.

This is a rad display of some great web designs that do a nice job of adhering to styles of old. If nothing else, this is one of the more fun galleries they have had recently. It is chock full of quality work, and even if vintage/retro is not your personal taste it is well worth a look. Quality work is quality work, whether you like it personally or not! Enjoy this free dose of inspiration…

Source: Smashing Magazine | Retro and Vintage In Modern Web Design

My Portfolio…the red headed step child.

Brett — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 16:48:47 +0000

I have been dabbling with the idea of changing the format of my portfolio section of my site. Besides the fact that I am not in love with the format, it is also rather out dated. It is time to start new and get back on track. I get so busy with actual work that I don’t do a great job taking care of my blog and portfolio the way I should.

That is all about to change in the very near future. Be sure to check back for more updated work, as I have let visitors down over the past few months. A lot has happened with my projects, but now I need to show everyone!

Check back for that soon…

I know a guy… | Web Design

Brett — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:39:12 +0000

I was hopping around the net yesterday reading articles from my usual spots when I can across this interesting little piece posted at graphics.net. It is an interesting read as it breaks down how things used to be and how things are today in the wide world of web development. I think the title is fantastic, and should make you interested to read the article.

I know that some of the items he speaks about apply to me, while others don’t as much simply because I am a one man shop who occasionally brings on another fellow from time to time to help me deal with the larger projects. Whether this applies to you or not, this really is a great article. Check it out…

Source: I have a friend who knows a guy whose son does websites.

Ever wanted to Hassle the Hoff?

Brett — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 18:49:00 +0000

Now you can! My buddy Nate sent me this little nugget of internet goodness. This link alone has validated my high-speed internet bill for the month of September.

You can head over to this site and download your own Hasselhoff paper doll. Make sure to print yours on some thicker card stock so that you have it for years to come. It will be the conversation piece on your desk at work that will draw people to your cubical. Don’t believe me? Just try it. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

As I wrap this post up, let me leave you with a couple of special quotes from Mr. Hasselhoff himself. The Hoff has a website as a matter of fact, and this is what he has to say about it:

“My web site is so fresh. The paint is still wet, but stay tuned, because I have lots of personal things, specifically about what is happening day-to-day, that I will keep updating daily.”

In case that first quote was not enough, I do have one more:

“My wife is the dancer, but I certainly know how to sing.” (The Hoff singing..)

I think that is enough said. Enjoy this awesome and very posable paper doll.

Source: www.vectors4free.com

I have power! (sort of)

Brett — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 15:27:13 +0000

It has officially been one week and some odd hours since I have been without power thanks to the hurricane known as Ike. Now, I realize that there are many more important things that were effected by Ike than my electricity situation, but being without power is certainly an annoyance after a couple of days.

As I am writing this I am sitting in a hotel in Bryan, TX where I will be attending a wedding later this evening. I figured I would take advantage of their electricity as well as their free wifi, and just let anyone who cares to know that I still am alive. I have contacted my current clients and let them know I am away from all things technology related until I get power again. In the mean time, I continue to work as I can on the generator at my folk’s house in Houston.

We will be getting power again on Tuesday (9/23) of this week I am told, so we will see how that plays out. Once that happens I am hoping that life can start to get back to normal sooner than later. I miss getting to play on my trusty Mac all day long.

I am off for now, but hopefully will be back for real in the next few days. Until then…

Songza | Super Cool Web App

Brett — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 13:50:53 +0000

So what is really so great about Songza? Let me tell you…

I seem to find myself on this site checking out all sorts of different artists. I guess you should probably be doing the same, as this might be one my favorite sites to hit the net in a very long while. This is up there with hulu.com in my book. Here is one great little gem I found on there recently. It is one my favorite songs of the moment, so you can take a second to check it out or just head over to songza.com yourself and find your own musical treasures.

Did I mention that you can embed songs into your site? Cool, eh?

Developing Unplugged

Brett — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:06:22 +0000

So here is my new little gem that I have been using as of late. With a pretty crazy development schedule over the next couple of months, I have been looking for a very simple solution to keep things running locally. There are several ways to go about keeping a server live, but this is by far the most simple solution.

MAMP [ Macintosh, Apache, Mysql and PHP ]

Download the rather beefy download (130 MB) and just drag it into your Applications folder, and you are ready to roll. And yes, this is a Mac only treat. If you are not in the club, I am sorry, but you had a choice…and you bought a PC.

Whether you are wanting to develop web projects locally, or maybe just run a Wordpress install on your computer for journalling purposes, this is a great free tool to check out.

Get MAMP.