Dan Rubin’s SuperfluousBanter

It has been a few months since I quietly released the redesign of this site, and due to personal commitments, new business prospects, and the menagerie of organizations I’m involved in that require my time (my life seems to be an exercise in burning the proverbial candle), I made nary a mention of it, nor did I produce even the slightest write-up about my reasons for the redesign, insight into selected portions of the process, or anything else of interest. I still want to do that, but not just yet, there are other things brewing that should be noted first.

Faster than a speeding weblog

More important than the redesign of SuperfluousBanter is the brand new Webgraph site — a long time coming (some of you know exactly how long it has been), webgraph.com was soft-launched just over a month ago, and we’ve been quietly testing it since then, making small tweaks here and there, adding a few CSS workarounds for some uncooperative older browsers, and rewording the text in a few places. Standards zealots be warned: not every page validates. You will note the absence of any “click-here-to-validate” links, and that’s on purpose (not simply because of the two non-validating pages).

It’s not perfect, but I don’t believe for a minute that I will ever be 100% satisfied with any self-promotional work, especially work that takes so long to complete (design preferences change over time, so my brain is already working on webgraph.com v2.0, which of course involves a complete redesign and would probably render much of the current content obsolete…sigh). I’m incredibly happy with the end result, especially having a portfolio to which prospective customers can be directed.

Drop by, take a look around, then let us know what you think, we’re always interested.

Whistle while you work

You may have noticed the new RecentWork section of SuperfluousBanter as well. This will be updated from time to time, and feature projects I’ve worked on recently, both for Webgraph as well as some personal projects.

Current happenings

Work has picked up slightly in recent months, and hopefully that pattern will continue. The new site, as well as some promotional mailings we’re preparing for existing and prospective clients, should help a great deal in that area as we enter into 2005. We’re always open to discussing new projects, so don’t hesitate to get in touch.

On the personal front, Rounders has just finished recording our debut CD (we’re finishing the mixing process right now), with sample tracks coming to the web site in early January. We’re going to have a busy show season starting late January, traveling quite a bit within Florida as well as a few performances already scheduled around the country, with more requests coming in every week. A cappella is becoming more popular every day, and I can’t wait for more exposure of the style (if you watch the Late Late Show on CBS, you saw the Alley Cats, a popular group from California performing as the house band about a month ago; this Thursday’s Jane Pauley Show will feature the 2003 International Barbershop Quartet Champions, Power Play, as well as popular contemporary a cappella powerhouse Rockapella).

Oh, and if you have a few thousand dollars lying around, and want to give me a christmas gift, I’d really like a 30” Apple Display (though I’ll be happy with the 23”). Or you could just pick something up from my Amazon Wishlist…