Ending This Weblog...

After posting well over 200 times on here, I am shutting this weblog down.

It's not that I'm leaving blogging altogether--it's just that I want to focus on other topics that interest me.

I'll be over at these six blogs for those of you who are interested.

• One Spirit: "For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father." ~Eph. 2:18
• Colony Worlds: "Seeking Out New Homes On New Worlds."
• IsraGood: "Detailing Israeli technology, culture...and all things Kosher."
• Inside Orkut: "News, views and cultural taboos from inside Orkut's community forums."
• Picasa Fun: "Discussing tips and techniques, and having fun with Google's Picasa."
• Darnell (My Mind In Orbit): A personal weblog.

Well, nothing else to say around here, so, have fun! Peace!

Print And Pattern Going Dutch?

It looks as if Bowie is showing off some very interesting designs over on her site Print and Pattern. And this pillow sure looks tempting.



I wonder if she actually makes them? Anyways, here is a brief description explaining why she posted the pillow above.

from yesterdays japanese designs today im going dutch, and looking at these fun designs on glass coasters from dutch company present time. they also have some nifty cushions featuring the trend flower, a japanese chrysanth. present time are also the producers of some great products designed by dutch design studio muurbloem, as featured in the next post....

Sounds interesting. I've never considered fashion blogs before, but I wouldn't be surprised if Bowie's idea catches on (perhaps she could lead the niche!). Either way, she needs to spice up her skin layout. Here are my suggestions below:

• Tapestry Romance (preview)


• Model (preview)

Tags:

• Design


• Fashion


• Trends


• Dutch


• Very beautiful pillow

Television Slave Goes Shopping

After a long hibernation, my first victim blog to reviewed happens to be an addict of television commercials who goes by the name of Msbauer on her blog.

Like all normal Americans, Msbauer goes clothes shopping, and just like the rest of us experiences problems along the way.

I was not going to be picky. I was not going to haggle with myself over price. I was not going to look at something I found interesting and then put it back because it was too expensive. I was going to SHOP.

Unfortunately, it didn't work out as I had hoped. In fact, it didn't work out at all. See, I have a pretty tiny waist. But I am by no means skinny. I also have a huge ass. Big Dutch Butt or some such thing. So, tiny waist, big fat ass. So, I have a very curvy, womanly figure. Apparantly, no one else has a figure like this. They don't design clothes for it.

Unfortunately Msbauer was unable to find the item she was looking for, although she did however manage to find something online. (hurrah for the internet)

She has an interesting blog, but the layout could use improvement. Since she enjoys fashion and television, perhaps these two templates could improve her blog outlook.

• The Era of Television (preview)


• Watch And Learn (preview)

Sigh...I try too hard sometimes.

Tags:

• Television Slave


• Mall Shopping


• Clothes


• Women


• Humor

And I'm Back!

So after going through not only this weblog's code, but also on several others, I have finally returned to this blog. But what shall I post? Well, only time will tell, mainly because I have an hour left before Google works on blogger.

We need to perform hardware maintenance on the photos system for Blogger. This means that photo uploading and serving will be down for approximately 1 hour starting at 5pm (Pacific Time). All photos previously uploaded will not be visible during this maintenance.

Thanks for your understanding.

Sigh...well, at least I have something to talk about. Meanwhile, for those of you still seeking entertainment, this video (posted on my personal journal) should give everyone a treat.

Tags:

• Blogger Delights


• Return of the Blogger


• This blog is not dead!

Taking A Break....

I love visiting new weblogs (and will probably continue doing so) but for now I need to focus on life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

In other words, I need to focus on my other weblogs below.

• Inside Orkut
• Colony Worlds
• Google Your Business (Brand New!)
• Sol Worlds (via Writely.com)
• Darnell (via Audio Blogger)

Will be back here...in the mean time, if anyone wants to take over posting here, let me know. I'll even give up some Ad Sense spots for them too. :)

Update: Corrected html link.

The Dark Side Of The Nav Bar (Spam Fraud)

One of the benefits of having a Nav Bar within Google Blogger is it gives you the ability to search new and interesting weblogs and search within your own (although you can do that without it).

On the flip side of the coin, if someone does not like you they can mark your weblog as spam, which may cripple your weblog operation. Via Sister Raya on the Blogger Help Group:

My blog PAINTERSMARKETPLACE was for some reason flagged by a spambot.
The message I received when I went to post was it was most probably and
error and that a human would review in less than 24 hours. I filled out
the request for my blog to be view by a human and no one has reviewed
it.

My blog is a "teamblog" and my members would like to post. I also
emailed Adsense. No response. I feel like crying. I put so much work
into this blog to give artists exposure for their work.

How can I get Google to look at my blog and see that we are not mindless spammers. I
would so appreciate anyone's help or advice. I'm getting really blue
about it.

The good news is that Google will eventually get around to it. The bad news is that it may take them a while (remember, the whole planet emails/calls/IM's these guys). Perhaps if enough blogspot users discuss this on Technorati, it may give attention to her plight.

But if Raya ever gets her blog back up, I would recommend that she remove the Nav Bar, as I have found it to be a dangerous tool, especially if you blog about politics.

Note: Oh, and you can visit her blog over here. Looking forward to some future posts.

Tags:

• Google


• Blogger


• Blogspot Problems


• Spam Fraud


• Free Her Blog Please Google


• Pretty Please!

Posting Via Writely...

I came across this post on the Blogger Help Group from Doitonabike who said:

The Writely.com on-line word processing service (a Google service) is
supposed to suport publlishing to Blogger but a lot of people over on
the Writely user forum are expressing difficulties with this aspect of
the service.

Can anyone in Blogger Help point me somewhere where I might get some
advice and assistance with the Blogger/Writely interface?

A second user who goes by the name "Rat" (what's up with all of these weird names?) recommended using Blogger's Word tool, although I find the feature to be a bit messy since blogger does not support all of word's font formats.

Writely does work with blogger, however I found the best way to use it was to:

1. Make sure that you follow their instructions on the forums (keep searching if you don't find your answer immediately) and
2. Make sure their is no "extra html" when posting (underneath the Edit tab, then select Edit html).

That should resolve most issues. If anyone needs any help with this, let me know.

Tags:

• Google


• Writely


• Blogger


• Posting

Photographing The Bible?

A very interesting way of matching images with holy text!

Inverclyde, who posts over at Photo Galleries World Creation matches various biblical scriptures with photos on his site. This post is my favorite:

Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned? Can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched? So is he who sleeps with another man's wife; no one who touches her will go unpunished

I am sure all of the ladies would love this post (and if not, then don't attack me--I'm just the messenger).

Tags:

• Photos


• Bible


• Women


• A weblog classic!

Too Much Information Online?

Genie Belle who posts over at Genie's Bottle has this to say about the digital information overload:

I think there is too much information on the internet. By that, I mean there is too much personal information floating around. From online dating sites to personal pages and blogs, we are simply giving out too much information.

We list our address and phone numbers, e-mail address, messenger/chat screen names, physical characteristics, our likes and dislikes, our pets name, our feelings, and our deep dark secrets.

