Archive for the 'Website news' Category

Wordpress upgrade

Elizabeth March 30th, 2008

Thanks to the few people who sent me concerned emails today when they noticed my site was looking screwy. Something broke when I upgraded to Wordpress 2.5, and it took about an hour to get everything running again. It’s funny how it only takes 10 mins to upgrade Wordpress 4 out of 5 times, but the exception to the rule is always a massive shitfight.

Anyway, I’m so far quite impressed with the latest version, except for two things. The first (minor) annoyance is the ugly colour scheme, which will no doubt be tinkered with further down the line. The second issue is a bit more serious, and I imagine it has affected other bloggers out there even more than me.

The first sign that something was wrong was when my 101 Things in 1001 Days page led me to a 404. None of the other pages were broken, so I assumed that something was screwy in my database. Strangely, I could edit the page without any problems from the Wordpress Dashboard, so I knew the page itself wasn’t damaged.

Further experimentation has led me to believe that this version of Wordpress cannot handle numerical URLs properly. Here’s the URL of my 1001 Days page:

http://www.scarletwords.com/1001/

I experimented with a couple of other pages, changing their “page slug” to numerals. Here’s what happened:

http://www.scarletwords.com/elizabeth/harry/
This URL performs well.

http://www.scarletwords.com/elizabeth/123/
Changing the previous page slug from “harry” to “123″ confused it into displaying /elizabeth

As far as bugs go, it could be more serious. However, I’m in a situation where /1001 happens to be the most linked-to URL on my website, and changing it would be fairly damaging as far as traffic is concerned.

Workarounds include setting up redirects and updating all my internal links (which is a big job, as I link to it often in posts), but I imagine that this is beyond the scope of some of the more popular blogs. I’ve decided to live with the 404 error for the next day or so while I try to investigate a real solution.

It should be noted that URLs with number and letter combinations work fine, such as my 100facts page.

Has anyone else come across this bug? Heard of any solutions? I’ll update this post later with any information I find.

Still alive…

Elizabeth March 16th, 2008

I know it’s been really quiet around here, but this week has been insane. I’ve started a new job, and am still adjusting to leaving the house each morning when it’s still dark. How I will cope in the dark and cold of Winter is beyond me.

I’ve made a decision to not write about work here, except in a very general way. There’s a good chance that some people at work will become friends over time, and so I don’t want to put myself in an awkward position by writing about anyone here. And besides, I really don’t want to be dooced, so I’ll play it safe for now.

I’m planning to set up “blog by email” today, so that I can write posts for my site during the quieter periods at work during the week. I’m not comfortable actually loading up my domain at work yet, but I don’t want another week to pass without any posts!

Don’t be alarmed if you see strange things around here while I’m testing it all out.

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Meanwhile, it’s been nice to have a chunk of money show up in my bank account already! Yesterday I braved the 40C heat and bought some new plants, and then spent the afternoon repotting them. It was so much fun getting my hands dirty that I then weeded the garden and pulled out a vine that periodically tries to strangle one of our trees.

By the time I had made dinner and cleaned up I was completely braindead and fell into bed. Today I slept in until the grand hour of 8am! Working Monday to Friday has turned me into such a pussy.

Anyway.

I’ve been having fun thinking about all the stuff I’m going to buy over the next few months, now that I have a regular income. It feels like I’ve been living on next-to-nothing for so long, that even mundane stuff will be exciting to buy! Items on my wishlist include:

- A big, brightly-coloured watering can
- Cushions for the couches
- A spice rack
- A double stacker saucepan/steamer
- Oversized noodle bowls (for big salads and pasta)
- Blender
- Alarm clock (with an ipod dock?)
- New M.A.C. makeup
- Some cute, pointy-toed shoes with a low heel
- New jeans (!)

And the bigger stuff:

- A bed for the spare room
- A coffee table, so that I can put the blanket box in the bedroom again
- A replacement lens for the one I broke

The first step is getting out of bed again early in the morning, so that they continue to pay me. Guess I’d better get some sleep.

Threaded Comments for Wordpress?

Elizabeth February 9th, 2008

I am pulling my hair out trying to find a plugin that will let me have threaded comments here. Some of them appear to do half the job, but I’m yet to find the solution to my problem.

