It was functional, but bland and constrained.
Well designed and supported Semiologic system was used. It consisted of modified WordPress software and multitude of plugins seamlessly integrated and preconfigured. Because of the modifications it was difficult to use templates or themes not specifically designed for it. Theme templates included with it were rather simple to be polite. New, more appealing themes and skins (modified colors and fonts) were added recently. At $295 initially and upgrades at about $170 per year it was relatively expensive for hobbyists. It is primarily used by people trying to sell or market their wares or ideas. You can try it by downloading the free Semiologic theme or purchase Semiologic Pro from semiologic.com site.

Current layout and design is possible by using the Hybrid theme and Life Collage child theme.
Hybrid is well designed semantically. It can be modified by using the basic structure of Hybrid theme and just adding the child theme which contains only the modifications. The Hybrid theme is free, but if you have questions the support is $20 per year. The price is right. After browsing the documentation and reading forums some changes were made to make the site looking the way I wanted it to look. I am tweaking it frequently because, as my niece says, I have OCD.

There are other less costly, like free or almost free, solutions. You can find them by browsing WordPress.org, not to be confused with WordPress.com which is a free web hosting service using WordPress software.

I have been using WordPress for a long time for several reasons. It is structurally well designed and easy to expand by using plugins. There are 7,185 official plugins as of this writing.

Layout and styling of the content is done by using themes. There are 1,042 free themes at this moment. All themes can be customized with choice of different colors, fonts and layout. For example you can chose to have your site with one, two or three columns, fixed or flexible width.

There are web site designers specializing in web templates for WordPress. Their well designed and good looking themes are offered for a fee.

Your friendly search engine will help you find what you are looking for. If you have specific questions, just ask. I will definitely have some answer for you.

Here you have it!
The summer is gone already.

It is interesting that since 1997, Autumn has been one of the top 100 names for girls in the United States.

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o’er-brimm’d their clammy cells.

From poem “To Autumn” by John Keats

Sitting inside with AC running without a break it is the only way to survive. Going out at night when it is cooler is pleasant until you discover that your uncovered body parts are suddenly having red, itching mosquito generated zits.

With all that time inside I am back at my blog experimenting with new software, web layout and colors. Posts are reorganized a bit. Hopefully my blog is not about everything and it is easier to find what you may be looking for.

I am going to write more about wine, food and iPhone, in that order.

Suggestions and comments are invited and encouraged.

Back in nineties I started helping Rich with his web sites. One of his first publications was ironically The Inventory of the Estate of Elvis Presley. Then came custom web sites for roofing supply businesses in New York, restaurant and real estate sites in Florida.

He was one of the clients that always paid his bills on time. Interestingly I have never sent him a bill in all 15 years we did the business together. He did have all of my phone numbers and would not hesitate to call with a question any time of day or night. He would always find me. Even when I was on vacation in California, Italy or Poland I would talk with him.

He was a great person and a friend.

We all will miss you Richard!

Today was a magnificent historical moment that could not be missed.
I have recorded it in HD to be able to watch it again.  

Your eloquent speech was strong and hopeful, promising great challenges and rewards.

Please lead this nation to be great again.

Wieslaw