Upgraded to WordPress 2.6
July 19th, 2008 mel
WordPress Logo
Just a quick note, that I’ve upgraded the blog to WordPress 2.6. For information on what that means, you can check it out here at the WordPress blog, and watch the video too!
murmurs realized
1Password
May 5th, 2008 melThere is one piece of software, that I have found to be invaluable since I started using it last fall. It’s call 1Password.
It seems simple enough. What it does is keep track of all your logins names and passwords and fill in the appropriate text boxes with one or two keystrokes. But that’s not all it does. It can keep track of various identities you use to join up with various forums or shopping sites and with one click fill in all the data for you. Not only that, it can keep track of “wallet” items like credit cards or secure notes like serial numbers on purchased software. All of this is kept on a secure separate keychain.
So if you use a Mac, check out 1Password.
Louise Logs
April 20th, 2008 melAn artist friend of mine is creating a series of videos entitled, the Louise Logs. I think they are brilliant, and given the nature of the dialog, I think they fit perfectly with the title and intents of this blog. The plan I have come up with, is to post one here each week (at this point in time, there are five of them).
Of course, you can always see them all at once if you like. Here, then, is the first one:
Remember to turn your sound on. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
WordPress 2.5 upgrade
April 1st, 2008 melI downloaded and installed WordPress 2.5 last night. Nothing the reader sees should change until I learn more about the new version, which is a complete overhaul. That means there are new features that will become evident once I learn how to implement them. An example of something that interest me is a feature called galleries.
More on this as I learn more.
Snap Shot and Spellcheck
February 29th, 2008 melI have a blog on WordPress.com, besides this one (WordPress.org). Anyway, on that site, something called Snap Shots is enabled (there is not as much control by the user there).
I figured that it had to be a plugin of some kind and I was able to find it. It’s very easy to install. You don’t have to be a programmer, and if you go to the Snapshot web page, they even have a 1 click installation button. So now, if you hover your mouse over a link, it will show you a snapshot (get it 
) or preview of the page that it is linked to.
While checking out .COM, I examined the spellchecker since I haven’t been able to get it to work on the .ORG site and it worked. So, I came to this site and tried it, and it worked perfectly.
Prior to this, I would get an error message. Now you click on the spellcheck and that turns it on and checks the spelling, then underlines the misspelled words in red. Clicking on the red words will offer suggestions. Now, I think you should be able to click on the suggestion and that will replace the word, but that doesn’t happen.
Follow-up:
It didn’t work because for whatever reason, Camino won’t play. Works fine in FireFox.
new blog theme
February 28th, 2008 melI like this theme. It’s called Biru and it’s by BlogOhBlog. Kind of new and fresh looking, so I’ll keep it for now. There are a number of themes I like, though, so I’m investigating theme switchers. Actually I tried one today, but it was buggy.
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Meanwhile, Enigma4Ever has a first hand report on the Democratic political race in Cleveland, and seems to have some insight into Obama’s popularity that many in the media miss.
He is trying to Unite the Dems, but also unite us as People that have suffered for 7 years.
Check it out. Cool blog.
outward change
February 27th, 2008 melI decided I wanted to see something different, so I changed the theme. I’ll go back to my previous theme after a while because there are some things lacking. I downloaded a few other themes, but they don’t seem to work very well.
After I wrote the above, I changed the theme again.
Maybe I should keep the outside the same, and change the inside. 
scrivener vs. ulysses
January 12th, 2008 melI see that WordPress has yet another update. This time it appears to be a security upgrade. I never did upgrade from the previous update, but I’m glad I didn’t because it would have been twice the work.
Another program I’m toying with is called Scrivener. It’s a writing program and I can see, even after three days, why it has become so popular. You are not crammed into fitting in with the way the program works. Here’s the sales pitch:
Writing a book, short story or research paper is about more than hammering away at the keys until it’s done. Research, scrawling fragmentary ideas that don’t seem to fit anywhere yet, collecting faded photos from old newspapers, shuffling index cards to find that elusive structure - most writing software is only fired up after much of the hard work is already done. Enter Scrivener: writing software that stays with you from that first, unformed idea all the way through to the first - or even final - draft. Outline and structure your ideas. Take notes. Storyboard your masterpiece using a powerful virtual corkboard. View research while you write. Track themes using keywords. Dynamically combine multiple scenes into a single text just to see how they fit. Scrivener has already been enthusiastically adopted by best-selling novelists and novices alike - whatever you write, grow your ideas in style.
I already have a very nice writing program called Ulysses, but I have never felt comfortable with it. It seemed too rigid. Other than the corkboard, Scrivener doesn’t really have anything different in terms of features. It just seems easier to work with. Well, I have 30 days to play with it… excuse me, 27 days. Around $40.
Meanwhile, I should upgrade WordPress - maybe this weekend.
happy new year and software
January 6th, 2008 melHappy New Year!
I am so glad 2007 is over. Call me silly for believing that just by passing an arbitrary date on the calendar, I can start anew, but there’s something comforting about having a start date. Anyway, welcome 2008.
I’ve come across two really nice pieces of software.
The one I have used the most thus far is 1Password. It’s a program that keeps your IDs and passwords available to you for websites, but secure on your keychain (if you haven’t guessed, we’re talking Mac software). It will also generate secure passwords for you and since you don’t have to remember them, they can be really secure. If you get a chance, check it out. I believe there is a 30 day trial period, but beware, once you start using it, you won’t want to be without it. About $30.
The other piece of software that I have just been using for a day or so is Things. It is still in beta and is free until sometime in the spring of this year. It’s a glorified task manager, but the key word is glorified. Well designed and easy to use. I didn’t feel like I had to totally learn the program before getting it to make a difference in getting my life organized. All of a sudden, things did not feel so overwhelming. I’m not an expert on task managers and I don’t have a lot of experience with them, so there may be a program that is better than this one, but I’d pay for this program as soon as it becomes available.
New WordPress Version
October 20th, 2007 melI see there is a new version of WordPress out. That’s the program this blog is running on. I’ll try to upgrade this weekend.
