Category: <span>Blogging</span>

Published February 19, 2009 by

WordPress building

There is quite a reasonable and comprehensively linked post over on Design Tech about builiding and customising WordPress Themes.

The bain of my existence at the moment is degbugging WP Themes for the various ugly versons of Internet Explorer. I have been working on a site for work as well as my own personal theme and have consquently learnt a lot in the past little while. The work related one is much more CMS (Content Management System ie. normal website) based and so it’s learning how to get plugins to work effectively for you, using php and wordpress codex to modify what the loop outputs and creating all kinds of member protected areas etc. A marvellous exercise really because all the things it has forced me to investigate. I will share the link once I get it running smoothly in IE. However,

An honorary mention must be given to:

WordPress Download Monitor Plugin – Very useful for cutting out a step and keeping things somewhat organised for those uploading pdf’s (and other) that members can access. It has some limits – in that I can’t get the formatting to work when it populates a list via category – but it’s not half bad. WordPress still lacks a really good free document management plugin.

*Wordpress Download Manager – Seems to a be a far better option than Download Monitor. Organise, upload and output categorical (or otherwise) lists of pdfs and other such uploads. Formatting works a charm. I cannot at this stage get the search to work for me, but one thing at a time.

How to use WordPress as a Member Directory – This article got me both started and then back on the right track. I tried a couple of things but this was the closest and that which worked best. Again there are a few things – that if I knew php better I would alter and it’s a bit of a pain that it leans on two plugins and there isn’t just something that will do it all for you, but hey there’s some scope for some handy programmer out there.

Blogging Design Web Design

Published February 18, 2009 by

Ampersand

ampersandI am in two minds about the ampersand, they are incredibly beautiful, curvy, interesting, and can feature alone, but on the other hand, they are a quite a lazy character. They rip the letters A N D off and they are often used at inappropriate moments. It’s the & of the headline and not the and of the story.

If you don’t take the metaphor too far, you could say that this blog has progressed (or degressed) from:

All Said and Done

to

All Said & Done

The blog might have grown up or at very least aged, but it has certainly gotten more lazy, it is less about the story. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but more reflective of how All Said & Done fits into my life as opposed to a few years ago.

Aside:

I do quite like the ampersand. And the one sitting on my desk makes me quite happy as it really does serve no purpose whatsoever.

This guy is even mesmerised by them.

Blogging Design Life

& All Said & Done ampersand Blogging Design

Published February 6, 2009 by

Effective Communication and the Web

grantham_toast_in_the_sky_jSmashing Magazine – of which I am quite a fan, has recently written a ripper post on: Clear and Effective Communication in Web Design. It was interesting enough that I let my toast go cold. So if the web is your arena or your playground, then do yourself a favour and get over there.

What I love about Smashing articles is the wealth of information that comes with each post. They, (Un-surprisingly really) use the web as it was intended to be used – to network information. This is certainly something I could do better on this blog. However as it’s purpose waxes and wanes so must it’s content. After all, All Said & Done began as a personal blog and needs in many ways to remain the same.

On that note, my new blog theme is almost operational, although I’m still in the process of dreaming up all the extra fun things I can implement before I go live. That and I am also intending to write up a second theme for www.becmatheson.com to match – despite serving very different purposes, and I as yet haven’t decided if they should come independent of eachother… that and I’ve just read an article that’s gotten me thinking.

image source

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Blogging theme design web design

Published January 2, 2009 by

Idealutions, resolutions or hopeings

It is entirely up to me to eventually work out which are feasible, but it is now 2009 and there are, however ridiculous: resolutions or I could term them idealutions, at least that way there is leeway in sidestepping the mark.

2009 came in moderation, not with a bang. There were no fireworks, but we had sparklers, music, champagne, a marquee and a few friends. I most enjoyed the early morning introduction to ’09. First up after a less than perfect sleep in a tent on less than flat ground, but there was an eggshell sky and sun, a silent field and moment of the same before it went to the crapper and the clouds and we got some rain.

The news continues to talk about 2008 as a non-highlight and begs hope out of the new year. I am inclined to disagree with the former statement however the word hope is a sweet one that should live on.

In a moment of introspection (aka. now) here are my highlights of the past and hopes for the present (with a few true aspirations and undoubtedly top shelf items that I won’t really reach, being short and all).

Highlights

  • January 5th I married my best friend. And consequently spent the rest of the year married to him (to be continued…). It’s been interesting and fun! Needless to say, I really love being married and I really love Geoff! It’s certainly been a wildly contrasting year in regard to all previous years.
  • Uni, second semester proved full of inspiring people especially in regards to tutors. I finally felt like I was pulling my weight effectively and got to try things like branding and animation. I have come to the realisation that I mightn’t fit the typical traditional stereotype of ‘graphic designer’ but can work from my interests and strengths and hopefully can levy more out of the web stuff and marry it with my ‘designish eye’.
  • Frustration. It seems a weird choice to include it here, but God has increased my frustration with how I live as a Christian and how church can/could operate. It hasn’t gotten too far but there is room for movement and there needs to be room for movement. Some of this is tied up with finishing up with leading youth and being dumped in the deepend of doing nothing.
  • And there are the miscellaneous things like: growing friendships with people like Beth and Bri, marvelous restaurants, some great movies  and books and some less than typical experiences – like seeing Wicked.

Un-Highlights

  • A bodgy start to the uni year with some super low motivation levels in regard to particular subjects.
  • Less investment in certain friendships and not because of want, but because I am a lazy and…
  • Feeling so busy and unorganised

Idealutions, resolutions and hopeings

  • A slower year, where priorities become priorities and the trivial things are thrown out with the bathwater
  • Invested time and head space to enjoy and get the most out of uni
  • To be more organised at home
  • Eat better, cook nicer food – to be bothered
  • Get more fit
  • To continue to investigate, read more about, and live out some of the results of the aforementioned frustration
  • More time for God…. listen more, write more
  • Be less critical of things like traditional church and learn to love what is good and do differently instead of simply getting annoyed.
  • Be a part of something that explores doing Church differently, try some things!
  • To freelance for a while and to do well at it in terms of being self-disciplined and gain useful experience
  • Put together a portfolio, get a design job
  • More head in the blog. More faithful writing, less crap. Perhaps make something more of it.
  • Release a WordPress Theme (and yes it is in production!)
  • Learn to use the Wacom properly and work on practicing drawing/illustration etc.
  • Learn more about Flash
  • Learn more about Illustrator
  • Learn some of the little extra things about webdesign and standards that I might otherwise ignore.
  • Get my head around Javascript/PHP etc..
  • Continue to work on building a really good marriage and be better at loving Geoff
  • Be better at maintaining and developing friendships
  • Invest in things like Soul Survivor etc.
  • Keep track of the money I spend
  • Spend less money
  • Own less, give more
  • Greater confidence and willingness to try things (especially re. design)
  • Days of doing different things, like taking my camera out somewhere foreign or less than usual
  • Finish uni, and do well in my final year
  • Righteousness and peace… Isaiah 32, Romans 14

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2008 2009 Life new year resolutions

Published December 17, 2008 by

Invest in real-estate

desk

Oh my screen is sweet. Now to get a keyboard so I’m not working off to one side. This makes things much easier! And is inspiring both in the design department and oddly in the whole getting organised thing.

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