I’ve also dropped the site to a very simple template for the time being. It’s all a matter of finding the right one. I want to go back to three columns, but this should keep things simple and readable for now.

If only Helvetica was licensed for the web . . .

Over at Livejournal, I’ve found that dropping my account to Basic level removes the big stinking ad from the top. Looks a lot nicer now, and I didn’t lose any functionality I had previously. Thanks for the tip Amy!

I want to figure out if I can completely abandon categories for tags. I’m surprised that WordPress hasn’t moved that way yet. They work in a similar fashion, except you can’t render a page of exploded posts from a tag link. Maybe someday.

I also need to figure out what I want to do with the main page. That’s where I’d just link to crap. I do most of that on Facebook now, so the main site has become rather useless. I’m quite open to suggetions, and our host supports all the latest tech, including Rails.

Work is over in 15 minutes. Then the weekend begins. We’ll be doing some shopping tomorrow. Hooray

Now, admittedly, I haven’t done much to care for the LiveJournal page I set up. I mostly did it to give Amy easier access to my blog and to expand my audience of bored humans. I left it on some ugly theme that I chose ages ago and only checked it occasionally to verify that the crossposting plugin is still working.

So I trotted over there today to ensure that it worked correctly with WordPress 2.7. It does. I figured I’d stick around and pick a more aesthetically pleasing theme. I did.

Then I noticed it. A big honking banner ad for credit cards above my post. This is so wrong on so many levels.

I get that LiveJournal doesn’t cost me anything. I get that a handful of Russian coders are punching up the nasty perl that makes LJ work. I get that they have to monetize the free accounts somehow.

But did it really need to be a huge graphical banner right above my most recent post? Couldn’t it be a skyscraper along the sides (which are currently blank). I look like a frigging phishing site. Thank you LiveJournal, for knowing nothing about page design. You can kiss the fattest part of my ass if you think I’m buying a paid account to get rid of it.

Those of you who want to continue to view my stuff on LiveJournal should get an ad blocking program for your browser. I don’t think a spam company should be profiting by obscuring my writing without my consent. If anyone knows how I demand they move it to a less obstructive location, please let me know.

The best course of action is to just read this over at http://tomtostanoski.com/blog. I’m currently looking for a better WordPress theme and I should have my blogroll and links cleaned up sooner than later. I’ll also be adding my Tweets to the sidebar as soon as I can find a good widget for it. Best part: no ads, and I will never try to sell you anything.

Sorry for the rant. It bugs me to no end that they put their ugly Citibank ad THERE!

Okay, two out of three ain’t bad.

I’ll fill the faithful in on my life sooner than later. For now, enjoy the fact that some intrepid coders have made it easier for me to post and read the site from my iPhone.

If you visit from an iPhone or an iPod Touch, you’ll see a nicely formatted page that is easy to read. This doesn’t apply to LiveJournal just yet, but if Six-Apart gives a shit about that community, the tools will be there sooner than later.

Have fun with reading, mobile device users. I promise to get blogging hardcore from this point forward.