A New Blog

I have joined a multi-author blog created by my husband called Michigan Miscellany. This is the first time I've been on such a blog, so it will be interesting to see how it works!

Michigan Miscellany is "a discussion of popular culture and related topics by a collection of Michiganian contributors." We've invited quite a few friends, but so far my husband and I are the only ones to post. I plan on cross-posting my pop culture topics (Star Trek, etc.) there.

When you have time, stop by Michigan Miscellany for a visit!

Strange Blogger Problem

Now that my end-of-the-semester grading is done, I have time to think about blogging again. A while ago I noticed a strange problem with blogger but have been to busy to actually write about it. Since I added the code for expandable posts, Blogger's Layout/Page Elements feature is disabled. (For you techie geeks, the error message says:

Error interpreting blog template

Invalid data reference post.url:com.google.layouts.framework.widgetview. GoogleMarkupException: No dictionary named: 'post' in: ['blog']

This means that to edit my layout I have to remove the related code from my template, update the layout, then post the code back in so I don't mess us the expandable posts. It doesn't take long but I find it annoying, which is why I haven't updated my summer reading list until now.

Does anyone know a better solution?

I tried Blogger Help and several discussion boards with no luck. I'd post the code in question, here but Blogger won't let me. If you want to see it, e-mail me and I will send it to you.

Cul de Sac

If you aren't reading Cul de Sac by Richard Thompson you are missing one of the best and funniest current comics. Here's an example from yesterday (transcript follows):













Ernesto: Ah, Peter! Checking out some summer reading?
Peter: Hi, um, Ernesto. Yeah, I've got this book -

Ernesto: Let's see. "Dirk Dragonslapper Vol. 1: The Trolls Revolt."
Peter: It's about a boy who rides around on a dragon -

Ernesto: Yes. I reviewed it on my blog.
Peter: You have a blog?

Ernesto: Yes. I found the book derivative and thin, like a watered-down version of Tolkien. You do like Tolkien?
Peter: I've never been tolking.

Ernesto: LOL! Always the quotable Peter! May I use that?
Peter: Yeah. Okay.

Ernesto: Good-bye! Enjoy your little book!

Mom: Let's check out, Petey. Where's your book?
Peter: I put it back. It's derivative, watered-down tolking.

Mom: Okay, Petey.
Alice: I'm getting the Big Pop-Up Book of Giant Squids! See?
Peter: Gaaah!

**********

It's not always about blogging and/or Tolkien, but it is always funny. I read Cul de Sac every day on GoComics. You can read it free at The Seattle Times.

A New Blogger Trick: Expandable Posts

I've seen expandable posts on other blogs and always wondered how it was done. An expandable post means that the intro is in the blog entry but you can click the link to read the full text. It's used for long posts, stories, etc. Read more.




This was not nearly as easy as Blogger Help made it sound in "How can I create expandable post summaries?"! To make it work with my Blogger template, Denim designed by Darren Delaye, I had to turn to Google for help. I found it on a blog called Hash Out.

Even with help from Hash Out, it took some trial and error to make it work. Now that I have it set up it will be easy to use in the future, but my posts are usually so short that I can't imagine using it very often. At least I learned something!

Blog Funny

I almost laughed out loud at today's Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis. Follow the link to read it online every day (and the past 30 days in the archive).

Currently On My iPod

Inspired by the "Currently Reading..." and "Currently Listening To..." lists on Jason Fisher's blog, Lingwë - Musings of a Fish, I decided to add a similar list to my own blog. In the right column below my profile you can now see what's "Currently On My iPod."

Adding the list was actually much easier than I thought it would be! I was using html, making a table to align the pictures next to the appropriate text, etc. and it just wasn't working until I e-mailed Jason for help. He sent me the html and I was surprised. Instead of setting it up like a web page, all I needed to do was include the embedded link to the picture and the text. D'oh! Thanks, Jase. :)

I have so little time for audio books now that it takes me forever to get a book, so I probably won't update this list often, but I like the idea of including it on my blog.

Topics/Category Labels Done!

I have finished adding category labels to all my previous posts. My loyal readers (all two of you :), can now search by topic for all the entries published on this blog. Just look for the Topics list on the lower right side of the screen. Let me know if you spot any inconsistencies.

A New Look

I decided to try a new look for Citadel of Stars. What do you think? Besides the colors, the only difference is that readers can now access a list of all the Labels (below the Archive on the bottom right side of the screen). Labels are a quick way to search for entries by topic.

I've been wanting to add the list of Labels since Blogger made it available last year. To do so I had two choices: add them individually to the html of my old blog or upgrade to a new template that automatically updates the list of Lables. I had customized the colors of my old blog and was quite fond of them, but upgrading was much easier and faster than html-ing (if that's a word! :) all those Labels.

