Blitzcraig.org

As of January 1, 2009 I have required the blitzcraig.net domain. Back in 2005, this very blog resided at that domain address. I unwittingly let the account expire, resulting in some ad firm taking over the domain for a period of time in late 2006. Finally, the domain is once again freed up and I have regained ownership of what once was mine. I have no immediate plans for the address as of yet. For now, I have made a page that brags about my recapture, which ultimately refreshes to this blog. At the very least, I can rest easy knowing it is in my clutches.

I’ve changed my blog theme to Aeros. I loved the Elite theme I was using before, but it was a bit drab. With this new theme, it’s as though I’ve thrown open the curtains and let the sun in. I hope you like it. Enjoy!

After a decade of writing down the things I hate, I’ve finally started on a list of things that amuse me. As a result, I’ve made a new page on the site called Great List. Enjoy.

Tonight, I merged the former Mac and PC categories on this blog into a single new category called Tech. It will encompass all computing topics and all things tech-related. On a side note, tonight I have also renamed the former Net category to Sites, and the former Blog category to SiteNews.

Recently, after upgrading to WP 2.61, I installed a plugin called WP Security Scan. If you’re running a website with WordPress, it is certainly worth installing. I did, and was blown away at the lack of security that my blog was exposed to. This little plugin lets you know where you need to make alterations. I very highly recommend it to everyone using WordPress!

Today, I signed up for a Twitter account. If you don’t already know, Twitter is a website web service where you tell the world what you are doing at any given time using 140 characters or less. I’ve heard a lot about it since it started a few years ago, but I never thought I’d be interested in using such a service. Fast forward to today, and I’m ready to give it a try. I’ve not only signed up, I’ve made a new static page on this site to display my latest Twitter updates. I don’t know if the novelty will wear off in time, but I’m enjoying it now.

After over ten years of writing down the things I hate, I have finally hit the milestone of 500 entries on my Hate List! What a day. I’ve actually had a handful of hates in the waiting, but I felt that none of them were good enough for me to enter as number 500. As for #500 itself, my choice sends me rolling on the floor laughing. It is quite an inside joke at my house. Whether the rest of you get it, or even care, matters not. [Note: 500 is now 490 -- read my comment to the post.]

The list is always a work in progress, but progress and creativity come slower with time. Over the years it has become a challenge to keep it focused and targeted. If I start tossing out anything that comes to mind, it will eventually veer from its unique originality. Also, I want a reader to be able to read the oldest entries and the newest entries, and know that is the same personality, with the same delivery throughout. I think I have achieved that. It helps that I have almost no disagreement with all of the things I hated ten years ago.

Anyway, I hope you’ve enjoyed reading it as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it. Here’s to ten more years?

A month ago, WordPress released version 2.5. It is a radical change from the versions that proceeded it. It has been rewritten to be more powerful, robust, and attractive. Before I upgraded, I wondered how it could get any better, and why such an overhaul was even necessary. Boy, was I shortsighted. The new version is fantastic, and much easier to use.

I don’t understand why it is labeled version 2.5, when it should have been called 3.0. It is a major shift from the interface it once had. At any rate, 2.5.1 is now available. If you use WordPress and haven’t stepped up to version 2.5, now is the time. You won’t regret it. Of course, before upgrading, make sure your theme and plugins are compatible with the new version. So far, I haven’t had any trouble with my existing configuration on compatibly or performance issues. WordPress continues to be a fantastic product and keeps raising the blogging bar.

This weekend, I deployed a new site theme. I don’t make a habit of writing a blog post about such changes, but my new theme, Elite, is a drastic change. I think this theme is the prettiest I have ever used. It is modern, dark, and easy to read. All photos are automatically aligned to the left, for better or worse. Photos with a white background may not blend as well as I’d like on the dark canvass, but I’ll overlook that potential problem. Also, the theme fails the W3C Markup Validation check, but for minor reasons. The main drawback to this theme is that, oddly, there is no header on the page that shows the name of my site. For that reason, I am writing this post to assure you that you are still at blitzcraig.org! Enjoy the new look.

When I am away from my desktop computer, I log on to Meebo to see who’s online. Tonight, I found a new widget in the offering that you place on your own site that allows visitors to chat with you through your own page. It is a project from the folks at Meebo, dubbed MeeboMe. It appears to be in the the alpha phase of development, but my tests worked without a hitch. And creating it was as easy as three very simple steps.

I have added my new creation to my Contact page. It shows my online status in the window. If I am not logged in, you can still leave offline messages and I’ll receive them the next time I log into Meebo. I think this is really cool. For now, I’ll certainly keep it on my page.

Well 2007 is nearly at its end and we will soon usher in 2008. Thanks to everyone who stops by and reads my blog. The brief backstory is that my blog formed its first roots on December 2, 2005. Therefore, it has now been two years since its inception. I still am enjoying posting to this thing and maintaining it. Thanks to WordPress for consistently releasing new and greater versions of their blogging software. It is indeed a pleasure to use. So turn up your glasses. Happy two years to me and whoever is reading this! Ha!

I have added a new static page to my site, called Site. This new page will have site news and information about when my blog got started and general tidbits about the site as a whole. I made it a separate page after deciding to remake my About page as a bio page strictly for information about the author (me). In the past, I have made many posts on my decisions to change the visual theme for my blog. In the future, I won’t be making a new blog post for information such as that. You’ll find that info and more on the static Site page.