Labor Day Labors

Updated Tuesday a.m. 09/02 — I spent my time this morning working on fixing some of the display issues in lieu of doing a strip.  I mean Pedroia doesn't cut corners, so neither will The Soxaholix.   

Lisa the Temp:
While you're out enjoying the Labor Holiday at your picnics and beaches (bitches!) and lakes, the temps of this world are here slaving away on the holiday and getting things done.

 

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Lisa the Temp:
Like the new Soxaholix redesign you see before you. 

 

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Lisa the Temp:
You'll probably find some bugs.  But the bugs belong to Brachen and not Lisa the Temp.  Remember that, peeps.

 

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Author's Notes:

At last the new redesign is done. I've been working on this here and there since last winter, but didn't really start humping on it until a few weeks ago.

It still needs some final tweaking and additions, but all in good time.

As Lisa says, if you find major display bug or something doesn't work the way you expect, just let me know.

Comments

[Steve in MD]

h.b., I like the redesign - especially the Soxahoix sign. I do see one problem - the lack of a scroll bar at the bottom of the page means I don't think you can see the whole thing with a normal size monitor. (Since I have an 18.5 x 11.5 inch monitor, all I had to do was shrink the favorites menu to about an in, leaving me to see the whole 17 inch width, but most folks won't have that option.)

PS I'm stunned there are no other comments yet...

[h.b.]

The bg image extension to the left is meant to be an "easter egg" for those who have widescreen monitors with a high resolution.

Otherwise (or if you're browsing at a reduced width) you just get the bleachers and a piece of the skyline.

[Kaz]

Easter egg? I'm viewing on a 17" MBP at 1680x1050 and I don't see anything extra (I think).

You're missing the red seat by the way.

By the way, the top right of the window has about a 20 pixel gap of white above the grey shadow boxing used past the edge of the image.

Also, the ads are white backgrounded so that they remain "above the background and more legible, but the black text of the comments is on a translucent background box so that when they aren't scrolled up into the "sky" they're less legible on the busier bleacher/skyline background. Maybe you could reduce the transparency a little more? Just a thought.

[soxdownunder]

Cute. The redesign I mean. Oh and Lisa also. As always, thanks for all your hard work Brachen san. [My connexion was 'refused' when I tried to go back to yesterday's post. It worked through the archives button though. And of course I am in a minority of one who liked the 'recent posts' link from the good old days!]

And not to mention politics, but check out http://38cliches.blogspot.com/ "> lc's 38cliches for an amusing mullet alert & more!

Now let's, PLEASE, sweep those nasty Birds.

[Kaz]

Where did my comment just go?

[Kaz]

Wierd! I went back out to the front page and came back to the comments and my first comment disappeared (like it only went back to the original cached version prior to my posting).

Then I posted...and it jumped back along with one from SDU.

[h.b.]

The ads are on the same transparent bg as the comments.

I agree the comments can be diff to read towards the bottom. I'll mess with this as the week goes on.

Also we've lost the spacing between grafs in the comments.

Yes, lots of weirdness with things not showing up right away. That's because I'm still making changes to things, and the typepad servers won't publish anything new until my job finishes.

[h.b.]

You can forces breaks between grafs in the comments by hitting return twice between items.

Test

One.

Two.

[h.b.]

Oops make that 3 times.

Test

Test

Test

[h.b.]

Good point on the red seat being missing. I'll see if I can get Jeremy to add that into the bg.

[Tarrkid]

I like the look -- except --

The hatch pattern behind the strip/comments/etc. gets all flickery when I scroll, and it's downright seizure-inducing. I'd rather something be 50% transparent than 50% hatch.

[buckner was framed]

Niiiiice! I like it! although, I'm with Kaz- I don't see no stinkin Easter egg. Maybe it's being delivered by one of those famous non-real Soxaholix characters (nice disclaimer, too, btw- as IF we needed a reminder)

And, do you think they'll have father and son cells?

[h.b.]

//I'd rather something be 50% transparent than 50% hatch.//

So would I but IE doesn't support transparency very well.

It's tempting to just say screw IE, though, and just not display the bg or the transparency for those users.

We'll see.

[BD]

NICE!

Strong work, Hart!

[Jerry in Japan]

Beautiful redesign! Love the way the content flows over the excellent Fenway park picture. One minor point: When I scroll down, the semi-translucent white backgound flickers... I'm using a MB with Safari... Anyway, not a problem. Good luck getting the bugs squashed and the site tuned to perfection. It will add to an already enjoyable experience. I can't imagine following the Red Sox without this strip!

Jerry in Japan

[yazbread]

Sweet. I like the part where the ads disappear after clicking on the comments link.

[louclinton]

I like it. It resolved the way (I think it's supposed to work in Safari (Windows) and IE.

Not so much Firefox, my preferred browser. Currently running v. 3.0.1

lc, Mr. helpful.

ps not a big fan of Family Values Palin

[h.b.]

// I like the part where the ads disappear after clicking on the comments link. //

Me, too.

