Test Clip

Testing yet another! web app called Clipmarks which allows me to take "clips" from other websites and post them directly to Mental Blog. I can also email them to anybody I want, print them or save them.

This clip refers to the new browser just launched by Google, called Chrome. I downloaded it and started using it. So far I like it, but not as much as Firefox. Mainly because of the lack of add-ons (like Clipmarks and ScribeFire and a whole bunch of other gizmos that I've loaded on to Firefox).

One big advantage to Chrome is that it's quite fast. That's because it's not loaded down with addons (like Clipmarks and ScribeFire and a whole bunch of other gizmos that I've loaded on to Firefox).

clipped from www.techcrunch.com Chrome, the Webkit-based Google browser that launches tomorrow at Google.com/chrome, will give them a real foothold on the desktop and way more control over how web applications perform. While it seems that Chrome is aimed at IE and Firefox, the target is really Windows. Expect to see millions of web devices, even desktop web devices, in the coming years that completely strip out the Windows layer and use the browser as the only operating system the user needs. That was going to happen anyway, but Chrome + Gears just made the decision a whole lot easier for hardware manufacturers to make.

"Gonna Keep Dancing" Nominated for Juno!

Hey! Here's some Fantastic news! Fabulous news! Wonderful news! Excellent news! Glad Tidings news!

This recording here, which I wrote about last September and which HWSRN played several tracks on a couple years ago, has been nominated for a Juno Award in the Childrens' Music category! (For those of you reading from other countries, the Junos are the Canajun equivalent of the Grammy Awards.


Here's a screenshot of the Juno Awards page taken with one of my latest blogging toys, Fireshot, which is a Firefox extension of Screenshot Studio. Neat little toy, when it doesn't crash your browser (which it has not the last few times I played with it.) Anway...the screen shot:



I'm just so thrilled and happy for both Eddie and HWSRN. The Juno Awards show will air on CTV on April 6/08, so be sure and watch. Meanwhile, you just go back to my posting in September cuz I also posted one of the tunes off the album and you can hear just why it deserved such a prestigious nomination.

13 Questions to Ask Before Publishing a Post On Your Blog

I like reading Darren Rowse over at ProBlogger. He's an excellent writer. He knows his stuff when it comes to blogging.

Many of his posts are instructional or informative. They cover topics like...ummm....how to write, for example, which is not strictly blogging but something good bloggers cannot do without. Or he writes about how to increase traffic to your blog. Among other things, that is one of the probloggers goals, cuz more traffic means more potential revenue. See, I've learned a little bit by reading Darren, altho if he looks at Mental Blog, he'll probably question that assertion.

Since I'm such a web/social flutterby (too erratic for me own good) I don't read everything that Darren posts. Not enough time. But now and then something really catches my eye.

So it was with his post of Jan.30, the one entitled: 13 Questions to Ask Before Publishing a Post On Your Blog. Well, I just thought I'd better go through them and see how I fared. I answered the questions not by checking any specific posting of mine, but the general trend of my bloggishness.

1. What was the main point of this post? have I made it clearly?

I'm a ramblin' guy. I meander. I wander. I hum. I haw. I engage in interminable preambles. Sometimes the post has no point. But often it does. And when I do get around to making my point, I usually manage to say, "Here's the point." And I have enough practise that I can generally make it clear. However, you, dear reader, often have to wade thru extraneous material. In such cases, I hope to be entertaining, at least.

2. What do I want readers of this post to do? have I led them to this action?

Hmmm...what do I want readers to do? Laugh. Cry. Piss their pants. Sign a petition. See, a problogger wants readers to follow some advice, or click on an ad, or end up on the Checkout page. I ain't got none of that. Sometimes I ask readers to do something. Sometimes I just want them to ponder.

3. Have I written something useful?

Huh! If I had mastered "useful" I'd be on the best-seller list.

4. Have I written something unique?

This one I can lay claim to. Much of what I write is utterly, fantastically unique.

5. Has what I’ve written taken me closer or further away from my blog’s goals?

This is another problogger question. Goals? If I had mastered goals, I'd be hiring Tony Robbins as my valet.

