A Day In The Life - Grace

I received this email in February from a woman who used one of the breast cancer templates I created to design her friend's breast cancer journal, A Day in the Life

Hello T~

I wanted to let you know that I have created a blogspot template for a friend based on your goinpink_evening template.

Tuesday evening I received a panicked email from one of my blogging friends. She's recently been diagnosed with breast cancer. She found your template, and tried to install it. Unfortunately, she was unable to understand the HTML after switching back to the Classic Blogger format. She was afraid she'd lost all her widgets in the process. She asked me to help her out, and sent the .zip file for the template.

I decided to use it for inspiration. She loved the header graphic, and the color scheme you'd created, so I took it from there.

Anyway, long story short, I want you to know that I've given you credit, and a link. If you'd like to go take a look at the site, you'll find it here.

From one geek to another, thank you for your inspiration... it made the gift to my friend a joy to create.

Warmest Regards~
~C

That note made the tears and hair-pulling I went through to build those templates (quickly - Pink For October was around the corner) worth it.
And seeing the final result filled me with so much pride.

I also noted how she credited herself and I on the side bar.
Template created with love for Grace
by :: CeeCi
Inspired by :: WoodNotWood
Awareness Template#4
Just beautiful.
Please swing by and show Grace your support on her brave journey.

 

Currently Reading: The Red Door by Charles Todd
Look for the review soon on my blogcritics writer profile page.

BlogExplosion 2010 Problems in the blogosphere

Anji, one of my co-blog-reviewer-approvers on blogexplosion, recently wrote a few posts on problems that we've been having since the loss of contact with the blogexplosion owners and senior administrator.
BlogExplosion: Problems logging in and surfing

This post is a message for her and all others who might be having the same concerns.

Anji, I did manage to locate some older blog posts about BE having this same problem sporadically over the years. It seems to occur every couple of years. 2006, 2007, Blog posts complaining of no support/admin responses and thumbnails not being updated, etc. Those posts correspond with changes in ownership and management.

I have a feeling that what has happened is our senior *volunteer* admin finally gave up trying to keep up, particularly in light of the fact that he was working for free -- He maintained the site. Dealt with server and script issues. Added new blogs. Updated thumbnails. Created new ideas to keep the site fresh and interesting (He did a great job there, but that had to be majorly time consuming.) Responded to emails. Checked every forum post and deleted the spam. Checked each site that received a *flag* for content. Responded to member complaints about other blogs or comments that had been left by members on their profiles.

I have a feeling that the straw that finally broke the camel's back was the constant complaints and gripes at him from us, the members. Complaints that 'admin' and 'support' were not responding to emails and thumbnail requests quickly enough. That sort of thing...

I know there were others helping him before, but they didn't appear to last long. I had no idea that 'admin' and 'support' was really just one guy, trying to do it all alone-- and for free, until you told me. He never said anything about it on the forum or in email responses. I think we all would have been a bit more patient had we known that. And a bit more appreciative of his efforts to keep the community happy and the site interesting.

I'm sure the in-boxes for support and inquiries are over-flowing with duplicate email requests sent multiple times by the same people-- and spam. I don't think he'll ever look in there again. I don't think he'll ever come back. He obviously got just as much support from LiveUniverse as we did. None. And he has a job and a family.

I think what will happen (as portended by the past) is that ?LiveUniverse? -- or current owner -- will eventually do a spot check (probably an annual or bi-annual audit of sorts, or to pretty it up for sale, again) to make sure everything is up and running. They'll see there is no senior admin and take back control of it.

They'll probably delete all of our approval accounts without notice--we just won't be able to login one day-- they'll clean out the support requests and admin emails (they know that there are thousands waiting for approval and more coming in every day, if someone needs support badly enough they'll send a fresh email when they see there's new management) They'll add new advertisements and apps. maybe even give the whole place a shiny new look.