Keeping the comments and inside pages ad free (mostly) not only looks better, but actually improves an advertiser's SEO as well.

"Win-Win," as they say.

[COD]

Looks great on Firefox 3.0.2pre on Ubuntu 8.04 at 800 x 600 on a laptop. Yeah I know. Someday I'll work up the energy to install the proprietary ATI drivers and get more resolution.

[NolaSox]

Love the redesign and am looking forward to checking it out on a full screen rather than on a laptop while evacuated to Pensacola Beach. I'm came to the site tonight to get away from the non stop news coverage - at one point Geraldo was standing right next to the Industrial Canal "overtopping" and I thought we might be rid of him once and for all.

[Kaz]

The title of the home page is misspelled, h.b.

You missed the L in resplendence.

[Harwich Rich]

I like the new look h.b.-thanks for all your hard work.Good to hear you're OK Nolasox :)

[soxdownunder]

I just hope that when Bob sees this he doesn't thinks its a flashback or the result of too much absinthe.

[spuddybuddy]

pretty awesome. glad to hear you've had some time to work on the site after the health stuff earlier this year. keep up the great work!

[soxdownunder]

A question - (Kaz? hb? lc?) - why do some of the 'posted by xxx' link to emails/urls while others (eg me, buckner, harwich &/-)do not.

[Devine]

Like the new design. Good job!

[Natalie]

Looks beautiful, hb. Two things that probably matter not... yesterday's column did not show up at all when using Safari or a Blackberry. But today on Firefox, simply lovely. I'll love getting a glimpse of the Boston skyline every day from London!

[SoSock]

Nice look.
It did kinda throw me for a loop when I first pulled it up this AM, but I'm thinking I'll end up preferring it.
I always have to "live" with something a day or 2 before I settle in on an opinion.
And how 'bout Koby!
Nothing like a little Clemens in trouble with the law news to start the day off right.
Saw him play twice this year down here in Major League Hell/ Minor League Heaven (aka Winston-Salem, NC) Our Warthogs are in the Carolina League with Salem. He cost his team a game against us in extra innings one night whilst I watched. He let a throw from the outfield bounce off the heel of his mitt and the winning run jogged in from 3rd while the ball rolled toward the dugout.
I couldn't help but to grin, widely.

[stratomaticboy]

nice job!

[h.b]

Couple of fixes this morning:

1) Using true CSS transparency on the strip and ad callouts rather than faking it with a repeated bg img. This should eliminate the flickering many of you complained of.

2) Shifted bg skyline position which should clear up the 20px gap Kaz noticed.

3) Added bg color to comments for higher contrast and readability.

[vasoxfan]

Nice job in IE. Firefox 3.0x windoze (not so much)

[vasoxfan]

ubuntu firefox 3.0 is OK.

[vasoxfan]

Sorry... should have cleared my cache. Looks great now in Firefox 3.0!! (Except no easter egg cause I am a weanie and don't have a huge monitor.

[yazbread]

I am beginning to have fantasties that feature a Matsuzaka, Lester, Byrd rotation, hot bats, and some relieve pitching that holds its own storming thru the playoffs. I guess I am off my meds.

[h.b]

You now have a comment preview option that some of you were clamoring for in the past.

:)

[Yossarian]

//Updated Monday a.m. 09/02 //

H.B., today isn't Monday. Holiday and all that, it's Tuesday Not trying to be like the grammar police or anything, but someone will point it out eventually.

[birthofasoxfa97]

Nicely done!

[natalie]

Oh this redesign is awesome. On a bberry you used to have to scroll waaaaaaay down past links and ads to see the strip and comments. Now- front and center. Nice!!! Last night of live EST baseball for me tonight. Let's make it a bon voyage win!!!

[Ryan with a capital]

Looks great! The Soxaholix sign looks as if belongs there. In some sense, it does.

I can't help but notice that we're looking at the side of Fenway that does not include the Citgo sign. Ha!

That's just as well. Right field gets little love.

[Kaz]

All of the things I noticed yesterday are now gone. Very nice.

The preview button is cool too.

[louclinton]

Still no good on Windows Firefox..

lc

[h.b]

Ah, yes, Tuesday it is! Thanks for catching that.

Yeah, Natalie, rearranging the content for mobile devices was one of my goals for the redo. Glad you noticed and appreciate.

It's still not looking the way I'd prefer on the iPhone, but I'll mess with that later.

I don't know if anyone has used the new search box, but it's such a huge improvement over the previous. Google kicks ass.

[vasoxfan]

LC,
You didn't say so I will ask. Did you clear your cache?
vasoxfan

[h.b]

I'm looking at in FF on an XP box and FF on a Vista box and I'm not seeing anything amiss.

Can you be more specific, LC and others?

Remember that FF loves to hold onto its cached CSS.

[louclinton]

I send off line hb

[louclinton]

hb, I cleared Firefox cache and it is gee willikers cool now.

lc

[Kaz]

SDU, it looks like h.b. has changed it so that names only link to URLs now and e-mails are completely hidden.

