Asymptomatic

I've been working on some improvements to Pastoid lately. It started out as more of a response to the URL shorteners that keep popping up everywhere and getting all the press, which Pastoid languishes in obscurity.

For those that don't know, Pastoid is a site that serves two major functions. First, it functions as a URL shortener, like the ubiquitous TinyURL. Second, it functions as a pastebin, like pastebin.com. It has a few little extra features that set it apart, and I have a lot planned for it that will break it out as something really different and special from those other tools.

I recently updated the look of the site. It has been getting mostly negative reaction. I think people don't like the grungy purple. Maybe I'll revise it again, but it does affect the change I wanted where the sidebar is moved to the left to allow code sections to expand in the liquid layout on the right. In addition to that, I've been working on the thumbnail improvement project, which is the true impetus for this post....

"Ah, Owen, you don't work hard enough," I keep hearing you all say. "You're such the slacker! Why don't you do something useful instead of writing all of that blog software?"

Well, between work and Habari, I do like to hang out with the family, and when I'm not doing that (usually after everyone had gone to bed, and long after I should have gone to bed myself) I'm frequently working on stupid little side projects that aren't of any consequence to anyone. My most recent such "mini" pet project is Pastoid.

Pastoid is a weird little thing that I started out of frustration at the lack of fusion between various pastebin services that are available and the tinyurl services that are abundant these days. I use the word "fusion" because I like it better than "mashup", which sounds more like something my kids do with potatoes, and not some whiz-bang web 2.0 technology. Also, it's one of the best lines of my favorite Invader Zim episode. Besides that, I'll tell you what it does....