Yes, it’s been pretty quiet here for a little while. Not for any really good reason. However, it’s springtime here in Chicago – so a good time for new beginnings. My grass is growing again and the doves are back – nesting above the outside light on my front porch. It still amazes me how quickly the seasons change here in the midwest.
Lately I’ve been doing some work on a new website for Full Life, a Chicago area singles ministry. Quite a lot of learning involved, although it uses the same basic technology I used for my own site. I’ve been learning a lot about PHP, mysql, Joomla and CSS. The current redesign is here, though it is in a very early stage of development. – just investigating some basic layout options. I’m expecting input from a graphics artist on the actual design.
One issue I’ve run into is that the basic Joomla template doesn’t support dynamic submenus that fly out when you roll the mouse over a main menu item. I would really like to be able to use this approach as it makes navigation much more efficient. However I have found a free 3rd party plug-in that does this called SWMenuFree that seems pretty slick.
Apart from web site work, I’ve been watching a bit of video – some “Star Trek” (TOS) episodes downloaded from Unbox and “House” DVDs. It’s interesting that I enjoy these shows – both completely unbelievable stories with larger than life characters. It’s interesting that characters who are so absurdly perfect (Kirk) and imperfect (House) can be so entertaining.
I’m very anxious to do some running. I’ve put on an alarming amount of weight, but am still suffering from a groin injury I sustained in Auckland, and it’s preventing me from doing any running at all. I was supposed to run an 8km race this weekend, the Shamrock Shuffle, but there was no possibility of being able to make it.