Then suddenly a new admin group will appear. They'll set about fixing what needs to be fixed and BE will take off again with a re-newed enthusiasm...
until the next break down or sale.

Don't fret Angie Baby. These things are cyclic. We're just feeling the same stress that our 'admin' felt; like we're personally responsible for each and every member's satisfaction and all of the guilt that comes with not being able to keep everyone happy.

I'm kicking back and enjoying the time I have left to approve blogs.

Information For New Members

I'm thinking we should create a standard email we can send to new members as we add their blogs. Just to let them know that BE is in a holding pattern, and to be patient. That support is not currently available, and they should not make any site purchases until further notice.

But they should log into their accounts and go to 'surf member blogs' to start earning credits and that they need to go to the 'assign credits' page after each surfing session to move the new earned credits into their blog account. They can also choose the option to have those credits automatically assigned -- then they won't have to do anything except have fun surfing blogs and meeting new bloggers.


(click to enlarge)


I'm making my predictions based on information from the web and in old newsletters I received from BE about how these problems occurred, and were resolved, in the past. I've listed the BE NEWSLETTERS that I think are significant, but you might want to read them all for their historic value. The changing personalities of the owners, admins, and the site as a whole.

Sept 28, 2004 Meet Thomas and Jeff: The guys who created blogexplosion issue their first email newsletter.
April 24, 2006 Blogexplosion Sold: BlogExplosion has been sold to Stephen Sartain.
May 3, 2006 Under New Management: Meet the new blogexplosion management Lewis Johnston and Stephen Sartain
June 9, 2006 Ooops and Ouch: BlogExplosion is up for Sale again
June 17, 2006 Blogexplosion Sold (Again): "The new owners are a large group." This is where the mystery begins... a large group of what?


I have one more piece of information I'd like to share for people who have submitted a blog at blogexplosion for review and have not yet been approved.

In 2008 the senior administrator and resident geek Chris created an algorithm to move those who are serious about becoming community members to the top of the approval list. Here's what he had to say about it on the forum.

Hi Susan

It sounds like you may have been caught by my blog verification algorithm. If a user does not attend (log in to) blogexplosion for more than 30 days their blog is moved to another queue.

The idea of this is to ensure only blogs with active owners are reviewed. With such a huge backlog I had to find a way to bring legitimate blogs to the front of the queue.

For an idea of whether it works or not there is still over 4000 in the queue waiting for their owners to come back.

They will not be processed unless the owners return and log in at BE -- because you came back your blog was automatically rushed to the front of the queue.

Once the queue drops to less than a 30 day backlog all blogs will be reviewed in the order they are submitted

Chris







Currently Reading: What Will Happen in Eragon IV by Richard Marcus
Look for the review soon on my blogcritics writer profile page.

Haloscan Closing - export comments to a new system

I've got an app for that.

Recently Echo announced that they're closing Haloscan commenting.
They've given users two choices:
1) Export comments or lose them.
2) Pay for the formerly free service and upgrade to Echo.
Needless to say people are confused.
I've been watching and waiting for my notification.
It came last night in the form of an email.

Haloscan is being shut down on: Feb 04, 2010
The Haloscan hardware and software is physically failing and we have no choice but to discontinue the service. (yeah. sure. right.)

Two Options: Switch to Echo or Export your comments FREE.
Although we can't rescue Haloscan, we are trying our best to limit the negative impact on users. To do this, we have worked hard to provide 2 options for Haloscan sites.

Log in now to make your choice and continue without interruption
I don't really see a choice here. It doesn't support popular blogging platforms.
Or spellcheck. Obviously.