So far I’ve tried Brian’s Threaded Comments and AJAXed Wordpress. I had some success with the latter, but it stripped away all my styling and I had more trouble modifying the template than I usually do.

(Besides, both of these plugins actually do nested comments rather than threaded… although I’d settle for either right now.)

I am beyond frustrated at this point. Are you using something simple and brilliant at your blog? Tell me how!

It’s nerd time

Elizabeth February 8th, 2008

Please excuse the chaos while I tinker with some new plugins for this site. Things will look a bit wonky today while I test-drive some new features, but should be back to normal tomorrow.

While you’re waiting, leave me a comment and tell me something I don’t know!

A note to other bloggers on RSS

Elizabeth January 24th, 2008

In this age of RSS, my blog reading is handled almost exclusively by Google Reader. It has become part of my morning routine to read the posts in my “daily reads” group, just as regularly as I check my email. The rest of my subscriptions are categorized by subject, and when time allows I catch up on everything else.

As a result, my feed reader has almost completely replaced my bookmark list. If I come across a blog I really like, I subscribe to the feed so that I never miss an update. If a blog seems interesting, but I’m low on time, I’ll subscribe to the feed and learn about them over time. It’s a great way to figure out which blogs are holding my interest, and which ones have failed to “grab” me over a period of a few weeks.

I imagine that most bloggers would prefer their readers to assess their blogs over time this way, rather than making an 8-second judgment call, or forgetting to go back. That’s why I’m always surprised when I come across a blogger who only provides an excerpt of their posts in an RSS feed.

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The truth is, I’ll unsubscribe from blogs who only make excerpts available. My RSS reader gives me the luxury of just moving on to somebody else’s feed, and with so many other blogs to choose from it’s not likely that I’m going to make an exception for yours. It’s not that your blog isn’t worth reading, it’s just a symptom of being oversaturated with blogs that are just as good as yours.

There are only so many hours in the day, and more blogs being written than I can ever hope to read. Unless you’re writing about something spectacular and truly original, I’m probably not going to make an exception for you.

And that means we both miss out.

It’s worth pointing out that I am often clicking through to peoples’ actual sites to read comments, leave comments, or to remind myself of an older post. I’ve heard the argument that RSS readers can slow traffic to your site, but in my experience it works the other way. Forcing people to work harder to read your site won’t attract viewers - especially if they’re not even hooked yet.

I just wanted to provide a description of one person’s RSS reader habits, in the hope that other bloggers will see the merit in making their full posts accessible to subscribers. It is really frustrating to add a potentially great blog to my reader, only to find that I’m restricted to viewing the first 50 words.

I mean, look at my first 50 words. Would they have inspired you to click on a link to “read more” and wait for a new site to load? I wrote it, and I know I wouldn’t have kept reading unless it was already in front of me!

I’d love to hear how other people are using their feed readers, and whether there are some good reasons for RSS excerpts that I may have missed. I’m no expert, so tell me what I’m missing!

Request a photo!

Elizabeth December 7th, 2007

Want to see what’s stashed in my desk drawers, or what jewellery I wear every day? For the next couple of days I’ll accept any (reasonable) photo suggestions, and will post the results on this blog.

Request as many photos as you like, from big-picture stuff (like a photo of a room) to the mundane (like the current state of my nailpolish). I’ll find a way to honour every request, even if I have to find a creative way to do it!

So what would you like to see? This is your chance to learn something about me that wouldn’t normally find its way to my blog.

NaBloPoMo is over!

Elizabeth November 30th, 2007

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This one proves the point that not every lolcat is improved by bad spelling.

So, NaBloPoMo is finally over. I must say, this year it really seemed to drag. I guess this time last year I had more interesting stuff to write about, and finding something to say wasn’t a problem. This year there’s been too much other stuff that needed doing, and blogging was way down the list. I still enjoyed making it part of my daily routine though, and I’m sure I’ll do it again next year.

I didn’t use the Randomizer as much as I did last year, nor did I seem to get much traffic from it after the first few days of the month. I’m sure I’ll keep using it over the next month or two to find new blogs, since it’s such a great resource. I hope next year it regains a little of the community spirit that it had last year, maybe this time it was just too big a monster.

