Todnem.com (beta)

This site has been up and running for several years now and has already undergone quite a few transitions. As I get different ideas, I continually update and play with different techniques and schemes. The current site is centered entirely around Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). The effect is pretty much the same as when using tables but requires a lot less code, thus resulting in a quicker load time for web browsers. Due to some tabular data requirements, I have not eliminated tables altogether in the site. However, compared to sites I have done in the past, where tables are nested 5 or 6 deep, I believe this is a vast improvement. ;o) This is not my first venture into style sheets as I've been using them for quite some time to render text and images on the screen. However, this is the first time I've really attempted to use style sheets as a means of controlling structural content on the page.

It's a challenge to switch gears but I think the end result will be a much better design. As though the CSS leap wasn't quite enough, I have also switched server technologies from .ASP to Coldfusion. The current version of the site is built using Coldfusion (CF) 7 as a backend. The CSS and Coldfusion ventures are a direct result of my exposure to new technologies at my current job as a web application developer. As I continue to learn more, I will continue to tweak and update this site to improve it.

If you're not completely asleep by now, then feel free to take a look around. Since the site is currently undergoing a transition, all the features have not yet been implemented but come back and see us soon. I plan to add more features to the Blog interface as well as to the Photos section. Stay tuned!

Just a few notes on some new features that are either in place now or will be shortly...

The tag clouds and tags within each blog entry have now been adjusted in how they work (slightly).  Searching using a tag is exactly the same.  However, it is now much clearer as to what tags are in use at any given time.  When a particular tag is selected, it will be highlighted within the respective tag cloud as well as within the blogs.  If no entries are currently selected, the "ALL" tag will be highlighted.  To return to a "tagless" search after specifying one or more tags, simply click the "ALL" tag within the respective cloud or blog.

Usernames are now linked to your account page.  Members are allowed to edit settings such as email, bio info, password changes and subscription notification preferences.  This same interface will be available to other members as well as visitors but will only display the username and bio info.  An option will be made available shortly to allow all members to opt out and not display this info to anonymous users.  The reply notification and password change settings are not quite in place but should be ready to go by this evening.  To access your account, simply click the "Account" link at the top of the page or click anywhere you see your username displayed (i,e; any of your posts or replies).

I guess that's about it for now.  Look for changes to the site in the next day or so.  Members will be allowed to individually select to be notified when any of the following occur: