[Also known as (for the Google's sake): How to fix far right links with Subtlebeauty Blogger template or How to fix Subtlebeauty Blogger template sidebar poking into posts]

We noticed a while back that links on the far right of a post using this template were at least partially unclickable - you know, the little link hand cursor disappears. The beam cursor also disappeared when mousing over unlinked text there… made it harder to select such text. I did a little code tweaking and found something that solved the issue: changing the width of the sidebar-wrapper div in the template CSS. It is by default at 35% ("of the parent element's width"); I think I had it at 27% in the last couple days, just did some experimenting, and I think 28% percent is the highest you can go without having the sidebar wrapper bleed into the posts. You might need to do some expermenting, maybe set it lower, if you have lots of buttons on the top navigation bar (the links just above the posts). I haven't noticed any squishing of the sidebar, or any breaking of it otherwise because of the tweak; it seems to work fine.

So, if you haven't done it before, here are the editing instructions: go to your blog Layout settings (accessible from your Dashboard) and click to the Edit HTML sub-tab. Now, use your browsers search function (Ctrl+F, probably, or Edit menu > Find) if you wish, or just find it manually; look for #sidebar-wrapper (it won't be italicized). Find the width property under #sidebar-wrapper and change it from 35% to 28% (or whatever other width you decide; that's just what I am recommending).

I don't know if this is an issue with the WordPress version of the Subtlebeauty template, but I know it certainly is with the Blogger version. But… issue fixed.

--Nat

Ok.. I felt compelled this post a while ago, but I didn't get around to it… until now.

I must credit Claus over at GSD for inspiration for this post.

Really, I hadn't seen User Account Control as helpful before, more like annoying. Actually, I have XP, not Vista, but I have had a little experience with it, and my fellow blogger, Matthew, has deigned to turn it off. And said something to the effect of "Vista is okay IF you turn off User Account Control." Alright… that seems quite understandable from what I've heard. UAC seems like a nanny instead of a helpful tool. I actually have experienced something of the sort: the excellent (and free) Comodo Firewall Pro has a sort of anti-malware feature called Defense+. That got pretty annoying… extracting files with 7-Zip and having it scream, freaking about about installing programs, etcetera. So I disabled it (thank goodness for the option).

And now the "But."

But… such tight system control and checks can be helpful if implemented and presented in a efficient, clear, and pleasing manner. Enter Microsoft on Windows 7 and TweakUAC on Vista.

Microsoft has been making changes to UAC from feedback data they've gathered. Evidently, an alarming (to them) amount of people disable it on Vista.

So, it changed my mind about UAC. Bring it on… IF it's done right.