I've been including Labels on my posts since Blogger added that feature and am now going back and slowing adding them to all my old posts. Someday you'll be able to sort through all my posts by category. I'll probably be the only person who looks at my blog that way, but I think it's a pretty neat feature.

I'm think I like the new look but I saved my old template, just in case.

UPDATE: I just noticed that the template has changed the layout just enough that pictures and captions in old entries no longer line up. SIGH. I just fixed the entries for July-Sept 07 and it only took a few minutes. It's annoying but still easier and quicker than creating/maintaining the list of Labels manually!

Blogging in the Library

I'm doing something I've always dreamed of: working in the library atrium (the coolest view on campus) on a wireless laptop!

Why the library atrium? Because it's got a wall of three-story windows overlooking the Flint River, with lots of trees, and nice view of the William S. White Building across the river. This beautiful view more than makes up for the lack of windows in my office. Over here I have the biggest windows and the best view on campus. If I ever find a good picture I'll post it on my blog.

How did this dream come true? The university had money to spend on on-line instructors. When my Department Chairman asked for my wish list I requested a laptop (12-inch Apple PowerBook G4), a 1 GB jump drive, and a puppy.

Yesterday the laptop and jump drive arrived. The Department Chairman assures me the puppy has been sent to the Foreign Languages department for housetraining. They have it hidden really well, since I can't find any signs of it.

In the meantime, I think I'll call my new laptop Spot, since it has a white Apple-shaped spot on the top.


Image taken from Apple's PowerBook specs.

Now I need to quit having fun and get back to my end-of-the-semester grading.

Big Brother is Watching!

I've been looking at my new site meter and I am amazed at what I can learn about those who visit my blog. I can tell what kind of hardware and software they are using, their ISP, and their geographic location. How scary! I knew this stuff was easy to track on the Internet, I just didn't realize how easy.

I'm also surprised at the number of people who visit my blog. People I don't even know have stopped to visit! Apparently I'm not a typical blog reader; I only read blogs of people I know (so far). I find it a little weird to think that someone I don't know -- on the other side of the planet! -- is reading my silly little musings.

Welcome to my little world... stop by any time.

New Hit Counter

One of my students, Amanda, showed my how to make my hit counter ignore my computer. Thanks, Amanda! I guestimated on the number of hits (not counting my own) and re-set my counter. Today it re-started at 150.

If you're interested, I'm using Site Meter and recommend it. It will do statistics, track where visitors came from, e-mail stats to you, etc. Best of all, it's free!

Blog Advice from Hugh Hewitt

I recently read the book Blog by conservative blogger Hugh Hewitt. It's an interesting examination of blogs and how they are changing business and politics. My favorite part of the book was his advice for bloggers.

The key rules of success and significance are these:

• Post often.
• Link freely.
• Be generous in praise and attribution.
• Don't be long-winded too often, if at all. Brevity is the soul of blogging when you are getting started.
  
• Paragraphs are your friend.
• Profanity loses audiences.
• Avoid feuds and flame wars.
• At least at the start, skip the comments sections. You end up with the problem of nuts if you are any good.
• Keep the title short and easy to remember so that it is easy to recall and type into the space at the top of the page. (Hewitt Blog 151-152).

It's good advice for bloggers and other writers, but I wonder how many people actually know this or do it? I recomend this book for anyone who is interested in blogs, whether they blog or not!

Hurricane Katrina and the Influence of Blogs

The devastation of Hurricane Katrina is unbelievable. It's so awful I can't even watch the news.

I was surprised to see a link to Miles O'Brien's hurricane blog on CNN.com. I knew blogs could be influential, but I didn't realize news services now had them.

Speaking of the Blogosphere influence, it appears that today bloggers shamed Amazon and Yahoo! into hosting links to Red Cross Hurricane Relief Fund. How? By encouraging blog readers to bombard these sites (and Google, which still does not have a Hurricane Relief Fund link on its main page) with phone calls and e-mail. The argument was that these sites supported Tsunami relief after the Dec. 26, 2004 disaster, but were not doing the same thing to aid their own country now.

Apparently it worked.

Web Stats

Now that I'm getting vistors to my blog, I've added a hit counter at the very bottom.

Darn! I noticed that every time I post or edit, the hit counter thinks that is a visit. I wonder if there's a way to make it count visitors, but not me?

To Blog or Not to Blog

I've always wondered who the heck reads blogs. For that matter, who writes them? I guess I thought they were just an outlet for unpublished writers but now that I've started looking around, they look like fun!

I don't have any specific plans for this blog yet, just musing on whatever strikes my fancy. As you can see from my profile, that's likely to cover a range of things. Ad Astra!