Welcome to Simon Philp's Blog

I know the new skin for my site is overdue but I am waiting for the next release of subtext so I can fine tune my skin to any changes made in the release. During this lapse I have been contributing to the project and I have also been adapting another nice theme that will be finished in the next couple of days.

This post is related to a previous post, ongoing maintenance where I talk about my sites YSlow score (33) :(.

Using the FireFox plugin httpfox I loaded up my website and was fairly surprised by the following results: (note i have removed web/script resources and google stuff, total was 52)

Looking at the time total above 21.202. The list in full total was 30.441.  That’s some time considering everything is straightforward no fancy stuff nor is it image heavy.

What’s the plan?

1. Remove any redundant tags.
2. Check images have been compressed properly and are right size.
3. Reduce number of javascript files.
4. Reduce number of css files.
5. Use CSS sprites where possible.
6. Removed unused javascript/css and compress.
7. Add static site files to a CDN.

All the above is pretty straightforward but I’ll need to investigate how to reduce the core files related to subtext and possibly suggest these changes in a future release.

I plan on using Google App Engine for my personal CDN. I’ll put up a blog post on how simple it is to get setup and running.

Let the fun begin……..

Quick post about the recent release of Clubland 16. This 3CD compilation has some fantastic tracks. If you need something to give you a little kick up the back side at the gym and don’t mind a bit of hard dance then this little number is perfect.  At current time of writing, you can buy this from Amazon for £11.98 which includes free delivery in the UK.

The workout kicks off with an Ultrabeat cover of Use Somebody from the Kings of Leon followed by an Ultrabeat remix of Cheryl Cole’s – Fight For This Love.  I wouldn’t just listen to all the CDs in order as there are some tracks that i don’t like. If you’re working out what does it matter?  I can see this being used by many spin instructors, several tracks have a natural rush that would easily get people motivated and possibly singing. An absolute belter is CD 3 track 10 : DRT – Take me Away. Warm-up track, conditioning or upper body it certainly would do justice.

Overall gym rating would be 8.5/10. Defo one for the iPod.

There has been quite a few tracks that have caught my attention lately from the house, trance and euro genres. I think it' may be time to wipe the dust off the decks and get a couple of gym mixes on the go?  I keep forgetting about my podcast site, keep an eye for future mixes……