Anyway, I intend to keep blogging very regularly to keep up the good habit although it may not be every single day from now on. Might try that ‘quality over quantity’ thing that I keep hearing about!

NaBloPissOff

Elizabeth November 11th, 2007

Bet you thought I was just going to post a lolcat today, right? Even I know that a single lolcat doesn’t count as a post during NaBloPoMo. No sir. We’ve got a strict code of conduct ’round here.

In truth, I’ve been working on a new section of this site today. It’s not finished yet, and won’t be for another few days probably, but I spent ages tinkering with it instead of writing fascinating blog posts. At some point I went outside and cleaned out the shed, fumigated it against face-eating spiders and then made room for both my bike AND the enormous TV box.

And then I built a wall. It’s been a long day.

Here’s your damn post :)

Twitter, etc.

Elizabeth November 5th, 2007

No doubt my many eagle-eyed readers (ie: Ralf, and… Ralf) will have noticed that I have been tinkering with this site over the past couple of days. Well, unless he reads everything via his rss reader. Le sigh.

Let’s start this again.

Scarlet Words is bigger! and better! with the addition of a couple of shiny new gimmicks in the sidebar. First of all, I finally got around to signing up for Twitter, so now you can see some short updates of what I’m doing throughout the day. I can even update Twitter from my phone or via IM, so technically speaking I should be updating it ALL THE TIME. Only I’m not sure anybody cares, so I’ll just be doing it when I remember.

Twitter is pretty cool, though, and there are all sorts of related apps that draw upon its functionality. First of all I installed a client called Snitter, which sits in my taskbar and collects the ‘tweets’ of people I decide to follow. There’s a collection of other Twitter clients on their site too. It’s a friendly way to see how other people are spending their day, and sometimes leads to the discovery of other interesting stuff on the web.

A few other interesting Twitter-related links:




If you scroll further down the sidebar you’ll also see a new music player, c/o NaBloPoMo. It allows me to upload up to 100 songs that you can stream from my site, or download to your machine. Make the most of my incredible taste in music, and have a listen.

Time to head back to the couch, and cuddle up with Tim and our Very Clean Puppy. I’m just happy to have gotten this blog post in with 2 minutes to spare! It is way too early in the month to fail NaBloPoMo…

NaBloPoMo 2007

Elizabeth November 2nd, 2007

Through some weird stroke of luck, I happened to stumble upon the blog of somebody participating in this year’s NaBloPoMo, also known as National Blog Posting Month. Despite its name it’s a truly International project, that is simply aimed at getting bloggers to write each day in November.

Here’s what the creator of NaBloPoMo has to say about it:

NaBloPoMo is an alternative to November’s NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, the program wherein you crank out a novel in thirty days.

Some of us lack the imagination, stamina, and self-destructive impulses required to write a novel that quickly, but, by Grabthar’s Hammer, we can update our blogs every day for a month!

Post every day for the month of November. That’s it. No cheating and backdating posts, either. You’re on your honor.

I participated last year when I was just getting this blog rolling, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I also met a stack of great people along the way, but fell off the blogging bandwagon months later. I’d forgotten all about it until spotting it again today, and I’m glad that I happened to post yesterday so that I am still eligible to participate!

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NaBloPoMo is great for readers too - the member list is an excellent resource for discovering interesting, active bloggers. and the Randomizer takes all the decision making out of your browsing. Just keep clicking “next” until you find something that grabs your interest, and then remember to bookmark them so that you can find them again!

I’m looking forward to getting to know some of the other NaBloPoMo bloggers this year, and to blogging here every day. Help to keep me motivated by leaving some comments!

I am showing off.

Elizabeth October 29th, 2007

This post exists for one purpose: to prove that I can update my blog from my comfortable couch on the kickass new 40″ HD LCD TV, via Tim’s Playstation.

We are also watching the Red Sox thrash the Rockies in the World Series, thanks to the live feed on mlb.com.

Technology is awesome. And my laziness has just soared to new heights.