This is stuff our family and closest friends don't know about us.

This definitely is a problem online, and Genie Belle goes into more detail about this issue on her site.

My reasoning is that their is a "lack of accountability" online, as you can simply delete the person's message if you do not enjoy them anymore, an action you could only dream of taking with an annoying next door neighbor.

Or could it be that you can find similar minds easier half-way around the world than half way across town? Hmm...

Tags:

• Blogs


• Personal Information


• Cyberspace


• Internet Dangers


• People need to get a life

Difficulties...

Having some problems publishing to this weblog again. Sigh...Will let you know when it is back up to speed. :(

Update: And we're back!

Tags:

• Blog Problems


• Blogspot


• Publishing got you down?

A Business Owner's Weblog

It looks like the President of AutoTCO.com has a weblog. And it seems as if he has stumbled upon some helpful information.

Large firms can spend millions of dollars on determining an optimal market size and segmentation. Small businesses, like AutoTCO, don't have this luxury. We either have to do a lot of exhaustive research, or simply guess. Once in awhile, we stumble into a nugget of data that someone else has taken the time to research on their own. This is one that I found today.

He links to an article which informs him that 16 million people are looking for cars to purchase (something very good to know if you are in the business of selling cars).

Ironically, I am also looking for a car, although I think my neighbor might offer me a vehicle for a good price.

Tags:

• Cars


• Business


• Marketing


• Corporate Blogs


• Know Thy Customer

Cats Do Have Value (After All)

It seems that The Willa Woman has stumbled across a story that increases the value of cats--or at least this feline anyway.

BERLIN (Reuters) - A cat saved the life of a newborn baby abandoned on the doorstep of a Cologne house in the middle of the night by meowing loudly until someone woke up, a police spokesman said Saturday.

"The cat is a hero," Cologne police spokesman Uwe Beier said. "Its loud meowing got the attention of the homeowner and saved the baby from suffering life-threatening hypothermia. The homeowner opened door to see why the cat was making so much noise and discovered the newborn."

Although I am not a fan of cats, (mainly for economic reasons) stories like these do highlight their feline potential. Now if we could only get the rest of the species up to par with this kitty, then cats might be considered valuable to the human race.

Tags:

• Cats


• Feline


• Hero


• Germany


• Berlin


• Super cat to save the day

Sweet Nothings While You Slumber?

This is the first time I've come across a guy who is more romantic while unconscious then while he is fully awake.

What galls me is that when he sleep talks he usually wraps his arms around me and murmurs sweet nothings in my ear.

And sometimes it goes a bit further than that (!)

Last night's bit was something to the tune of "I think I could fall in love with you"

The problem is, he generally does NOT say such things during his WAKING hours.

Wow, that is hilarious! Perhaps she could record her hubby whispering those romantic phrases in order to teach him what to say in the waking world.

Tags:

• Sleep Talking
• Sleeping
• Romantic
• You don't say?

Committee To Protect Bloggers Signs Off

Although I have not posted to this weblog recently (due to my focus on three other weblogs), I have just found out that the Committee to Protect Bloggers is signing off for the very last time.

Sixteen months after I began it, I am closing down the Committee to Protect Bloggers. There are a host of reasons for my decision, but the short one is, the organization is no longer sustainable. This will be the last post on the blog. The blog itself will remain up as long as the hosting service wishes to keep it in place.

Although the Committee to Protect Bloggers is done, the legal organization behind it is not. That organization has already created several independent projects and has begun a new one.

Blogging, although fun is what I call a "rough hobby" in the fact that life, political pressures, work or your government can convince people to leave the field indefinitely.

Committee to Protect Bloggers, which recently became a non-profit organization, has left the field due to the fact of funds and timing.

They will be greatly missed.

Tags:

• Blogs


• Blogging


• Blog Protection


• We Will Miss You

Testing Out Qumana

Hmmm...this appears to be a neat little piece of software. I am going to have to test this out on the other weblogs as well...but so far, this one rocks!

Sorry for the lack of posts on this weblog. I have been busy with Inside Orkut and Colony Worlds, so light posting on this weblog thus far.

Tags: Testing, Blog, Qumana, Very Cool Software

Powered by Qumana

Update: Ghetto photo manager! First and last use of Qumana!

Blogger For Dummies...Heh!

Peter has some great advice for those of you who accidentally delete their post:

You have by mistake deleted some posts or links, etc., or you may even have messed up your template, and you need to recover from the mistake urgently. What do you do?

This is what you can do. Do a search (Google, Yahoo, etc.) for some terms in your past post and see if it turned up some cached copies of your post.

This is advice I could have used in the beginning of my webloging days. An excellent post by Peter! I think I am going to add him to the sidebar underneath "Weblog Wisdom."

Tags:

• Blog


• Blogging


• Weblogging


• Advice


• Google Cache


• Peter for President

Does This Look Yummy To You?

Annie claims to have discovered the best tasting cookie ever (at least the best one that she has created).

Attention Chocolate Chip Cookies Lovers. This could possible be the best cookie I have ever had the pleasure of making. It is chewy and delicious. I happened to be watching the food network this weekend and Alton Brown of Good Eats was babbling on about three different styles of chocolate chip cookies.

He called them the thin [and] cripsy, the soft & puffy and the chewy. Now I started to listen carefully. I have made a couple hundred batches of cookies in my life and have alway found it hard to master the chewy texture that I so desire. So when this scientifically inclined chef said there was a secret to the perfect cookie I watched with bated breath.

After visiting her site I was sorely disappointed. The cookie looked extremely ugly, which was confirmed by commentaries below.

However, Annie said it was the best tasting cookie, (not the best looking) so perhaps I'll step beyond my vanity and see if I can find the recipe for the cookies myself.

Tags:

• Cookies


• Food


• Taste Buds


• Looks can be deceiving

Post Exam Depression

I wouldn't be surprised if this affected tens of millions of college students. Opera should cover this on her show, but since she is busy, I'll post the details here.

From Lavender:

Ok, what did I do after getting my results?
I grieved for a couple of days. Cried my eyes out...
Got back on my feet. Tried to stop feeling sorry for myself and get on with life.

So, I sat in front the computer for 5 hours struggling to figure out what course to take up. Then, joined in a couple of forums. Asked a few advice, met up with my school counselor and did some research of certain courses that I may/eligible to take up. [...]

So what might be the "purpose" of me not obtaining flying colours in my exam?
Educate me on what exactly?

It is my future here in stake!!!

My advice? Don't ask me for advice (as the future can be scary). But one quote I've often recited in the face of obstacles is from Rem Saverem:

"And if you keep your vision clear you will see the future.

What happens in our future is our own responsibility."

So sit down and relax. After all, every human being has options...unless of course you live in North Korea.

Tags:

• College
• Exams
• Career Paths
• Frustration
• Ticket to the Future

Thoughts And Prayers to Diane And Terry

I was in a festive mood today, until I came across this post by Susan.

