AWSUM.org.uk

AWSUM.org.uk

****- (Rated by 17 people, viewed by 367 people)

Just a personal website-slash-blog. A place for me to ramble on about anything I deem worthy enough to ramble about.

Added by Joe in Personal

AWSUM.org.uk has 17 Reviews

Below are the reviews left by other members on AWSUM.org.uk. Jump to review form?

  1. sandrach gave it ****- on 5th Oct 2010 and said:

    COLOURS:
    The first thing I noticed was slam: colour - straight in your face. If that blue isn't blue then what plus all the rainbow is coming at you further down.

    NAVIGATION:
    That said, the layout is very easy to understand and to navigate and you can easily find what you like. Then I realised that the rainbow is actually clickable and wham: more colours, bright colours everywhere. It took me a while to tear myself away from all those colourful buttons changing the styles on every reload.

    LAYOUT:
    When I did I noticed that the rest of the layout is quite simple. You can hardly find a picture anywhere and I think some graphics would do the site a world of good. Another thing that I find slightly, or even more annoying, is that for a blog with dates you are missing out the year consequently. There is no doubt that the blog is a little dusty by now, but how dusty is not obvious on a first glance. Was it in 2010 that you posted last or in 2008. It's difficult to see.

    CONTENT:
    The content is very variable, but I guess that also depends on personal preferences. I like the meme section a lot- have to prepare one myself, and I was laughing like crazy on the reduced T-short photo (one of the few actually in there.) But most of the regular blogging didn't get to me, I guess I am not enough of a voyeur to enjoy blogs anyway...

    FEATURES:
    Like the RSS feed button. Normally those things are useless but for a blog they are sort of indispensable.

    ABOUT YOU:
    Stop playing all those computer games and with all those consoles dammit. There are many other things out there. Movies and hanging out with friends are a start. Consoles are evil, trust me. Don't use them!

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  2. [img: avatar]
    Anita gave it ****- on 1st May 2009 and said:

    My first thought when I came upon your site is that it looked rather...man, whats the word...well, maybe this should help. If I went on microsoft.com, or some other website like that, it may look huge and intimidating, like it would take forever to find anything of interest. Yours is definitely not like that; It's on the verge of "empty", but you're good.

    You put a link to your blog--well, your homepage--on your navi. The point is you named the link 'blog'--which makes me think it is only part of your site. It is the most of your site. This is not good, not good at all.

    The excessive swearing is kinda getting to me--it's almost like you replaced the need for good, 'quality' words with just swears. Tsk, tsk.

    Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against big font sizes, it actually makes reading easy on my eyes. But your sidebar headers...should be a bit smaller then the ones on the content. This is probably just me, but it really makes the sidebar look huge and makes me not want to really read it.

    And I understand your assumed hatred towards Weborexia, but you could make it a mere...ah, let's say 50 or so pixels smaller!?

    All of those tiny things just really weigh down your site for me--this is only my opinion so it may not be the same for others.

    UPDATED 01 May 09:
    I think I was a tad-bit unfair, some of the things I said probably didn't make much sense XD The thing about the curse words, well, some people may feel differently about it. It's just me. So excuse me.

    It's strange how I can write something up, feel fine about it, and a few days later I feel awful.

    It's my dad I tell you, he taught me to overreact on the slightest bit of discomfort!

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    Joe's Response:

    Not quite sure what you're getting at with your opening statement. Are you complementing it? :P

    Wasn't entirely sure why I added a Blog link. Moment of poor judgment, I guess. But it's gone now.

    The swearing. I wouldn't call it excessive. It's not like one of these chavs you'll see walking down the street, talking with at least four fucks per sentence. I know I swear more than I probably should, but I feel I only do it to provide emphasis on something, mostly thing I feel strongly about. (The kilt statement, I understand why someone would find it a little excessive, but it really annoys me when people call it a shirt, joking aside. Most Scotsmen would feel the same). But I digress.

    I can't say I agree with your suggestion of making the sidebar headers smaller than the content ones. I feel that would make the layout just look weird and inconsistent. If I was to make them smaller, I would make the content ones smaller as well, to match.

