Salon & The Unviewable Web

While some sites have put thought into clean, simple, readability, others are going over-the-top bonkers in the opposite direction. Floating banners and footers that obscure text and mess up scrolling. Ads that bounce text and layout around, shifting the content like a crappy online puzzle game while you wait for things to settle enough to start reading, right after the headache and vertigo clear.

Salon had been bad before but their recent redesign makes it even worse. Way to go, Salon design team! Here's a recent article. As if the riot of colors, animations, floating crap, accidental strikeout lines weren't bad enough, notice what's not on the page? That's right, content! An entire content-free page. I have to scroll a full page just to get to any content. And when I do, the floating nonsense screws even that up. Horrible stuff, Salon, truly stupendously awful.

Victoria Park Playgrounds

The new playground in the west half is almost completely open, with even the water features working, and the larger revamped playground in the east half is open as well. Took much longer than it should have, but really nice results.

the big slides are still there

several new climby things

this is... well, I don't know, but it tilts, has screens, and has lots of sand!

more sand, with added digging

cool new park for bmx and skateboard, with hemisphere

Little River Canyon

Alabama is home to the deepest canyon in the eastern half of the USA, Little River Canyon, most of which is a national preserve. It's a surprising and hidden gem of terrain, stretching much of the length of lookout mountain, with waterfalls, rapids, turkeys, trees, snakes, bluffs, boulders, swimming holes, the occasional very happy kayaker. (And no, despite Bear Grylls' comical claims of worry, you will not find any alligators up there). No shortage of challenging terrain but plenty that's accessible as well. Virtually no marked trails - careful with the cliffs. Recently went in search of Grace's High Falls (41m, seasonal waterfall). Found it from the top, but upon shuffling down to the canyon floor and hiking upstream, didn't quite find it again. Lovely hike, though.