My best friend in the world has ovarian cancer. So far it's been a long haul with her surgery and chemo treatments. But, as ever, she keeps in amazingly good spirits and actually boosts the morale of those around her.

Today she called to say that her husband is in the hospital, diagnosed with severe pulmonary disease pneumonia. A cat scan also shows that he has a nodule in his left lung which the doctor says may be from the infection...or it may not.

Cancer is probably the least fun disease on planet Earth. I have several friends and relatives who have survived this monster, and lets pray that Diane and Terry do as well.

Tags:

• Cancer
• Prayers
• Hope

Happy Saint Patricks Day!

I almost forgot that it was St. Patricks day. Google had to remind me, as one can see from their ivy logo on their front page (not to mention the ivy within Ad Sense...pretty cool, huh?).

Some fans are also dressing up for the occasion, as the Google Community is sporting a special addition of green today.

What am I doing? Well, I forgot to wear green (so nobody pinch me) but I did find a couple of Irish blogs that may be of interest. ;)

Irish Pennants has an interesting post about the war in Iraq via Real Clear Politics.

During a recent visit to Baghdad, I saw an enormous failure. On the part of our media. The reality in the streets, day after day, bore little resemblance to the sensational claims of civil war and disaster in the headlines.

No one with first-hand experience of Iraq would claim the country's in rosy condition, but the situation on the ground is considerably more promising than the American public has been led to believe. Lurid exaggerations and instant myths obscure real, if difficult, progress.

I've never been to Iraq before, but what Jkelly mentions on the blog kinda does line up with what I've been hearing from Iraqi bloggers.

The second weblog, Irish Elk, sports some bagpipes, an instrument that you are either great at or should be imprisoned until you are great at (it separates the men from the boys).

Faugh a Ballagh! Erin Go Bragh!In the spirit of the day, allow me to suggest the Quiet Man set & Garryowen.And to inspire the bald Eagles this weekend: "For Boston," with bagpipes, by the Dropkick Murphys.

Heh! Happy Saint Patricks Day everyone, and if you are in New York, beware of the "happy" parade...unless you're Irish of course. ;)

Junk Mail, And How To Fight Back!

Virtual Nobody is fed up with receiving junk mail on a daily basis and has decided to fight back.

So I've decided that from now on I will package up everything in these little bundles of wasteful joy and send them to their destination. Back to the company that is soliciting me. I think they need to be completely aware that I am in no way interested in their products or services. [...]

So how about joining me. You know they don't have to pay postage for those business reply envelopes unless they actually get mailed. So stuff those buddies up and put'em back in the box.

Simply stuffing the envelope is not enough. I think it may be more amusing to go a bit further and insert broken markers, pens and baby-chewed crayons as well.

After all, if you are going to return their own spam, you might as well add interest to the blessing that you have received.

Tags:

• Spam


• Annoying


• Envelope


• Junk Mail


• Crayons are yummy

Monday Mondays...

I get the distinct feeling that it is bad to get between a mother and her coffee...especially on a Monday.

Do you ever feel like this on a Monday? Sometimes, I wish I can stick out a loooong tongue and wag it at people who are not polite on Mondays. Maybe even blow a bit of fire out them to scare them just a bit.

'HEY, QUIT HOLDING UP THE LINE TO ORDER YOUR SPECIAL COFFEE DRINK WITH A THOUSAND INSTRUCTIONS FOR YOU AND YOUR GROUP OF FRIENDS, ALL I'M ORDERING IS A FRIGGIN DRIP WITH ROOM!

Fortunately for me, I am not a coffee drinker. But if I ever was in the mood for coffee cakes, I may encounter random acts of violence--from the caffeine addicts. ;)

Tags:

• Coffee


• Caffeine


• Mondays


• Star Bucks


• Decafe is better


• I love Fridays

Rize Up You Say?

Beau reviews a show called Rize over on Seasons Under the Sun.

If you are a prosperous, white, urban professional living a pleasant life in the suburbs you probably haven't asked yourself what's happening on the streets of South Central Los Angeles these days.

In fact you'd probably prefer not to think about that tough, gang infested environment at all. Fortunately, I was visually yanked onto those streets while channel surfing when I discovered the best cultural documentary you could imagine called Rize.

It looks like an interesting movie. Reminds me of Save the Last Dance, with more skin exposed. Although some of my friends are into the dancing "hip hop can't stop" films, I favor the epic adventure movies such as Lord of the Rings (not to mention sci fi).

Tags:

• Lord of the Rings


• Rize


• Movies


• The White Man


• Ghetto Dance

Violent Seals, Artic Meals

If the Daily Show had a blog, this would probably be it! It looks like The Spine has it's own version of kooky, quirky and sarcastic news.

Breaking news coming from the Arctic Circle. The notoriously vicious baby seal has launched a violent attack on Paul and Heather Mills McCartney.

Our resident artist, here at The Spine, has tried to capture what this incident might have looked like but, without doubt, the cruelty of the episode is likely to cause renewed appeals for the authorities to reconsider the place of baby seals in areas populated by well-meaning multi-millionaire pop stars.

I never knew that seals could be this violent. Perhaps I should consider bringing along a taser just in case this happens. ;)

Tags:

• Seals


• Artice


• Humor


• My Leg


• Animals


• What Would PETA Do

Blog Alert...And Then Some

I can not believe that I missed reporting these two items, but here are important notices for those of you who have not only a heart for blogging, but for people as well.

(via Committee to Protect Bloggers) Jill Carroll, a freelance reporter working for the Christian Science Monitor newspaper, was kidnapped in Baghdad over two months ago. All indications are that she is still alive. The Monitor has started a campaign, using Iraqi television, to distribute a video asking for Iraqis to help find and free Jill.

Jill is not a blogger but she's got that spirit. She's an independent intellect who is fascinated by the world and has a desire to speak what she sees. So let's not leave it up to the newspapers and television stations. She's ours as much as theirs.

Free lance journalists are in my opinion "bloggers on the frontlines" as Michael Yon proved awhile ago in Iraq. People like Jill and Michael are necessary as their are still those in this day and age who think the suppression of information will lead to harmony when the opposite is true.

If you come across this post, spread the word.

And for the optimists out there, apparently Abd al-Raziq al-Mansuri (the Libyan internet writer) has been freed.

Muhammad and Me?

It seems when it comes to mocking Muhammed, things go from bad to worse.

Upon arriving at Blogger's home page, I came across a weblog entitled Muhammad and Me by Bobby. His weblog theme is "on the road to mecca there are many stops," and this is probably one of the many reasons that Pakistan has banned Blogspot hosted weblogs.

A Blogpulse search reveals that Muhammad and Me is already gaining exposure, with one weblog issuing a death threat. Scary.

Tags:

• Muhammad


• Islam


• Death Threats


• Cartoons


• Religion


• Can We All Just Get Along

The $10,000 Challenge

It seems as if one blogger is out to make "blog history" and is actually putting his money where his mouth is--$10,000 to be exact.

(Blog Herald) SEO John Scott, widely known more recently as the man behind the v7ndotcom elursrebmem SEO contest at v7n, has thrown down the gauntlet to bloggers to subvert the A-List.