    The layout is 900 pixels wide, which would make it view just fine in a 1024x768 resolution, and as 800x600 is getting less and less popular, I see no real benefit to making the layout a little slimmer.

    Anyway, thanks for the review. Constructive criticism is always great. :)

  3. [img: avatar]
    conanpro gave it ***-- on 26th Nov 2008 and said:

    1st of all i love how you can change the color of the website. thats so cool.!

    UPDATED 26 Nov 08:
    Okay now on with the rest,

    Header:its very nice I have always Loved simple header with only brushes, i would give it a 3 out of 5

    Your blog: its not the most interesting thing to read (but maybe thats just me) but i do like the cute little calender at the side of the blog, & i can see most of your blogs are about "drunk friends" & "getting a job" & at my age non of that really intrigues me,

    about me:your about me is very interesting it shows just the basics, what you like, your info like gender, age, name,hobbies,ect. i would give it a 5/10

    domain info: this is pretty long & i tells you all about your host & different ways to get on the site quicker & your past sites 9/10

    all together your site gets 7/10 i think its pretty accurate

    but then again, thats just me.

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    Joe's Response:

    Thanks very much! :)

    Anything else to add? ;)

  4. [img: avatar]
    meggan gave it ***-- on 19th Nov 2008 and said:

    I think your site has some good things going for it, but your type treatment is what starts to bog it down a bit across the board.

    To begin: I think your site title is nice - the glow works for me and the font is stylish and well-executed. I like that you indicate that you can make it to the site with a couple different tlds. The blue, however, is pretty INYOURFACE. I started thinking I didn't mind it, but I decided I like the color, just not the intensity. Right now it feels like it'd sear my eyeballs if I looked at it too long, which makes me want to leave, and you don't want your visitors to want to leave.

    Where it really gets overwhelming is your navigation. I know you've just messed with it from reading your blog post about it, but it's still got some stylistic issues. The blue is super bright and used in that quantity it's pretty overbearing. I think outside the header, I'd start using the blue more sparingly. Make it impactful! The white-on-blue is also sort of difficult to read and the crinkly font (Verdana at that size isn't very smooth) and extended letter-spacing don't help. Perhaps try doing your post titles and nav buttons in Arial, bold, at 14px with no letter-spacing. I think it would cut down on the visual clutter, since our eyes read words as groups instead of individual letters, and the spacing forces the individual letter-type reading, which is harder on our brains. I just saw up above that someone said two sans-serif fonts is a no-no, but I think if used appropriately (like site headers vs. body copy) it can work.

    I also feel like your main content text is awkwardly large. 14px Verdana seems like overkill; you would have better luck with 12px or even 11px depending on how low you're comfortable going. I wouldn't recommend going any lower than that though.

    I like that you offer different color schemes for your layouts; the only problem I have with it is that they all seem to suffer from the same problems. Which, I guess once you fix one you've kind of fixed it on all of them, so that might be a time-saver. A lot of them suffer from the brightness problem I mentioned earlier - most feel like they're screaming at me.

    I think your site is pretty solid, but it doesn't quite have that "wow" factor. I think with some type work it could be improved a lot.

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  5. [img: avatar]
    April gave it ***** on 18th Nov 2008 and said:

    Hello there, I've decided to review your site! Here goes...

    First Impression

    The first thing that popped out of me when I first clicked onto your page was how quickly it loaded. You have it very low image wise and yet it still looks sleek and and neat. The capital letters in the navigation made me step back a bit however – why not try lowering the font size but keeping it capitals like that if you really want to keep the capitals?

    Layout Impression

    It's very neat and I really like the simplicity of the design. It isn't boring and yet its not bouncing with flashing graphics or over contrasting colours. I especially like the way you can change the “flavour” of the design to a fruit/colour that you like better.

    However, once again, the capital letters and the size of the text in the navigation sidebar made me blink a couple of times. I think it would look really good if you maybe changed the font size to something smaller but kept the capitals? I think that would look so much better because right now, the navigation is grabbing more of my attention than your content is.

