Thing 1 - Obsessing Over Details

For a little background, I am a self-proclaimed techy geek, who is particiating in this intiative to document and quanitfy my abilities with web tools.

Having previously created and customized journals, I quickly delved into the features and was immediately impressed by the simplicity of customizing the blog's features, format and add-ons. I modified my header image using GIMP the GNU Image Manipulation Program.

First off, GIMP rocks! Having used Adobe Photoshop in college, I was accustom to a very user friendly, straightforward set of tools. GIMP's tools gave me some trouble, but after a few attempts with various images, I've accomplished what I needed and learned how to complete the most common requirements - cropping, filling colors & touching up random blips.

Then, I ventured over to the Yahoo Avatar and was less than impressed with some areas of selection but I ended up with a cute approximation of myself. Due to my concerns regarding privacy and safety on the web, I appreciate the availability of tools like this one. The export tool was simple, as expected.

Finally, I modified the width of the posting space within the layout HTML tool. HTML and web programming languges are two areas where I definitely need to improve my skills. I can basically find my way through code and modify it on a trial and error basis, which is exactly how I managed to make today's changes.

I'm excited to be particpating in 23 Things on a Stick... let the tech and quirkiness to be further cultivated and if anyone in the program happens upon this and wants to share tips & tricks - I'll be happy to help.

PS - Last night, I checked out a few highly customized templates being offered for download on other websites, and I was not saavy enough to remove outside links from the header so I ditched those. Luckily, I'd backed up my template (another nice feature) and was able to reinstate it with a few clicks.