6. Have I used a title that draws people into my post?

I think I'm a pretty good headline writer. (Just look at the title of this post, eh?)

7. Are my spelling and grammar correct?

Huh! Look at my profile blurb. Spelling and grammar are anathema. They are why I am here in this Yoni School for Wayward Poets! Having said that, my rebellion is calculated and deliberate. I can spell write when I wants to, and my grammar is impeccable when it's not execrable. It's the oppositionist in me that refuses to spell.

8. Could I have said it more succinctly?

No. Or yes. Depends.

9. Have I credited sources of quotes and inspiration?

I try to be scrupulous about crediting sources...even when I have to make the names up.

10. Have I written something previously that relates to this post that I could link to? has someone else?

If I have something on Mental Blog that I can link to, I do. (Assuming I remember...) If someone else has something, and I know about it, I link. Link Love. Spread the positive vibes around, man. The positive electrons. Recycle, reuse, repeat, repeat, repeat.

11. Have I left room for my readers to add something to this post? have I invited them to?

That's a good question. My comments section is wide open. They's always room, brotha. On the more philosophical level, have I left room? I dunno. When I'm expressing my opinion, there are always gaps. Things I haven't thought of. Or I'm open to hearing the opposite view. But have I invited them? Not always. I've probably assumed that readers assumed they could comment if they wished.

12. What keywords will people search Google for on this topic? have I optimized this post for those words?

Keywords...hmmm...my tags are highly individual. Most of them, anyway. Which is not to say I don't use the standard ones in some cases. (Or maybe I don't really. If somebody was looking for a piece on the US election, would they find it with my tag: US Election Watch?)

13. How could I follow this post up with another that extends it?

Another good question. For the most part, I don't follow any particular narrative. So my posts are not necessarily connected. I write about whatever grabs me at a given moment. Sometimes there's room for extension or follow-up, but I don't often take advantage of it.

There it is. My conclusion? I am not a problogger. I am definitely a Mental Blogger. A problogger has discipline. I have chronic Mental Blog. But I have to say this. Darren asks some very good questions. And if I ever acquire the necessary ambition to axe this Blogger blog and play with the big boys on some other platform like maybe WordPress, or finally take the real plunge and work up an honest-to-goodness website, part of what I'll be doing will be following Darren's example and advice.

Meanwhile, I've managed to link to every post that Darren linked to in his post. Now that's what I call Link Love, and if it weren't so much fun making Link Love, I'd say he should probably be paying me.

WebRing Navbar

Yeah, I know, the title sounds like some Norwegian guy's name. "Hello, I'd like you to meet my Viking friend, Webring Navbar!"

But no, it's not like that. If you've visited the blog in the last few months you may have noticed an item that says WebRing in the sidebar. That indicates that Mental Blog is a member of the Buddhist Bloggers webring. From this bar you can navigate to the WebRing home page or find Buddhist blogs at random by clicking on "Next" or "Previous" or whatever.

I can't honestly say how much traffic belonging to the WebRing has brought, but at this point, that's not really the point. (I was pleasantly surprised when the Buddhist Blogs admin decided that I had enough Buddhist content to qualify because at the time I applied I think I had posted several quite political items. Anyway...they approved me, so I was grateful.)

However, now in the last few days, something has changed. The WebRing Navbar. That's what changed! How did it change? Well, it got bigger, somehow. The setup changed. And it no longer fit properly in the sidebar. How did this happen? Damned if I know.

I went to the WebRing admin site to see if I could figure out what was going on with it. Now, for those of you who don't know, the whole WebRing thing is really technical. Too much for me. I'm not really technical. I wandered around for an hour, then went to the "Contact Us for Help" button, where I was redirected for another hour by the admonition to check out the Forums first cuz I might find the answer there. Nothing doing.

I finally decided I was going to have to display my profound ignorance of WebRing admin and codes and all that stuff, and send them an email. But then I had another idea. I moved the Navbar. It's now down at the bottom of the blog page. It fits nicely there. Not quite so visible as it was before, but it's now where most sites actually have it. And there it will stay.

