Saturday, August 24, 2024

Of Hard Spaces and Things

Before I begin to compose a blog, I hit the backspace key. That gets rid of the space that blogger puts in there for us. I suppose they are trying to help, but it isn't needed. I could understand a double space better that a single because that would be a proper paragraph indentation as was standard in the past. Indenting was always two spaces, not one. 

With modern typography, indentations are not required although some people still use them by habit.

The next time you go to compose a blog, look under the html tab and you will see this tag: <nbsp;> . That is there to give us a hard space, even though we can't see the code in the compose window.

I can see &nbsp; when I read your posts in Feedly, which I usually do before I link to your actual post to comment. I find that posts are often easier on the eyes in a reader program.

There's nothing wrong with leaving the hard space in or with me seeing the &nbsp; in Feedly. But I am just saying that it is there. I notice it and don't want to use it, and so I hit the backspace key very first thing in the compose window.

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I was on the phone on hold for what seemed like a long while. After awhile I needed to use the bathroom. I feared that with my luck I would probably get a call at the most awkward moment.

Eventually, I had to go, so I took the phone with me.

Sure enough, I got the call the moment that I stepped into the bathroom. Fortunately, the main proceedings hadn't yet begun. Mercifully.

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When I posted the photos of the trucks last week, most of you liked the colour version better than the b&w, as did I actually. I decided to compromise with selective colour. I gave some of the yellow back to the trucks. I couldn't give it all back because then they then looked too bright against the mono background. I used a different amount of yellow in the each photo, for each looked better to me that way. I keep experimenting.

 



15 comments:

Margaret said...

I do like the trucks color composition; you have a winner! I wondered what that meant in Feedly. I can also see people's posts that they've deleted or changed although I can't click into them. For that reason, I'm very careful what I post.

Spare Parts and Pics said...

This is a great example of where selective color really "works" and add to the photograph. I have noticed the strange indent that blogger puts at the beginning of a new post. I always delete it (well, when I can remember it's there).

Sandra said...

Very nice! I delete the indent after I start typing and notice it.

Barbara Rogers said...

Oh do be very quiet please, if blogger decides that something needs to change! Every update usually means lots of troubles in my life! We're just fine with the little space! Yes, indeed, we like it even! Have liked it for years. In fact (oh dear, I sound like a certain politician don't I?) As for faded yellow trucks...they are really very artistic. I like that it feels like you've made some kind of comment with the coloration in the B&W field. Like here's what man has accomplished!

Ed said...

I too hit the backspace immediately upon starting a new post, if I remember to do so. Another maddening thing for me is although I use "compose" mode for the actual writing, about half the time if I go back to edit things, it is in "html" mode. It never used to be that way but has been like this for the last couple years or so now.

roentare said...

The muted colour approach works well here

Joanne Noragon said...

I've done the initial backspace for some time, since someone told me the cause of that annoyance.

MARY G said...

I can't break my husband of the habit of handing me the phone into the bathroom if the call is for me. Yuck. Not the place to chat on the phone and even worse to do a business call while doing, um, one's business. Wrong kind of paper and nothing with which to write.
I write my blog in Word and copy and paste it into Blogger. What, she asks, does that look like in your feed? I recall you once mentioning that I had indented paragraphs when I had not done so in the original. Weird.

Red said...

Phone systems make us wait forever. there are two of us so we take turns waiting.

MELODY JACOB said...

Great insights on blogging and formatting! It’s interesting to see how you handle the HTML code and manage spacing to ensure your posts look clean. Your approach to dealing with the tag and the spacing issue is quite meticulous.

As for your phone call adventure, it sounds like a classic case of timing working against you, but it’s good that you managed to handle it smoothly!

Your experimentation with selective color in the truck photos sounds fascinating. It’s amazing how small adjustments can make a big difference in visual impact. Keep up the great work with your creative experiments!
Read my new blog post: https://www.melodyjacob.com/2024/08/best-ways-to-style-pink-shorts-for-chic-spring-summer-look.html
Thank you.

Jeanie said...

I just tried the posting thing -- i see the nsb or whatever in the html but when mine comes up in compose, there is no "blank space" at the top. when I typed in garbage to see what it previewed, it came up as being the first line. Curious! I call your phone thing similar to the psychology of the note. If you stop somewhere, leave a note for the person who isn't home or in their office, sure as anything, within minutes, dare I say seconds, after you write the note, they show up. Same with the phone!

Debby said...

Obliviousness has it's blessings, I guess, because here I am to say, "Wait? The first letter is indented? Let me go back and see..."

DJan said...

I didn't know about the automatic space, but I am so glad to know all I have to do is hit the backspace instead of removing it manually!

Cloudia said...

Well, thanks for this interesting tidbit! I will definitely be aware of it now. You may perhaps notice the difference next time you visit.

jabblog said...

'Phones and bathrooms do not belong together, though it is impossible to make my husband understand that. To some extent, it has been solved, since he can answer the 'phone on his watch.
I consider myself quite good at multitasking, but bathroom duties require single-mindedness;-)