I just visited caravelgames.com today, and I noticed that the background is an image 1200 pixels wide, set to repeat in both directions. Since my monitor is 1400 pixels wide, I end up with a dark bar near the right side of the screen. It makes the text a bit more difficult to read, and it looks weird. (It's probably the most common web design mistake out there; I've lost count of how many times I've seen it.)
Anyway, I thought about how to fix it, and this seems to be the best solution:
First, split the image into two. One image containing the light main background, which should tile both vertically and horizontally, and one image containing the darker left-hand background, which should tile only vertically. Use the image with the main background as the background image for the entire page. The other image is then set as background image for the left-hand column. Since it's not transparent, it'll simply override the main background, and you'll have the design you wanted with fewer side effects.
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Today the refrigerator, tomorrow the world!
