Version 0.1

Hosted on Geocities.com, hand-written, single page. Very lame.

Version 0.5

Hosted on my PowerMacintosh 7600 when we had @home internet service and were capable of running a web server from home. Made with Adobe PageMill. Also rather lame. Lost when my 7600 died in November 2001.

Version 1.0

After I started to blog in May 2003, I found the need for a website, and by June I created Nick’s Rants to host pictures for the blog (at the time on Blogger). Originally, it was planned to be hosted in my geocities webspace, but I decided since I was paying for .Mac, why not use it. Built using Adobe GoLive with frames for layout.

About midway through 1.0, I moved from Blogger to iBlog, that like the website was hosted through my .Mac service.  The initial iBlog blog was completely different looking from the website, something I rather hated and would plague me for 2 years (until v5.0).

Version 2.0

By September 2003 I decided the website was really sucking, so I rebuilt it. Built using GoLive but now with tables for layout and featuring actual content for the first time rather than just a pretty layout to host a couple photos.

Version 2.1

In January of 2004, I was learning JavaScript and decided it would be a good idea to use it on the site, so I did. v2.1 upgraded 2.0 with a JS created header, footer, and sidebar, and added the library, system, and stories sections. Also, much of the “wasteful” GoLive code was stripped away, as I was now using BBEdit for site building.

Version 2.5

In February of 2004, I decided that the file structure of the site was rather poor and unorganized, so cleaned it all up while also removing the last bits of GoLive code. From the user’s perspective, it actually looks identical to 2.1 but functioned a bit faster.  Used BBEdit again.

Version 3.0 betas 1, 2, and 3

Also during February of 2004 while working on v2.5, I decided that while the upgrade was nice a more thorough rewrite was about due. So, I began working on v3.0. The first 3 betas were trial and error, playing with different things I had learned at Delta College in my various classes and from past versions of the site. They were never posted publicly. The underlaying point behind them was to bring CSS to the site and prove I could hand write the entire thing from scratch. I used BBEdit again, but CSS absolute positioning for layout of 2 of these betas, and tables for the third. I also played with the idea of dual sidebars. Though they were early versions of v3, some features were used for v2.5. The v3 series was hand coded from scratch, using no previous code.  None of them made it past a few pages.

Version 3.0 beta 4

In March 2004, armed with the lessons from betas 1-3, I began work on v3b4, a showcase of all I knew. CSS and JS were planned to be included, and I even tried to put an RSS feed from the blog on then front page. A try to hide my lack of content with eye candy. It was planned to become final on May 27, 2004, but do to looking rather crappy it was a permanent beta.

Version 3.0 beta 5

After v3b4 being kinda ugly and too flashy, I decided maybe a very plain, simple page, with no sidebar, and some nice bright category images would be better. In July 2004, development began. Some sections, such as Stories and Pics would be moved to the blog to further streamline the site. Again, a hand coded, ground up rewrite using BBEdit. I liked it, but was tiring of V3 consisting of endless betas, so it was never publicly released and mostly rolled over to V4.  This move resulted in V3 never having a “final” version, all 5 were betas.

Version 4.0

After playing with v3b4 and b5 for a few months, I began implementing some of the changes outlined for b5 in October 2004. It was a plain white with bright colors, stories and pics were now in the blog, and there was no sidebar on the site. It was dubbed hooji 1.0, but is version 4 of the site.

Version 5.0

In March of 2005, I decided the blog and site should look more similar. I learned as much as I could about editing the iBlog template files, and set out. Since the very plain format of the site just wouldn’t work for the blog, it would need to be changed again.  The plain white was wonderful on the site, but blogs really need sidebars for navigation, and that just wouldn’t be possible with this template.

Though I accomplished my goal of getting the site and blog to match, the site was never finished.  The blog made it up, along with place holders for most site pages, but never any content on the site.  In fact, most site pages said only “Comming soon” (Note that “coming” was spelled wrong).   While I did intent to finish the site, I instead became side tracked into outright moving from iBlog, and spent most spare time preparing for the move and writing Version 6 instead.

I again used BBEdit, with layout accomplished by CSS floats. Toward the end, pics made their way back to the site after being removed in v4.0.

Version 6.0

A new server deserved a new site, so as soon as I signed up for the new host in August 2005, I began work on a new site. Featuring PHP scripting for the first time, thanks to the new host. Root code is very similar to that of v5, but with editing for the PHP and a more tasteful stylesheet. Began development using TextWrangler (free non-pirated version of BBEdit) but have since moved to Smultron (yes, that’s really the name).

Version W

At a point in early 2006, with work and school both on my back, I decided to stop the website development for a while. That’s not to say the site went away, I just quit coding it. Since WordPress (hence the W) allows for posting pages as well as blog posts, I could just enter the content into a form and be done with it, for the most part anyway.

At some point, hand coding will return. Until then, WordPress themes will take care of my changes in website taste.

Do I have a favorite? I don’t know. v3b5 and v4.0 were very attractive, but were perhaps too clean. Version 2 was nice as well, though the sidebar was a little amateurish. v3b4 and v5 though, those were just ugly, and I apologize.

Version 8.0

As of yet, there are no plans for 8.0 yet.  I have been happy letting WordPress take care of everything for me.  Someday, I am sure, it will eventually happen, but I have no idea when.

Old Site Stats

Visit counter statistics for the site when it was hosted on .Mac.

July 06, 2003	0	Counter Installed
September 21, 2003	100
October 12, 2003	200
November 15, 2003	400
December 16, 2003	600
January 15, 2004	650
February 17, 2004	750
March 09, 2004	850
April 03, 2004	950
April 07, 2004	1000
July 16, 2004	1500
August 21, 2004	2000
March 07, 2005	4000
July 06, 2005	5000
August 31, 2005	5744	Date of switch to NFSN
September 28, 2005	6000
September 30, 2005	6017	Final day site was online