Anyway, that was a long-winded way of saying I've changed the position of the WebRing Navbar. I am fairly certain that everyone and their brother wants to know this.

Temporary Testing Post

This is a temporary posting cuz I just installed Windows Live Writer and I'm trying it out. Let's see what happens with it.

I make picture now:

Lovely.

UPDATE: Jan.25/08, 5:20pm

I was so pleased with the results I decided to leave it up.

Two Additions to Mental Blog

I've added two new things to Mental Blog. One is the IM Larry widget. Yes, another bloody widget. With this, when it says I'm online, you can send me an instant message. We can chat! Oh my, what a concept!

The second is Online Bookmarks. This is a service I've been using as a backup for my Firefox bookmarks. The Online Bookmark Manager gives you the option of making bookmarks public or private. Most of my bookmarks are private, but the few public ones are now available to you too. Over the next while, I'll make more of them public bookmarks.

I don't know if anybody really cares what I'm bookmarking. If you're like me, you've got hundreds, including some you'll probably never look at again. (Or some that aren't valid anymore.) Anyway, here they are. Another sort of Link List. Maybe you'll find something interesting.

Online Bookmark Manager is a Firefox plugin, but you can also get it as a module for your Google or Netvibes page.

Song of the Day Revisited

Camille Crawford has become Mental Blog's music faerie. She expressed a desire to be able to hear the Song of the Day, and I agreed that would be nice. Especially a song like Dégénérations, which is not instantly recognizable.

Well, she found a service (and very kindly let me know about it) that provides exactly that, called DivShare, where you can upload files (free!) and embed them in your site. So I'm doing that with Breakout by Soulive now, and over time I'll fill in all the Songs of the Day that I can. I must say that I desperately tried to get Dégénérations on here, but for some reason I couldn't get it to work. I've tried about six different versions of it and only one of them even played...at Chipmunk speed. I have no idea why that particular song refuses to let itself be heard. Other uploads have worked fine.

So no Dégénérations. For now anyway. Soulive instead. Over the next few days check out other Songs of the Day...if you don't already know them...or if you just wanna hear them again.

Thanks to Camille...and DivShare. Enjoy.

Link Love Logo Identified

OK, the mystery she has been solved. Thanks so much to MarkK who left a comment on my earlier post. He didn't have his lawyers send me a "cease and desist" letter, so I guess it's OK to use the pitcher, eh?

I promised link love for the originator of the pitcher, so here goes. MarkK manages 3 blogs. I must admit that I didn't read them in depth. Geez, I barely have time to read my own in depth! But I checked em all out. Each one has items of interest for eclectic readers. The LinkLove graphic appeared in The Next Post, which is a blog about blogging, and other things that interest Mark. Common Sense With Mark K focuses more intently on blogging and internet thingies. And finally WiredHound Blog is a more of a mix of topics, video, travel, what he calls buzz and trends.

Now you all go and look at MarkK's blogs and spread that link love.

Update on "Larry's Head in the Clouds"

Ain't the blogosphere a marvellous thing, eh? A while back I asked for some help to turn my label/tag list into a label cloud. Sure enough, a couple people responded. (Which is pretty good, I think, considering that some days only two people actually read Mental Blog...me and HWSRN.)

Static Brain found my post, God knows how cuz she didn't say, but left me a link to Phydeaux3 which has step by step instructions to change the Blogger template and the code you need to do it.

Now, I have this private blog which I use to test new stuff sometimes, so I tried it on there. The cloud worked, except that pieces of the code showed up at the top of the page. So I hesitated. I was leery. Not Timothy Leary, only Somewhat Leery (Timothy's naked half-brother.)

Finally, I just decided to try it out on Mental Blog (since you can preview it without actually setting it in stone (or bits or bytes or whatever this electronicity is set in...) And, by Gawd, it worked! Like a charm.

So now I have my Label Cloud. It's very sparkly. I still don't understand the code, although there are other instructions on the Phydeaux3 page to tweak things if you want. But I did figure out...all by myself...what line to edit that would change the title of the Cloud. I've called it "Cloud-Hidden Whereabouts Unknown" which is the title of a book by Alan Watts, and also a couple of lines in a song by Van Morrison about Alan Watts called, not surprisingly, Alan Watts Blues.