    Content

    You have a really great sense of style. I was captivated while reading through the whole of your site and I must say, your blog is the type of blog I enjoy reading daily. You have the amount of content a general personal site usually has and that is perfectly adequate for someone that basically posts blog entries. =]

    MarkUp and CSS

    Your mark up is neat, tidy and very organised. As is your CSS. I like the style in which you set out your HTML. It has order and makes sense – easily decipherable.

    Overall Impression

    Awsum is brilliant other than the minor sidebar issue. I'm sorry this review is so short – I was finding it hard to find critique other than “your site is great” so I'm sorry if this doesn't help you at all.

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  6. [img: avatar]
    cinnamon gave it ***-- on 16th Nov 2008 and said:

    My first thought when I came to your site is that the font it is too big and the header is a little boring as the CSS. why don't you play with some colors and not have all in 1 color.Ok, I have to admit that the color idea is nice but you can try maybe a rainbow one, make it more colorfull and maybe in every header change the font or something.
    Your about me page says all about you, and wow 9 consoles?
    Your about the site page it simple and not to long so easy to read and not bored, it gives all the info about your site and cheap domain name,no?
    Your link page is not too big but I guess it is enough
    Your site is not a really long one for review but they only thing I will say is try to make a different header :)

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  7. [img: avatar]
    Clem gave it ***-- on 16th Nov 2008 and said:

    Hey, Joe. I've decided to write a review of your website because I don't want to write another "your site isn't great" review. Hopefully I won't have to!

    Your design is fairly plain, and it's not going to stick with me for too long. I do love the navigation, because it's BIG, and the fact that you've made the links under "Flavour" different colours is really cool. It would be extra cool if you made the hover a different shade of the colour. I'm using "Cherry" right now, just fyi.

    I think your design is okay - I mean, there aren't any huge issues with it, but it's just a bit plain. You don't need to make a really complicated design like Aisling's for me to like it, but this one just seems a bit... generic, I suppose?

    ABOUT
    Funny and informative! This is a GREAT About page. It's rare that I read an About page that I actually like, or that I don't have to force myself to read through all the way, but I read yours all the way through without thinking, "Groan, when is this going to be over?" and overall I enjoyed it a lot! The summary made me giggle too.

    DOMAIN
    This is a fairly typical Domain page, but your personality does show a bit, especially near the end. I did read the whole thing, and I'm glad that it's not too long. This page isn't *extremely* interesting, but it's better than many Site sections I've seen and reviewed. So thank you for that.

    Your Links page is, you know, a Links page. Be sure to add some more links here at some point, since there aren't very many. I'm sure you'll find some blogs you like via Snark and rev.iew.me. :)

    I really enjoyed your website. You're a funny, clever person and a good writer, and there were no HUGE issues with your website, although your layout could be a bit more interesting. Overall I think you have a solid website, but I would LOVE to see something in the way of content from you - articles would be great.

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  8. [img: avatar]
    Petey gave it ***-- on 16th Nov 2008 and said:

    First impressions stick with people, this sites first impressions aren't very good at all tbh. The text across the page is massive. Its awful. Perhaps size 9pt? The fact your site is called Awsum, makes it look incredibly unprofessional, spelling the word wrong. I understand awesome is probably taken, but perhaps think of a different name? I also wonder why there is a large gap between the content and the nav.

    Themes - Most of the colours are far too bright for my taste, the apple one is the easiest on the eyes though. Perhaps a grey one or a pastel colour.

    About - This page is the average length, which is fine. The information contained is good too. I am not sure if the swearing is entirely necessary, but its your site I guess.

    Domain - This page is also fine in length and the content is good too.

    Links - Good way to show where you are on the web, also good to see some good blogs on there with some free pluggage.

    There isn't a huge amount of your site to review, I think with a different layout the site could be a lot easier on the eyes.

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  9. [img: avatar]
    Anthonyash gave it **--- on 15th Nov 2008 and said:

    I was initially put off by the huge text, so I don't think I have much to say. I like how you can change the colors because the blue is sort of blah.

    the only reason I don't like the huge sidebar is because it makes it seem empty and bland. If you made it a little smaller it would make the overall feel seem more compact and organized.

