New Theme

I suppose I don't have to tell any returning readers (there are such people!) that I have changed the look of the blog. It was always pretty boring and I never really liked the old banner. I am not at all certain I will stick with this one, but I invite comments.

I also cleaned up the links section and I intend to add a few more. I got rid of the old testimonials and stuff, though I may restore them in some form.

The truth of the matter is that I never took the time out to master TypePad. It was just too easy to post when I wanted to.

Anyway, this will do for a while.

Comments

[Bill Fleming]

Blood. Chili Pepper. Casino. Linear. Hot. Constricted.

[Bill Fleming]

It's growing on me. Kinda liking it. I have one minor change suggestion because I'm a very picky typographer. Would you please hit a paragraph return between the two sentences in your kicker under your flag? The one-word "review" widow is driving me nuts. (...it don't take much, as you know.)

[Donald Pay]

Here's a problem: "This blog focuses on national politics with a special emphasis on South Dakota. It also includes posts on philosophy, science, culture, and movie reviews."

I'm not sure there is "a special emphasis on South Dakota" here. If I want a national politics with a special emphasis on South Dakota I'll go the Madville Times, Mt. Blogmore, or several other blogs.

[Ken Blanchard]

Donald: I am happy that my choice of topics has kept at least this one loyal reader.

[Ken Blanchard]

Bill: your wish is my command. Except when it isn't. Thanks for the feedback.

[Bill Fleming]

Your fix is even better than my suggestion. Thanks, KB. I can quit squirming now (at least about the typography) ;^)

[Bill Fleming]

General rule of thumb. The length of a line of type is most quickly legible if kept to a length of 1.5 to two alphabets long (40-52 keystrokes). Line lengths exceeding that require additional space between lines. i.e the longer the line length, the more space required between them.

That's because our eyes have to surf the white space immediately under the last word of the line just read all the way over to the beginning of the line below it. (We cruise from left to right while reading, and surf the white space back [not reading] from right to left.)

For maximum read speed, a good type designer will gice you a good clean pipeline in which to surf back. Too tight and you can end up on the wrong line. Too loose and you can space out and start thinking about going to have a cheeseburger or something. Especially those of us over 60.

[duggersd]

The light gray for authors of comments and at the end of the article that includes comments, permalink, and whatever else could be in something that shows up a little better. My aging eyes find that difficult to see/read. Just my suggestion.

[Ken Blanchard]

Bill: you lost me. But thanks for trying.

Dugger: I am with you on the light gray. I will try to fix it. Typepad doesn't always make that easy.