Geek in Heels - Page 190

Jan 18, 2009 • In Blogging

Sidebar: Left or Right?

I am pretty certain that a large portion of my readers have blogs of their own.

Do you have a sidebar? If so, is it on the right, left, or both?

I recently read an interesting article discussing the merits of both right and left sidebars.

I contemplated my own sidebar position. And after much consideration, I decided to try a right sidebar.

(And luckily, Squarespace allows me to do this with just a click of a button.)

The main reason for this change is because I want content to be king. In addition, I want this blog to be more user-friendly:

Most of my readers (who are western) read left to right, and as a result, scan a page left to right. A right sidebar ensures that the first thing my readers will see will be my content.

Visitors with lower image resolutions will not be forced to scroll to read my posts.

Some argue that a right sidebar is easier to navigate for right-handed mouse users.

I know that these days, one of the most popular reasons for right sidebars is for SEO purposes: a right sidebar is more friendly to search engines, ensuring that your content is loaded before your sidebar (unless coded specifically not to do so). However, I honestly believe that when it comes to gaining more exposure, providing good quality content far supercedes something as trivial as sidebar position. Thus I did not take SEO into consideration when making the change.

Visually, I think that a left sidebar looks better on my site. However, this may just be due to the fact that I’m not used to the change.

What do you think? Left or right?

The AFC Championship Game

Last week, J admitted to me that he would’ve never married me if I were a Steelers fan.

That, my friends, is a sign of a true Baltimore Ravens fan.

Sidenote #1: For those who are not aware, the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers have what has been dubbed the “NFL’s nastiest rivalry.” See here.

Sidenote #2: Gene Wojciechowski writes, “The Ravens-Steelers matchup makes the NFC Championship Game look like a Tupperware party.”

Sidenote #3: Reader 911WFD writes in response to the second article, “NEWS FLASH….. NFL cancels the Superbowl , league officials say it would be “REDUNDANT and ANTICLIMACTIC” after the AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME.”

Although I enjoy football, I’ve always been a basketball girl.

However, I have to admit that having a football nut as a husband has been rubbing off on me. Why else would I be up at this unholy hour, reading up on the matchup and playing ESPN in the background?

So, in regards to tomorrow’s (err, today’s) AFC Championship game, all I have to say is…

GO RAVENS!

(image source)

My In-and-Out Valentine

Last year, I found out about the White Castle Valentine’s Day Dinners.

Participating White Castles take reservations for this event. You are greeted at the door by a host/hostess dressed to the nines, who will escort you to your tablecloth-covered, candlelit table.

(Pictures from Off The Broiler)

It was perfect for us! We immediately made reservations and eagerly awaited our date.

However, mother nature had other plans for us – a horrible snowstorm kept us from scarfing down those delectable mini burgers and the inevitable stomachache that follows soonafter.

With our first Valentine’s Day as a married couple less than a month away, we had been looking forward to making reservations at our local White Castle once again.

Then we realized that this year’s Valentine’s Day will fall during our week-long visit to Los Angeles.

Where there is no White Castle.

Needless to say I was severely disappointed. Then J made a suggestion that made me look forward to February 14th with glee.

“Why don’t we go to In-and-Out?”

J and I LOVE In-and-Out! We are forever lifting our fists at the powers-that-be for not opening a restaurant here on the east coast. As a result we always gorge on the stuff whenever we venture out west.

So it’s settled. We will be happily celebrating this year’s Valentine’s Day at In-and-Out.

Now if only they served beer at In-and-Out…

My Reaction to USAir Flight 1549

Earlier today, a US Airways plane carrying 155 passengers crash-landed into the Hudson River.

I immediately had three reactions to the incident.

Reaction #1: Pray for the passengers and crew

I have only began to re-realize the power of prayer and I love the impact it is having on my life. My prayer only lasted a couple of minutes, but tears undeniably pooled in my eyes as I prayed for the passenger and crew’s safety, and thanking God for delivering them from what could’ve been an even more horrible incident.

Reaction #2: “Frickin’ Birds!”

My friends and family have always made fun of me for my fear of birds.

“I told you so” seems so befitting, yet unsurprisingly inappropriate.

Immediately following the incident, my Facebook homepage was filled with new status updates from friends wondering if Al Queda has been training birds as a new form of attack.

At least Best Week Ever found humor in it: “The crash was reportedly caused by a flock of birds disrupting the engines, marking the most annoying documented appearance by birds since the game Ninja Gaiden.”

Reaction #3: Behold the power of Twitter

Last month the first report of a Denver plane crash was published via Twitter.

This incident was no exception. I first found out about the crash-landing through Twhirl, the application I use for Twitter.