Haloscan upgrade FAQ

Their blog has gone crazy as some people vent anger and others just sound desperate and depressed.
http://blog.js-kit.com/2009/12/09/haloscan-is-getting-upgraded-to-echo/
http://blog.js-kit.com/2009/12/15/announcing-a-new-brand-mission-and-customers/
It's a little strange to see such self congratulatory and uncaring attitudes towards disappointed potential clients. For myself, I don't intend to comment on sites using Echo. I can't even begin to express my disappointment in finding that Technorati has become a client, I can only pray that they'll realize how much commenters dislike Echo and dump it. And I also pray that they won't force it on us at blogcritics.org, but we are sharing one umbrella so to speak... they are we and we are them.
Every site that I've seen using echo so far has dumped it.
Commenters hate it.

There's an old geek saying
If two wrongs don't make a right... try three.
It has nothing to do with the fact that they've monetized. At least not from what I've seen. I wouldn't mind paying for my commenting system. I would have happily given them $12 a year to continue to use haloscan. Most users would. But I keep hearing the same complaint. People don't like Echo. Geeks like Echo, at least the idea of it. But readers don't like it. And in the face of the 'F Off' attitude of its administrators I can't say that I would ever trust them either. Too self-serving. Too set in the mind frame that data aggregation creates community, rather than people.

Here's what Paul had to say in comments.
I agree with him whole-heartedly.
Now of course I wish I had never gone with Haloscan in the first place. I have a selfhosted blogger blog using my own template. I no longer have the code to put my blogger comments back in place, so find myself facing the prospect of upgrading to a service that I don't want to use, or losing the facility of comments altogether.

All the guides about reverting from Haloscan to Blogger assume that you use the new blogspot templates, so sadly I cannot undo what I did three years ago. Coincidentally, JS-Kit appears to believe all Blogger users are on blogspot sites, as trying to sign in with my Blogger identity didn't work, as my blog isn't on blogspot...

Coming to the Rescue of the Blogosphere

Thankfully, there is a very kind person providing a service for free to transition comments from Haloscan to a new comment platform. (I found him and it's one poor guy collecting all of those xml files through email and transferring them for free. I can't imagine how many are emailing him for help.)

Please export your files from your haloscan account before emailing Kirk.
It's easier for him to pull them from the site, but they may be gone before he can get there. So best to have that back-up on hand just in case.
The comments will be transferred into tridentscan. It's just like haloscan.

Go to this site http://tridentscan.jaggedseam.com/ to get email information.
And Please Be Patient.
He's just one guy.
One great guy who embodies the spirit of the blogosphere.
Community.

So, who's next?
I know there are some programmers out there who can whip up something to help out.
Put your thinking caps on.
We need you.





Currently Reading: Web of Deceit by Darlene Cox
Look for the review soon on my blogcritics writer profile page.

Blog Explosion

I'm an admin for blogexplosion.com. A free traffic generating community for bloggers. We currently have 106,807 blogs in the directory and we're looking for quality writers to join. This site is for bloggers, not for sellers, not for corporate websites. Just blogs.

The subject doesn't matter. There about fifty categories, from podcasts and video blogs to anime, gaming, technology, blogging tips, business info and personal diaries. The only requirements are that they are written in English, that they are updated at least monthly and that comments are enabled. All sites are reviewed by (mostly) real human beings and we try to keep up a standard that weeds out junk and spam blogs.

I review websites for admission into the blog explosion directory. This is a labor of love that I took on as a result of my desire to find well-written blogs. I enjoy reading interesting sites. I'm always fascinated by the eclectic mix of writing and topics that roll through my dashboard.

Last night I had intended to visit the blogs I follow, but when I popped into Blog Explosion I found a large number of blogs that needed reviewing. I set aside my own visits to make sure that these writers waiting for their acceptance emails were not held off too long. We get hundreds of new blog requests daily. It has added up over the holidays as admin members spent time with their families--as they should.

The problem I'm increasingly running into is the number of spam and advertising blogs that are being submitted. This is a site that runs as a community. With 'Battle of the Blogs' you can pit your blog against another and members will vote on their favorites, they offer free blogging services and the chance to get to know other bloggers with similar interests. After you log-in you gain visits by visiting blogs in the directory. This increases your traffic as well as helping you find interesting new sites and writers.