Loren Baker writes at Search Engine Journal that Scott feels that the blogosphere is being controlled by a clique of A-list bloggers "who are sitting on top of their blogostools, and adding to their perceived level of divinity by playing link grab*** with each other" and thinks that bloggers don't link enough.

Scott's internet $10,000 challenge can be found here. I am very much interested to see who comes out on top and it will be an interesting experience to see if the "A-List" can truly be subverted.

Tags:

• John Scott


• Ten Thousand Dollars


• A List


• Money Money Money


• Bloggers

Say It Ain't So! Blog Explosion Up For Sale

(Hat Tip: The Blog Herald)

Alas, it seems as if the blog universe around me is changing. First the Blog Herald gets bought out by Blog Media, and now it seems as if Blog Explosion is selling out as well.

This is definitely not a typo or an early April Fool's joke. BlogExplosion will be going up for sale next week. We will be sending out a special email early next week with full details about how we plan to sell the site.

After many long discussions over the last couple of weeks we have decided that it is time to find a company that can take BlogExplosion to the next level.

I would not be surprised if this site sold for $50,000 or more (probably closer to $100,000) but it will interesting to see who owns one of the best blogger networks out there on the web.

If I had a 100 grand, I would pick up this company in a heart beat!

Tags:

• Blog Explosion


• Blog Herald


• Blog Network


• Blog Media


• Blog Selling To The Highest Bidder

A Homeless Blogger?

(Hat Tip: Blogger Buzz)

Who says you can not blog away from home? Apparently their is a homeless person in Greensboro, NC who has decided to blog about his adventures on the street.

One trope the homeless -- or any poor person -- faces is that life slows down once you've lost your home/all your money.

No it doesn't, either. If anything, it speeds up.

One loss you feel is the loss of routine. A home is more than a roof over your head and a place to raise kids*, it is also a base from which to conduct your life. The old adage "a man's home is his castle"** applies here in the sense that a castle also served as headquarters and seat of power for the noble in charge. You just feel, well, more capable when you know that you have a base to return to where you can recharge and keep your stuff.

The blogger is getting help from some churches, which generally do a more effective job IMHO than the government when reaching the needs of others.

Word of this blogger's adventures have been getting around the world lately, and with his story appearing in Germany as well.

Hopefully someone will hire this blogger, who seems to have a skill in graphic design. Any takers?

Tags:

• Homeless


• Greensboro


• Blogger


• Germany

A Blog Making Fun Of Islam's Prophet

(Hat Tip: Sinan from the Blogger Help Group)

Yeah, I know free speech is a virtue, but what can be gained by ticking people off intentionally? Apparently Muhammed Pron enjoys the artwork and has even begun to "franchise" his view of Muhammed (although nothing is in it as of this post).

Although we live in a world of free speech (at least in the west) I wouldn't be too surprised if blog rioting started to commence.

Tags:

• Muhammed


• Mohammed


• Cartoons


• MuhammedCartoons


• Redicolous

Busy Busy Busy

Unfortunately I'll be unable to blog due to it being Sunday, and alas, my day is packed full again. :-(

But in order to make you smile, you can check out an updated look to my other site, Hidden Nook.

Note: Yep, I am Mac-ie, even though I don't own a Mac.

Tags:

• I Love Blogging
• No Time To Blog
• Must Vent On Technorati
• Mac
• Apple

I Wish It Were Father's Day

Because it seems that Myles is the proud owner of a new born baby. Congrats!

An image can be seen of the cute kid via Blogskins Times, a site I am going to add to the sidebar later on.

Congrats Myles!

Tags:

• Baby
• Father
• Blog Skins
• Yeah

Can't Touch This Blog!

(Hat Tip: Blogger Buzz)

Apparently MC Hammer has entered the blogosphere and seems to be enjoying it!

There's nothing like the smell and look of spring. The sun begins to shine through the thinning clouds and the trees and plants start to blossom anew. The birds start to sing a new joyful song. The sunsets become vibrant orange and the days become warm.

And somewhere deep in the background of the noise of the towns and cities you hear the crack of the bat and the sound of the ball. It's baseball season again!! There is no place are time on Earth like spring training.

I am not a baseball fan, (football is king in my book) but his presence does add some star-dom to the blogosphere. Of course the little music intro in the beginning may get on your nerves, so you have to remember to turn off your speakers--especially at work.

Tags:

• MC Hammer


• Blogger Buzz


• Baseball


• Celebrities

Technorati Testing

It's great to be back! I've experienced several difficulties with this blog, but since its free I guess I can not complain to loudly. ;)

I've decided to test this blog out using Technorati tags as it will reveal what other bloggers are chatting about. Although Technorati is slow as molasses, it has "charted" a larger chunk of the blogosphere than any other blog search engine to date.

Hopefully it will work for you guys as I generally use Google's blog search and Blogpulse, as they are much more fun.

Tags:

• Testing
• Technorati
• Blogger
• Google
• Blogpulse
• Molasses

Weblog Ghetto Speak

It seems that like all subcultures bloggers have developed their own form of "ghetto speak." Here is a list from the Blogger Buzz:

• MSM: "mainstream media"
• Above the fold: "what we see on a blog's screen before we begin to scroll down"
• The jump: "a place to which the blog's readership is referred inside the Web site"
• sidebar: "a column down one side of the screen displaying advertisements, archived links or a list of other blogs called a blogroll"
• bye-line: "an adios or similar farewell at the end of the blogger's politely expressed opinion or angry screed"
• wingnuts: "the prevailing put-down of right-wing bloggers"
• moonbats: "the vilification of left-wing partisans who use the Web"
• ping: "the gently noisy notification sent when a blog needs updating or has been updated"
• link love: "an unsolicited, posted link that aims only to amuse or interest"
• simultaneous blogasm: "the discovery that some other blogger has posted an identical thought at the same time"
• meme: "a type of online chain letter where bloggers answer questions designed to give a quick overview of the blogger's personality"
• tag: "a descriptive label applied to an individual post"
• delicious: "To del.icio.us someone is to add them to your delicious bookmarks."
• blogerati: "people sophisticated in operating blogs"
• spam blogs, splogs and zombie blogs: "these strange animated robot-generated texts meant to game search engines. When it's published as unwanted feedback on people's blogs, it's called comment spam" — definition from former Blogger team member Biz Stone
• fisk: "from Robert Fisk, a U.K. journalist. That's when you take an article and reprint it on your blog adding your line-by-line critique"

Some of these I've heard of before (such as sidebar, MSM, Fisk, etc.) but others seem completely "geekish" such as bye-line, the jump, and above the fold.

Blogasm seems to be the strangest to me, but that phrase probably invented by a weblog that wasn't very family friendly.

Advice That Could Save Your Life

Jillian gives some healthy reason for teens without wisdom.

