She's been needing a bit of an upgrade for quite some time, my computer has, and tonight she got the first part of it. My computer previously only had 128M of RAM. Not bad, for most people. However, when the person in question is notorious for running mail programs, winamp, multiple web browsers, photoshop, and homesite—all at once, mind you—the code for these programs starts to act like recalcitrant three-year-olds.

You know the type: the ones that scream incessantly to get a toy, refuse to share it once they've got the toy, and then complain and break things when the toy is taken away.All of my programs, toddlers they are, now have enough memory to go around, and they all seem to be playing well together as a result.

Work on the "nautical" skin progresses at my usual snail's pace. It is the most complicated skin I've devised for cat.net, and the complications show in the length of time it has taken to bring this design to maturity. The design and layout are done, and the dropdown menus work correctly in IE 5.5, but not in Mozilla.

I have spent a good bit of my online time lately researching dhtml/javascript menus, and the one I'm using now is the best fit for my needs that I've found so far. However, it won't be much of a fit if it only works in IE. So, tomorrow, back to either the testing board or the drawing board; I don't know which.

I will be happy to find one that works in both browsers. Once I get it modified to suit my needs, then I can incorporate mouseover menus in future skins without having to go through with this pain every single time. (Which, believe me, will be nice.)

Other news on skins: I am working on another, whose theme is 'beauty and grace.' I'm having to license a picture to do this one, in addition to needing the dhtml menu code, so I have no ETA on when this one will be posted.

Tomorrow may well be blueberry jam day. Look for me to return soon with blue-stained fingers and a thoroughly messy kitchen. For now, it's time to get off the computer and do something useful for a change.