So anyway, thanks to Static Brain for the tip, and also to John Gillespie at Sensitivity to Things, who provided code which looks to me like something which will let me insert an image of my choice in the sidebar. I haven't tried that yet. I'll play with it on the test blog first.

And with this post, I'm introducing a new category to put in the clouds, Link Love, as you can see by the graphic above. I stole that graphic from somebody's blog and I can't remember who, so if you recognize it or if it's yours, let me know. I'll make more Link Love.

Another Bloody Widget

OK, so one day I was on Billy Warhol's site and there was music playing. I've lusted to have music...maybe...on Mental Blog for some time. So I asked Billy how he did that and he steered me to a service called finetune.

But I've been hesitating, cuz I find that I'm usually annoyed when music appears unexpectedly on a website. I don't even necessarily like it when I'm on a "musical" website. So I wasn't too sure about this.

Well, I decided to give it a try. Why? Because it appears that the finetune embedded player doesn't start automatically. You actually have to click on it. Now, that I like. It means that you, dear reader won't be assaulted without warning by someone else's idea of a good song. Unless you want to be.

So, while I'm composing this post, I'm listening to the playlist I created. finetune lets you create a playlist of 45 songs. You can choose any artist (in their catalogue) but only 3 songs from each artist. Every time you choose an artist, a list of "related" artists appears. I guess the idea is to help you have some sort of consistency.

I'm not entirely sure it worked in the case of the playlist which is currently embedded on Mental Blog. Of course, you can edit the playlist, but only within certain parameters. For example, there doesn't seem to be any way to change (or even choose) the order in which the songs play. Oh well, it's free ain't it? And legal too.

So, I've called the embedded player Another Bloody Widget and it's down right at the bottom of the sidebar. Click on it to hear the rather wonky selection of tunes, mostly from the 70s and 80s because, ultimately, Larry is a nostalgic SOB. And don't forget, if you clicked on it, you asked for it.

Larry's Head in the Clouds

Can anyone tell me how to change my label list to a nice fluffy cloud?

Help Me With This #!%? Template

Any techies out there (or just savvy people with Blogger blogs) who can tell me which part of the template code puts this stupid dotted line in that separates the sidebar from the main page? It makes the sidebar look like some kind of coupon you should cut out of the page and send to Google to redeem it for a WordPress installation!

Larry is Lord of His Domain

OK, if you're reading this blog now (which I guess you are or else you wouldn't be seeing this), look up to the address bar. What you'll see there is http://www.earrationalideas.com/. For those of you who notice such things, this is different from what it used to be. The former address was http://vajrasattva1.blogspot.com/. EarrationalIdeas is a brand new domain and Larry is lord of the manor. (Now, if you've clicked on these links, you'll see that they bring you...right here.)

How did this come about, you ask? Well, I'll tell ya. It's really due in good measure to the energy and persistence of a new MyBlogLog friend, GoogleTutor. You can find his website here, and his MyBlogLog member's page here.

Last week, GoogleTutor ran a contest on his blog offering to buy a domain for anybody running a blog on Blogspot (like me) if they were members of MyBlogLog, had PayPal, and put a comment on his blog with a link to their own blog...and he would help them switch their blogs to the new domain. I saw this post early on (cuz I put GoogleTutor's RSS feed on my Netvibes home page) but was too busy at the time to pay much attention to it. Later on, when I did have some time, I saw that he had updated the post to extend the deadline. I left a comment saying I was interested but I didn't have PayPal, and besides, from scanning the comments it looked like I hadn't made the cut. I said I would appreciate some help moving the blog when I managed to get all the other stuff worked out...like actually acquiring a domain...

GoogleTutor has more energy than I do, I think, or more drive. He sent me a message encouraging me to move on this because there was still an opportunity. So I did. I signed up for PayPal and posted my comment on his blog. And I squeaked in just under the wire.