Please stop using the internet if you're going to act foolishly; you are ruining it for the rest of us. When you meet someone on say, myspace, who has feelings just like yours and is into Yellowcard, and seems supercool, and wants to meet, DON'T DO IT. Why don't you know by now that this so-called kindred spirit is, in actuality a grunting 40-year-old pedophile?

Ironically I was just talking with a teenager about MySpace. Both of us agreed that it was evil, due to the fact that it is an "over glorified profile," of an individual, a gold mine for perverts without consciences.

And if you think there is an exception to online dating, think again.

Skiing For All The Wrong Reasons

This would have made an excellent Valentines post...except for the fact that it was posted after Valentines day. Here Indigo recaps on her semi-romantic pursuit of a boy named P.V.D:

I probably should have stuck out the ski lessons that my parents paid for, that would have been the wise thing to do. However, I thought I could figure it out. I mean, how hard could downhill skiing be??? I skipped my lessons and went straight for the slopes, hunting P.D.V. out all night long. [...]

I recall skiing down the back of the hills one night, it was pitch dark and the slope was narrow and I had to try my best not to hit a tree. I totally wiped out and kept on sliding .... but my ski fell off and didn't slide down with me. I think I hollered up to people to 'throw me my ski!' or something completely lame like that.

Oh yeah, Hubby is sooooooooooooo lucky that P.D.V. didn't fall for my cuteness during the Ski Club.

"Hubby" probably is lucky (hey, that rhymed!), although I wonder if he is going give Indigo skiing lessons in the near future?

If not, I recommend snow boarding (although snow biking may be more fun).

Body Odor Got You Down?

I've encountered some pretty horrible stenches before, but most of those were from animals (dead and alive). Apparently The Freud encountered a stench from a group we all have come to know and love--humans.

There is one profound thing that I have experienced here in Germany that I never thought I would. On two different and distinct occasions I have been practically knocked out by the body odor of another human being.

When we first moved into our home here, the moving company sent 3 people- two men and one woman. [...]

The Woman is what caught me the most off guard. She was probably in her fifties- a heavy set woman with skin like wet leather.

She wore a stained tank top- that's right... it was sleeveless. As if the look of her pit hair as she hefted boxes out of the truck wasn't enough, she wore no bra with this t-shirt weight garment.

There are more details, but for the sake of my stomach they will be omitted here. Hopefully she will be able to get the smell out of her house as I can sympathize with her dilemma (my issue was more canine in nature, so I understand her pain).

All I can say is, at least she didn't have to purchase a gas mask. :-(

Road Rage

For once in my life (perhaps the only time) I sympathize with this driver. I truly do.

Today, on my way to work, I'm like the only car on the road for about a mile in both directions. Behind me in the distance, I see a car turn into the lane and it's starting to catch up to me. I'm going five miles over the speed limit which is fifty miles an hour so this guy is hauling ***. A few seconds later, he's 10 feet from me and just trails me. [...]

Why did he not go around me to continue on his way? [...]
Are the people that do this a bunch of lonely drivers that has to drive close to other drivers?

I don't know but tailgating is very annoying. Perhaps they should invent flames that come out behind your vehicle to serve as a warning sign to "back off." But then again, equipping your car with such powers would probably be illegal in all 50 states.

Disposable Skidmarks has a scary photo to go along with his weblog. As long as he doesn't hold a hammer in that hand, I'll feel safe while on the road.

Cheerio! (From London)

I never realized how global the b5 Media empire was. So far I have only fallen in love with two weblogs from the network, although this one may be my third.

(Genetics And Health) If you're reading this, I thank you! It's taking much longer than expected to get broadband set-up in our new home in London.

I have been thrilled to find that genetics and health are very much on the minds of the public here and have been collecting newspaper articles and other interesting tidbits to share.

It's good to see that another being has discovered the blessing of a faster internet. The weblog looks pretty interesting thus far and I think I'll add it to the sidebar as it may have some helpful tips for the human race...or at least for me. ;)

Dungeons And Dragons?

I don't know if I jumped into the middle of a conversation here, but I am a bit confused.

I am inwardly replused by the idea of D&D, but I am also somewhat jealous that I am not involved. It's like a geek-meeting, and apparently I'm just not geeky enough to get invited.

The Black Eyed Gurl is referring to another blog called Northern Bound. Apparently she is confused as to what the weblog is all about, and I don't see a link anywhere to the site.

The one thing I do admire about the site is the layout design, a pet peeve of mine as many users do not realize how easy it is to change it.

Either way I guess I'll move on as there are other weblogs to cover.

I'm Back!

Yeah, I've been away for a while, but I decided with Google fixing out the tweaks with Blogger that I would take a little break as well as add in some necessary content on this blog (as well as others).

On another note, I discovered a way to do categories on Blogger (via Del.icio.us) which I installed on Inside Orkut and Colony Worlds.

Well, I had my fun for today, now to start blogging! ;)

Another Regional Blog...

I posted about this weblog over on Inside Orkut as many users of that service found themselves unable to access the site due to government regulations.

The UAE Community Blog looks very interesting, and will make an excellent addition on the side bar. :)

Deep Dark Voice

I know some people who have gone through this surgery. Hopefully his voice will recover from surgery. Here are the details:

As some of you know (and as many of you probably don't) I had nose and throat surgery done on Tuesday. They removed my tonsils and my uvula and did a septo-plasty on my septum all to correct sleep apnea.

For the most part, I feel good. My nose doesn't hurt as much as I thought it was going to but I have some residual throbbing pain in my temples which I think is just muscle fatigue from having to spit so much after the tonsilectomy. My throat is a different story though because it feels like I have strep throat 24/7. It's just very sore and inflamed.

I bet. I don't have any ice cream for you, although if you have the ability to build a time machine, Yahoo is offering some ice cream for free.

Maintenance? What Maintenance!

Hmm...Google seems to be working on the Blogger system again. Although this is one of my favorite blogs to publish on, it also has been the one with the largest hassle.

I am going to cool things down here for a while, although this would be a good time to take a break and perhaps switch over to my other weblog. Heh.

Did Someone Say Blog Party?

Blog Mosh has recently joined the Blog Party Blog Resource Network and gives an explanation as to what the blog party is all about.

Blog Party brings bloggers together by providing blog resources all in one place, and just a click away. The partners of Blog Party Network have joined together to provide you with such things as blog forums, blog directories, blog advertising exchanges, blog news, plus a whole lot more.

Sounds pretty interesting, especially the Blog Reporter weblog (although I am already a member of Blogger News and Blog Critics so I may not join due to lack of time).

Either way, it may be of some interest to those who do blog, so sign up and spread the word.

These People Really Do Exist!

I've only seen these type of people depicted in cartoons at banks, although I never thought I would hear of someone actually encountering these type of people. Zazza Fooky retells her adventures below.

I had to go to the post office today. I hate going to the post office more than.... gee...having all my pubic hairs plucked out one by one, having my eyelids held open with toothpicks while some guy liquefies my retinas with battery acid and let's see, what else?, I could probably think of a million other things but you get the idea.

I ended up being the 12th person in line and after waiting for everyone to collect their notices, letters and packages I was finally 2nd in line behind an old lady buying stamps. This ought to be be quick, I thought to myself. It's just stamps.

