Archives ‣ March 2006

  1. March 31

    1. Inset Sidebars with Negative Margins

      My favorite part of the Open website is using a negative top margin to create the illusion of a sidebar that is set into the header. It really helps break up the grid in the layout and I think it provides a very distinct look to the site. Here’s what it looks like as of this writing:

      Inset Sidebar Effect

      The effect is done using a fairly straightfoward XHTML with header, content, and sidebar areas. Use your favorite CSS technique to arrange these divs into a two column layout. The inset effect comes from giving div#sidebar a negative top margin. This will move the sidebar into the header area. The look comes from using a faux-column technique on div#page to create the illusion of two full-length columns with a matching header graphic to complete the look.

      Taking a screenshot of the layout and creating graphics in Photoshop or Fireworks will make sure all of your background graphics match up in the final layout.

    2. Now Open for Business

      It’s good that I am getting to a lot of things on the “get-done-before-graduating” list, one of which was Open’s website, which has been on the backburner for way too long. This thing has existed for a pretty long time as a Mambo/Joomla skeleton with pictures of Donald Duck on the front page.

      Open is becoming more active as of late, and having a serious web presence is now very important. One of the things that people really wanted out of the site was a place to show off pictures from a lot of the great events the club has held for the student body - especially this weekend’s charity drag show!

      The other thing that I realized at the last candidate’s weekend is that Open’s web presence can serve to communicate to people outside of the college about Olin’s open and accepting community, especially to incoming students and prospectives. It’s a message that isn’t as loud and clear during the admissions process as I think it should be.

      The WordPress platform was chosen for both of these reasons. I think it provides tools for the club to take a more proactive role in both promoting its accomplishments and communicating to people outside of Olin the kind of place it has played a part in making possible. I also chose it because its really friendly to write content for. Open will really be able to start producing content without worrying about technical details.

  2. March 13

    1. Tales from the Innermost Cabin

      Freshman year, Nicole, Grant, Kori, and I went to a natural reserve in Ipswich and spent the night in a cabin about 30 feet from the parking lot. At some point throughout the night we discovered a guestbook in the cabin, which contained true stories written by real seven-to-ten year olds. Grant posted half of the stories on this post at AlwaysBeta so take a look. These stories were performed dramatically at Olin’s semesterly variety show to a great reception. Hopefully that gets posted somewhere on the internets soon.

  3. March 10

    1. More or Less Finished

      The site is really starting to come together. I’m still trying to get wordpress to do the things that I’d like it to do but it is certainly not challenging at all to put together. I’m very impressed with how generally straightfoward it is to make a custom template.

  4. March 05

    1. The Big Screen Experience

      The repreated insistence on the “big screen experience” throughout tonight’s Oscar ceremonies was heavy-handed, and ignores the main way that films have meaning for me. I may not be most people, but it has been almost a year since I’ve watched a film in the theatre.

      I don’t miss it one bit. The experience of sharing a film with an audience - even at its best - pales in comparison to those same moments in the company of a limited set of friends. The screens may not be as big, and the sound usually comes from a dump find, but the emotional impact of film comes through loud and clear. It draws me closer to people that mean an awful lot to me. It makes film more intensely personal and significant.

      I’d like to draw the parallel to music. There’s nothing like the “live” experience at a concert hall, but recordings of music are also considered significant experience. Great albums are stories in and of themselves that stand on their own. On the other hand, the persistent attitude in the film industry that considers the DVD as an afterthought of the creative process saddens me, as a lot of opportunity that is being squandered.

      It is kind of funny that I am saying this however, while watching the ceremonies themselves on the big screen at Olin’s auditorium.