    I like your blogs, they are interesting to read the the cursing I haven't a problem with. It just shows your an outspoken guy and really don't care what others think.

    The only reason i'm giving you two stars is because of the layout. Since it's just a place for you to rant and blog you should really have an interesting layout. The big boldness makes it seem like your yelling at me, and my eyes keep getting distracted.

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  10. jmellors96 gave it **--- on 15th Nov 2008 and said:

    The main thing I would comment about on your site is, 'I'M NOT BLIND', believe me you really do feel like saying that!

    If everything was a little more 'petit' it would look alot more bloggy, but at the moment i am well put off even reading it.

    The main header is that flattering really, without been nasty, unless you KNOW you can make QUALITY graphics it's much more worth your time creating plain simple graphics for it, or even just using text. http://mellorboy.net look at my header, I know I can't make very good graphics so I've just kept it simple and original and so far everyone loves it.

    Joe.

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    Joe's Response:

    I'm not quite sure what it is you're really trying to say here.

    You say if everything was smaller, it would look more "bloggy"? I wasn't aware that blogs were supposed to have a set standard look about them. I always thought one of the main goals of creating a layout was to set it apart and make it stand out from the crowd?

    And you say you're "well put off" reading my site? Well, in that case, I have to ask why are you even doing this review if yo're not even going to both reading my content?

    I'm guessing you meant to say the header ISN'T that flattering? Other people seem to think the opposite, but that's just a matter of opinion. You say it would be worth my time just creating plain simple graphics... but that's exactly what I've done! The only images I use for my layout is a simple diagonal stripe background and a header image with some simple text and a simple background! I originally did just use text for the header, but people thought it was too plain, so I made an image, which has been received quite well.

  11. [img: avatar]
    Anna gave it ****- on 14th Nov 2008 and said:

    Positives: Your blogs are very entertaining and well written.
    I liked how you had different "flavors" you can change the layout to. I think the colors you chose are great--especially the purple. That's my favorite. :D I liked your autobiography. Very entertaining with a bit of humor thrown in.

    Negatives The only negative aspect about your site that I could find would be the sidebar (navigation). The text is HUGE! Seriously--I had to adjust my eyes a bit. I'm guessing you have the white text set on 20-24 pixels? Try 12-14. Instead of having such a large sidebar, try something a bit smaller. Setting the main text a few sizes smaller wouldn't be a bad idea either.

    Over all, it's a good personal site. Your blogs are fun to read, something I would come back for. :)

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    Joe's Response:

    Thanks very much. :D

    The font sizes of my headers (main and sidebar) are 18 pixels, and the main text is 14. I've personally always loved the big sidebar, and after all, this is a personal site. ;) But I'm planning on messing around with the font sizes at some point, to try and find some sort of equilibrium between big and small.

    Thanks again for the good review. :)

  12. [img: avatar]
    Annaleigh gave it ***** on 13th Nov 2008 and said:

    Lol. I don't think the layout is that bright. The colors are nice, but I'm not too fond of using all the same color (even if it is just a different shade). Try to use complementary colors, colors that go nicely together. If you're at a total loss, try eye dropping colors from images that you think have nice colors. (I love the concept of being able to choose 'flavours' though. Maybe do something like 'strawberry-banana' or 'blue-raspberry'?)

    Now, I have to say this. The url. It kinda bugs me when people have 2+ .whatevers . awsum.org.uk? It's really not likely that I'm going to remember that.

    "Pro-tip: You can also use the domain awsum.info to access this site."

    THANK YOU. :D

    I like the way your blog is set up (particularly with the date), it really makes me want to read what you have to say.

    xD Love the 'about' page (Scottish? Really?) (right, of course it's not a skirt, Joe.); the 'summary' is hilarious.

    Ooh, one more thing! I noticed that your header doesn't display in any of the 'category' sections? Was that done on purpose?

    Overall, your blog is totally awesome, and something I would read at least every once in a while. :)

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    Joe's Response:

    Thanks for the suggestions regarding the colours. Definitely something I'm going to have a fiddle round with, see how they look, etc.

