A New Cleaner Look
The latest version of Fathom the Unknown is the result of wanting something even more simple and cleaner looking. Some of the best blogs I have read are also the most basic with no fancy themes to draw your attention away from the content. Although, some of the newer themes popping up around the web are appealing. They boast elaborate collage-like backgrounds and hand drawn accents that make it look like you’re viewing some sort of scrapbook. I know I’m not ready for that yet so I went with basic for my approach.
The first thing I did was upgrade to Wordpress 2.5.1 and strip it down to the basic installation. Then, I wrote the basic templates using minimal css. Essentially, I created a simple sandbox theme. I started playing around with the code and css then added some of the things that I liked from previous themes. What I ended up with was a patchwork of white background with black and blue text that loaded in the blink of an eye. With the header being a vital part of any website, the basic text version just wasn’t enough. I created an image header that was simple yet enough to provide a small touch of professionalism. There are only three images in the entire theme, one for the header and two for the background of the sidebar menus. Once I found the look I wanted, I installed the desired plugins and edited them to fit into the new theme.
The final product is a theme that I couldn’t be happier with using on this website. It was much easier than I thought it would be thanks to an article I found on Deziner Folio about developing a Wordpress theme from scratch. It really simplified everything and allowed me to do it the way I wanted. I hope everyone likes the new cleaner look.
Keeping It Clean and Simple
After months of debating whether or not I was happy with the website, I finally came to the conclusion that it just didn’t look right. I tried many different themes but none seemed to give me the look I wanted. I was trying for a clean and simple look for my personal website. Just when I was about to give up and try a modified sandbox theme, I found Tapestry by Brian Gardner. It gives me the clean and simple look I was shooting for and, after a few minor modifications and upgrading to Wordpress version 2.3.1, I’m pretty excited about the end results. Clean and simple really works for me.
Upgrading Wordpress was a fairly simple task. As with any version upgrade, several of the plugins I was using stopped working. I wasn’t really all that concerned since I planned on doing a total overhaul. Simplifying the website was a priority but proved more difficult than expected. I spent hours searching for and testing different themes before stumbling upon Brian Gardner’s website. As soon as I saw the Tapestry theme, I knew it was what I wanted. I only made a few minor css and template modifications then added a header icon and it was done. The last thing to do was install the necessary plugins, five total. Below is a list of what I installed to get the results seen here.
- Wordpress
- Tapestry 2-Column Theme
- KG Archives
- flickrRSS
- AddThis Social Bookmarking
- Feedburner Feedsmith
- Lightbox 2
Just in case someone is interested, the header icon came from Icon Archive. They are an excellent source for free high quality icons and pngs.
Building a New Computer
After putting it off for close to a year now, I finally decided to get the ball rolling again and start building my new computer. The last time I upgraded my computer was more than three years ago so I am pretty excited about the new project. I have spent about an hour each day for the past week reading reviews, researching new technology, and hunting for the best prices on computer parts. It took some time figuring out the best configuration using the new motherboard I bought last year, especially since the technology has changed since then. My new plan is finalized though, and I started ordering the parts.
After plenty of debate about going with the newest technology avaiable, it just was not worth the extra cost involved. There is virtually no performance increase over the new motherboard and memory I already have so that money is going toward a new case. Below is the new computer configuration.
(1) MSI RD480 Neo2-FI motherboard
(1) AMD Athlon 64 FX-60 dual core processor
(4) OCZ 1024MB PC-3200 DDR400 EL Platinum Edition memory modules
(1) Western Digital Raptor X 150GB Serial ATA150 hard drive
(2) Western Digital Caviar SE16 400GB Ultra ATA100 hard drives
(2) ATI Radeon X1600 Pro PCI-E video cards
(1) ATI TV Wonder 650 PCI tuner card
(1) Thermaltake Truepower Cable Management 750W power supply
(2) Sony DRU-830A 18X Dual Layer DVD±RW disk drives
(1) Logitech Z-2300 speaker system
(1) Logitech Cordless Desktop MX3200 Laser keyboard and mouse
(1) Dell UltraSharp 2007WP 20″ Widescreen Digital Flat Panel LCD monitor
(1) Lian-Li PC-A10A aluminum case
(1) Lian-Li CR-33A media card reader
(1) Microsoft Vista Ultimate edition
(1) Microsoft Office 2007 Professional edition
Well, that is the list of component parts and software for my new computer. So far, I already have the motherboard and memory which I bought a while ago. The processor and copy of Vista was an awesome deal I just could not pass up. I basically got both for the cost of the processor. The hardest decision to make was which case to use. I must have looked at hundreds of different cases before making my choice. The last case I bought was from Lian-Li and it has been incredible, so I was leaning in that direction right from the start. It was still difficult because there are so many nice cases on the market. It finally came down to the overall quality and craftsmanship. The new case should be here sometime later in the week. I cannot wait to start building and sharing the process with everyone. Stay tuned for more.
Upgraded to WordPress 2.1 Ella
Curiosity got the best of me with the release of WordPress 2.1 Ella. I couldn’t wait to see what new features they have added so I installed the upgrade tonight. It was relatively simple and took a whole 18 minutes to complete. Everything went smoothly with no problems. I don’t use many plugins and only one, WysiwygPro, doesn’t work with the new version. Hopefully they will get it fixed since I really like the extra functionality provided by the editor. As far as the Ella goes, there aren’t really any noticable differences on the surface but I like the new features added to the admin panel and they cleaned it up some. Everything said, the upgrade was worth the time and effort.
A Fresh New Look
It was time to give the website a fresh new look to go with the new framework. I wanted to go with something clean with a touch of style. After spending hours looking at every WordPress theme on their website and searching the internet for more, the one that appealed to me most was a simple design called GlossyBlue. It is from a company called N.Design Studios and they offer two versions of the theme, basic and advanced. I found the background for the header in an old wallpaper image. It provided the clean element I was looking for in the header. With some style changes and a few simple plugins I have a look that I really like.
