I’ve mentioned it before, but my friend Emily’s blog Second Child Syndrome is really worth a look. We’ve yet to experience the joy of crippling our finances and ruining our social life, so what she has gone through, and is going through is a different but very interesting world to me. Despite my tone, we do want to, so it is genuinely educational, but over and beyond that it is a very well-written blog, which isn’t something you hear said that often. Go and have a look for yourself.
Category: toreview
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Plenty to do, too hot to do it
It is just too warm to do anything today. Was dozy at work from the heat, then when I came home could barely bring ourselves to do owt. Am determined we should be motivated and get out for a wander or two this week.
Later today I have a course in Java, which I am hoping will be a good first step in it all. Another of the skills I need to start getting under my belt.
I have fallen away from my todo list somewhat, and I think I need to get back into doing that. Will force myself to get up to date on it again tomorrow at some point.
Getting on for halfway into JPod. The thing I most relate to in it at the moment is the main character’s clothing crisis. I need to think about mine, I am long overdue a Summer update. A little short of t-shirts at the moment, and we really can’t have that.
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dreaming the 2.0 dotcom boom
Very odd dream last night, which I will put down entirely to reading Douglas Copeland’s JPod late on yesterday. My whole mind was flooded for most of the night with a vision of a new website. Possibly ripp.com. It was like a flickr, except more than that. For one it was all images, not just your own. Maybe you could see a feed of the top images in the world or something. Anyway, there was a killer USP that made it a must-use service. Can I remember it? Not a hint. I can still see the design when I focus, but anything of importance is just hazy.
Lazy weekend, cooked a nice barbeque for us on Saturday evening, including my killer lamb kebabs (killer in the sense they are really tasty, rather than undercooked). Watched plenty of World Cup football and the British GP, the latter of which was slightly dull. Alonso just got ahead, and that was the race almost.
Anyways, back in work, ready to face the week ahead. Well maybe after another coffee.
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Modern Blogger is Rubbish
Blogger has gone to seed. I was doing some coding work last night on a little project in both Blogger and WordPress, and the differences were very noticeable. For one, the Blogger servers were being just rubbish, and sometimes I couldn’t log in. I was told at one point I had JavaScript disabled, and then a quick refresh proved I didn’t.
These sorts of problems are not frequent really, but happen every month or two. And do seem to be down to volume. Google just don’t seem to be expanding the service at all.
And that goes for technical development as well. Have a look at WordPress sometime. Categories for posts. A much clearer interface for editing your template, rather than one huge single text file. Plugins. A sidebar widget that is being developed at the moment, to make editing this important area of blogging real-estate much easier.
Then come back to Blogger, and realise that you are not only missing these, but that there is nothing that has been added for well over a year. Just stagnation. Oh alright, we got a few new templates, but that was it. I want all the above things, and more, I want a WYSIWYG template editor, made in lovely swishy AJAX, I want lots of integration with the other Google services. Show the public events on my Google calendar? Yes please. Lots of potential there, but it just isn’t being realised. I’d even pay for it, I’d have a pro account if it meant I got better service and features. However I just don’t see any progress coming at the moment, so I am probably moving this to WordPress in the next few months.
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You know you are old when
it takes you two days to get over going clubbing. And we are not talking hardcore rave, just some late drinks at our local indie club on Saturday night. Both of us, just as bad as each other. Still, I feel much more lively today, and mrsfb has an interview this evening, so it is a much more perky day in general.
Have installed some new stats software on the server for this site, called Awstats. Open-source and very powerful, gives me a bit more detail on what goes on at the site. Had to learn to use it for work, so was worth trying here too. Not too tricky to set up, as long as you have an understanding host who lets you run such things.
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In a grumpy not quite awake state
as I am from time-to-time. Actually got some quality messing about with css and learning geek stuff yesterday. I suspect the end result will be me messing about with this blog’s look and feel soon. I can feel it in my waters. I may chicken out and only do a small change to one bit. We shall see, I suppose.
Do need more sleep though, got that half-awake pout on my face. Which doesn’t really suit me.
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Searching for emotions
Emotional Search Engine for Blogs Kind of like this today, just suits my mood to find people in the same mood as me. May be a bit fussy with some browsers/machines, but looks pretty too
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Right, off to Brighton
May talk to you from there. Can’t wait, should be a very fun weekend
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You know you are feeling a little hung over when
you wake up singing Shonen Knife’s “Tortoise Brand Pot Cleaner” in your best Mark E. Smith voice.
Went to a local pub The Elm Tree to see a friend for a few beers. It was, when I first lived on the Cowley Road, a wonderfully grotty pub. And then it was “updated”. A horrible job, designed to bring in a massive student clientel. Finally, this theory has failed, and it is sinking back into slight grottyness, with a good mainly rock soundtrack. Will definitely be going back there.