We Should Post, She Says

"i know, i know," i reply.

i just haven't had anything to say. the progressive blogosphere has already devoted a multitude of posts to the bankruptcy bill and the other activities of the 'kill the poor and rape the environment' contingent of our state and federal legislative bodies, so i didn't write about them myself. why duplicate the stellar research other bloggers have accomplished?

i now volunteer several hours a week with a community organization in boston. i am way more overscheduled than i should be, but i was sick of ranting ineffectually online. pounding out mean, nasty rants is so very satisfying, but it doesn't feed anybody. i'm not sure how long i can keep this up, but for now, i'm willing to devote a big chunk of my time to my volunteer activities. i'll keep going as long as i can, and when i start feeling burnt out, i'll cut back.

the other time sink is the re-design of this blog. we're moving to our very own domain soon. previews of the new design are available at www.waitingfordorothy.com. be warned, it is still incomplete. i also haven't tested it on different browers and operating systems under different screen resolutions. design is a bitch. if you can believe it, the pathetic preview you see there now is the culmination of hours of effort. i started this project in january, but i never finished it because the learning curve was so intimidating: CSS, HTML, PHP, and GIMP.

as if *that* weren't enough, different browers, different versions of browsers, and different operating systems don't render web pages in the same way. some only support portions of the CSS standard, some incorrectly implement portions of CSS, and older browers don't support it at all. despite the all vaunted capabilities of CSS to streamline and standardize the design process by separating content and design, the fact is that design and content are still the grotesque siamese twins of the web.

perhaps in 5 or 10 years, they will dance on the heads of different pins, but not today. currently, to ensure near universal accessibility of a web page, several templates are required. since i'm a geek, i *have* to rise to this challenge. therefore, when i am finished, waiting for dorothy will be accessible even to people using lynx. now, wouldn't that be something?