Previously if you put in a name and e-mail but no URL, then it linked your e-mail to your name. If you put in name, e-mail, and URL, then it linked the URL to your name and hid your e-mail.

Now, if you put in an URL, it'll link to it but if you don't put in an URL, it'll just leave the name unlinked.

[CuracaoSox]

Nice work HB. It looks very cool.

[HunterStars]

It looks awesome HB. When can I have the background as my wallpaper?

[Robert Moran]

Looks great on Firefox but doesn't work with Safari browser on a Mac running O/S 10.5 (Leopard).

[h.b]

Safari is my main browser and I'm on a Mac, and it looks fine to me. Can you be more specific? What version of Safari? What Mac OS are you running? What is the specific display issue?

[h.b]

re Email links:

Kaz identified the issue, but it wasn't something I did intentionally. I swapped over to the newest version of the TypePad basecode and this is they way it's configed. I'm guessing it's to cut down on spam for people who comment.

I'll look into swapping it back, though, it'll be a low priority thing for now.

[h.b]

Making the bg avail for download as wallpaper is a cool idea. I'll look into doing that.

Also the CafePress store will get updated soon (I hope) to include the new logotype as well as adding some new designs and just a general house cleaning that's long overdue.

[Marty]

Wicked Awesome!
Let's Go Sox!!!

[Harwich Rich]

Safe journey,Nat :)

[Kaz]

The background image file is:

http://www.soxaholix.com/tp/images/cityscape01.jpg

It's 1606x664 pixels however, so you will need to crop it to fit the dimensions of your particular monitor (or just accept that the "fit image" option of your OS is going to squish it wierdly to get it to fit).

[h.b]

Actually that's the older version of the bg. The current site uses this one:

http://www.soxaholix.com/tp/images/cityscape01a.jpg

But for an ideal desktop wallpaper, you should wait until I can resize the original vector source file into a couple versions that would fit the typical desktop dimensions.

Or if you're in a hurry, I can send you the source. :)

[Kaz]

It's the older version, but the new version also includes the grey stripe on the right of the site now. I did a little reverse engineering of the image name (removed the 'a') to find the old one. :)

But I just figured in the meantime, if people wanted it now they could play with the image themselves until you release the official one with a nice link, etc.

BTW, my laptop is 1680x1050, please. :)

[Chops]

Hot stuff, H.B.! I love the new site. I'm tempted to steal the image as my computer background.

[h.b]

Kaz,

I made a custom one for you.

http://www.soxaholix.com/tp/images/wallpaper/wall1680x1050.jpg

I'll start making some others.

Google is telling me these are the top 5 resolutions amoung Soxaholix readers:

1.
1024x768 33.58%
2.
1280x800 17.72%
3.
1280x1024 17.22%
4.
1680x1050 8.44%
5.
1440x900 7.08%

So I'll start with those.

[Bob]

Nice job, H.B.

Stil on my mini-vacation through Wednesday.

I wll sit and stare at this new look until then. (Absinthe, don't ya know.)

[jfm]

Nice job HB. I am a webgeek and couldnt help but checking your source. Your missing a closing > just above you main nav div on an anchor tag

"

"

See how the a

[jfm]

Naturally my pasted example got filtered out... duh. Anyways Its right above your main nav div. if you view source in FF 3 it should even highlight the error for you.

[Kaz]

Thanks, looks great on a Mac desktop!

By the way, anyone else whose dimensions are 1.6 ratio (1440x900, 1280x800, etc) can use the one in h.b.'s post for 1680x1050. Just tell your OS to resize it to fit the screen. Most OSes downsample a larger image a lot better than they upsample a too small one to fit. Once there's one specifically for your screen resolution, that'll be the best option, but in the meantime, you'd have a good pic to use.

[h.b]

Thanks, JFM. Fixed.

[chris]

wow, hb, it looks awesome. wicked friggin pissah!

[soxdownunder]

Thanks Kaz. I think I understand.

[soxdownunder]

But obviously I don't.
testing

[silver]

h.b.,

Just an awesome job with the new look. I am intrigued by the choice of perspective for the background. It makes me want to find a way to look down to the field of play. It is also puts the focus on the stands which hold the fans of the Sox and this site. I wonder if it was intentional or if I am just over analyzing.

[h.b.]

silver,

Thanks. As to your question re "intentional" I think yes.

I say "think" because the image was done by a reader of Soxaholix who is also a damn fine illustrator, Jeremy Majewski.

I conveyed the vision to him of what I was looking for, and he executed is perfectly, actually, he went beyond my vision.

But I'm guessing that the focus on the stands rather than playing field was his intent for the same reasons you suggested.

Also, I think leaving the stands empty is a nice touch, as the Soxaholix tend to discuss the games before/after.

[Kaz]

I also think this is one of the first art pieces of the cityscape to so predominantly feature the R2D2 Building!

You're making history now, h.b.! :)