• February Edition, February 2002
• Editor: Don Hunter don@arkvalwebworks.com
• Publisher: Arkansas Valley Web Works
• http://www.arkvalwebworks.com/

1. What’s Up?: Something To Say

2. Web Page Help: It Will Put A Hex On You

3. Web Issues and Stuff: Weather Bug, Churp, Churp!

4. Ark Announcements: The Cat’s In The Bag.

5. Both Sides Of The Coin, (Words of Wit and Wisdom)

I was putting off writing this newsletter until the last minute because I want it not to be dated even before publication. Before I knew it the publishing date had arrived. I was bemoaning the hardships of a writer’s life with my gal. You remember her, the mean, mean woman.

"I wish I was like you," I pointed out.

My gal beamed. For some reason she likes to be complemented. Nonetheless she knew something was up.

"Thank you," she said and then questioned, "but why?"

"It is so easy with you," I said with a twinkle in my eye, "even when you’ve got nothing to say you still have something to say."

"That’s better than you," she rebutted. "Even when you’ve got something to say you’ve still got nothing to say."

It can be good to have a hex put on you. On occasion for coding special tricks and such it is necessary to use hex code for color instead of RGB numbers (Red, Green, Blue). For example when I changed the colors of the scroll bar with CSS (cascading style sheets) I needed to know the hex code for the colors I was using for my web site’s theme.

My favorite web master to the rescue, Dennis Gaskill of Boogie Jack’s Web Depot at http://www.boogiejack.com has a color machine that converts RGB numbers into hex code, and it lets you actually see the specific color you want as the background of the page as you are doing it. It is really simple to use as well. Check out the instructions at http://www.boogiejack.com/colormach.html. The machine itself is at http://www.boogiejack.com/colorpop.html.

Interested guests can see the results of the scroll bar changes on my site at http://www.arkvalwebworks.com . The scrollbars tutorial is at http://www.boogiejack.com/css004.html .

I know I told you all about the CSS tutorial last month..., but great men do repeat themselves, repeat themselves, repeat themselves. Gee, I must really be great, I repeat myself a lot!

My buddy Tommy Dean at http://www.sunsetcreations.com seems to find some of the neatest stuff on the Internet. I don’t know how he does it so consistently. His latest find for me was Weather Bug at http://www.weatherbug.com.

Weather Bug is a small program that you can download FREE to your computer that will tell you the temperature on your taskbar if you are online. Once installed, just double-click on that temperature icon on the taskbar and go to the Weather Bug screen. There you can find more specific information such as wind direction, humidity, dew point, wind chill, barometric pressure, and precipitation amounts. Get a four-day forecast by clicking, who would have guessed it, "Forecast".

But best of all, the feature I really like is the churp sound it makes when storm warnings are in the area. Who would have thought I’d have a bug tell me when to take cover? Ah, the wonders of technology.

I can hardly wait to tell you about my next big project; but I don’t want to get too specific about it. The cat is in the bag. I haven’t arranged for a domain name and some of the other necessities so I’ve got to keep it a secret for now. Nonetheless I wouldn’t be writing this article if I didn’t want to give loyal subscribers a few advance hints. Besides, that’s just the kind of guy I am.

Let’s see now, some hints without giving it all away. It will be something that all Arkansas Valley residents and businesses will find very useful. It will be very easy to use and has many alternatives for users. Residents and businesses can use it to make money. Community organizations, schools, clubs, charities and such will be granted FREE permission. Monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, and annual plans will be available for a very cheap price. That’s right, I said cheap. Hey, if the Weather Bug can churp, I can cheap.

I better stop there before I get carried away. If things go as planned, and they never do, it might be ready to go by the first of March. My subscribers can be assured they will know about it first.

The cat is still in the bag but for a minute there I was worried. He was sure scratching awful hard on the sides.

"The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win you’re still a rat."