A 30 minute mix for February. Enjoy.
"Narwhal/Shark" EP - Spring 2010
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Noël's debut EP coming spring 2010.
Noël's debut EP coming spring 2010.
A 30 minute mix for February. Enjoy.
Trent Reznor’s newest minimalist instrumental album is an amazing feat. The music is beyond the grasp of most of the public. Yet, Reznor, with his early rock-death-metal-electronica releases in his career, made himself so well known and thus made it possible for him to release such an abstract instrumental album. This is one of the most substantial minimalist electronic albums – maybe, of all time.
But, the coolest thing about the album, is the artwork. Aside from the tons of extras you get by just paying $5 for the CD, each song has it’s own high-res image to go along with the song. The artwork is really spectacular. Definitely pick this album up, even if it’s just for the cool wallpapers.
Wordpress 2.5 is out! It’s one of the most significant releases to date, in my opinion.
The nightly releases have made it significantly easier for me to blog. Thanks Automattic and everyone (which is a ton of people, including one line of code from myself) who contributed!
And, on top of being just plain awesome, one of my favorite design studios ever, Happy Cog, (who redesigned the admin section of the app) did a killer job with the interface design.
Having trouble getting your CSS rollovers un-glitchy? Pre-load them, easily… If HUGE can learn from me, so can you! ;) (I’m saying this jokingly.)
Yes, this a real email I sent HUGE. They fixed the problem by doing exactly as I said. And they didn’t even say THANK YOU!
I’ve sent this same sort of email to lots of people – including some pretty great designers and developers. All not preloading their rollovers. So, for the sake of helping to spread the gospel of the css preload, I’m just going to email everyone the link to this article from now on…
Some of you asked for a video (okay, one person). I love clusterflock, and they don’t have non-semantic HTML (despite putting H2s before H1s), but they’ve got the same problem with CSS rollovers: clusterflock rollover (144KB) (Did you catch the glitch?)
From: noel@eight6.com
Subject: Attention, you have a website bug...
Date: February 20, 2008 12:27:29 AM GMT-05:00
To: nameremoved@hugeinc.com
Hi HUGE!
You've got a problem with your website. Albeit a small one, but one a pro should not make.
Your hover state on your div element with the #logo id isn't preloading the hovered image. Thus, you get a flicker on the hover state when the image has not been cached. On a slow connection this can be from a half second to 2 or more seconds. Bad implementation.
First things first, you are using incredibly non-semantic markup for your header. I specialize in standards compliant markup and have been doing so for 10 years.
Your code SHOULD look something like:
<h1 id="logo"><a href="/">HUGE</a></h1>
NOT LIKE THIS: <div id="logo"><a href="/"></a></div> BAD!!! BAD!!!
I know you don't need better search results, as you get plenty of clients already. But, by being the best, you should really have the best code... you don't.
Again, to fix the bug, that I've also put onto video here:
http://eight6.com/assets/huge_hover_problem.mov
To fix it, preload the hover image by implementing the following CSS, that loads the default image behind the link in a container div.
#logo {
/* This is the line that prevents the flicker when hovering */
background:url(/imgs/logoBlack.gif) no-repeat;
}
#logo a,
#logo a:link,
#logo a:visited {
background:url(/imgs/logo.gif) no-repeat;
display:block;
width:144px;
height:57px;
}
#logo a:hover,
#logo a:active {
background:url(/imgs/logoBlack.gif) no-repeat;
}
BTW, I am in NYC this week for client work if you would like to meet me and I can show you the problem. Or feel free to call me at 734-642-9187
I think you guys do amazing work. Keep it up... and if you need a hand keeping that code tight and more semantic, please let me know.
Best,
Noel Jackson
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noel jackson
founder eight6 | http://eight6.com
noel@eight6.com
+1.734.642.9187
I go topless, that is, sans-iPhone, sans-computer, to all of my meetings and meals. I like to use more tangible objects to illustrate any ideas, or take notes and I think that even one subtle distraction from a ill-timed txt message can ruin the mood fast. Sometimes I still sneak a laptop around with me, but I’ve broken the habit pretty well.