The story gets better or worse, depending on your perspective. Perhaps this lady is a sign from above to webloggers everywhere to simply mail items from your house.

Don't you love the internet? The possibilities are endless!

Farewells Are Never Easy

I know because I had to do something similar around 17. Here is a farewell to family from a fellow blogger: (tongue twisty isn't?)

One week from now I will be travelling abroad for higher level study (university)... I know I am going to miss my country and I know (have a feeling) it is going to be difficult for a while there :-( .

Cheer up Nav! It is only difficult the first couple of months (after that, then you can adjust).

After all, you have the internet, which can help you survive--even at great distances.

A Parable Of The Newlyweds

This story by Tachizuno just made me laugh. Here is a snippet:

A young couple decided to wed. As the big day approached, they grew apprehensive. Each had a problem they had never before shared with anyone, not even each other. The Groom-to-be, overcoming his fear, decided to ask his father for advice.

"Father," he said, "I am deeply concerned about the success of my marriage. I love my fiancee, very much, but you see, I have very smelly feet, and I'm afraid that my future wife will be put off by them."

You are going to have to visit the site in order to find out the ending. I think it would make a great story at weddings--that is if you have good relations with the in-laws. ;)

See No Evil, Speak No Evil?

It looks like another blogger is addressing the Google Censorship fiasco. Here is what they had to say.

Blog Censorship has become a hot topic as of late, especially with Google headlining the news. This debate is short and sweet, but do you think countries should be allowed to censor personal blogs?

My view is that it whether a nation should allow free speech or not is determined by who is in power. Although I see freedom of speech as an inherit right, it can only be maintained by force.

After all, do you think a Communist government will tolerate dissent after rolling over people via tanks?

Update: You can see my view points about Google over here.

A Million Pixel Gallery?

Rebecca it seems has stumbled upon a way for artists to gain more exposure.

1 Million pixels art gallery
The internet's first and only 1 Million Pixel Homepage Art Gallery!
The newest way for artists to exhibit their art online.

exhibits, voting polls, art classifieds, art news feeds, free art classfieds, free artist link directory and more.
The homepage is in the process of creation and will soon be 1 million pixels of art.

I've seen this "pixel advertising" before on other websites, and basically have written off 99% of them as scams. After all, there is no point in visiting a site if it consist entirely of ads.

Displaying art however is ingenious and makes it worthwhile to visit the site. Whoever came up with this idea to feature artists may have found a way to change the image of pixel advertising.

Some of the art work is actually good too! So check it out. Thanks Rebecca!

Blogger Will Be Down...

In approximately two hours according to Pete from the Blogspot team.

(Blogger Status) Just a quick reminder that we will be going ahead with a planned network maintenance on Monday the 6th from 7–8PM PST. Blogger and Blog*Spot blogs will be unavailable during that time.

This maintenance won't fix everything, but it will make things better. I promise.

I know a lot of people have been upset about blogger being "offline" without notice over the past few days, but I think we should all cut them some slack. Google charges users $0.00 for their service (and for those of you in Europe it's zero Euro's) so if you are not happy you should switch to Go Daddy or Dream Host.

Since that only gives me two hours to post today, I am going to be posting later on tonight as their are other weblogs I like to publish to while I'll have time.

PS

Congrats for the Steelers on their Superbowl XL victory. Although I was routing against you, your team deserved the trophy for that game. ;)

Update: Whoops! Looks like my world time skills are off a bit! 7pm PST is 11pm EST! Looks like I'll be posting here after all! ;)

Blogspot Resurrected From The Dead

It appears that blogger is back online now. I was able to post to my weblogs, although they were not viewable to the public. I am glad I did not post the Saturday Blog Novels although I was able to finish the second "episode" to Sol Worlds. ;)

I guess I'll turn in for tonight as far as publishing goes, but I guess this will give me time to fix a few little details I've been trying to get around to on my weblogs. :)

Yeah To Blogger!

My weblog went down last night and after several unsuccessful attempts (even changing the domain path and template) my site gave me the "403 Forbidden" error. Google, or rather Blogger (who are surprisingly fast I must say) worked on the problem and now I am live again.

Props to the Google/Blogger Team, where ever you guys reside! :)

PS

Since tomorrow is superbowl Sunday, I am probably not going to post. I think I am going to download the Blog Calendar that Wayne mentioned on his site. Should be quite useful as I run several blogs each with a different focus. Heh.

Can You See Me?

My weblog went down for some strange reason. I think the blogger guys fixed it, although I am not exactly sure. If this post is visible, then life will continue on. :)

Hmm...I think my site is down.

I can post to it but I can not see it. Perhaps Blogger didn't like me using this template after all.

Especially after all the long hours of discovering its beauty. :(

Watch Out For The Blog Patrol!

I love the slogan on their site.

Ridding the internet of ugly blogs one blog at a time!

The little Canadian at the top is hilarious too! I'm adding them to the list of interesting blogs and hopefully they can help bloggers improve their template layouts.

I was doing something similar to this when I came across interesting, yet basic template bloggers. Fortunately pointing many to BlogSkins.com made the difference.

What's Wrong With My Faith?

Ben it seems is irritated that some people at work do not enjoy listening to his faith and may write him off as "a fruit loop" (my words).

Here is the scoop.

Working in a liberal university setting, I struggle with the fact that, if you have Christian beliefs and ideologies, they are immediately invalidated as ludicrous or antiquated and somehow they shouldn't be discussed or that you lack intelligence because you have these beliefs.

We live in a society of cultural relativism. Where there are no absolutes and it is offensive for a person to tell others that what they believe is wrong. The majority has a problem with Christianity because our faith is based on absolutes...according to my faith, there is right and wrong. But nobody wants to be told that they are wrong.

Although some may view Ben as "a fruit loop," I do have to side with Ben, on this one, as the PC crowd is really getting on my nerves.

I think regardless whether you are a Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jew, Straight, Gay, etc., you do have the right to be told that you are wrong and if you disagree then you are entitled to respond back in kind with evidence.

A famous man once said, "For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth," and I believe that quote still applies today.

Good job Ben! If you get any more resistance, tell them to start a blog. Heh.

Beware Of The Wench!

Crazy Like A Fox has the details.

My renter this week is Danalyn, better known as Tech Wench. Don't let her good looks fool you. This chick has got some brains and she knows how to use them.

Tech Wench is the head designer for WestDesigns. Not only do her templates look great, but her coding is so clean and organized that her designs are easy to customize for your own needs.

Yeah, the title was deceiving, but Danalyn designs blogs starting at $60 for blogspot powered weblogs (really inexpensive as the price some ask for $100 plus).

I probably could have used her help in the very beginning of my blog days as coding is only fun when you get it right. Although I may consider her services in the future for another weblog idea of mine.

Scary Stuff, Cyber Stuff

My sympathies go out towards the author of Ask Daddy-Mommy is Off Duty who is going for some testing to see if anything is wrong with her gall bladder.

