I have been “working” on my personal portal for weeks now. Mostly that “work” has been staring at it and wondering what it is supposed to be. I have made no progress building the thing from scratch, just seems to be too abstract to tackle that way. The technical aspects of everything I want to do are well understood, but the design aspects are lacking, and in my world, design comes before code. The exception to that would be my status page, which is technically the project that comes before the portal. For the status page, it is not meant to be pretty, just simple, and straight forward.
Things that come from GITI I am comfortable displaying, because I know how they should be displayed, and I have a general feeling of what I want it to be. Also helps that I wrote (most of) what comes from GITI, so I know what to expect for output. OK, so maybe I do have a few technical issues to work out with the personal portal before I can fully write it. The technical aspects are not what block me from making actual code though, it is the aesthetic confusion. Artistically, my code makes no sense.
okay, so, I’m gonna offer you the same advice I offer everyone who’s ever asked me fore help in making a webpage… while I’m aware that you’re more than capable… maybe this will make it feel a little less daunting….
-Start by taking a sheet of paper (yeah, step away from the computer) and writing down, in list form, what you want incorporated.
-Next, take a second sheet of paper (again, get away from the computer), and try potting things out on the page…. do you want a logo, if so draw it in (or even just mark off the place where it will go)… do you want things listed, where would you list them…. do you want it amusing and illustrated, maybe a big silhouette of your head with various thought bubbles coming off of it with your various blog post therein… The point is you’re looking at it from a visual stand point and building from that… dumb it down and it might come easier…. then, once you’ve got a picture in your head (and in hand) you bust your ass to make it work on the screen….
So, that’s what I’ve got to offer… maybe it will work for you, or, more likely, you’ll find a way to adapt it to work for you…. I’ll even let you use a TabledPC (but if you do that, at least do it sittin by tree somewhere.)
Happy building little bro.