GoogleTutor sent 10 bucks US to my account, which worked out to a little more than 10 bucks Cdn after PayPal got their cut. Enough to buy a domain for a year, anyway. Then I went and registered the domain. But I paid for two years cuz, you know, this ain't no party, this ain't no disco, this ain't no foolin' around...(or maybe it is...) And earlier today (yesterday now) Google Tutor and I hooked up online and he shepherded me through the process of switching from Blogspot to EarrationalIdeas. (Truth to tell, he ended up doing most of it cuz I futzed it up near the beginning, but we won't go into too much detail there...)

So this is a big thankew to GoogleTutor for his help and encouragement cuz he nudged me into something I'd been considering, but I was suffering some trepidation and inertia. Plus, did I mention that he paid for the domain? Yer in the will, buddy! (But don't get yer hopes up...)

Now here's a list of all the winners:

The 6 *spam free* domain winners are:

1. Vic http://www.mybloglog.com/buzz/community/2007032320511136/
2. Nancy http://www.mybloglog.com/buzz/community/2007030309484090/
3. Gdog http://www.mybloglog.com/buzz/community/thedailykimchi/
4. Don http://www.mybloglog.com/buzz/community/2006121510123411/
5. Billy http://www.mybloglog.com/buzz/community/BillionDollarBaloney/
6. Larry http://www.mybloglog.com/buzz/community/Mental_Blog/

(I confess I haven't checked them all out myself yet, but I will before too long.)

So there you have it. Larry may be locked up in the Yoni School for Wayward Poets, but he is still master of all he surveys in his domain of EarrationalIdeas.

Pull My Quote

In the course of more dickin around, I found this article on a website called Martial Development on how to put Pullquotes into your blog. What a great idea!

Rumi was a large man with a penchant for pomegranates.

What's a pullquote? It's one of those little sidebars where you pull a short quotation from the body of the article to highlight it. You see it in magazines all the time. This particular post is really too short to give a proper demonstration, but I'm gonna do it anyway. (Not an actual quote from this article, but the test sentence I used...)

You can change the colour of the font, the side of the page, the width of the box, and the size of the font too.

In the Begining There Was the Logos

I've been dickin around with logos/title bars. Here are 4 examples. I can't figure out how to get them in the top space to use as my title. I think I would have to go into the template, but I can't see where just yet.

Let me know what you think of these, please.

New Format

By the way, publishing is much quicker & less hassle in the new format.

Furthermore, in the process of trying to make the Blog go (Make it go, Daddy! Make it go!) I found Beta Blogger for Dummies. That would be me. It tells you how to do just about everything. (Except get the picture beside the main title instead of underneath.)

If you click on this link, you'll find a bunch of things to do before you "migrate". I didn't do any of these cuz I really didn't know that I should. (I only discovered this site after I migrated & changed to the new format.) Obviously, these are precautionary measures, not necessities. It doesn't appear that I've lost anything. I'm still getting notification when someone posts a comment. etc. etc.

It would be interesting to know, though, if w.t. is still having trouble getting on to the comments page.

Adding A Title?

The test worked, but I can't find a way to add the title of a post. So I'm trying this.

OK, I discovered what I was doing wrong. It's never anybody else's fault. It's always something that I'm doing wrong. So, we're testing again.

Nuts to This!

I'm startin ta get pissed off.

Here's what I tried to post a few minutes ago:

I went on m@blog a minute ago and noticed that he didn't list Mental Blog as one of those "what he reads a lot". All right for you, Mr. M@!

However, he did have a link in "What I use a lot" called Writely. So I clicked on it and it turned out to be Google doc/spreadsheet, which I haven't really done anything with. Blogger for Werd doesn't werk with the new format. But Writely claims to be able to publish on the blog. So I'm testing.

Well the test failed. For some reason Writely/Google Docs doesn't recognize my username. Can't publish to the blog. Tried my old username & password. Tried the Google account username, which apparently is the one I'm supposed to use. No dice.

I get annoyed when there are technical problems and no tech to talk to.

Geez, Am I Old!

Checking thru details of this new format, I discovered that somehow my date of birth has been set to 1756. Check the profile. I am now 250 years old.

Seems appropriate, somehow. I'm gonna leave it.

Also, email contact has been added to this profile. It was there before & disappeared at some point. It's back now.