Latest Blog Posts
The Digital Billboard Compromise
I can live with the new digital billboard rules, which allow slightly brighter signs than previously proposed, but no animation. The rules are more restrictive than I would have allowed, but not so restrictive as to completely defeat the billboards’ purpose.
On a related note, the City Council legitimized Anderson Ford’s six year-old illegal sign. That’s a fair outcome, since the city screwed up by giving Anderson a permit for the sign in the first place.
JournalStar.com’s New Clothes
If you haven’t already noticed, JournalStar.com is sportin’ a new look today. The new design is much more like what one expects a news portal to be. It doesn’t break any new ground from a website design perspective, but that’s a good thing. A site like JournalStar.com needs to cater to its audience’s expectations about how a news site should work.
I had the pleasure of getting a sneak peak at JournalStar.com over the weekend, thanks to Online Editor Steve Smith. I gave Steve a variety of feedback on the new site. Here are some of the things I said.
General items—The interface is clean and simple. The columnar/modular approach makes the site feel more like a news site than the old design. The simple color scheme is consistently applied, with plenty of white space. Overall, it’s a nice, conservative look. Unfortunately, parts of the site “break” when viewed without advertisements. (I browse primarily with Firefox and the AdBlock extension.)
RSS—Many of you want to know the story on this, so I may as well break it to you now: JournalStar.com is staying away from RSS for now. I won’t quote Steve Smith on the matter (because I didn’t ask his permission to quote his e-mail), but I can say that RSS is on the radar. It didn’t make the site (for now) because of the fear that it will take away from page views. In other words: ad revenue is affected. I know, I know, you don’t care. You just want your RSS. So do I. Let’s do something about it: go on over to this thread in the forum and help me write a letter to the editor. When it is finished, I will send it to the Journal Star.
Navigation—The main menu at the top of each page is mostly well organized, but many of the items in the submenu under “Home” don’t make sense. (Who would look under “Home” for Celebrate Nebraska?) There is an annoying lag between the time you mouseover a menu item and when its respective submenu displays, although it’s probably there to prevent the menu from changing unexpectedly on accidental mouseovers.
Homepage—Having the weather and search at the top is nice. The homepage is a little busy, but there a lot of content needs to be squeezed into a small amount of space. It took me a while to figure out what the B* images are supposed to represent. (They represent connections to various LJS blogs.)
Section pages—Section pages are the main section (Sports, News) collector pages. They are laid out similarly to the homepage, which is nice for consistency’s sake. I’m not a fan of the blue header image at the top of the section pages, nor am I crazy about the “central” in “News Central”.
Subsection pages—These are pages like Local under News. They are mostly just lists of articles, with links to related information. They are simple and bland, which is probably the best way to do them.
Article pages—The article pages are structured so that the line length doesn’t get too long. That’s good for readability. The text size widget is kind of cool, but it would be more useful if it remembered your setting from page to page. Comments on the old site were ordered newest to oldest; I hope they change that for this version.
Subsites—JournalStar.com is filled with subsites, like Ground Zero Online and The 402. Unfortunately, most (all?) of those subsites currently have their own drastically different looks. I would really like to see those subsites brought under the site’s new design. Their look should be customized, of course, but within the confines of the new design.
Broken—Portions of the site are broken or missing right now. Watch your step as you navigate the site.
The Ugly—I hate it when websites open pop-ups or new windows, especially when I’m not told that that’s what is going to happen. JournalStar.com is guilty of the crime in several places throughout the site. It’s especially irksome because the annoying behavior doesn’t serve any useful purpose. Also, several parts of the site don’t work at all if the user doesn’t have JavaScript turned on. That doesn’t apply to most users, but it does apply to one very important group: individuals using assistive technologies like screen readers for the visually impaired. That is not acceptable. I’m not saying that because I’m on some sort of political correctness crusade; I’m saying it because the courts have said it isn’t acceptable. The courts are gradually expanding the group of websites that must accommodate persons with disabilities, and in my opinion JournalStar.com is either within or very nearly within that group. (Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer.) Cover your butts, LJS.
Overall—Overall I think the new site works. It has a nicer look, it is better organized, and best of all, the Journal Star didn’t go with the Omaha Weird Herald’s stupid subscription format. It has a couple hiccups, but hopefully those will be fixed with time. Congratulations Steve Smith and company, you did well.
