The Blue Grass Man

Terry had been waiting all week for Saturday. He'd polished his chops, polished his dobro, and had a few songs ready to introduce to the boys. He'd imagined their praise, both for his improved dexterity, as well as the cleverness and craftiness of his new creations. It was to be a great pickin' day, indeed.

But upon his arrival at the community center, a sign on the door stated that the Bluegrass jam had been cancelled! Something about Hank having a sickness in the family. Poor Hank! Poor Terry! His spirits deflated, he slowly sludged back to the truck. Today was not to be the day.

Ever since his move from Kentucky, Terry had felt a bit isolated, like a fish out of water. Finding this Bluegrass group that jammed every Saturday was like finding a lifeline. Steady, reassurring, it kept him on point. But now, he'd have to go another week without his compass. A week of mowing lawns, the whole time his mind on the upcoming Saturday. A sad, dreary week. Fuel for his art, you might say.

The rock he kicked on his way back to the truck could attest to the weight of Terry's disappointment!

And Now For Something Completely Different...

OK, OK, OK. I haven't touched the website for months, nor the blog. Part burnout, part having a new baby in the family, but I don't even think we can call it "back burner" any longer. Greater Decatur has been tossed into the sink, and I haven't even bothered to rinse it off. BUT - it still lies there in the sink, and is chugging (somewhat) healthily under its own steam. Ready for me when I return. So that's good. I was just thinking this morning that I need to maybe narrow its focus - that might bring me back into the fold? I'd probably focus on the music aspect - that's kind of what made me want to start it anyway.

So, until I get a spark of re-ignition, I'm going to use this blog for something slightly different. I've always "dreamed" of being a writer (that might be stretching things a little, but I do like to write), but I lack the patience, endurance, and drive to actually create something substantial. The best I can come up with is a funny and/or intriguing dialogue and/or plot. So, until I have something to say about GD, I'm going to use this spot to write my "tidbits" down. Don't expect much - its probably going to be something like one or two lines, and may not be worth a damn. But it will be there/here. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Movie Posters

I happened to be tooling around last night, and noticed how bland the Movies page looked. We're already linking to IMDB, so I figured I go ahead and toss the movie posters up there as well. To use realtor-speak, they really make the page POP! IMDB has links to Amazon for all things related to the movie, etc - I think I'll probably add that here as well. Maybe pick up a nickel or two from an Amazon referral...

Obligatory Post

My last post was a lament about how I haven't been focusing on the site, and here we are 2 weeks later with an "obligatory post"!?! I'm only posting to let you know that I haven't posted!?! What is wrong with me?!!!

We've got a few things on our plate here at the homefront, so I've honestly just been distracted. Wrapping up construction on our new home, preparing to sell our old home, and about a month off from Baby #2. Unfortunately, Greater Decatur has to settle for table scraps in the meantime.

I do have some ideas around content - I want to give people more of a reason to come regularly to see the site (ie, "THIS WEEK IN DECATUR") type of thing. I want to do it right, though - going to add something to my admin tool that lets me select some choice upcoming events, and generate the HTML for the front page appropriately. The ultimate idea would be to have the front page dynamically generate it's content from some sort of backend data feed, but not sure it's worth the extra effort at this point.

That's it for now - back to home building, home selling, and pregnant wife supporting (and toddler chasing). Hopefully once things settle down, I'll have some more substance for you, the Loyal Greater Decatur Reader. BTW, if you ARE reading this, and don't mind dropping me a short comment (or email at marty@greaterdecatur.com), please do. Wouldn't mind knowing whether I'm shouting into the wind or not...

Apathetic, Lazy and Fat

Well, it's been a while since my last post, and work on the site has dropped off some. I have no one to blame but myself, the guy that invented TV, the guy that invented M&Ms, and lots of other people, I'm sure. They have all contributed to my laziness - I am but a small factor.

Alas, not true. It's not so much laziness, as it is "I don't want to look at, work on, or think about the site for many days". I'll go full bore for weeks at a time, and suddenly (and unpredictably) hit a rut where the thought of the site almost makes me nauseous. In the past, I've tried to work through these funks, but I've found that the best cure is to just give it a few days. Let all the boiling froth simmer down a little, and recharge for the next bout of ideas.

Tonight, we went live with "Local Color". This is planned to be a series of articles about great (and potentially unknown) places in Decatur. It's being planned and written by my friend Jen Thomas. She's a crafty writer, loves Decatur, and has alot of hopping ideas for places to highlight in her series. Here's to looking forward to future articles!

http://www.greaterdecatur.com/Shop/OBB/OldBookBarn.aspx

I'll

Shop away, you Shopping Shopaholics

I'm taking baby steps into shopping. On the shore of the ocean of e-commerce, I'm dipping my toe in the water. Shivering, not sure if I can survive the currents. Distracted, I chase a shiny piece of functionality down the beach. The ocean is still there. We're ignoring each other.

But I'm back again at the shore, dipping my toe. I'd sure like to swim in this big ole' body of water. Splash a little cash back to shore. Maybe haul in some treasure.

Clicking on the "Shop" button will now take you to Greater Decatur Shopping. I'm not happy with the navigation - I think it might confuse people. Basically, you start on this page (kind of just the "main page"):




Clicking on the "Shop" button on the left will give you a categorized list of shops:



Clicking on the Greater Decatur logo at the top WHEN IN THE SHOPPING AREA will take you back to the Shopping "Main Page".

I can't put my finger on it - it just seems slightly confusing. However, when I think about it, it's laid out the same way the main site is (ie, the only way you're getting back to that main page is by clicking the logo at the top).

Is this just another shiny distraction preventing me from taking the plunge?!

More things in Food...

I had a few ideas for the title of this post - I wanted it to include some clever food reference....

Food for Thought?
Chewing it Over?
A Matter of Taste?

Finally settled on "More things in Food". Deliciously void of pun, satire, or wit.

I've been cranking along in the Food area, and am a little happier with where things stand now. Some of the new features include:

1) Ability to view by Category OR Alphabetically - earlier in the week I introduced the Categorical view, and while I'm still happy with it, it made certain types of lookups harder. Mainly, if you were looking for a particular restaurant (IS IT A BISTRO!?!). Now, you can switch between both.

2) Ability to look for delivery places - for those late night munchies.

Here's a screenshot on how these new items are chosen/depicted in the Food Locations view. Not sure I'm 100% satisfied with the navigation mechanism, but it's doing the trick for now. Hopefully not too confusing...basically, click "A-Z" for the alphabetical view, and "Has Delivery" to see Delivery options. The Delivery one is bothering me a little - feel like "Delivery" might have to have it's own button somewhere...

Check it out