Well it's been a bit too long coming, but I think I've found a theme that I can get to grips with relatively easily. I'm going to be hacking Depo Clean, adding parts of Fauna and some K2 in for good measure. I had a look at Sandbox and I've got to say that I was pretty turned off by the function.php file that they've added in there. It just makes the markup so much more difficult to understand at first glance which is what made me keep looking for alternatives that just did the job cleanly. In any case Depo Clean probably best resembles what I'm aiming for in the end anyway so it helps that I like the markup as well. The next time I do this I'll be converting this markup into something that can be used with Habari.
I'm currently in Greece for a full 2 weeks. I've been looking forward to this break for well over a month now, hell I've been looking forward to this break for at least 3 months. I didn't go anywhere during the summer period, which was probably the worst thing to do for my psyche to be honest. The summer was a very dark time for me with very little bright spots which was clearly reflected in my mood and how I dealt with those around me. Being a traditionally pretty patient person, I noticed myself getting more irate with things and situations that I would normally brush off, or at least see the funny side. Hasn't been the case for at least 3 months now.
I guess I can attribute this to the situation in Lebanon which seriously hit me very hard. I can probably attribute it to work which has been very far from enjoyable these last few months, or I can attribute it to unfinished business from several areas that kept me down (my list of unfinished projects is pretty extensive). Needless to say, I need a break and a break I shall have. However I'm never happy until I've got things off my plate and I've been very good at not putting anything new on my plate but actually finishing those projects that I had opened/started/committed to first, after all I'm a finisher, not just an instigator.
Since it's good to have a list I think I'll make this list to remind myself what I have to look forward to in getting these monkeys off my back:
Finish the Splash Panel Redesign.
The site is nearly a year old now, and I'm still using Fauna, which has done the site proud but I've got a lot more in store for this site. The break in Greece is going to do wonders to the amount of writing I get done for the site. This time round however I'm going to be sure to stock up on the reviews and release them at a slower but regular pace. Expect a lot of European comics and some more indie revies (as that's the majority of comics I have in Greece).Stathi's and Priya's Websites.
The other two websites that I have promised and have actually done most of the work on (ie all the artwork is complete) it's just a matter of coding the damn things. These will be done once I get back from Greece, although I might get the urge and sort them out while I'm in Greece, who knows I've got two weeks to fill in.Broken Kode Season One
Book's been done, edited by hand and just needs those tweaks to be put into the file and thrown out to lulu. This is probably 1 day's work or something like that so I think I might be doing something about this in the not too distant future. Just get another thing that I said I'd do off my plate.Broken Kode Prints
This is an interesting one. For a while now I've been asked if people can buy prints with my artwork. It's been in the back of my mind and I did it once, but to be honest it was a great deal of hassle and not enough benefit. So I might go away from the DIY route and use a service like Zazzle or something similar. If any one's got any recommendations that can cater for Europe at reasonable prices I'm all ears.Chameleon Theme
I talked about this ages ago. Obviously life got in my way and I wasn't really able to go forward with this one. It's a very simple idea, which I'm going to elaborate on in a massive post in the coming days. Once I've done the design I'll contact the souls that answered my call the last time. Don't want to be wasting anyones time. Needless to say that the current Broken Kode redesign and believe it or not Crazyegg have both enabled me to have a clearer view as to what works and what doesn't in the design of a site (once again more on this at a later stage down the road).
Also on a completely different note, I really need to get myself a laptop (any recommendations for small dinky laptops, like the Fujitsu Lifebook or a Vaio would be welcome) as I'm currently using my dad's windowz install using an ADSL connection that might be a little difficult to sort out on Ubuntu and it's seriously painful to get anything done (which isn't helped by the fact that it's a shitty CRT screen that's got a tinge of purple going through,...nice), the 'Kode has never looked this bad.
Just thought I'd give all the crazy cats out there looking for some different Rin and Manji flavours a nice treat. It might seem as though I've neglected my little themes, but I have not forsaken them. I've had a couple of flavours (different coats of paint) sitting on my harddrive waiting for me to clean them up and release them. I'll try and sort them out in the coming month and put them out for everyone to play around with them.
The thing is I've actually got the ULTIMATE theme in my head. I know EXACTLY what I want to do with it. I've got the name and everything, I've even got a couple of mockups scribbled in one of my moleskins.
The only problem is that I need a TEAM to create this bastard theme. If I get it done the way it's in my head I can pretty much guarantee it will become the WordPress default theme. Bold statement maybe, but I'm telling you I've got a plan.
So if you're up for a long burner project, probably 6 months or something (I'm in no rush whatsoever). I need someone that understands WordPress architecture and someone that is a complete whizzkid with Javascript. The could be the same person or completely different people.
I would ask one of my buddies but I really don't want to overload anyone. We've got loads of things to deal with as it is anyway. Just to be clear I intend to stay well clear of the coding as I'll make a right mess of it. Someone that knows what they're doing or at least thinks they know what they're doing would be good. If you're interested, just drop me a line.
It's been a long time coming, just needed to find a couple of hours to do the necessary dirty and sort it all out.
- I've brought the php code inline with standard theme mark up. This actually prevented a couple of people from installing the theme. So for all those people that tried and didn't succeed, problem has been solved.
- One of the things I love to hear about Rin and Manji is the when the user comments about the ease of modifying the code. I know exactly what it feels like when you've never seen CSS as structural markup and you still think tables are the way to go etc. So I've tidy-uped the CSS file to have a content in there, and just made it more readable.
- Smooth Scrolling. This is an idea that I'm including in V4 and I found out how to do it from this excellent little tutorial. Easy implementation, but makes things less jarring I find.
- Rin Manual has been updated to version 0.2
Now I've included the calander in the archive.php file, using the get_calander template tag, but for some reason it only shows the day which there was a post during that month. When you click on it the link goes nowhere. Anyone know what the deal is there?
I know there's a slight conflict with a certain spam plugin, but I can't find the information, so if you know what I'm talking about drop me a line.
It would seem I've finished work on Rin and Manji wouldn't it? It would seem that way, but that would be a lie. I've been compiling information and ideas from people on the Broken Kode Boards, on the WordPress Boards, e-mails people have sent and even reviews people have written. There is a lot of little things that I should have the time to finish in the coming week. Here's a list of them, I'll come back to this post and strike them through once I've completed them.
- Clean up the CSS so that it's lighter and more structured. Provide a form of index in the CSS like Broken Kode is done, so that people can find their way around it with more ease.
- Clean up the PHP so that it's completely in tune with the rest of WordPress themes standards. Some of it is still from when WordPress was in 1.3 Alpha stage.
- Release 3 Column Rin. Root's provided the base code for this, I'm going to go in and update as per the above changes to Rin and Manji. Not sure whether to call it something else or just as a different Rin flavour.
- Finally release my second Flavour for Rin.
- Sort out the Archives section so that it's a bit funkier. There are loads of plugins out there, see if I can integrate something into the core code. Or not need to think about this a little bit.
- Update the ever essential manuals.
That's all I can think of for now. If I do come up with any more ideas, or if anyone has any other points they think I've missed out on here, then just post it underneath, if it's doable then I'll update.
For those who want a 3 Column Rin RIGHT NOW, then I direct you to Hemisphere Dance's website and download Rin Tin Tin.
Also before I forget Rin has been localised for into both Persian and German (thanks to Ali and Oli respectively). Go to the Rin download page for more information.