Friday Five
Today’s Friday Five features five other things John Camp could have won had he decided to go for it:
- John Camp could have won the Tour de France, but he decided to allow his good friend Lance Armstrong give it a shot, since Lance’s post-cancer comeback made a nice story for the media.
- Camp could have won the National Spelling Bee, but he decided it was “a kids’ activity”.
- Camp was up for the Heisman, but he bowed out after some kid whined that he would “go back to Omaha and tell on you to my mom!”
- Camp could have had Tom Cruise as a mate, but the Scientology weirded him out. Camp suggested Tom go with his second best option, Katie Holmes, instead.
- John Camp could kick Chuck Norris‘s ass any day of the week, but Camp allows Norris to stay around because “it’s funny watching people fawn over such a nancy boy”.
Countdown
Look for countdown crosswalk signals to be installed at every crosswalk downtown this week. In my experience the countdown signals help pedestrians make better choices about which flashing Don’t Walk signals to heed and which to ignore. The new signals cost $200,000.
Can You Hear Me Now?
Yeah, yeah, the headline is tired. But what better way to (probably) welcome Verizon to town than with the company’s catchy-but-worn-out advertising phrase. According to the Journal Star’s “sources familiar with the project”, Verizon plans to build a call center in the tech park in northwest Lincoln. The call center would host some 800 jobs with starting salaries in the mid- to upper-20 thousand range. It’s not Intel, but it’s a good load of decent jobs. Welcome to town, folks!
Chief Casady is Always on Duty
Never mess with a police chief’s wife. Even if he’s on vacation.
Hungry for a Food Blogger
After a year in the local blogosphere, Swoof has closed Eatin’ in Lincoln. Today I reluctantly removed it from the blogroll.
Note that Eatin’ in Lincoln didn’t close due to lack of interest. In fact, its closing leaves a bit of a void in Lincoln food blogging. The blogosphere abhors a vacuum, so I would like to do my part to help fill the gap. If anybody out there is interested in giving a new Lincoln food blog a try, I would be happy to have you here at Lincolnite. If you think, “Hey, I could do that!”, . Maybe include a couple quick examples of how you write or topics you would blog about. Nothing fancy or lengthy, just enough that I can get a sense of your style. I don’t really care if you are 14 or 84, a seasoned blogger or a web newbie, an individual or a tag team of a few friends who all like food. I just want to find somebody who meshes with the Lincolnite concept. And if somebody fills the hole with their own site before I find somebody for here at Lincolnite, fantastic. I just want to make sure the topic gets covered.
Coming Soon: A New Look for JournalStar.com
Apparently JournalStar.com is getting a makeover on Monday. Thank goodness. The screen shots (you can see ads for the new website in the paper version) look like some effort was put into the redesign. I just hope the designers remember that usability is the current site’s biggest weakness, not aesthetics. Look for a review of the new site next week.
Lessons from the Qwest
One of the most interesting pieces in today’s Journal Star was buried in Deena Winter’s column. It is notable enough that I will quote the section in full:
Arena proponents ought to pay attention to what’s happening up in the Big O.
The Omaha World-Herald recently reported the city-owned Hilton Omaha isn’t generating the kind of revenue projected. Also, the city will likely have to tap reserves to make a bond payment on the hotel, and convention bookings are expected to be down next year.
Nevertheless, that city’s convention and visitors bureau is pressuring the city to expand the Hilton to attract bigger conventions. The World-Herald reported Omaha has struggled to attract large national and regional conventions—conventions Lincoln hopes to attract, too.
Difference is, Lincoln would prefer to get a private investor to build a new convention center and hotel, as a mayoral task force has recommended. That way, the city wouldn’t be on the hook for their performance. However, the city could be on the hook for incentives it offers a developer, like free land.
The Qwest Center is a nice addition to Omaha. But it has lots and lots of problems. If we are going to build our own arena and convention center here, we must make sure we learn from all of them. One example comes from Ken Hambleton:
[UNO]’s Division I hockey team was stuck in a high-cost, long-term lease with Qwest Center Omaha. After years of selling out Civic Auditorium, interest seemed to wane when fans were able to find plenty of room in the new arena.