Not to mention all of the useful blogging/technology information you find on Blog Explosion sites like Gadgets Directory or the great photography and biting wit of runswithscissors. The chillingly fascinating chronicles of True Crime journaled at In Cold Blog.

Anais Nin's Diary has been called 'The Liary' due to the heavy re-writing that Nin did to get it published, and yet it is still a brilliant, creative, erotic piece of lying literature--Much like UnpopularTruths "When my fake editor came to me with the chance to conduct a fake interview with Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger – noted pants-around-your-feet enthusiast and unapologetic photo-op horn-thrower – I jumped at it like a chicken on a dough dish." Okay. Maybe not so much erotic, but brilliant and creative definitely.

And then there's My Kafkaesque Life. It takes a special stroke of creative genius to take a picture of an unpublished post and make it a post. A shy guy. It says all of the things he would never say directly in a post.

Now that is brilliant.

One of my dirty little vices~ I could easily blow an entire afternoon reading the book reviews, rants, recipes and plain kvetching of The Library Lady Rants "Yes,I am aware that people can't read simple instructions. Hell, I'm a librarian, who would know better?" As a matter of fact I have blown an entire afternoon reading her. In my pajamas, drinking hot tea. What can I say? Showers are over-rated.



Last night I wasted hours wading through money-making blogs that offer nothing in their posts except links to on-line stores and advertising disguised as blog posts. I couldn't unleash that feculent bilge on this community of bloggers who have devoted themselves to creating a unique, entertaining and informational presence within the blogosphere. I hit the reject button so many times I chipped a nail. Frggg

So now I'm turning to you. If you can write and you have a unique style, information to assist bloggers, or just humorous observations on your daily life, please. Please. Add your blog to Blog Explosion. I'd rather chew off my own toes than have to sit through another night of viagra/creatin laced drivel.

Going Pink For October

When the Japanese mend broken objects, they aggrandize the damage by filling the cracks with gold. They believe that when something's suffered damage and has a history it becomes more beautiful.
~Barbara Bloom

That time is almost upon us again.

Are you ready to Go Pink in October to show your support for breast cancer awareness month?

The Pink For October site is down, but that doesn't mean that we can't still show our support by decorating our blogs in Pink, carrying the Pink Ribbon and adding the button to click for free mammograms.

Here are the buttons and link if you need to copy them.






The link is http://thebreastcancersite.com


I still have the free pink blogger templates to download -- or just to look at for inspiration.

Here they are:
Here are the Pink For October Free Blogger Templates.
Email me if you need help.

• Pink Template - Hott Pink


• Pink Template - Hearts


• Pink Template - Feathers


• Pink Template - Evening


• Pink Template - Skyline


• Pink Template - Roses


• Pink Template - Simply Pink


• Pink Template - Erotic


• Pink Template - Pink and Purple


Learn how to revert to classic blogger and how to switch back to new blogger.

Here are the zip files to download these templates.

If you just want to make an easy switch I'll be adding some of the hex color codes so you can just change your background color to pink.

Do you have a breast cancer story?
Please feel free to share.
These are the stories that inspire and empower us all in our Race for the Cure.

Free Pink Templates for October

It's about that time. Breast cancer awareness is almost upon us.
Are you Going Pink For October?
Are you ready to learn how to revert your blog to old / classic blogger?
And how to switch back to new blogger as well?
You'll need to know how to back-up your blogger template.
The process is really quite easy, but it does take a lot of copy /paste if you're used to using blogger widgets.

I'd advise starting a 'template_test' blog so you can practice before going live on your home blog.

I'm starting to work on some new additions to the free 'going pink for October' blogger templates. I have to make some corrections to the old templates as well. Some are not working in Mozilla as they should.

