A Mini Makeover

Dear Readers,

Don't let the title fool you, I haven't been getting all greasy under the bonnet of a Mini making it different and lovely, these skills are beyond my grasp.

I have however given the blog a mini makeover. I have a friend who is a graphic designer who ripped my colour scheme to shreds. Hopefully this will make him a little happier.

I have also added a most popular widget to the sidebar of the blog, which works very well. If you are a new visitor you can find out what all the (muted) fuss is about by checking out my most popular posts.

Stats are what they are, and currently the most viewed post is part 3 of a Start Wars style epic regarding my attempts to gain entry to America, which begs the question why did you only read the third part? Another day for that I think.

If you are a regular blogger and have a good suggestion for a widget I would be glad to hear it, please comment using the comment widget provided.

In the interim, hope you enjoy the new look, especially if you are my graphic designer friend.

Signing off, dear readers x

Site Of The Month - Part 1

All,

A new idea of mine is to share a site that makes me laugh or cry. I figure that if I like it and you like me then you might like it it too (usual caveats apply). I will tag the post accordingly depending on it's content... some will be funny, cat related or whatever else comes to mind. I will also create a links section so you can access these sites directly from one comfy area.

OK so here comes the first. I started to recieve some hilarious viral emails regarding a gentleman called David Thorne and his issues with the world, normally in the form of email trails.

Having looked into this it appears that Mr Thorne is well know Australian blogger whom I have much respect for. To get an idea of what the man is about and why this makes me laugh follow this.

I will publish the the site link in a new links section which I have added to the site labelled Stuff I Really Like.

Enjoy, dear reader.

Why Do I Bother Gets a Makeover

As promised I have made some changes to the blog. In summary:

• The overall theme has been changed, losing all that wasted space on the sides of the blog and hopefully making the thing easier to read. The colour scheme has changed slightly as well.
• A YouTube link has been added, currently this will mainly show my own YouTube channel (full of my cats being cute) along with some other stuff which the widget includes at random, contrary to my wishes:).
• You can now subscribe to this blog by email. This is a painless process, involving the supply of an email address, followed by the usual graphic verification stuff. You will get an email, just hit the confirm link and you will then get all the goodies I post direct to your inbox for your edification. Given the recent scarcity of posts this is probably the best way to follow:).
• I have reconfigured the advertising side of life as well, this should now be a little less intrusive than it used to be.
• Done some other general tidying and rearrangement to hopefully make the whole experience better for all.

These changes have very much been driven by personal feel, without any input from anyone else. Feel free to comment on the changes. If you have encountered functionality on another blog that could be of benefit and does not currently feature here feel free to comment, this is your space as much as it is mine. If you have an example URL that would be more helpful than a description of the function.

OK, enough with the release notes… enjoy!

Where Have I Been?

Sorry, have been very lazy and have neglected this blog for a number of reasons. Lack of inspiration, perspiration and application I guess. Anyhow, due to a general resolution to be more hands on with this stuff, I am back.

So, hello again. Expect some improvements to the blog experience to follow shortly. These improvements should make the blog easier to follow and a little more fun when you get there.

Watch this space.

Why Follow?

You may have noticed a little widget on the side-bar of this website labelled followers. If you are new to this as I still am, then you may be wondering what this is all about. Don't worry I did too when I first added it.

Apparently people may visit this site whilst browsing blogs and like what they see. They may then disappear into the ether never to be seen again, like ships passing in the night. I guess it would be really nice if that didn't happen and that is what following is all about. I am in this for the long haul whether my regular existing followers like it or not. It is also worth mentioning that there are other blogs of note out there as well, so learning how following works is a useful thing to understand.

I could explain it myself, (badly), with lots of poorly formatted screenshots that won't fit properly on the page and generally get very irritated. The alternative would be to look for yourself. If you are unsure I suggest you do.

Hopefully you will come back in the future and see what I have been up to, if you choose to follow it just makes it easier, oh and maybe makes me feel a little better.

First Post

So…

I'm new to this, this blogging thing. I don't want to sound like I am some like I am some forty-something who is trying to get a hand on some new technology because it either

• sounds cool.

or

• I feel I should be doing it because everyone else in the office is doing it.

Because neither of the above is true. Also, I am not quite forty. I have struggled for some time just deciding what to say in this opening foray. This is all a little intimidating, like writing a diary that everyone (potentially) reads. I guess it becomes easier as you go along.

It seems a lot of blogs have a purpose, a message, a meaning.

Well, mine doesn't, yet…

It is not meant to be political, (but it might become so). It does not have an axe to grind, (currently). It is not just an online diary for everyone to see, (however it may be some of the time). It is not designed as a eulogy to the ecstasies of pet ownership, (although fish and cats may come up from time to time). Nor is it an examination of the psychology of blogging or the blogger, (interesting that I feel better for doing this though).

In summary this is a blog about nothing in particular for the moment (and maybe always, no promises). May not help you, but for some reason, after the initial struggle to get to here, it helped me.