How-To

So you have a great shot of some knotty tree bark or a field of flowers, or whatever, that you think would make a great background for a web page. You really don't want to use the whole thing. With today's cameras that would be a huge file and take forever to load.

The obvious solution is to use a photo editing program to crop a representative piece from the photo and let the html background capability automatically make enough clones to fill the necessary space. That does work, but... well, why don't you go ahead and try it and see. My guess is that the result will elicit a 'yuk!' or 'ew...' or possibly even activate the old gag reflex. In short, whatever picture the clip might be from, it looks terrible because the edges don't match, so you have a lot of chaotic random looking tiles in your background. Probably not what you had in mind.

Fixing this so all the pieces blend seamlessly can be a fairly simple process... if you use the right program. Since a lot of people use Photoshop, I'll give you some solutions for that first. The first method involves a lot of tedious matching by eye that you have to do. Then there is the shearing method which also seems to involve a lot of gratuitous fiddling. You'd think a powerful program like Photoshop would include a method for making backgrounds seamless that would be a little simpler to use but, if so, I haven't found it either.

Since I like to use linux tools whenever possible (and I don't like complicated solutions for what should be a simple process) I gave the Gimp a shot. The Gimp is a free program (as are most linux programs) that works under virtually any flavor of linux or unix. I use Ubuntu linux because it is designed to be more user friendly than other 'flavors'... but that's another topic.

To make a photo seamless in the Gimp simply choose from the dropdown menus: 'filter' then 'map' then 'make seamless'. Then save it under the filename you want to use as your web page background. Whew, that was hard. :) There may be some photo clips this will not work with but, so far, it has worked very well for me. Yup, the background for this site is one of them.

I can hear all the "but I don't use linux" uproar building in the background already. It probably wouldn't hurt to give it a try but, never fear, you can get a Windows version of the Gimp free now too.

Whether you go for painfully complicated or quick and simple, you can now turn all those prize-winning photos into eye-catching seamless backgrounds for your web pages.

No, I'm not selling anything or pushing any high risk investments. I'm just letting you know (if you haven't already discovered it) that there are now better places to put your money than CD's. They are typically called Rewards checking accounts and they are paying as much as 6% interest if you don't mind a bit of hassle. They are all federally insured-- the banks by FDIC and the credit unions by NCUA so you are unlikely to lose your money-- unless the U.S.A. goes bust too-- but that's another topic.

They come in two flavors: Those that are available nationwide via the internet, and the local accounts who will, typically, only allow you to open an account by physically going to the bank. If the idea of doing business with a bank over the internet gives you cold chills, chances are that you may have one or more interest bearing banks/credit unions right in your own city. But you'll still have to get your statements via computer because that's part of the deal.

Advantages of high interest checking:

Right now you have to like the higher interest, typically 4-5% as opposed to the 2.5-3% of Certificates of Deposit. Unlike CD's there is no wait to get your money out if you find a better investment opportunity. And, did I mention they are federally insured? Most have no minimum amount to open an account.

Disadvantages of high interest checking:

This is not a 'set it and forget it' option. All the banks and credit unions involved in these programs have monthly requirements which you may (or may not) find tedious and irksome. There are minor variations, but all of them seem to require the following:

1. You must view your bank statements at least once per month on the internet and you will not receive paper statements in the mail. You can opt to get statements by mail but, if you do, you will not receive the interest.

2. You must have an automatic funds transfer set up-- into or out of the bank. Some accept only automatic deposits and there may (or may not) be a minimum amount for that deposit.

3. You must make a minimum amount of debit card purchases per month. Typically, the requirement is between 10-15. Most do not have a minimum dollar amount for these purchases, however. In fact, you can do single purchases of 10 cents each, if you like.

In addition to the basic requirements there are also other limitations:

4. The maximum amount you can receive the high interest on is typically $25,000 to $30,000 at any one bank. Anything over that gets a token half a percent or so.

5. There is no interest rate guarantee so you can't depend on a particular time frame that you will receive the interest as you can with CD's.


As an example, I started an account about 7-8 months ago with a credit union who was then paying top dollar at 7%. Now it pays only 3.5 percent. Of course, I moved the money to another bank where it is now earning 5%. I used another bank that started at 6% and is now down to 5%. That one I am currently leaving in place as that seems to be the highest fairly long term interest that is being paid at the moment. You can find a few at 6% but very likely they will be down to 5% shortly.

This high interest checking fad may not last forever. I have not yet gotten a straight answer from a banker as to how they can make money on such an arrangement when they can't seem to go above 3% on long term CD's. You just know somebody is getting the shaft from this practice... but while they are offering it, I plan to take advantage of it.

Blogger is a great service but there are a few little annoyances connected with it. One of the things I've found most annoying is that when you put a URL Link in a page the default (and only) option for doing so in the normal compose mode results in a link that takes your audience away from your pages. Let's face it, the average blog reader has a pretty short attention span anyway and the LAST thing you want is a link that takes them away, never to return.

So, you have two choices: You can put in bad links so nobody will follow them (bad idea) or you can fix the links so they WILL open in a new window. The latter is obviously the best option, even though it will require you to experience just the smallest dabble into html.

I know, I know. You're using Blogger because you don't want to mess with all that technical stuff. Relax, this html tweak is about as simple as it gets, and it will help keep people on your site. Trust me... I'm not a doctor. :)

Just go ahead and write your post the way you normally would, putting in all those good links that will add interest and value to your page. Then, after you get done, click on the 'edit html' tab. In the html editor, your links will look something like this:
‹ a href="http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/U/URL.html">URL Link ‹/a ›

To change that to a link which will open in a new window all you have to do is add the statement target="_blank" in the right place. It will then look like:
‹ a href="http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/U/URL.html"target="_blank">URL Link ‹/a ›
Note that the 'target="_blank"' statement always goes in between the closing quote and the > sign.

If you're thinking that it is just going to be too much trouble to change all those tags, remember the clipboard copy function on your computer. It is only necessary to write it once, then copy it into every link you have in your article. Very simple really as long as you are careful to put the target phrase in the right place in your link.

Now, just save your post and publish it and all the links that are clicked by your visitors should open in a new page... giving them the easy option of getting back to YOUR pages when they are done.