New Work from 2011, Plans for 2012

Last year was a good one. I was lucky enough to work steadily throughout the year on some great projects. I've added some of said projects to the portfolio: SunGard, Bojangles', InVue Power Up, Wire Rope Exchange and BAM Architects. I can only hope for similar prosperity and clientele for 2012.

At the end of 2011, I made conscious effort to consolidate my focus. Accordingly, I've dropped several of my half-baked side projects and languishing domains. For the projects that made the cut, there are a few minor developments on the horizon and some grander plans, but I won't get into those until the time is right. As well, look for Quasi Object Labs here soon.

Finally, I will breathe some new life into the blog this year. I realized that what is posted here doesn't have to be anguished over or amazingly articulate (not that any previous posts were either). Basically, whenever Twitter's 140 characters don't cut it, I'll probably post those thoughts here. Expect some cross-posting from Forrst, too.

2 comments

Updated Logo, Website

I've been wanting to make a few tweaks to the Quasi Object logo for a while now. The original Q came from a font I created back in college and it didn't have the exactness I felt warranted by the services it represents, web development.

Accordingly, I rebuilt the logo based on a 4x6 grid, with each block as one unit. For the blocks with rounded corners, I further broke them down into a 4x4 grid and rounded the corner at 25%. Whether it needed to be done or not, it at least appeases the OCD gods (for now).

Of course, once I started fiddling with the logo, that made me want to take a look at the website. I ditched my homegrown setup for Kohana 3 and expanded the site out with dedicated project pages, an about page and a contact page. The plan is to keep iterating on this throughout the year, but I wanted to start fresh for 2011.

Last but not least, I added all my notable work from 2010 to the portfolio. Out with the old, in with the new. Here's to a successful, productive 2011, everyone!

4 comments

Allowing Flash Uploads Through Apache Authentication in .htaccess

Occasionally, I run into issues uploading files through Flash to a development or staging site protected by Apache authentication. I've seen all kinds of recommendations to bypass the authentication, but nothing ever worked.

Recently, I realized you can limit the authentication to GET requests only, which leaves POST requests completely open. As it does leave POST open, I would only suggest using it for a development or staging environment.

<Limit GET>
AuthType Basic
AuthName "Restricted Files"
AuthUserFile /path/to/htpasswd
Require valid-user
</Limit>

Since discovering the use of the <Limit> directive in .htaccess, I've seen this workaround mentioned several other places, sometimes using the <LimitExcept> directive instead. <LimitExcept> produced an Internal Service Error for me, so I can't vouch for it. Nevertheless, as the information is somewhat buried in comment threads and forums littered around the web, I wanted to post it out in the open for other frustrated developers out there to find and use.

1 comment

Silent Uproar Search

I recently relaunched Silent Uproar with some designs from art director and designer Clay Johnson at With. One of my favorite parts of the new design from Clay is the search overlay. When he first sent me the screen, I hadn't seen anything quite like it before and knew it might take people off guard, even with something as banal as a keyword search. Technically, it wouldn't have been possible without using @font-face embedding and OFL typefaces like League Gothic. Maybe it could be a tad clearer on the usability side (i.e., there's no submit button), but I was happy to put form over function in this case.

0 comments

Food For Thought #14

Don't try to be original, just try to be good.

Paul Rand

Change is Coming

The longer you neglect something, the easier it is to neglect. Case in point: this blog hasn't been updated in over four months. Nevertheless, I've got about eight projects to add to the portfolio, a few tweaks and a possible face lift for this website. Not to mention, the handful of client and internal projects that are currently in progress.

Lately, I've been trying to be an active participant on Forrst, a new community for designers and developers. That community is motivating me to learn from and share more information with my peers. Hopefully, a steady stream of tips and snippets will again flow through these pages before too long.

How many times can I do these "it's been a while, I'll do better" posts before I'm the boy who cried wolf? I'll try not to make it a habit.

1 comment

Minor Yet Irritating Flash Bug in Mac Firefox 3.6

Shortly after upgrading to Firefox 3.6 on the Mac, I noticed a lot of Flash elements offset by one pixel on the top and left. I thought I was going crazy, until I downgraded to 3.5.x and it went away. I tried to find a workaround or explanation, but there was none. Like I said, minor yet irritating.

Apparently, it crops up if the elements are centered and if the browser window is sized to an even width. Thankfully, Mozilla now recognizes the bug, it's become a priority and is working on a fix. (Note: this is not an issue with 'focus' or 'outline' CSS properties.)

Indeed, this is a minor issue, but if you have any Flash elements that are width or height sensitive, chances are they're affected to this bug. I posted this note to save any of you Mac Firefox folks out there the headache of tracking down this issue.

2 comments

Brantley Barefoot

Designer, art director and friend Brantley Barefoot just launched a simple, new portfolio. I helped get him up and running, with ExpressionEngine as a back end. Toggle the background with "w" for some added fun.

3 comments

Food For Thought #13

There's a real need for a high-level IDE that does for HTML5 (canvas, JavaScript, video, audio, databases) what Flash's dev tools do for Flash Player. Imagine the joy if it were Adobe that made it.

John Gruber

Is it 2010 Already?

Last time we talked it was November 2009. I've been slack on the blogging and slightly overwhelmed with work (which I'll never complain about, just stating the facts). For brevity's sake, I'll just provide the highlights.

I provided a little Flash and Papervision3D assistance to BigNoise on the NASCAR Hall of Fame home page. Then, I worked with my pals at Nice Outfit, handling development on a website for Los Angeles graffiti legend RISK. After that, I helped launch a website and partnership with Serious&Ly in Richmond, VA. Most recently, I built a website for African American string band Carolina Chocolate Drops and Crips founding member Greg “Batman” Davis (via R. Rock Enterprises).

On the horizon is a web app launch for Novelope. With Serious&Ly, there are projects ongoing for Work Labs' new, internal collaborative app, Lab Rats, and the launch of a digital media label, The Acme Thunderer. As well, I'm gearing up for a few in-house projects and will make an effort to keep the blog fresh with content. 2010 already sounds busy — I hope I can keep up.

3 comments