2:00 a. m. is upon me.What a day: a decent amount of good bookish news; kid-ferrying and homework accomplished; jolly unexpected praise from many also bookish quarters; revised my dang website (making many frustrating errors along the way) and got a grant sent off. I have been whirling and must now lie down. There are new updates on my bibliography page in answer to a request from a kindly editor, so if you're interested in my magazine and anthology publications, go see. And there's a new home page in need of tinkering. If you have an opinion about what's wrong with it, let me know. I am the only gremlin at work at www.marlyyoumans.com/. I'm first-rate at making hash out of the e-ether.
Good night, all.
Photo credit: Thanks to Griszka Niewiadomski of Poland and www.sxc.hu.
Regarding the website...on my computer screen, it is a bit difficult to read your smaller lines of text. Have a pleasant rest from all the whirling!
ReplyDeleteAt my screen resolution - which is 1024 by 768, the most common size, I think - I have to scroll over to see "Youmans" on the front page. That's maybe not very good PR.
ReplyDeleteI have no idea what my screen resolution is (I hope it is full of earnest good deeds) but like dave I must scroll over to see your name.
ReplyDeleteI like the illustration and the blueness (you like blue a lot, don't you?)The font of the book titles and descriptions is a little hard to read, but very spiky and elegant.
As to whirling--I have just remembered how much I loved, when I was nine, spinning round and round and round until I collapsed and the world took up spinning instead.
Thanks!
ReplyDeletedave and jarvenpa, I was wondering if I should go to the library and try several sizes of screens... I hope this fixes the name. I suppose I don't care if not all the images show on some computers.
Changed all the typefaces and made them larger for amanda. A rest would be nice but I was just asked to visit four classes tomorrow, so that's out! But the gutters went up today, and the errands are done, all but some ferryings. You know, I don't really like blue nearly so well as green (I love green), but I think blue is restful on screen. Plus it goes a bit better with my blog template, as it is now.
I find it annoying but my ftp upload seems to have two copies of my website (my fault, surely) and I can't figure out which one this is without deleting what may be the wrong one. I guess I'll find out the next time I upload. Must go figure out what to say to those classes in the meantime.
Send any other peeves my way!
If it is a concern, in Firefox, my browser of choice, the type has problems: some sort of blurry outlining thing going on--except for your name on the right. Also, are the underlined supposed to be linked?
ReplyDeletei just searched for and found that i still have Explorer on my computer (so hard to get rid of it) and the type looks just fine...except the book covers and art seem out of focus...or is that my eyes going all swimmy? Since no one else mentions this, i assume it's my eyes. Oh. And the links seem to be live in Explorer as well.
Anyway...i guess i'm the only one in attendance using Firefox, so you can ignore this if that's easiest. This does seem to happen on occasion.
Here's one person's opinion (I'm that one, of course!)The large central font is blurry and confusing and that whole section takes up too much space. The book covers on the right should be spaced and sized more regularly. The illustration is beautiful, but it threatens to overshadow the intent of the site, which is to showcase YOUR work. A more cohesive and subtler design is what I'd like to see. You're a wonderul writer and I"m a big fan, so I hope you'll take these candid comments in the helpful spirit that was my intent in writing them.
ReplyDeletezephyr, some of the covers are a bit fuzzy, since I lost all my crisp jpeg copies in the Big Crash. Taught me to back up more than text files! But I'm worried about the picture. The original is very soft in appearance. Oops, I need to put Renato's name on it. Tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteI have a copy of Firefox somewhere or other.
Laura, no worry--that's helpful. I don't get annoyed by criticism, and I certainly haven't put enough energy and knowledge into website-making to earn the right to any indignation anyway! I won't have time to fuss much until next week... But I will. I wonder why the mid section looks blurry to some people? What is that?
Hhhhm. No diagnosis, but more feedback on the symptoms:
ReplyDeleteI use Firefox, and what I presume are hotlinks to further info (the underlined funky-fonted text) don't take me to new pages.
I have to agree with Laura on layout issues -- the site seems to have gotten very complicated, or perhaps that's just the view I see in Firefox.
I also wonder if the use of a less-than-simple font (some flavor of Palatino judging by the "view source" data) is what's causing the bitmappy, hard-to-read font outlining I see.
A simple template, like simple clean book design, may serve your content (and your Web maintenance needs) better.
That said, you brave woman, hacking away in HTML!
*gulp*
ReplyDeleteI told myself an hour, and it's been a little more than 90 minutes.
I looked at the source code, but it was all in machine language, so I started from scratch.
take a look. The link colors are off; I knew I wouldn't have the time to do the color coding in under an hour. And there's no fancy font. That bit is machine magic.... which makes the page not work in Firefox.
A compressed version of the directory (with the html file and all the book covers) is here. email me if you have any questions.
alternatively, for those with smaller screens... see here.
ReplyDeleteI found the font. In theory, I could use it with image maps to make it all-browser compatible, and have the text on the page look like your version and be clickable. But I, as a browser, like to be able to highlight text. I may be strange.
Thanks, everybody!
ReplyDeleteYou know, I must have changed the face accidentally, because it just hopped in the wondow. So I thought maybe it was a commandment. Maybe not, though. Just a mistake.
I just stumbled home from visiting four 5th-grade classes in a row and could eat a woodchuck (think that's a Thoreau reference.) Must go devour something, quick.
Take another look, please!
ReplyDeleteLove the peak into the Queen's Library! i really like how this looks
ReplyDeletei didn't take a look in Explorer, but in Firefox the type looks much, much better...but i don't have live links, yet...but maybe that's being worked on?
Pretty. I really like the color and the photo. But still no links working in Firefox or Safari, and over a third of internet users browse with something other than IE.
ReplyDeleteOh, phoo. Something else computerish to learn. Thanks for taking another look, annie and zephyr.
ReplyDeleteI'm too tired out by the day-and-night events to think about it now. And I don't have much spare time on this weekend. Right now, my head wants to do nothing but meet a pillow. But I'll try to do it on Monday.
I expect I am late on the scene again. I was able to see your name, list of book titles with links to there details (and a picture or two hooray) so thought it simple an informative. No clutter, no long winded "Flash" presentation not time wasted downloading.
ReplyDeleteMy only comment is that it is a little "clinical". I would like (predictably maybe) a dramatic image from your first book in the background to give us a clue to what it is all about.
I had “large” text selected as I broke my glasses again earlier, so could read it fine. Tried it again with “medium” text size selected and it has made no difference except that now I get a picture behind of a shop (library) window which was not there before! This makes it less clinical and almost cosy, I still thing a dramatic scene from one of your books would be make me more interested to read one though. (I promise to buy one soon Marley, I will look to see hoe I can find one over here and let you know how easy it was).
Sorry about my typos.
ReplyDeleteI can get "Little Jordan" easily over here it seems; a very wide selection of prices for new and used copies. This is just looking at Amazon UK.
I am being acused of Blooger syndrome instead of "coming to bed" so I will look again for you on Monday. Big day tomorrow.
Hi there, Robert--
ReplyDeleteYou must have looked when I was in the process of changing from one look to another! I suppose I'll have to remake the dratted thing again, to make the links hot in all browsers.
Oh, LJ is a very tiny book. You will whip right through it, if you pick that one.
Links not linking but maybe its my choice of browser (Safari, but I also tried it in Firefox)
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm afraid that I must rebuild, alas. Shouldn't have done it the lazy way last time... I've download Trellian but have no time to use it right now.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the input, April--I don't remember seeing an April here before. Nor any other spring month, for that matter!
My son's car is called April (The number plate is Apr) but it wasn't me Marley!
ReplyDelete