(Well, it would soar if it could be bothered…)

See you in a week…

Elizabeth September 20th, 2007

I’m in the middle of moving house, and I expect that my computer will be packed up tomorrow. I’m told it will be about a week before the internet is connected at my new place, so Scarlet Words will be quiet during that time.

I plan to make the most of my forced offline days to set up my (awesome) new house. There’ll be plenty of pictures once I’m plugged in again.

Have a good week!

A change of focus.

Elizabeth September 13th, 2007

scarletwords.com has been around for a while now, but I can’t say that I’ve been investing too heavily in it so far. Previous blogs of mine have been a lot more personal - there were regular updates about my daily life, and I’m sure they were a much more compelling read. In the end, I think I got tired of being mysterious and hiding my identity. Blogging became hard work, and so I gave up for a long time.

When I started Scarlet Words I wanted it to be transparent and public. It’s certainly not plastered with my full name, but there’s also no mystery or deeply personal content that would freak me out if my family came across it. The problem is that I’m a bit bored with this current format. While I’m not sure of the exact direction Scarlet Words should take, I do know that there’s more to blogging than embedded Youtube videos and the occasional political rant.

And so, seeing as I’m in the midst of some fairly large life changes right now, I have decided that it’s time I started putting myself back “out there”. I’d know that I’d much rather engage meaningfully with a handful of readers than have a bunch of people land on my doorstep from a google search, never to return. I’d still like this to be a safe and public place for my thoughts, so the truly icky personal stuff will probably be reserved for conversations with my friends. Besides, it’s healthier that way.

My new resolutions include:

- Write more regularly
- Blog about everyday life stuff and the interesting stuff that happens to me
- Communicate with my fellow bloggers more, instead of being a fly on the wall

If you actually did come here for the Youtube videos, celeb news and politics you won’t be disappointed. I’m not sure that there is even a cure for my love of trashy posts :)

Enjoy the new direction - I’m looking forward to it already.

Starting again, again.

Elizabeth June 12th, 2007

I guess the three of you who read my site have noticed that it’s been pretty slow around here lately. Rather than being a victim of my laziness, my blog sat here unused because of a crappy host and - finally - hackers. And not just any hackers, but religious extremists complete with Death to America! propaganda and other cheerful messages of terror.

I’m not convinced that the downfall of Western civilisation begins with the vandalism of Scarlet Words, but it’s nice to feel somewhat influential I suppose.

When it became clear that my Movable Type installation was FUBAR, and that my old webhost’s idea of downtime and security clashed with my own, I started looking for a new home. I found one at Hostmonster, a child company of Bluehost, and have so far been happy. Fingers crossed they live up to their good reputation.

Anyway, it’s great to be back in the saddle. I’ve recently become an RSS Reader addict (specifically Google Reader) and it’s been frustrating to not have a place to dump the interesting stuff I come across.

Activity will definitely pick up, now that I’m not the target of terrorism and downtime! Please pardon the wet paint while I spruce the place up a bit.

A new start

Elizabeth January 12th, 2007

It wasn’t so long ago that I began a new blog, on a different domain. I found out about a month-long challenge called National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo) in November, and quickly threw together a blog in time to participate. 2006 was the year I decided to keep a paper journal each day, and I saw NaBloPoMo as an opportunity to revive my online blogging.

It worked, but once the month was up I quickly lost my momentum again. I didn’t have much of an audience, and sitting down to write into the great abyss was just a chore.

This time I’m taking a new approach. My old site, Scarlet Arts, will become the online store and portfolio that I’ve been talking about for the past 2 years. This blog at Scarlet Words will have a dual purpose - it will serve as a record for all the neat stuff I find online that I can’t easily incorporate into my paper journal, and a discussion place for interesting issues in news and current affairs. I figure that having selfish reasons for keeping this blog alive will entice me to give it the attention it needs to grow.

It will probably also house occasional photographs and stories about my life that are safe for public consumption. You can also expect regular updates on the derailing Britney Spears train, and youtube videos that make me laugh. Definitely no Rosie O’Donnell vs Donald Trump commentary, although mentioning them in this entry should improve my Google rankings.

I haven’t told anybody about this blog yet. I figured I’d start filling her up with content before announcing to my very patient friends that I have (yet another) website.