    I had my heart set on an awsum.something domain, but all the good 'uns were gone. But I liked .org.uk. But I actually registered the .info for that exact reason - in case people couldn't remember the .org.uk one. Well, that and it was incredibly cheap. ;)

    Ooh, nice catch regarding the header image. That's fixed now. :)

    Thanks for the awesome review. :)

  13. [img: avatar]
    Diana gave it ****- on 13th Nov 2008 and said:

    The colors are bright, but I can read everything easily so I don't see the problem. Of course, I do like everything dramatic, so I'm probably as helpful as the friend who tells you look fine when you look like a peacock :< In that case, the colors could use some calming.

    Your about page is so funny! Thanks for the summary :P Good job telling about your interests.

    The domain history is just as entertaining. You have got guts to use chatspeak in your domain name when you don't like it too much.

    Your blogs are great! I'm definitely delving into the archives and subscribing.

    In conclusion, I found your site to be witty and entertaining. Good job! I'm going to link you :)

    UPDATED 13 Nov 08:
    I forgot to sayyy:
    1) two San-serif fonts is a no-no.
    2) you didn't put your name in your about page!

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    Joe's Response:

    Thanks very much for the nice review. I know that some of the colours are a bit too bright, that something I need to get off my arse and sort. :P

    Your seeing TWO different fonts? Hmm. It shouldn't be doing that. Weird I'll have to look into that.

  14. [img: avatar]
    Tiffany gave it ***-- on 13th Nov 2008 and said:

    Layout
    Holy shat. BRIGHT. As much as I love me some flavors, I love secondary colors as well (using the apple). By secondary colors, I mean complementary colors. I love that this is bold, but unlike some sites (diaua.com comes to mind), this doesn't have the proper color scheme (or line spacing). I understand its easy to find two main colors and change those for each flavor but it doesn't look pretty.

    Organization
    - Header needs spiffying. Something captivating, something different, something special. Get where I'm going?
    - The Verdana + Arial combo would look better just Arial.
    - I can't really tell your blog entry from the date. It reads "12. Hello there. New domain, new design! Totally awesome, yes? NOV. You can even change colors."
    - The block headers and navigation are fun to play hover, no-hover with but aren't visually attractive.
    - Hello teeny meta data.

    Pages
    - Ooh. Scottish.
    - Telling your visitors you're a lush is really going to reel in those hits, ya? :P
    - Whoa. Neat. Summary. Pretty awsum.
    - Being all about W3C standards doesn't mean your layout has to be bland.

    Summary
    Nice site. Boring layout.

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    Joe's Response:

    Seems the layout is a bit of a Marmite thing - you love it or you don't. The colours being quite contrasting seems to be a common complaint though, so that's something I definitely need to work on.

    And I know about the date thing - it looks pretty bad when there's not much text wrapped around it. I need to make it stand out a lot more.

    Thanks for the review. :)

  15. [img: avatar]
    Louise gave it ****- on 13th Nov 2008 and said:

    Design: Wow, that's bright! Hold on, I need to get my sunglasses... j/k I don't know if my screen's brightness is up too high, but I think you're bordering on too bright/bold and too much contrast. However, your design really neatly-aligned, clear and easy to read and navigate. I would consider using less-contrasting tones in the future. Though I understand the balance is not always easy to find.

    Blog: Oh, you blog about games. That's cool. I like games, but I wouldn't call myself a gamer. ^^; Anyway, you seem to blog semi-regularly and about various things. You should be able to keep gaming fans entertained.

    About: I found your About page to be really informative and amusing at the same time.

    Domain: This page is not boring. (LOL) Yeah it's pretty straightforward and says what it needs to say. I seriously can't be bothered reading about-domain pages that are more than 500 words (yours is well under 300). But both this, and the about page are very well written.

    Coding: No major woes. You have one tiny error where you have "px" in the image width attribute in you blog post. CSS validation came with no errors, but many warnings about color and background-color being the same... Which isn't an actual visual problem. Weird how it chooses errors.

