i LOVE php. that's awesome. i was thinking "without doing it in photoshop, there can't be round corners" guess not. it looks much better now.

now to go read my php book and start getting it down on my own...

 

Thank you! It's been a fun and educational project. I am glad I could learn AND have some positive impact somewhere. I didn't know what I was getting into when I suggested;

...in the other thread. hahahahha Isn't that way of things?

 

Okay folks, as far as I am concerned, the new YotaTech banner is open for business. I have several other features in mind for some point in the future, but for now, I don't have any remaining bugs or requirements.

Thanks to all those who tested my code and who are now submitting images.

Enjoy!

 

I am diggin' it.
Pics look much bigger on this Dell 19" LCD at work.
It is running at 1024x768, should be 1280x1024, but someone likes the screen the other way.

At home they are much smaller since I run the LCD at 1680x1050.

But the new banner sure looks great!

Keep the pics comin' in.
Had to reject a few this morning, they were sized at around 1600x1200, and they were 2 MB each

All the info you need for the correct size is in the first post in this thread.

 

so how are we (er you) going to handle "whos rig is this" questions....

cause... whos rig is this FJ?

 

The FJ is Master Yoda's, one of our moderators here on Yotatech.

He is also very strong.
Here he is holding a rig from slipping back on a very, very old YotaJam several summers ago.

 

Just one more thing, why is the immediate area around the banner gray now? It doesn't look very nice in my opinion, I hope it doesn't stay that way...

 

We are experimenting. The banner appeared to have no edges in the "extreme" template, so we are looking for a compromise that looks right in both.

We need some centerpiece images that match the new color rather than having a black background before it can be said what it looks like...

 

transparent gifs?

and maybe put a white border around each picture? i think that'd look best if all the pics where in black and white, but it'd work with color too. that'd help definte the banner a bit.

 

Transparent .gif files will show the background of the banner (currently black) not the gray behind it IF they would work. But currently, the banner only supports .jpg images because the conversion process from .gif to .jpg/.png is painful.

The white border could easily be done, just like the corners. It's just a mask I apply to each photo when building the banner. The script could also convert the images to B&W.

But, I am not in favor of either of those. I think it would draw the eye away from the important part of the banner... the rigs. If Corey wants either, I will look into them.

 

yeah, not a big deal. i was just saying that cause that's how i did it in the banner that started this whole process...



i forgot about how the banner won't take gifs

 

Rob, props to you! That banner is so cool! Much better than I could have ever done. Very cool. Great Job!

 

Okay, I don't get the picture of the 4Runner with the hood up, but while the picture of the single "Pringle" sitting on the hood looks oddly familiar, it too looks odd in the banner...

:pat:

 

Oh now, come on Rob... We can have some fun in there! While maybe 5 people know the story behind that pic, it IS part of the YT crowd since "someone" has repeated that incident at least 3 times on "someone else's" rig during different runs.

 

Mark,

can you enlighten the rest of us on this single pringle?

 

What a great improvement on the site. Hopefully I can get some cool pics this weekend

 

Rob may have different reasoning, but this is how I interpreted the events of the actions to which we are speaking. (too many cop shows!)


So... When I FIRST went out many moons ago (3 yearsish), I was in a group that included Rob. We were headed for a local spot called Tinkham. Generally a nice fireroad up the side of a mountain, but a couple hundred feet from the top there's a nasty rutted hill.

When we got to the top, me being the rank newbie, I was looking for all sorts of advice from anyone that could give it. Rob was the trailboss that day, and I'd already alround here (YT) long enough that I looked to him as "my elder" in this sport, so I focused on him.

He said "Given how you're setup" (I was pretty bone stock, no suspension mods and stock tires) "you're gonna have to run this with the skinny pedal more than anything else".

Well... okay then!

I had watched a couple of other folks hit it first, and I knew a line I wanted to try... So I aimed, took a breath and floored it.

Rob was about 1/2 way up the hill, standing in the line, and I was WAY focused on making it up this thing the first time. (read that as "as far as I can remember officer, I didn't take my foot off the pedal all the way up" ).

When I hit the first rut/whoop, Rob got this look on his face that I'll never forget. He loves the phrase "pucker factor" and I think I may have increased his a bit in that moment. I don't think he thought I was gonna really power through the climb (again, I was a rank newbie, why would I risk the truck?!), and the sudden realization that he had a kamakazi on his hands sent him scrambling for the side of the hill.

I made it up the first time - others didn't that day - and I think everyone standing around was kinda like "eeeek!".


So, since that time, even as my truck, knowledge and ability have grown, I drive through a lot of obstacles with my right foot. (someday I'll add a front locker and this may change ). This has made for some interesting pics, laughs and broken pieces (the sand dunes pic in the banner, tearing up my ring gear, the huge dent in my rear hatch, trashing my copilot's back... the list goes on).


Okay... fast forward to the first Pringle.

One of the times that "the gang" was out, Rob was eating Pringles. He came over to my truck, placed one on the hood and said "okay, see if you can keep this here through the whole ride".

Now this is where "what he was thinking" and "how I took it" may deviate - we've never talked about it.

In real life, he's a technical manager, and actually a pretty dern good one when it comes to being creative about finding motivation for folks. As such, I took his request as a "motivational challenge"... In order to keep the chip on the hood, I would have to drive smarter and without so much "bouncing the truck via the skinny pedal" through everything I could find.

I kept the chip there that day (though I got lucky in that it ended up wedged between a wiper and the windshield) and yeah, I drove smarter.

I think Rob's "tagged" me like that a total of 4 times. I think I've only dropped the chip once - it's definitely helped.

 

hahahaha I always wondered if you had ever figured out why you had a Pringle on your hood Now I know

(and thanks for the compliment)

 

Very good write up, and very funny. Sure will make you a better driver.

 

I think what you should have done is duct tape that pringle to the hood & continue on up the trail! That would show him!

EDIT: That is a very good story, and a good idea on Rob's part.
And I LOVE the new banner!!