I gotta buy some of that crap so I can leave it somewhere and not use it:)
Touché
Breaking Bad is like Weeds (the TV show), Kansas, and the Wire all wrapped up in one. It’s quirky, and makes me laugh, but has a really touching plot. I think Bryan Cranston is a genius. Despite being only 7 episodes long, this shows first season was really great. Can’t wait till next season.
Damn..Have not sen one though I listened to an hour interview with him!
I met Hugh MacLeod at SXSW for the first time–it felt like meeting a long-lost cousin. He’s such an absolutely awesome dude, on paper and in person.
I’ve been reading gapingvoid for ever. I don’t think I would have survived NYC without the backlog of cartoons Hugh has put online.
Hugh drew me this card, that will be cherished forever. Frame is on its way.
Hugh, thank you my friend!
BTW, be sure to check out this post over at Hugh’s site. He’s great.
Profane band name, Fuck Buttons, has a great experimental electronic album out entitled Street Horrsing. A sweet 6 song spinner, with most tracks striking the 10 minute mark.
After attending the AMODA Digital Showcase while I was t SXSW 2008, I saw a guy named “Madison Effect” perform live. I checked him out on his MySpace page immediately afterwards and found two very amazing albums for free. Highly recommended.
My company, eight6 is going to match up to $1000 worth of bets, to buy a ton of books for underprivileged kids.
I love good causes. And, this one is fun! Get on over to the Making Book page and place your bets. Skip the casino, and gamble to buy books for kids!
From coudal:
Each bet costs $10 and all the money bet will go to First Book, “a nonprofit organization with a single mission: to give children from low-income families the opportunity to read and own their first new books.”
SXSWi (South by Southwest Interactive, for my Mom). There were 9 million 7,500 people, and I was one of them. I was the one that looked half his actual age.
Some notes:
[...] Jeremy is getting into trouble with electronics too! The arduino is such a cool gadget. Make sure to check out the “Brain Machine”. [...]
From my friend Dean
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Kaossilator/
THIS is the best iPhone app..:)
And a related video: Kaossilator on YouTube
It seems someone decided they liked our copy. Forbidden Design, Indeed!
The moral of this story, don’t copy copy. Be original. I know you’ve got it in you.
Do what you do for the enjoyment of your own talent and the things you create.
I just updated to the WP trunk. Which is just fantastic.
I need a new design to go along with the upgrade, so until then, I’m sticking with Kubrick.
pat, 
Dean are discussing. 
Dean is discussing. 
Dean 11:48 pm on 28 Mar 2008 Permalink
Does your back get sore from hauling your GIANT BALLS around! :)
noel 1:54 pm on 29 Mar 2008 Permalink
HAHA! Thanks Dean. Ego: in-check. ;)
zeldman 8:45 am on 30 Mar 2008 Permalink
Thanks, Noel. My code sucked until you fixed it. You are teh awesome!
pat 6:08 pm on 8 Apr 2008 Permalink
Actually, I think the method I’ve been using for years…
http://www.wellstyled.com/css-nopreload-rollovers.html
…is a better choice, overall.
I also strongly disagree that is superior to Company or for a logo. should be reserved for the primary subject of the web page. Take this default WP template – is the page primarily about “Leaves Rustle” or is the page about “The rollover mishap, and how to avoid it.”?
I think the answer is clear where the should be. Semantically speaking, that is. ;)
pat 6:09 pm on 8 Apr 2008 Permalink
Arg! It stripped my markup!
noel 6:40 pm on 8 Apr 2008 Permalink
@pat Your method is a lot like CSS sprites (http://www.alistapart.com/articles/sprites)
I’ve used the CSS sprites method before, but it’s just not time-friendly to put together one image for rollovers sometimes. Nor is it really worth the effort, especially if you can preload easily.
It depends if you view the H1 as an element for emphasis or for hierarchy. I view it as the latter. I think the title of the blog “owns” the rest of the content, therefore I like it as an H1.
Thanks for your thoughts… it is something to think about.