I pray that the doctors find out the problem and discover a quick solution, as hospital visits are never fun (unless you are having a child, then they are semi fun I guess).

Later on throughout her post, she talks about Microsoft "being good."

I recently downloaded the Microsoft Anti Spam and Anti Spyware and they have been keeping my computer nice and clean and running in tip top shape.

I was beginning to think the poor thing was starting to get old (okay, four years is probably ancient in computer years) and just could not handle things any longer, but it is like a brand new machine.

Now if I can just talk hubby into the 400 GB hard drive I saw yesterday...when did I become such a techo babe?

Heh! Well, I don't know what one would do with a 400 GB hard drive (unless your legally backing up movies to your personal server).

But if she is looking for the space because of storage, she may want to consider creating an email address at either HRiders.com or Mail Nation as both are offering 1000 GB (a whole terabyte) for free.

Are You Three Dimensional?

Tree George (pronounced "trey") has some fascinating 3-D (space?) art that boggles the mind with beauty. Here is an image from his site with an explanation below.



(Photo Credit: The Great Tree)

In this image, I took a sphere and placed it inside a slightly larger square. [...] Of course, if I had centered the square within the circle that might have helped the composition. I'd like to think when this pod crashed into the sea, it cracked and twisted.

Excellent photos! Definitely going to add this to the list of interesting sites on the sidebar (and soon I'll dedicate a whole day posting about these fantastic blogs). I think my favorite image is 10pm.

Note: Is he writing a photo blog novel? Interesting...

Free Deodorant? What?

If it wasn't true, I would laugh really hard. According to The Domestic Diva's blog site, Degree Deodorant is giving away free samples of their product for guys and girls.

I'd quote her below, but she has Copy Scape enabled and she may freak out if I quoted three words (even with credit assigned). Sigh.

Is This For Real?

Here the Artist has a photo post about a sign that reads:

Kennet And Avon Canal

Notice

The Captain of every vessel allowing Horses to Haul across the Street will be Fined. By Order.

Well, I'm not a horseback rider (although I wish I had more time to ride them) although I wonder if that law is still in affect in that area.

Behind The Curtain

I have not been able to do much posting on any of my blogs as I was side tracked by work (gotta eat), life (gotta love), site design (gotta improve) and cats (gotta get rid of them--just kidding).

This however doesn't mean that I have not been reading any posts lately. Here is what I caught a glimpse of around the web that hopefully will interest you.

Inside Adsense by Google has an interesting post about improve site layout in order to increase revenue. This could come in handy if blogging is something more of a hobby to you. ;)

Wayne Hurlbert over at Blog Business World mentions a free teleseminar, which I registered for and will have to remember to place in my calendar.

Darren over at Problogger.net mentions some much needed items on a sidebar. Recommended.

Duncan on The Blog Herald tells why Captcha is evil (I disagree but understand his viewpoint).

And last but not least Evhead, the founder of Blogger, references an interesting post on his weblog.

Right now, I am heading out to catch the President's State of the Union address. Blogs for Bush is liveblogging it for those without cable access.

Peace!

Where Did He Go?

I normally do not post about a weblog via blog directory (just see the previous post to understand) but it seems that PJ has dropped off of the face of the earth.

Due to some unavoidable technical difficulties [...] being too busy and [...] temporary loss of broadband connection I've been unable to publish very much recently. However, this has now been rectified and I'll be doing some catching up soon.

That was almost 14 days ago. PJ, where are you?

Another Blog Surfing Tool

I've submitted my site to another blog surfing tool called Blog Advance which is similar to Blog Explosion although not as large (at least not yet).

Although I could simply surf a blog directory to discover blogs, or even Blogger, there wouldn't be any surprise to it. Not only that, but running into spammers is not fun (and neither is their content).

This should broaden my "search horizon" and give me more blogs to brag about. Heh.

The Boys In Blue Love Fake People Too

My only advice for anyone driving in Colorado is never drive in the HOV lane, especially with fake passengers:

(From Someguy) Well Greg Pringle (53 years old) was busted yesterday in Westminster, Colorado for illegally driving in the HOV lane with his buddy, the mannequin. [...]

Apparently, the cops that patrol a particular section of HWY 36 near Boulder noticed this car in the HOV with a passenger that "didn't look right."

They saw the car again some days later and noticed that the passenger was just a manequinn (sic) wearing a baseball cap and a grey sweatshirt so they pulled over Pringle, cited him with a $115 ticket, and confiscated his mannequin.

Looks like the police in Colorado just picked up a nifty souvenir. Although I wonder if "the doll" would be an effective deterrent if parked inside a cop car outside of a bank. Hmm...

McDonalds Has A Blog?

(via One By One Media)

I do not know what is more surprising. A corporate blog speaking in semi-corporate talk, or the fact that Burger King has not copied McDonalds in cyber space (as they generally do in reality). Here is a snippet from their weblog:

At McDonald's, we don't grow, raise or produce food, crops or animals. We're simply a food retail company. But we do purchase a lot and so have influence on our suppliers. We try to use this influence responsibly.

In a nutshell, our approach is to work collaboratively with our suppliers so they can meet our expectations and advance our priorities. What's your view of this approach? For example, should we set across-the-board targets and goals for suppliers, rather than work with them to develop individual targets and goals?

I do not remember the last time I ate at McDonalds (as I prefer Subway) but if I were McDonalds I would continue to focus on the individual instead of the overall production as it tends to make you less of a corporate overlord. Wouldn't you agree?

Update: Fixed McDonalds permalink (silly me!).

Does Anybody Need $50?

This might be an excellent way for a blogger to earn some cash on the side besides the general Google Ads. Via One By One Media:

Affiliate programs are hot. People love to earn a little bit of cash from something you like or want to support. [...]

What's the bottom line? You get $50 per conference registrant (not including guests), we'll pay you in November by cheque or it can be applied to the cost of your own cruise!

You do not need to sign up in order to attend, although after reading a bit into the program I might be interested in taking a cruise with fellow bloggers. Although I do not see a price listed anywhere (can someone help me out?) .

I'll post more details if and when I'm approved. Right now, all I have to do is figure out where I am going to put the image link. :)

Note: You must be an active blogger in order to sign up for the affiliate program. So if you blog once a year, I wouldn't recommend signing up for this (via Blogonomics).

John McCain On 24?

Chad Evans hints that John McCain will be on the television series 24 tonight, which is coming on in a few minutes! McCain's appearance on the show however does not impress Chad very much:

McCain will appear in a few seconds of coverage tonight and I do not know what his role will be.

No word on whether he will come out in support of a 'Terrorist Bill of Rights' and push Jack Bauer to the back burner for his tactics to get suspects to confess.

It's quite likely he won't, therefore his appearance on the show will seem to nullify his anti-torture amendment he is so proud of considering torture is used in '24' during times of great need; so too is that the only torture I would condone.

Although Chad doesn't seem to interested in watching the show, I am. Unfortunately both televisions are occupied right now (sigh), so surfing the blogosphere will have to do for tonight.