Lesson: Don’t overbuild. Crowds beget crowds; empty seats beget empty seats.
Cross Mayor Camp Off the List
Jon Camp won’t run for Mayor in this spring’s election. Instead, he will run for re-election to the City Council, and he will continue to focus on his business interests. I’m certain it was a difficult decision for him.
What bugs me, though, is how arrogant he comes off as a result of the announcement. He said, for example, “Quite frankly, I know that I could’ve been elected.” I don’t like those sorts of pronouncements. Can you imagine if Colleen Seng were to say, “I have decided not to run for re-election, but quite frankly, I know I could’ve beaten any opponent”? It’s tacky. More appropriate would have been to just bow out quietly, talk about how he is keeping the door open for 2011, and maybe offer a little support for Ken Svoboda.
Update 11/30/2006: Neal shoots, he scores!
Triplets
A triplet is a set of three words having the same consonant sounds, but different vowel sounds. For example, given the clue A large container for collecting insects is a..., the answer would be BIG BUG BAG. Note that sounds are important, not letters. Try your hand at these triplets:
- A piece performed by our Mayor is a...
- The burial places for the police chief’s caps are...
- A conceited truck parked on V Street is a...
- Peanut butter cup-eating competitions at a local grocery store might be called...
- A noisy boy in the audience at a performing arts center is a...
[Note: Mr. T jumped in with answers before most of you had had your morning coffee, so don’t look at the comments until you’re ready. Also, feel free to chip in with your own triplets!]
A Big Red Weekend
This weekend is a biggie for Husker sports. There’s the football team’s trip to Kansas City, of course. I know I’ll be watching that game. The only question is: from my couch, or from the stands?
But to be honest, I would really prefer to grab tickets to the Coliseum as UNL hosts the first and second rounds of the NCAA Volleyball Tournament. The Huskers take on American University on Friday, and either Winthrop or Northern Iowa on Saturday (assuming that the Huskers win on Friday, of course). If you managed to get your hands on tickets, you’re a lucky sonuvagun.
Go Big Red!
Kopeli Coffee Coming to Downtown
There will soon be a new coffee shop in Downtown Lincoln. Kopeli Coffee—any relation to this guy?—plans to open in January in the new building being constructed in the Amigo’s parking lot. Does Downtown need another coffee shop? Well, no, probably not. But you’ve got to give Kopeli credit for an excellent location that should pick up a decent amount of University and drive-thru traffic.
Friday Five
Five movies filmed in Lincoln:
- Airport (1970)—“Mel Bakersfeld is the hard-charging manager of Lincoln International Airport, trying to keep his airport open despite a raging Midwestern snowstorm and an angry wife. Meanwhile, his antagonistic brother-in-law, Vernon Demerest, may have his plans for a placid layover in Italy disturbed by unexpected news from Gwen Meighen, and by the plans of the D.O. Guerrero, the loose cannon on board.”
- Terms of Endearment (1983)—“Aurora and Emma are mother and daughter who march to different drummers. Beginning with Emma’s marriage, Aurora shows how difficult and loving she can be. The movie covers several years of their lives as each finds different reasons to go on living and find joy. Aurora’s interludes with Garrett Breedlove, retired astronaut and next door neighbor are quite striking. In the end, different people show their love in very different ways.”
- O Pioneers! (1992) (made for TV)—“Alternately tragic and triumphant story of Alexandra Bergson’s love of the sometimes unwelcoming farmland of the southern Nebraska plains. Captures well the quiet tone of Willa Cather’s best work.”
- 7-Teen Sips (2000) (independent)—“This laughably pretentious and tedious examination of teen angst comes from pro skateboarder-turned-filmmaker Stephen Berra, who claims to have mined the story for his feature debut from the experiences of actual young people he encountered while touring the heartland of America on the skating circuit.”
- About Schmidt (2002)—“Warren Schmidt is forced to deal with an ambiguous future as he enters retirement. Soon after, his wife passes away and he must come to terms with his daughter’s marriage to a man he does not care for and the failure that his life has become.”
But clearly Lincoln’s most famous screen time came by virtue of Tommy Lee. Wait, did I really just use “virtue” and “Tommy Lee” in the same sentence?
Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! In honor of the holiday, Neal sent in a special cartoon:
(Click to see a larger version)
What are you thankful for today?
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