And predictably, the first close-up pictures of the plane were published to a Twitter account as well.

Judging by my three reactions, I think it is safe to say that I am a religious, dorky, and geeky nut.

Star Wars, as Told by Someone Who Hasn’t Seen It

The travesty!

Via Boing Boing.

Six Helpful Links for Web Developers, Designers, and Bloggers

In the midst of developing three separate websites, I have been reading and bookmarking some useful sources for developers, designers, and bloggers. Here are six I’ve found myself returning to again and again during the past two weeks:

8 Definitive Web Font Stacks

How to Embed Almost Anything in your Website

5 Exciting Things to Look Forward to in HTML 5

50 Resources for Getting the Most Out of Google Analytics

10 Killer WordPress Hacks

5 Techniques to Acquaint You With CSS 3

I hope you find them as useful as I do – enjoy!

RevitaLash

Harro! Remember me, the girl with the non-existent eyelashes?

Last year I tried eyelash extensions and loved the look. I had long, sexy lashes for the first time in my life! It was a miracle!

After a few courses, however, I decided that the treatments were making too big a dent in my wallet. Back to short stubby lashes for me.

I still had hope, and rightfully so.

A couple of months ago my mother called me up and said she had just read all about a “revolutionary” eyelash conditioner called RevitaLash that will help me grow longer and thicker lashes. I was tempted, but the $100+ price tag deterred me. My mother, however, proceeded to go ahead and buy a tube for my younger sister (who, btw, has naturally longer lashes than me. Why?).

When my sister came home for winter break, she gave back the tube to my mother, proclaiming that her eyelashes were too long now. So long that they were becoming a nuisance.

It was then that I noticed her new lashes. Holy crap! They looked like she was wearing falsies!

My mother gladly handed me the leftover tube and I happily skipped through the rest of the day.

I did some research on RevitaLash, because I remembered reading about a similar product that had been banned by the FDA for containing the same ingredients as a glaucoma drug, with possible side effects on vision and even the color of the eyes.

After the Jan Marini eyelash conditioner was pulled from the market, RevitaLash was reformulated as well. However, it still contained the same ingredient that may cause irritation and change the color of your eyes.

I weighed the pros and cons, then decided the heck with it – my vision is already pretty bad and my irises are a boring brown color. If my eyes change color I honestly think it’ll be interesting and a nice conversation starter at the very least. Besides, I had done much worse stuff to my eyes in the past.

I started the treatment on Sunday. I forgot to take a “before” picture, but here’s one from 2007 for reference:

I’ll take a new picture every week so you can follow along on my quest for longer, fuller lashes!

The Evolution of Dance Part 2

Judson Laipply is back with a sequel to the most viewed video in YouTube history!

IMO, the original was better. What do you think?

The Palm Pre Kicks the iPhone’s Ass

With CES 2009 closing tonight, I think it is safe to say that the biggest announcement/drool-worthy gadget at this year’s largest gadgets show was the Palm Pre.

Upon first look, the phone isn’t too impressive.

But if you’re curious to take a good look at what the interweb has been buzzing about since its announcement Friday, take the time to watch this video of the keynote:

Dontcha just love it?

However, no device is perfect. My three main gripes with the Pre are:

No expansion card. The 8 GB of internal storage is impressive, but most smart phones now come standard with the option of popping in a microSD card for full utilization of its features. Heck, a 2 TB (yes you read that right…terabyte) microSD card has just been announced – these days, we want our phones to be multimedia powerhouses!

It is a closed platform. Sure, any doofus with knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript will be able to create widgets, but they won’t be native apps.

The body is too “bubbly” for my tastes. You know me and my clean, angular lines.

Reports from the blogsphere state that Palm booth lackeys were very strict about minimal hands-on testing of the device at CES. That, in addition to the fact that the release date is slated for “the first half of 2009” leads me to believe that the phone is still pretty buggy.

Nonetheless, I am still pretty excited about this phone. And, as many analysts have stated, this is probably Palm’s last chance to keep afloat in the mobile market.

Welcome Back, Mr. Bauer!

Hello readers! I am so sorry for being away for so long but I have a good reason: I have been working on a super secret undercover project. Well that’s not 100% accurate. But I have been working my arse off on a project which I hope to unveil on this blog soon. All I will say is, I’m very, unbelievably proud of it and it has tons of potential!

Tonight marks the start of another season of 24. In order to commemorate this momentous event, here are my 50 favorite Jack Bauer facts. Enjoy!

If everyone on 24 listened to Jack Bauer, the show would be called 1.

In 96 hours, Jack Bauer has killed 93 people and saved the world 4 times. What the hell have you done with your life?