You'll see the templates move up on the sidebar as we get closer to the date.
And as always, I'm happy to help anyone who needs it, whether you're using one of my templates or another you've found elsewhere.

Boobiethon 2009
October 1st-7th
And it's time to start thinking about your Boobiethon pictures. Bloggers baring it all to save the bOObs.
You can see some of last years submissions in the Boobie Gallery.
Don't forget to send out your Boobiethon Tweets.
Remember: It's for a good cause.

Here's the HNT I did with my daughter on Breast Exams. The Greatest Gift. It's important to teach them yourself. You're the only one who can really show them correctly.


Here's a way to waste 5 minutes.
A 41 Question Personality Test from www.41q.com
My Personality Test results.



Not at all accurate, and yet... completely accurate.
Much like my horoscope in the newspaper.
If you take the test make sure you post your results in the comments. I'm more interested in others than in myself as my results clearly show.

Out With The Old

In with the New!


Say goodbye to the pink hair.
It's okay. It was just temporary dye anyway.

As you can see I've taken down the Christmas template that I created. It's still available for download here Christmas Template. And it's free! Aren't those wonderful words to hear after the holidays have ravaged your wallet? Consider it a belated gift from me to you.

I created the current template with a musical theme. Note the Violent Femmes and Gary Jules quotes. I also started work last week on a template for men. It's not quite finished, but it'll be ready for download (hopefully) this weekend. You can view it here Musical Template and watch while I work. I'm also using a musical theme for this men's template. I like my templates like I like my men.
Brilliant and moody. Ahem

The next men's template will be dedicated to the geeks and nerds. You know how hard I crush on geeks and nerds. I couldn't possibly leave them out. I've created several breast cancer awareness templates with girl themes. I thought it only fair to create a couple of templates for the guys as well.

This will probably be it for a while though. I made an early resolution this year. That I would start making some changes in my life. That I would take some risks and start following my heart.

So... I quit my job.
I know. I know.
I hadn't mentioned it before because it gave me panic attacks even thinking about it.

Believe me, it was a tough choice, but it was time. I'm excited by the thought of new challenges and new opportunities. Today was a first step in that direction. I had a job interview with a company that I would truly love to work for.
Cross your fingers for me.

The subject of this post is 'out with the old, in with the new'.
Positive thinking on my part about starting a new job.

Of course that will mean that there will be no more pink highlights in my hair. Sad stuff that! I won't be able to spend as much time building templates, because I'll be spending my free time honing the skills I'll need in a new position. I'm an old pro at using the Microsoft Office Suites; Word, Excel, Power Point, and even Publisher, but I really need to throw myself into learning about the new company and their products so I can be a true asset and also so that I can be confident that I'm doing the best job possible.

Obviously I won't be here as much. The past couple of weeks that I haven't been working I've had more time to write here. Which was a nice distraction from the anxiety also. And it was great fun to get to visit and meet new people out on the Intertubes, but I will have to get back to a normal work schedule. I'll once again be limited to evenings and weekends and there are going to be periods of backlog in answering emails. I'll do my best.

The time off has also allowed me a chance to spend more time with Cheyenne. She's still working through the steps of grieving over Lona's death. The memorial video. We visited the cemetery a lot. Sometimes her friends would ask to go with us. We spent time decorating her grave with brightly colored mums and carnations.



The week before Christmas we put a mini tree in the planter. The kids she went to school with have been coming by and adding decorations. It just makes my heart ache for them all when I see the new ornaments. I can see the love and thoughtfulness that went into selecting them. They've hung jewelry in the tree as well. Necklaces and bracelets, earrings. The gifts that they would have given her this year. I'll get a picture the next time we go. It looks absolutely beautiful.

We also finally got to meet Lona's Halo!



