an ampersand in the Empire of Signs

It happens every time. I get an idea to work on a project. It's usually something simple, like filing my bills. Somewhere along the line, the Keep It Simple Stupid principle gives way to the "wouldn't it be cool if..." disease. I'm not sure what the cause is--an overactive imagination or delusions of grandeur--but the disease takes over, and my good idea becomes a nightmare.

This is the fate that befell my website. Back in 2003, I signed up for a free three-year trial of web hosting by the provider 1&1, which was expanding its services to the United States. What grand plans I had for my site! It would be the center for all things Ettkin. My imagination ran wild, and needless to say, the server remained dormant for a long time--despite a couple of lame attempts to put together a home page.

There it sat, in the back of my mind, a nagging, unfinished project--like so many others before it. At some point I got around to setting up my personal e-mail address so that I could indulge in the satisfaction of people writing to Ettkin.net--the cyber equivalent of vanity license plates.

To be sure there were fits and starts over the next couple of years, but nothing I would really want my name associated with. A closet geek, I often surfed the internet and saw new applications and web designs. Of course, I thought, "Gee, I should try that!" And "that" would fall flat. The wiki wonder made it onto my hosted server, but woe to the wiki, it wouldn't work. Alas, the server is cluttered with my failed attempts. I'm glad 1&1 hasn't kicked me off, yet.

In the last half of 2005, I got serious about my website--sort of. Finding myself back in the job market when my job at CCI didn't pan out and graduation loomed ever closer, I decided that if nothing else, I needed to have the website for an online portfolio. Employers would have at their disposal a great marketing tool for learning about me.

Simple enough.

Sort of.

As always, I couldn't do it the easy way. 1&1 provides a really straightforward and easy website design package. It should have been a 1-2-3 two-hour project. But not for the master obfuscator, the king of needless complexity. I decided--no, I'll do it myself. Everything. Of course, my knowledge of HTML was limited to changing font sizes and adding links. For me, JavaScript was a latte and the Sunday New York Times at Starbucks. No matter, I forged ahead, and my two-hour project became a six-month, lurching enterprise. It took me into the world of PhotoShop, which I had previously used only to take out the red-eye, and then to Adobe GoLive, which I had never used. Each package took me hours to figure out, and I spent a couple hundred dollars on tutorial books to teach myself how to use these programs. (Not that it was very painful to do, as a non-recovering biblioholic.) So much for my "free" website.

Somewhere along the line, I got the idea that I should also have a blog. Everybody else is doing it, why shouldn't I? What self-respecting technophile doesn't have a blog? If Joe Schmo can spout off on every random issues, why can't I, with my excessive education, do the same? Having a blog is a great idea, and it's easy to set up. A number of sites offer free blogging that you can set up in just a few minutes and be on your way to pontification. But not for the cleric of convoluted, the high priest of "how hard can you make it?". I decided that my blog should be completely integrated into my website, and to accomplish this goals, I chose perhaps the most complicated of blogging tools.

Movable Type is a powerhouse. It's more than just a blogging tool; it's an online publication engine. And it ain't easy to use. My decision to use Movable Type for my blog is somewhat akin to saying to a little kid, "Okay, Tommy, now that you know how to fly a kite, why don't you try flying this supersonic stealth bomber?" In other words, I was in way over my head, and I knew it as soon as I started (or tried to start) installing the application on my hosted server. Professional programmers and web designers use Movable Type, or at least hardcore techies. I'm just a wanna-be techie, and working with Movable Type put me in my place. But at least it's free (if you don't count the weeks I've spent trying to understand it and the book I bought).

I am happy (and relieved) to say that both my blog and my website are ready to launch. You'll pardon the amateurish look, and I hope you'll understand that I am still learning how to fly. Until I get my wings, consider this site a work-in-process. But I do hope you'll visit often and give me feedback about how to make it better.

And next time, maybe I'll remember to take baby steps.

Tags: blog, blogging, 1&1, Movable Type

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