    Summary: You have a really unique site, and interesting domain name to match. Keep up the good work! :)

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    Joe's Response:

    High contrast seems to be a common complaint, so I should probably tone it down a little bit.

    Ooh, never spotted that px, although it doesn't affect the validity of the code, I've removed it anyway. :)

    Thanks for the review. :)

  16. [img: avatar]
    Shadow gave it ***** on 13th Nov 2008 and said:

    First Impression
    Big and bold without it being overpowering. Excellent. It's very simple, but it works because there is still a lot of color. Not a lot of people can pull off a layout without images without it being boring (I know I can't). Wait a minute though...there are other colors! Purple being one of them! I love you.

    Blog & Sidebar
    Everything is big enough for everyone to read, especially those lacking in the eyesight department. The line spacing is excellent in the blog, and I love the consistency of the sidebar--everything's uniform (other than the color section for good reason).

    The other pages
    Ahh! Noo! I wanna cry now. Wait, don't freak out like I just did. I saw that there was an Internal Server Error, but then I saw you changed the links in WordPress. Okay, I can continue.

    About: I love About pages that speak a lot about the owner. Not only that, but I love About pages that make me laugh. You succeeded in doing both for me. The self-summary=fricken awsum.

    Domain: Right to the point. And you explain in short where the domain name came from. It's normal, but some people don't really throw that in. Useless information to some, but useful to curious people.

    All in All...
    I am glad you're over the skinny/celeb layout trend because you have something here that is just awsum. You just opened up this domain, but you're doing a great job at it so far. Keep it up, and thanks for adding the RSS icon. :)

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    Joe's Response:

    Five stars? Wow, thanks very much. :D

    Yeah, I was having a little bit of problems with the permalinks. Some configurations stop the colour changer from working well, and some won't even work on my server. So I was fiddling about with them, so that'd be why you got one. Should all be fine now though. :)

    Again, thanks for the great review. Glad you enjoyed the site. :)

  17. [img: avatar]
    Aisling gave it ****- on 12th Nov 2008 and said:

    Your design is big and bold, which I love. AND IT COMES IN DIFFERENT COLOURS!!! And, so, I officially love you. Where do you live? I may need to stalk. :P (I AM kidding, FYI).

    I think the Cherry theme is a bit too bright. The Apple theme is a bit too green (like, it's not really an APPLE green, but a green green. I want more apple green.). The Toffee Theme is pretty nice, as is Grape. But I think I'll stick with Peppermint.

    Yes, so, everything seems to be well-spaced. I would prefer hovers on your title and blog entry titles, even just subtle ones, because... well, hovers just look better and scream CLICK ME!

    Your About page was humorous, and I think we should be friends, lol. You seem very friendly, and outgoing. You have PLENTY of information available about yourself, which is lovely.

    Your Domain page follows this tone, and is also an interesting read. It is rare to find a site section that interests me, so you should be giving yourself a pat on the back, for sure.

    Your Links page is well organized, but... not very... link-y. What I mean is that you have hardly any links! You should get more! I'm sure you can find plenty of cool blogs on rev.iew.me (anyone I've rated over 3 stars is a good start. ;))

    Overall, I found your site to be thoroughly enjoyable, and I was quite happy to be able to giggle throughout my visit! Keep up the good work! And add some sort of RSS/ feed icon-y thingy so that I can add you to my feed reader, please!

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    Joe's Response:

    I live near Inverness. ;)

    I'm aware of the Apple theme not being very apple-y. It was originally a much brighter green, and was called Lime. Then I came to my senses and darkened it a bit (although clearly not enough) and couldn't really think of any other (good) food that was characteristically green. I'll probably dull Cherry down a bit as well.

    Not entirely sure why I didn't give any hovers to the blog titles... especially since I did when I originally created the layout... Hmm. But that's changed now. :)

    I know my links pages is a little lacking in the links department. I felt a little weird about putting up a bunch of links to people who had no idea who I was. Is that weird? Anyway, I'll put a bunch more up soon.

    Glad you enjoyed your visit to my site. I've added an RSS feed icon to the footer. :)

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