Bookworm is officially retired. I hope you’ll join me at my new blog, On the Curve. I’m excited about the move and I look forward to seeing you there!
Category Archives: Blogging
Liveblogging CCM
I think it was for a Weekly Geeks thing, way back, that someone said about me “she only writes when she has something to say.” At the time I took it as an enormous compliment. I mean, really! But now I’m wondering if the blogger was simply trying to say nicely that I’m one of those erratic people who won’t stick to a schedule and is sometimes absent from the blogosphere for months at a time with no explanation.
Whew!
At last, the election is over and I can get back to normal life again. Honestly, those last few weeks reminded me of late-stage pregnancy: thinking of nothing but that slowly approaching date, the mixture of dread and excitement, the utter inability to focus on anything else… Yes, I am thrilled with the results (except Prop 8 in California) but even if it had god forbid gone the other way I would still, at least, be glad that the damn thing was finally OVER.
Back online
Actually, we returned from camp ten days ago, but this the first day I’ve been able to post. This is going to sound so lame and whiney, but all last week we had no wireless internet. That is, we (the four of us in the family who use the internet) could take turns plugging laptops directly into the modem, but even aside from the bickering about whose turn it was and how long the turns should last, this was a less than satisfactory solution. There’s not a lot of room to put a laptop where the modem is, so we’d end up sitting on this hard-backed chair with the laptop literally in our laps, hunched over it in such a position that our necks would start to hurt in about five seconds. It was okay for answering the most urgent emails and taking my pathetic turns in a humiliating game of Wordscraper but not for blogging.
Quick post which I wish wasn’t necessary
Like most (all?) WordPress bloggers, I use Akismet to trap spam.
The nice thing about Akismet is that it works completely in the background. It simply checks each comment for spam characteristics, like multiple links, certain *ahem* keywords, and so forth. It’s very accurate and it obviates the need to use CAPTCHAs — you know, those things where you have to type in the distorted letters to prove you’re not a spambot. It’s so accurate, in fact, that I don’t even need to moderate comments. Which I prefer, because isn’t it fun to see your comment pop up on the screen as soon as you hit the post button? Plus I would rather give you the benefit of the doubt than assume you’re a spambot!
Woopra: TMI?
Have you heard about Woopra? It’s a new website stats program that came out recently. In fact, it’s so new it’s still in beta. You can get a free copy, but it’s complicated. You have to request an invitation, and it can take a while for them to “approve” you (it took about a month for me). I actually got approved a while ago, but only just installed it yesterday.
Distinguished company
Isn’t this nice? Chartroose sent it my way and I’m just so chuffed. Thanks, Char! And best of all, I get to pass it on. So, without further ado, I nominate:
