onfocus

I live outside of DSL range so I use a standard dial-up modem every day. Being bandwidth-impaired can be frustrating at times, but it could be better if more sites practiced some minor low-bandwidth courtesy.

My top design pet peeves are related to forms and have simple solutions:

a) It's fine to have a JavaScript focus() in the page's onLoad event, but if there are a bunch of graphics on the page, I've probably already filled out five fields by the time the page fully loads. Once all of the graphics finally load, the focus takes the cursor away from the field I'm working on and places the next five characters I've typed into the initial field...where they don't belong. Then I have to erase those characters, find the spot where I was on the form, and continue. And I'm not going to wait until all of the images load to start filling out the form–and neither is anyone else. If there are a bunch of images on the page, skip the "convenient" focus().

b) I don't mind images instead of standard form buttons, but for pete's sake, pre-load any graphic form elements with JavaScript so they're the first images that show up on the page. Once again, I don't want to wait for every other image to load before I can find the submit button. Most likely I'm done with the form by then and ready to move on.

It feels like I'm in the minority of Internet users with only a dial-up connection because just about everyone I know has DSL. But I'm actually in the majority. According to this article: Broadband Slowed by High Prices, "By the end of 2002, only about 15 million to 16 million U.S. households will be using a broadband connection — out of roughly 66 million homes with Internet access."

The weather was freaking incredible this weekend. For a few weeks every year, the weather hits damn near perfect in this part of the world. The hills are still green and wildflowers start blooming everywhere. Now is the time, and I spent most of the weekend outside taking advantage of it. The lawn is mowed, the garden is ready to go, and some plants have been planted. I went for two hikes this weekend, with today's the most spectacular: a four mile trail at Point Reyes with some great views. We saw deer, elk, snakes, rabbits, giant slugs, ducks, cranes, and only four other hikers on the trail. I took pictures.

it's later than you think it is.

I recently switched from Twinings tea to PG Tips. Makes the morning stand up a little straighter.

Chocolate Milk

Oh God! It's great!
to have someone fix you
chocolate milk
and to appreciate their doing it!
Even as they stir it
in the kitchen
your mouth is going crazy
for the chocolate milk!
The wonderful chocolate milk!

- Ron Padgett, New & Selected Poems

I don't like chocolate milk. But I like this poem.

Just the promise of stock options used to be as good as a paycheck. But things are different now, as Primedia is finding out in two lawsuits. [via OCR] The End of Free on the Web should also refer to the end of free work.

Great tutorial at Digital Web Magazine on preparing digital photography for the web. I use slightly different methods to achieve some of the same results, but I still feel like Mr. Voss was looking over my shoulder when he wrote the article.

This site and my email were down all weekend. If you sent me a message, it was probably lost in the mists of Internetland.

“I didn't know that Cheshire cats always grinned; in fact, I didn't know that cats COULD grin.” - Alice