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For those of you who have had far too much time on your hands and have followed my writings for however long, you’ll notice I’m refreshing the site. The theme I used to have they stopped supporting about five years ago but I kept using it all the same.

Then, I unwittingly hit a button on my keyboard with my pinky one afternoon and lost the theme. So now, I find myself scrambling to construct a new site.

Problem is I haven’t coded in roughly two decades. The last time I coded, HTML5 and CSS were just arriving on the scene. I had taught myself coding by going to other sites, finding features I wanted to incorporate into mine, and then would delve into the code and find the lines to accomplish my need.

(Don’t know about you but I find that I learn more when I dive directly into something. Reading about it doesn’t do it for me.)

So, as you can see, I’ve embarked on constructing the new site. Which means I have to relearn all I’ve forgotten in the intervening years. After one marriage, one daughter, and several pints, I’ve found reading up on coding practices still doesn’t work for me. It’s better for me to dissect sites and see what makes them tick.

I forgot how much is involved in learning a language (especially a computer language) and the aggravation caused when you don’t get it right (‘patience’ is not my forte).

So late last night, I embarked on my latest odyssey. Even in the several hours I spent tweaking an existing theme, it felt like I had never stopped doing this. Yes, there was rust but going about constructing my site this way was like revisiting my old neighborhood. A lot of this was familiar, dare I say, even agreeable.

So, I have no software or hardware to review for you at the moment. But I wanted you to be forewarned that the site isn’t going to run as smoothly as it will inevitably. I beg your indulgence.

Plus there will still be some additions to the look. (Honestly, I’m not a fan of minimalist themes. To me they all look the same – so sterile. I want to create something that makes people pause and think, ‘What the heck is this?’ or ‘Is this guy OK? Should we call someone?’). I find it a dare to do things that others tell me not to do. The gauntlet’s been tossed. I now have an obligation.

So, if you click on a link for a trial version of the software I’m reviewing and the theme from ‘Dora the Explorer’ begins serenading you through your external speakers, please appreciate the hours and effort that went into screwing up that badly.

Now back to your life, already in progress.

©2020 Frank Petrie