A is A Design http://aisadesign.net ...building websites that don't suck since 1996... Tue, 15 Jun 2010 17:41:51 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.5 AIsADesignhttp://feedburner.google.comFoodtags @ Gattosrestaurant.comhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AIsADesign/~3/fOi7FbVOHrE/ http://aisadesign.net/foodtags-gattosrestaurant-com/#comments Fri, 11 Jun 2010 17:19:26 +0000 Patrick McCarthy http://aisadesign.net/?p=189 [...]]]> Tags are cool. Foodtags are super-cool.
While I was planning the website design for Gatto’s Restaurant & Bar, a few things regarding the Menus section became clear:
1) that Gatto’s offers a whole lot of items.
2) that if you break each item down to it’s basic ingredients, combined you have a large amount of data. Currently 317 ingredients…and counting–and I left out salt, pepper, stuff like that.

foodtags @ gattos‘Managing large amounts of data’ is practically my job description as a web developer these days, and I’ve been using tags for bookmarking and photo organization via sites like flick and delicious and I find them invaluable. As an example, I have a tag at delicious that I’ve been adding to for a while now tagged “inspiration”. It’s not about posters with cats in trees over the caption hang in there!, it’s about great websites I’ve visited that left a mark–the really really good ones. Here it is:
http://delicious.com/patmccarthy68/inspiration. When I feel a design or inspirational block, I often head there to fire those synapsis a bit harder.

Well, back to Gatto’s and foodtags. ‘Menu descriptions’ is one area that, up until now, was provided pretty much exclusively from the servers or carryout person on duty. The owners and I decided it was time to use the website for this purpose. I’ve been working as a server at Gatto’s New Lenox for almost four years now, so I have the menu pretty well memorized, although I will admit, there were a few suprises as I dug deeper into each dish.

]]> http://aisadesign.net/foodtags-gattosrestaurant-com/feed/ 0 http://aisadesign.net/foodtags-gattosrestaurant-com/ The wife gets under Norman Goldman’s skinhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AIsADesign/~3/IryCtvRaTQ8/ http://aisadesign.net/the-wife-gets-under-norman-goldmans-skin/#comments Sat, 20 Mar 2010 08:41:48 +0000 Patrick McCarthy http://aisadesign.net/the-wife-gets-under-norman-goldmans-skin/ So Shayna emails Norman Goldman and he reads it and responds. Good stuff.

shayna v. norman

]]> http://aisadesign.net/the-wife-gets-under-norman-goldmans-skin/feed/ 0 http://aisadesign.net/the-wife-gets-under-norman-goldmans-skin/ biz card ideahttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AIsADesign/~3/We0LIy6srjo/ http://aisadesign.net/biz-card-idea/#comments Tue, 16 Mar 2010 23:38:16 +0000 Patrick McCarthy http://aisadesign.net/?p=224

]]> http://aisadesign.net/biz-card-idea/feed/ 0 http://aisadesign.net/biz-card-idea/ Happy St. Patty’s Day everyonehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AIsADesign/~3/bTVCpA1CUVo/ http://aisadesign.net/happy-st-pattys-day-everyone/#comments Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:59:13 +0000 Patrick McCarthy http://aisadesign.net/?p=208 We’ll miss you, Southside Irish Parade…sniff, sniff.
Whiskey In The Jar

]]> http://aisadesign.net/happy-st-pattys-day-everyone/feed/ 0 http://aisadesign.net/happy-st-pattys-day-everyone/ Franny Mac, pre-fireworkshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AIsADesign/~3/O2PEhwztfZQ/ http://aisadesign.net/franny-mac-pre-fireworks/#comments Sat, 23 Jan 2010 09:09:51 +0000 Patrick McCarthy http://aisadesign.net/cimg0097/


CIMG0097

Originally uploaded by patmccarthy68

fran, last 4th of july.


CATBAGCZN782

]]> http://aisadesign.net/franny-mac-pre-fireworks/feed/ 0 http://aisadesign.net/franny-mac-pre-fireworks/ Tentaculiteshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AIsADesign/~3/zgk4x0KgLao/ http://aisadesign.net/tentaculites/#comments Sat, 23 Jan 2010 08:13:51 +0000 Patrick McCarthy http://aisadesign.net/tentaculites/ [...]]]> I find lots of interesting rocks on my property. I live in a very unique area in northwest will county, at the edge of an end moraine which, apparently, is choch-full-o-fossils. The cone-shaped dudes are called tentaculites. they were alive about 400 million years ago, during the Silurian (440-418 million years ago) to the Devonian (395 million years ago). WAY before dinosaurs. At that time, the land I own was near the equator, underwater, part of a massive shallow tropical sea.
Pretty cool stuff.


]]> http://aisadesign.net/tentaculites/feed/ 0 http://aisadesign.net/tentaculites/ The Street Our Dad Grew Up Onhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AIsADesign/~3/GwdCCVoG4H0/ http://aisadesign.net/the-street-our-dad-grew-up-on/#comments Thu, 21 Jan 2010 18:44:44 +0000 Patrick McCarthy http://aisadesign.net/?p=159 [...]]]> My dad wrote a book about living through the bombings of London as a teen. My brother is editing that book. Some interesting stories and facts are coming out which I plan to share here.

Below is a google map street view of the street my dad grew up on in Barnet, London NW9 6QU, UK.

View Larger Map

]]> http://aisadesign.net/the-street-our-dad-grew-up-on/feed/ 0 http://aisadesign.net/the-street-our-dad-grew-up-on/ I’m on Flickr…http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AIsADesign/~3/PP4Rhpn4OMc/ http://aisadesign.net/im-on-flickr/#comments Fri, 01 Jan 2010 15:53:22 +0000 Patrick McCarthy http://aisadesign.net/wordpress/?p=12 “Flickr is the best way to store, sort, search, and share your photos online.”
My Flickr photos
me

]]> http://aisadesign.net/im-on-flickr/feed/ 0 http://aisadesign.net/im-on-flickr/ A couple new sites…http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AIsADesign/~3/79nE24wHe8k/ http://aisadesign.net/a-couple-new-sites/#comments Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:02:17 +0000 Patrick McCarthy http://aisadesign.net/?p=124 Recently completed some work for my friends at stalelife.com on a couple great new websites:

CARES: Community AIDS Resource and Education Services

and

Counseling Innovations

Thanks Joe and Kurt!

]]> http://aisadesign.net/a-couple-new-sites/feed/ 0 http://aisadesign.net/a-couple-new-sites/ Zen Stuffhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AIsADesign/~3/bK6OWq-RYcM/ http://aisadesign.net/zen-stuff/#comments Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:24:53 +0000 Patrick McCarthy http://aisadesign.net/?p=42 geisha_no_moreritual_for_letting_goappropriate_use_of_powerwe_meet_again
Here are some of my favorite poems by my brother, John McCarthy.

]]> http://aisadesign.net/zen-stuff/feed/ 0 http://aisadesign.net/zen-stuff/