Most people would need months to recover from 20 months of Chinese interrogation. Jack Bauer needs a shower, a shave and a change of clothes.

Some people see the glass as half full. Others see it as half empty. Jack Bauer see the glass as a deadly weapon.

When a convicted terrorist was sentenced to face Jack Bauer, he appealed to have the sentence reduced to death.

There are two hands that can beat a royal flush: Jack Bauer’s right hand and Jack Bauer’s left hand.

Jack Bauer arm once wrestled Superman. The stipulations were the loser had to wear his underwear on the outside of his pants.

Jack Bauer could strangle you with a cordless phone.

The city of Los Angeles once named a street after Jack Bauer in gratitude for his saving the city several times. They had to rename it after people kept dying when they tried to cross the street. No one crosses Jack Bauer and lives.

1.6 billion Chinese are angry with Jack Bauer. Sounds like a fair fight.

Jack Bauer was conceived by torturing the other sperm until they gave up the location of the egg.

When Google can’t find something, it asks Jack Bauer for help.

If Jack Bauer was in a room with Hitler, Stalin, and Nina Meyers, and he had a gun with 2 bullets, he’d shoot Nina twice.

When Jack Bauer pissses into the wind, the wind changes direction.

Kim Bauer was an accident. Not even the pill can stop Jack Bauer.

Sun Tzu once wrote, “If your enemy is weaker, conquer him. If he is stronger, join him. If he is Jack Bauer, you’re f***ing dead.”

If it tastes like chicken, looks like chicken, and feels like chicken, but Jack Bauer says its beef…then you better believe it’s beef.

Jack Bauer literally died for his country, and lived to tell about it.

Jack Bauer played Russian Roulette with a fully loaded gun and won.

When Kim Bauer lost her virginity, Jack Bauer found it and put it back.

Jack Bauer once showed up late for work. CTU adjusted their clocks accordingly.

When bad things happen to good people, its probably fate. When bad things happen to bad people, it’s probably Jack Bauer.

On Jack Bauer’s tax returns, he has to claim the entire world as his dependents.

There are three leading causes of death among terrorists. The first two are Jack Bauer, and the third one is heart attack from hearing Jack Bauer is coming for them.

On a high school math test, Jack Bauer put down “Violence” as every one of the answers. He got an A+ on the test because Jack Bauer solves all his problems with Violence.

Professor Charles Xavier from X-Men once tried to read Jack Bauer’s mind. Now he’s sitting in a wheel chair.

Jack Bauer always tests positive for steroids. Not that he uses steroids. It’s because steroids are made from Jack Bauer.

Only Jack Bauer can singlehandedly start World War III between the Russians, Chinese and United States…over Audrey Raines.

Jack Bauer doesn’t laugh in the face of danger; Jack Bauer is the face of danger.

Jack Bauer doesn’t have a firewall on his PC. He has a Bauerwall. It’s basically just a JPEG of Jack Bauer. No virus has ever attacked Jack Bauer’s PC. Ever.

If Jack Bauer was president, he would protect the secret service.

…and on the seventh day Jack Bauer said, “I’ll take it from here.”

Jack Bauer once forgot where he put his keys. He then spent the next half-hour torturing himself until he gave up the location of the keys.

Alex Trebek once asked Jack Bauer the question, “What’s your idea of a perfect game show?” He replied with, “I’m the contestant and I ask the questions around here.” Jeopardy was born at that moment.

Jack Bauer was nominated for an Emmy for playing Kiefer Sutherland.

Chuck Norris counted to infinity – twice. Jack Bauer would meanwhile do something important.

When Jack Bauer ran out of ammo, he caught 3 bullets in his chest and used them to reload.

The Berlin Wall fell because Jack Bauer needed to get to the other side.

Jack Bauer has the heart of a terrorist. He keeps it in a jar on his desk.

Superman wears Jack Bauer pajamas.

Jack Bauer sleeps with a pillow under his gun.

Jack Bauer doesn’t need to eat, sleep, or use the bathroom because his organs are afraid of making him angry.

My husband doesn’t wish he was Jack Bauer. He wishes I was Jack Bauer.

When life gave Jack Bauer lemons, he used them to kill terrorists. Jack Bauer f***ing hates lemonade.

If you wake up in the morning, it’s because Jack Bauer spared your life.

James Bond has a license to kill. Jack Bauer was his instructor.

Jack Bauer arrested RoboCop. Think about that.

Tony was once shot in the neck, rushed to the hospital, underwent emergency surgery and was back on the job in just a few hours. Jack Bauer still can’t believe that p*ssy went to the hospital first.