Our fourth informal get-together to discuss style, CSS, web standards, and other über geek topics will be this Thursday, May 22 at Atlas Cafe in the Mission. In addition to what Tantek mentions, I’ve been thinking about independent projects, like the CSS Zen Garden, which cross disciplines and show off the power of beautiful design and efficient coding, and could also create interesting discussion. Join us if you can.

If you know the six words which complete that phrase and come straight from The Duke himself, you already know what this entry is about. In addition to a passion for design and fine art, friends who know me well can also affirm my love for jazz music from the 1930s and ’40s. For someone who can’t keep their feet still when the sounds of Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Count Basie, or Cab Calloway fill the room, the Lindy Hop becomes a logical addiction. Because of unfortunate circumstances of a previous relationship with someone I met dancing, I’ve been suppressing a desire to return to Lindy as a physical outlet and source of fun. continued

Over at Mezzoblue, Dave Shea introduces a wonderful space in which we can explore and experience the intersection of beauty and innovation. His CSS Zen Garden offers examples of aesthetically-pleasing layouts constructed with clever techniques intended to showcase the power and potential of skilled CSS design. continued

Via tonight’s episode of Food Network’s Unwrapped, the Society of Design Administration (SDA) and the American Institute of Architects (AIA) founded a creative and worthwhile design competition held in multiple U.S. cities each year called CANSTRUCTION®. [Caution: a poorly implemented browser detection script and redirect on their index page causes a trapdoor effect in some browsers, preventing normal use of the back button.] From their mission statement:

CANSTRUCTION® combines the competitive spirit of a design/build competition with a unique way to help feed hungry people. Competing teams, lead by architects and engineers, showcase their talents by designing giant sculptures made entirely out of canned foods. At the close of the exhibitions all of the food used in the structures is donated to local food banks for distribution to pantries, shelters, soup kitchens, elderly and day care centers.

Clever thinking and volunteer efforts from organizations like this deserve recognition, attention, and consideration.

No, haven’t yet seen the movie, but considering the constant prodding of friends to do so, I’m likely to see it some day. What I will note, however, is that having (and enjoying) office space in downtown San Francisco seems an ironic luxury, specifically for me. When employed at a normal “job” — where it was expected that I be present in the office at least half the week — I found myself wanting to work from the comfort of home more often than not. continued

Via a post on css-discuss from the lead designer, Cingular Wireless launches the next big commercial site to adopt XHTML for markup and a heavy reliance on CSS for layout and presentation. Apart from my natural interest level in this arena, Cingular happens to be my wireless carrier, which adds to my own intrigue. continued

Already know the basics of CSS? Want to learn more about the ins and outs? It’s not too late to join Westciv’s free self-paced online course, currently covering CSS Level 2. I’d recommend looking into it if you’ve never bothered to see what Westciv offers. Because how convenient is free? New material comes out each week, replacing the prior week’s material. Of course you could buy the course if you want to take it at your own pace (faster or slower, without material disappearing). Or you can simply follow along with each of the 18 weekly doses Westciv will provide under the free course schedule. This course assumes an understanding of the foundations covered in CSS Level 1, so it may be confusing to jump in as a beginner. The course started last week, and has already moved on to Week 2. But the introduction from Week 1 is still available — possibly for a limited time, so get there quick.

Favorite marquee slogan spotted above the liquor store on 24th Street in my San Francisco neighborhood of Noe Valley:

I’ve always wanted to be a procrastinator.

Alright. It was low-hanging fruit. I couldn’t resist. I mentioned the launch of the New Yahoo! Search a couple days ago. After wading through their code for an hour or two last night, I almost gave up. But determination kicked in. I’m not going to add any hoopla or propaganda. I’m not even going to claim whether it’s a solid improvement or a horrible compromise. Does it look pretty in Netscape 4? Hell, no. With very few design liberties, new markup, and about 85 stylesheet rules written from scratch, here’s a few free hints of what Yahoo! Search could be if it used valid XHTML+CSS. Cleaner code. Heavy reliance on CSS. And, of course, as you’d expect: no tables in sight. continued

In the current Google Age, we tend to default our web searching to one tool which finds what we’re looking for every time. Many of us subconsciously believe Google is the answer to Bono’s soul-seeking lyrics from 1987. With such a prominent player in the field, it’s easy to dismiss the improvement efforts of other search engines as inconsequential. Everyone seems to be stripping it down, playing catch-up to Google. Why would we make the effort to switch our search engine of choice when we haven’t seen much innovation for some time now? continued