A local horse breeder has named one of his new race horses after Lona. We've all been waiting to meet her. He named her after Lona because he says she has Lona's spirit. Sweet and outgoing. She loves having her picture taken and if there are people near her pen she moseys right up to nuzzle. She loves to be groomed and she even has blond highlights in her mane. Yes, definitely Lona's spirit. She'll be leaving for North Carolina in the Spring to start her training on the track and to learn to get out of the starting gate. I'll post her bloodline soon with a few more pictures. She comes from amazing stock. Both her grandfather and her father were champion race horses. There's a lot of excitement about her racing future. We've been invited to attend her races by special invitation. I don't know much about horse racing, but I think I'm about to get a quick education on it. I hope you'll all root for her with us.

I know New Years is still a few days off, but I can feel it coursing through me today. That feeling of optimism and endless possibilities. That whisper in the air that makes the spirit hunger for new adventures. A reawakening of the gypsy in my soul.

I'll try to take advantage of this weekend to catch up with everyone. If you don't see my face around much next week just know that it means that good things are happening. I'll try my best to keep up with HNT and Musical Monday. The rest will have to be catch as catch can.

Have a great weekend!

The Greatest Gift - HNT

This is me with my daughter Cheyenne.
The greatest gift I ever gave her was a lesson in how to do a proper breast self examination. It was a time of bonding for us both as we removed our bras and started our exploration.

I had thought at first that it might feel awkward. Like talking about sex for the first time. But I must say, I have an amazing daughter who was very reassuring and comforted me through the ordeal. I was a nervous wreck. ha!

We went through the process of nipple squeezing and feeling under our arms for lumps, then we did an exam on one another. I felt it extremely important that she be able to recognize the changes that occur with age. "This is how yours feel, this is how mine feel--they are both very different, but still normal". I didn't want this to be a traumatic experience (for either of us), I didn't want to make her worry unduly, but I did want to express the importance of self exams and finding lumps early on.

I must admit that she handled the whole thing with a level of maturity that I can only aspire to. She patted my head after we were done and I sent her to the shower to do the rest of her exam. My mother had told me when I was a teen that showers are the best place to do an exam. You take them every day and the soap makes your fingers nice and slippery so it's easier to feel for lumps. I think that must be so. Every woman I have ever known who had breast cancer found their lumps whilst showering.

I have to admit that on a scale of 1-10 for weird mother/daughter moments this would rank about a 15. But my daughter is my light and the love of my life, my crowning glory and the reason I look forward to getting out of bed every morning. My best friend. This is the greatest gift I've ever given her, but my motivation was purely selfish-- I want her with me. Always.


And now we're kicking off Boobiethon!
The beautiful Evening has created a support blog called
Beautiful, Beautiful Boobies.
Yes, yes. I admit it. I did put my boobies up there too. Ha!
But you'll have to go there yourself to see them. I'm not posting them here ;)

Here is a 'must read' on BSE.
Breast Self Exam
And a pictorial/tutorial showing the 5 Steps for a proper breast exam.
----------oOo----------

I'm working on the 'Going Pink for October' Blogger Templates as I try to get around to visit everyone tonight and tomorrow. Please be patient with me.
Here are some examples of how they're turning out.








There should be quite a few ready for download by October 1st with more coming as I make them.

You can watch my progress here... Breast Cancer Awareness.

As each template is being worked on it will be added to the sidebar as a link.
The templates will be in text format for easy copy/paste. And the instructions to add them to your blog will be on each site. Along with screenshots for those who are not familiar with or comfortable working on their own Blogger templates. And yes, I will be here to help if you need it.

If you'd like to help (wordpress please!), need help or have suggestions please email me.
yahoo: woodnotwood
And don't forget to send your photos to boobiethon.com !

HNT
Boobiethon
Blogger Template
Breast Cancer
Breast Self Exam
Breast Cancer Templates

A special thanks to Osbasso for his continuing support of this project, me (personally), and all of us who have boobies. You are the man!


This post was featured by Viviane on thesexcarnival.com !!!
Thank you Viv.
I love you.
My boobies love you too ;)