There’s been a lot of talk going around lately about CSS bar graphs. Just go to delicious and type in “css graphs” and you’ll find hundreds of links to Apples to Oranges post “CSS for Bar Graphs.” There’s even a rails plugin based on that post.

But what happens when you need a simple, reusable CSS bar graph? A graph where you don’t have to determine the width and height for each bar? That’s where Javascript comes in.

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I thought I would share my new organization process, as it seems to be working really well for me lately. I have it set up loosely based on the “Getting Things Done” method. I skimmed through the book, so it figures that it is lacking in some parts. Overall, it works well for me.

Process 1: Action Item Dump
I found a task management program called Fusion Desk that I LOVE. It allows me to set up different projects with folders and tasks for each project. In the screenshot below you can see my 6 current projects - “Internal,” “NBCF Website,” “NBCF Marketing,” and so on. In each of those projects I have “Action Items,” “Waiting For,” “Reference,” and “Someday.” At any point in time, when I think of something that needs to be done, I immediately go to this list to add it under the designated folder. Fusion Desk allow me to insert notes and even add attachments for each task.

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This is just a nifty little trick to add a simple ajax-style loader graphic to your images. It works great for image galleries or anywhere it might take a few seconds for an image to load initially. It’s all done with a little css and takes just a couple of minutes to do.
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Open source is where the web is heading and while we love WordPress and their blogging platform, eCommerce options have left much to be desired. Don’t get me wrong osCommerce and ZenCart have help many businesses get started, but their limitations and lack of updates/support often make for a very troubled solution. Reading some notes from the guys over at Young Go Getter today, I was introduced to Magento Commerce; finally an open source eCommerce solution built with a scalable business model in mind. The design is modern without going overboard and the open source ability means you can take it any where you like (to have it modified that is). Take a few minutes to see what they’ve done over there and I’m sure you’ll agree that it’s light years ahead of other much dated solutions currently on the market.

Want to keep your code compliant, but at the same time add some special characters to your website? The w3 has a great post on how you can get all those special characters you need without adding unnecessary code that could cause problems later on.