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Digressions

New Template is Live!

Hey geeks!

Finally, the new template is up! The last major overhaul for my template was roughly 3-4 years ago before responsive design went mainstream and before HTML5 goodies were widely implemented. This is a fresh, new take for the blog.

For the long-time readers who have stuck with me since 2006, you will know that ABL is primarily a tech site, with some personal notes here and there. Today it has “graduated” into a chronicle of the other things that I am passionate about (yes, a near-decade can change a person) and if it’s one thing thing I learned from blogging, your readers grow with you. I’ve re-categorized everything into (1) the general geekery that comprises 80% of my site, (2) my underwater hobby of SCUBA Diving and photography, (3) press-related articles and everything else that falls under the sun — (4) digressions.

The logo is more compact. I did away with the cartoon bugs and went for the emblem as I’ve learned from being featured in Erick’s games that for branding purposes, an emblem-like logo would work better for collaterals. So, this:

abuggedlife_2013_logo

This is an example of a featured post that forces focus on content — especially images — with no sidebars. The photos also have the option to bleed out of the designated column to act as highlights or separators for different sections of a single article.

There are still a few things that need to be sorted out — especially with the categories (close to 2,000 posts) and deploying a visual means to tell whether a post is PR-influenced (such as posting about a product because I was invited to an event or reviewing a gadget that was lent to me). I have no qualms about PR-influenced post but having to put out a disclaimer every single time I post about a phone that was lent to me isn’t very efficient.

Last but definitely not the least, I’d like to give a huge shout out to James Chua and Jed Revita of Pixelkit for the design. They’re also my gaming buddies over at OMGeek. I am a regular guest on their popular podcast about video games.

Promise! I’ll be posting more regularly now that the template is done. As a side note, a few days before the template went live, I became a victim of a WordPress hacking incident which bogged down the site for a couple of days. Not only was the site wonky but I got emails from other webmasters telling me that I had PHP pages within the site that did some secret link building thing.

For those who’ve stuck with me for almost a decade (and even more if you were with me since the MPH Magazine days), thank you!

Now onward! To the journey!

This blog is bound for the stars.
This blog is bound for the stars.

By Jayvee Fernandez

Jayvee Fernandez is a tech enthusiast, EAN certified SCUBA Diver and underwater photographer based in Metro Manila, Philippines. His photos and videos have appeared in various international and local publications including Random House Germany, Discovery Channel Canada, and CNN.

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