Redesign Thoughts

It's not perfect, and it's not exactly what I was after. But it's better than it was. There's still a lot to do, little tweaks that will take weeks to finish.

I have always loved Blogger. A lot of bang for a secure, easy to use, free product. To me the benefits have always outweighed the limitations. After this redesign I'm not so sure. I'm seriously thinking about moving to Wordpress - not the free online version, the full hosted solution with your own domain. Here's how they stack up:

Ease of Use:
Blogger by a mile. Non-techies can be up and blogging in minutes. Wordpress requires some geeky research and practice. You'll figure it out, but it's not blogger.

Features:
Wordpress by a mile. You can use Wordpress as a blog, or as a full-blown content management system. The add-ons, widgets, and theme options are limitless. For Blogger it's not terrible, but it doesn't compare with Wordpress.

Security:
Blogger by a country mile. When you put your blog on blogger it will be there. In a month, a year, or more. It's not going anywhere. For Wordpress if you, for example, go to the hospital and can't pay for your webhosting, it's possible a webhost (not me) would delete your account. If you're not backed up (are we ever adequately backed up?) you've lost everything you've worked so hard on. If that happens to you, call me, I'll sit with you on the first suicide watch.

Design:
Wordpress. There is so much flexibility in design. Blogger is better than they used to be, but it's still not easy to get a custom design on Blogger.

Spam:
Blogger is incredibly good at recognizing and killing spam. Wordpress is getting better, but it's a clumsy process with a sophomoric look. For such a professional product, I expect more.

How about others? Any pros or cons?

Beginning Redesign

Unfortunately you can't take Blogger off-line while you make changes. So if you visit in the next hour or two you could find anything. With a little luck it will only take an hour or two.

Overlooked Emails

Over the last couple of months my frame of mind was so bad I was not capable of answering email. Today I was finally able to do some cleaning, and I filtered out hundreds of emails I could not possibly answer. I still have them, I filtered them into folders. But if you sent me an email I did not answer, my sincere apologies. Please send again and I'll do my best to answer.

Site Redesign

Doing a complete site redesign. I'm tired of this plain look, and want something different. So if you see my blog up and down, you'll know why.

Another Manic Discovery

Please don't try this at home, I'm a professional.

Sleep medication Ambien (Zolpidem)is some good shit. Some REAL good shit. When I'm not manic, 5 mg knocks me out. Most need 10 mg. But if you stay awake through that, it's like 6 or 7 scotches (PLEASE don't drink and do this, I want you as a reader tomorrow). Take 20 milligrams and you'll be talking to people who aren't there. Or maybe they really are, and you only see them in your dimension...

Sleep walking is common, as is sleep eating, and even sleep sex. My wife says she's gotten quite a bit lately. To that I want to know - was I any good? Did I seem to enjoy it? Was it more or less kinky than my normal self? I halfway expect to see a case of Ambien show up on my doorstep, ordered by wife from some remote pacific island where they can't even read a script.

This has been an interesting month.

First, the mania is hanging tough. The negative effects of the mania aren't nearly as strong as they were, and it's not as debilitating, but it's still there. Sleep still comes grudgingly, I still can't read, I still can't write, I couldn't begin to hold my hand steady, but the danger is gone. I'm not going to OD, or do anything incredibly stupid, although I came close on both counts.

I got a new job! Out of the blue a recruiter I'd worked with in the past called me. I told her I wasn't looking around, but I'd be willing to listen. I listened, she was looking for a consultant to be placed with one of the worlds largest insurance companies. It really was an interesting position, so my curiosity piqued, I agreed to talk to the employer. This was Monday. Tuesday afternoon I interviewed. Wednesday the recruiter called to say I "rocked their world". Thursday I had an offer in hand. So I went from being more or less contented with my job to having a new career in 4 days. How about that? In the interview I had zero problem with energy, enthuiasm, and conversation. Finally something positive about the mania?

I'm Watching American Idol's charity show right now. It's a barometer of Bono's career, isn't it? As he winds down, they have to wind up their fundraising.

I was flattered to receive an email from Andy Behrman - Electroboy. If you haven't read his book, it's a great read. Head over to his website and sign up for his newsletter.

My webhosting business is doing well, HomepageWebs (gjx.us). If you know anyone needing webhosting, drop me a line.

Kyle is doing great lately. More details later.

Thanks to all for your emails and thoughts. It's much appreciated.