About MorrisonFilm

MeHello, my name is Shawn. This is where I put things. This site has been active since 2002. A lot has changed since then but basically I'm still writing ridiculous articles about ridiculous things. You can also look at my Flickr photostream which is a lot of fun if you aren't blind.

This site uses Simplelog, a simple Ruby on Rails weblog application. I explain why I use it in this entry. This site is hosted by Dreamhost.

I've made 4 short films that are currently available online. I also host a semi-regular comedic podcast with Garrett Murray that has a 5 star rating on iTunes!

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Simplelog

I’ve just completed my transition to Simplelog. Simplelog is a Ruby on Rails blogging app written by Garrett. Much like web browsers, I’m extremely picky about my admin and I’ve been through a bunch of them since the beginning. A quick list:

  • RetardoLog 0.1 (my home brew PHP tutorial turned CMS)
  • MovableType 2 & 3
  • Textpattern

Simplelog appealed to me for a few reasons:

  • Tags - There is no better way to organize blog content. With categories you have to create them before you post. Tags are created on the fly and Simplelog makes it super easy to see which tags you already have. I was never comfortable with any of the Textpattern tags hacks plugins.

  • Simplicity - Simplelog is actually simple and doesn’t clutter the admin with anything not involved with writing. It seems that most CMSs get bogged down trying to please everyone but really, the whole point of a blog is writing and that is Simplelog’s number one focus. Most of the options are hidden unless needed.

  • Themes - I like that Simplelog isn’t in the design business. It lets you upload a nice folder full of some Ruby templates, CSS files and images and that’s that. This is a super easy way to deploy a new redesign or try out a new look. No more cutting and pasting code into an admin panel.

  • Content Preview - When you write an entry in Simplelog you get a live preview on the right. I can fix rendering issues immediately instead of having to click, fix, click, fix, etc.

  • Built-in Quick Search - I know it’s easy to implement this feature on most blog systems but Simplelog’s is built in and works perfectly.

Simplelog was also very friendly to my old content once I got the Textpattern stuff into MT format.

The drawbacks are few and mostly involve my bizarre little blogging fetishes. The biggest one is that RedCloth (the RoR Textile plugin) sucks major balls. I’m also anxious for Simplelog to add comment support, mostly so that I can display my old comments.

But for the first time in a while I’m excited about writing here again. We’ll see how it goes.

Tags: cms, garrett, redesign, simplelog