Pied Type
design
Mining new ideas for your WordPress theme
Looking for new ideas for designing/redesigning/using your WordPress theme? Google the credit line at the bottom of the page (eg: “Blog at WordPress.com. Theme: The Morning After by WooThemes”) — don’t forget to add quotes — and browse hundreds of blogs using the same theme.
Doin’ the WordPress switch again
As you can see, I’ve been redecorating again. What you’re looking at, for the moment at least, is “The Morning After” theme. It certainly isn’t the most attractive front page I’ve ever used, but I wanted to try a magazine theme. The idea with such themes is to keep the front page as short as … Continue reading
Curtis Killorn: Artist or vandal?
Curtis Killorn, an artist in Salida, Colo., likes his canvases au naturel. He finds and paints trees. Dead ones. Snags. The kind that a property owner might cut down. Or a woodpecker inhabit. Or a photographer capture on film. Or a hiker admire. I learned about him in a Huffington Post article that includes a … Continue reading
Hey, WordPress, check this out
In a previous post about things I’d like to see added to WordPress themes, I mentioned liking dynamic features, features that change or move or work in interesting ways. WordPress has introduced a few of them in some themes. Featured posts that change or slide horizontally. Widgets that incorporate several tabs — categories, archives, comments … Continue reading
WordPress: Paving cow paths
A few days ago WordPress users got a letter from Matt — Matt Mullenweg, WP’s founding developer — reporting on the growth of his baby. In the course of his presentation, he spoke of WP’s reliance on “Desire Paths” to determine the company’s direction. He likened it to paving cow paths, something anyone who has … Continue reading
Formerly Under the Influence, now back to Vigilance
Most of you probably haven’t noticed and couldn’t care less that I changed my WordPress theme again this week. But I did, and I’ve been busy behind the scenes fine tuning the code to my liking. My previous theme was Under the Influence and I spent a lot of time trying to get it to … Continue reading
WordPress releases ‘Piano Black’ theme
It’s true. Nothing makes a color image “pop” like a black matrix or background. If you don’t believe me, try previewing WordPress’s newest theme, “Piano Black,” on your WP blog. Color images are absolutely scintillating. The problem is, so is the text. And scintillating text is harder to read. Well, it is for me anyway. … Continue reading
My (page) designing mind
Pied Type has a new look — again — and the simple explanation is the lady changed her mind. But there’s more to it than that. The dark Choco theme is warm and cozy. It focuses attention on the posts by treating everything else with brown tones. But its limitations frustrated me. Dark themes can … Continue reading
Redecorating, again
I’ve gotten the itch to “redecorate” this blog, so be warned that things here may appear a bit unstable for a while. Much as I like this new theme, called “Elegant Grunge,” it has some shortcomings. If I can’t tweak them to my liking, or learn to live with them, I’ll probably be moving on … Continue reading
Mexicans angry over American cartoon
An editorial cartoon of the Mexican flag has stirred up a hornet’s nest in Mexico — with a lot of help from Mexican newspapers that plastered the American cartoon all over their front pages. The cartoon, by MSNBC cartoonist Daryl Cagle, shows the flag riddled with bullet holes and the central eagle lying in a … Continue reading
Another marketing boo boo
Sprite Zero is my soft drink of choice these days, but they’ve really annoyed me with their latest packaging change. For as long as I can remember, their 2-liter bottles have been the same shape as everyone else’s. But this week when I picked up a few bottles at the store, I noticed they’d changed … Continue reading
So you think you know color
I’ve always been interested in print media, art, color, design, etc, so I found this chart particularly interesting. We hear a lot about words, gestures, or types of clothing that should or should not be used in other cultures. But I’ve never thought much about the meanings of colors in other cultures. Click twice on … Continue reading
Still discovering WP Twenty Ten features
I just discovered something about the WordPress theme I’m currently using (Twenty Ten). Maybe I’m the last to know; wouldn’t be the first time that’s happened. Mouse over the date in the line at the top of the page (“Posted on Friday, May 21, 2010 by Pied Type”) and it will show you the time … Continue reading
Oil (in the wrong place) is not healthy
The message here, as I first saw it, is that the BP oil now drifting in the Gulf is hazardous to everything living there. Others, however, have interpreted this more generally, as a blanket condemnation of oil in our society. What do you think?
Check your blog’s loading time
If your blog or website doesn’t load in less than 4 seconds, you’re losing visitors. Check your loading time and make necessary changes. Continue reading
‘Legs’ McGee and Molly have mug
Just passing along the information … I found a mug at Zazzle with a picture of Molly and the now-famous “Legs” McGee, her mate. Like all the night cam images from The Owl Barn, it’s fuzzy and only black and white, but it might be fun for those who’ve been wanting a “Legs” mug.
Yes, I know I keep changing themes
Yes, yes, I know I changed themes not that long ago. But I suddenly started missing the Vigilance theme, so I’m bringing it back. Hey, at least it’s free. And it keeps me from doing any more online shopping. We all have our weaknesses and one of mine has always been reworking layouts for as … Continue reading
Speaking of typefaces
Typefaces are an addiction of mine; I once had as many as 1200 of them on my computer. (“Typeface” and “font” are often used interchangeably, although there is a distinction that I won’t attempt here.) At their best they combine artistic flair and geometric precision. They are the voice, the mood, the face of written … Continue reading
Who doesn’t love a compliment?
Those of you who drop by here occasionally already know, and newcomers will soon learn, that this blog has a bit of an identity problem, rather like its author. Constantly changing moods, topics, layouts. A debilitating lack of focus and purpose. No particular goals to speak of. Blog angst. Occasionally (rarely) I get put on … Continue reading
Some people are never satisfied
Nested comments. You may have noticed WordPress added them a while back. I was excited about it at first, but it has several shortcomings for backwater blogs like this one. I don’t get enough visitors and discussion, with people addressing one another, to really take advantage of nested comments. I do keep the feature turned … Continue reading
This Is Colorado
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