Come On PETA, It's Just A Fur Scarf

Joanne Leyland, over at The Royalist publishes about PETA's rage over Camilla (Prince Charles wife) rabbit scarf.

...on Monday, when Camilla wore the very same scarf for a much more low-key public appearance, the animal rights group PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) publicly condemned the Duchess for "setting a terrible example" by wearing a scarf made of rabbit fur, calling her fashion statement "surprising and shocking".

PETA may be your thing, but since I am a meat lover (chicken, beef and Bambi) you probably know where I stand on the issue.

As long as the animal isn't endangered, you can wear it's coat all over your skin for all I care.

Ancient Radio Drama

I've never heard about this before, but Daniela points us towards an ancient radio drama called The Archers:

...the Archers have been on air for 55 years, therefore to find someone that has followed it since 1951 you are talking of people in their seventies.

For those that are not familiar with it the Archer is a radio soap opera broadcasted on BBC 4 and is sent in the village of Ambridge. I tried to listen to it a few times but as I was brought up in the age of TV, I found it hard to relate to any of the voices, I never know who's who.

Perhaps they will put it on XM Radio. Although I do have a hard time listening to a story, unless it's in music format (reading a book is preferable to me). :)

Good News For Diabetes Patients

A weblog focusing on Diabetes provides some good news for those suffering with the disease. Author Jo has the details:

A new drug which can be inhaled rather than injected has been approved for people with diabetes. Exubera can be used for people with both type one and two diabetes and is designed to offer adults an alternative way of taking their daily injections.

I know many relatives with diabetes, and although I have not asked, some of them probably take injections (or at least should). Breathing it in is a lot easier (and not as messy) as a shot, although I recommend contacting your doctor before quoting my weblog.

A Blogger Testing Out Blog Charm

A Blogspot user is testing out Blog Charm, which is blog publishing by Blog Explosion (a tongue twister, isn't it?).

Here is what Wayne has to say on his new site:

This Blog is a place to learn, to consider what is contributed and interact with each other concerning the understandings and insights God is giving each one for the benefit of us all. It is my hope that it will also serve as a catalyst to those who read it to seek all that God is and has for them.

He only has one post on here, but hopefully he will develop more.

I've considered switching over to Blog Charm (or at least hosting another site there) although they have yet to make the comment section "spam unfriendly" before I'll use it.

Update: It seems they have an anti-spam feature built in already. Silly me.

"White Trash" Blog Novel? Huh?

Update: No, I am not racist, (as I have friends of many colors) but that was the title of Fractual blog's specific post.

I am not sure if this is a blog novel or not but if so, Andrew Beatty writes a fairly interesting story:

The fact that Emma hung around with him and helped him with the work sometimes was another factor. Things with Melissa had been going south recently. He had been coming home later and later, seeing her less and less.

"I think you enjoy it out there," she said to him one night, unable to keep the scorn from her voice. It was past midnight, Chuck had tried to be quiet coming in, but apparently she had been waiting up for him. She was lying in bed, blankets piled high to keep out the chill.

I won't ruin the ending for you, but Andrew reminds me of a blog novel written by Billy Jones. Both of them have the ability to make a characters boring life interesting to the reader without adding unrealistic adventure (at least thus far).

If it turns out to be a novel I'll add it to the sidebar and post a review about it on Saturday. :)

My Random Thoughts...

I've been thinking on how to relaunch Blog Novel Sundays without killing my schedule (as it ironically became full right after I started).

I think I will instead move the novels towards Saturday, which should give me enough time to blog about them.

But what will I do on Sunday? I have a few ideas. ;)

Google To The Left Of Me, Jokers To The Right...

...and here am I stuck in the middle with you?

Google over on their Official Blog Site gave an explanation as why they had to launch a local search engine in China.

(Official Google Blog) Google users in China today struggle with a service that, to be blunt, isn't very good. Google.com appears to be down around 10% of the time. Even when users can reach it, the website is slow, and sometimes produces results that when clicked on, stall out the user's browser. Our Google News service is never available; Google Images is accessible only half the time. At Google we work hard to create a great experience for our users, and the level of service we've been able to provide in China is not something we're proud of.

This problem could only be resolved by creating a local presence, and this week we did so, by launching Google.cn, our website for the People's Republic of China. In order to do so, we have agreed to remove certain sensitive information from our search results. We know that many people are upset about this decision, and frankly, we understand their point of view. This wasn't an easy choice, but in the end, we believe the course of action we've chosen will prove to be the right one.

Although I was not too thrilled about Google's decision to violate their own mission statement "Don't be evil," (something they humbly admit to later on in the article) their explanation as why they allowed their search engine to be filtered does clear up some issues regarding why they choose to play "internet nanny" (at least on a minor scale).

Some well respecting bloggers have decided to remove Google Ad Sense from their sites until they begin to provide "unfiltered searches" towards the Communist regime. Although they are entitled to their opinion, I will not be joining the bandwagon as Google is not as powerful as a government (despite the myths) and Congress is already addressing the issue as I type.

To be fair, Google has put a little disclaimer at the bottom of their Chinese site, explaining that results are filtered, although I think they should place that near the top IN RED to alert their current and future users.

I am glad that they are not placing Blogger, Gmail and (hopefully) even Orkut within the Red Dragon's grasp, as that would make me abandon Google forever.

Only time will tell whether Google searches will be liberated from governmental intrusion (both foreign and domestic). Until then, I hope we all learn from this sad situation and I pray it is a wake up call to Americans that our liberties are privileges indeed, as our brethren around the world can only view life through a filtered lens.

Who Says Men Can't Cook?

And from the looks of this site, it looks like they can make a pretty mean casserole:

I based this recipe off a dish in the Lodge Cast Iron Skillet cookbook. This is another great breakfast casserole you can make when the family is in town for a visit. Just a little bit of Mise in the beginning, and you're off to the races. OK, so there's a lot of chopping to be done, but that's all the prep that's required...

If these guys are that good, I wonder if they can teach me how to make Falafels?

Update: Blogger had a slight "hiccup" and this was posted twice. Removed the extra clone. ;)

Blogger Launches Online Cafe

Maybe I should think about doing this? More from the Jam Handy Blog:

I'm proud to (finally!) announce the grand opening of my new online store today, Seul Boy!! It's located on the CafePress site and there's a little something there for just about everyone: All-occasion cards, blank books/journals, T-shirts, Calendars, Stickers and more! Heck, there's even a thong or two! It was either this or go back to selling Grit magazine!

I'm not into thongs although Grit magazine doesn't look to pleasing either (is there a "choice C?").

Congrats to Mr. Handy! If you haven't already, visit his online cafe over here.

Jewish Synagogue In Germany

It's good to see faith in the blogosphere. And the Rabbi even provides a photo! (something his readers wanted)

I received several e-mails and phone calls where people asked why I didn't publish a photo of myself taken during the opening ceremony. OK, here is one.

Off topic: Ironically, German and Hebrew are two languages I am attempting at learning, although I'll need to put some extra discipline in that arena.

Perhaps I should just learn Yiddish instead? ;)