Changeling

This template is driving me crazy! One minute it's okay, next minute it's gobbed up. Okay, who put the hex on this blog...?

Blogging in the Blogosphere

Hey. I don't know what I did, but now my template has righted itself; that's cool. I can dig it.
So onto some blogging and discover some of that "undiscovered country". One very interesting "sphere" discussed a simulated environment that would fool your brain into thinking you were in Utopia, all while your brain is floating around in a liquid filled vat. Found a few "blogging in the blogosphere" type of blogs - did that make sense? Nothing really new there. Just a commentary of how people should jump on the blogging band wagon. Dull. Ho hum kind of stuff.

Deleted posts

I had to delete a couple of postings from last week. I'm having problems with my template - either the side bar slides down to the bottom of the page, or the postings slide down the bottom of the page. I fixed it once on Wednesday, but I have no idea how I did it! Anyone got any idears???


Okay, this is a repeat of my posting from the library, but here it is: I found this link from Aspen's blog: I may just have peed a little. This guy's really funny.

Not the Queen of Everything

Today I am working on my blog. You may notice some changes later in the day. If not, The Queen does not offend easily.
I flitted around the blogosphere today and found Sharon. I like her pictures, and her ability to make every day stuff sound great. Wish I could blog off the cuff like that. Oh well - The Queen can't be "Queen of Everything" - or can't I? Well, certainly not today. My wings are really sore today, and I'm all out of breath.
I chatted with Aspen during class. Her blog is terrific too, although I'm not sure why she thinks it's boring. Love her doggy picture.

Boing! Boing!

This blog is self-described as A Directory of Wonderful Things. The purpose is not easily pigeon-holed, but overall it seems to be self-expression. The home page has several links to current events, the latest hot topic is about Google resisting The Feds in releasing databases on user information. Posted topics include securing your personal security on the internet, remaining anonymous, and other creative ventures.

I followed links to the various co-founders - most having science, writing/journalism, or Berkeley as a common thread. This blog is group managed, founded by several bloggers rather than one person (Mark, Cory, David, Xeni, and John). Each individual has their own blog: David's "blog" is a blank page with links. John's blog is informational, and Mark and Cory's are self-expressive. Xeni has an extensive portfolio of photos along with an impressive resume. I think her blog is more geared toward reputation building, rather than self-expression.

What makes this blog worth reading is the variety of different voices within the blog. Political sarcasm, single-celled ancestors, identity theft and computerized law enforcement are a few examples of what you will find here.

I think Rebecca Blood would ague that this blog is a classic example of a filter-style weblog, because these co-founders consider themselves editors. Also, because "they are building their reputation as much on their ability to judge what is worthwhile." Despite her view that "the weblogger has no part in deciding what news will be reported", the case for the weblogger as news editor - in this case - does succeed.

Rebecca's Bloogers

You may find this unbelievable, but I was rather disappointed with this blog. At first glance I find Rebecca's Pocket as dry as an autumn leaf. It is mostly a filter for current events rather than a journal or notebook, as I expected. As she is the author of several books, I was expecting a lively discussion on her blog, or maybe some creative self-expression.

Once I poked around, however, I discovered that it is an information laced with reputation building blog, since she does list her online bio as well as a press version of her bio. Her blog reads like a merger of media: People magazine, USA Today, talk radio, and links to e-zines.

Blood states her blog "consists of ...a few essays, and pages and pages of links." I found this to be fairly accurate, and readers of her site are more than likely interested in following hot topics and current events. Her weblog's purpose, in my humble estimation, is mainly to inform. This is evidenced by the multitude of articles linked to her blog, and the absence of conversational threads. She does solicit feedback, however, in the form of email - so if you have something to say you can email her personally, or follow The Queen and link someplace else.

Rebecca links to many different professionals - some host online magazines with podcasts, and pda friendly sites, others discuss creating algae farms to clean power-plant exhaust and create clean-burning fuels, which I must admit would be interesting food for thought. There is the possibility that this informational blog is her self-expression, but she did post her project for 2006 is an Aran sweater, so I'm not so sure.

The Queen is not as sophisticated as others, and wouldn't want to read her blog on a regular basis- unless of course you are interested in media literacy, web culture, or professional bloogers - which the Queen is not. Overall, I still contend this site is autumn leaf dry - faerie folk have little in common with technology/human behavior. To be faer, I followed some of her links and did manage to find a few that were interesting: making your own blackboard paint, and an excellent commentary on the state of the economy. Instapundit.com seemed interesting at first, but we soon lost interest. The Queen is more interested in green things, but you probably already figured that out.

Blogging- A Day in the Life of Molly Blogger

In my quest to locate my faerie dust, I spotted the dandiest English garden; no delectable flowers to relax in this time o' year, but the statuary was simply incredible! While resting, I ran into someone I know only as Molly. We chatted for a bit, and she educated me in the complex story of Blogs. She even showed me one, but it was too busy and was a tad bit overwhelming. Too many mortals! The jist of Molly's blog seems to be personal development mixed with journal type entries. She says she is working to become more proficient with web development, but still keep things on the lighter side. I'm not sure whether she succeeds in the personal development, but from the number of beings that stop in to visit I'd say she succeeds in the entertainment department. If I were so inclined, I'd try to build more faerie friendly web sites. I could be wrong - that's just my opinion.

Molly posts different things to encourage reader participation, through feedback. On friday, 20 January, she encouraged/posed a question to her readership asking what titles they could come up with for computer books they would buy or read. Some of the titles are: CSS Makes You Attractive; The code speaks for itself - clean, semantic, structural markup; Agile web design - from mockup to live site with XHTML/CSS; Tomorrow’s web development…today.

These titles portray the difficulties encountered by computer geeks trying to keep on top of the everchanging world of HTML/XHTML, and mastering cascading style sheets. Both which I find are equally challenging, but what do I know? I'm just a fairy who's lost her dust, and a few marbles too.

Molly posts things that she is involved with, as well as things of general interest. For example, she posted a letter her brother recived regarding an old Corningware electric percolator he was trying to restore. I was impressed by the letter (which is posted in its entirety), not only with the extent of their customer service (which I've heard is great), but mostly with the thought they put into the text of the letter. As pointed out in the thread this is not your ordinary form letter - the company goes above and beyond the call of duty; they put a great deal of time and resources into researching the manufacturing date, and also made a point to tell him the part he played in redesigning and improving their current products One also gets the feeling that the company truly cares about their customers; this is illustrated in the way the company replaced the pot with "gifts of the designer glass coffee press" among several other items, to ensure continuing customer satisfaction and loyalty - two items that are rare these days. Through this posting on Molly's website, Corningware has probably reinforced, if not increased, their following of loyal customers.
Her blog is worth reading because it challenges the reader to think, and brings to the audience new developments in the world of computer/web design. She gears her site around computers and the associated jobs in the computer world, but doesn't alienate other readers because she discusses other topics like music, household products (corningware), and the ideal world aka Utopia. This blog/journal is geared more toward the reader than the author, illustrated by her leading questions - intended to draw the reader into the discussion. For example: "@MEDIA IS BAAAACK . . . The London event that rocked the U.K. and Europe last summer is on for June 15-16. And this time it’s bigger, with two tracks, and an all-star lineup of speakers.
Lots of familiar faces from across the pond will be there, including Dan “Simplebits” Cederholm, Tantek “Microformats” Çelik, Eric “Pope” Meyer, Dave “Zen” Shea and myself. The coolest part is that everyone is talking about very creative and diverse topics - check out the terrific content."

As the typical blogger, she includes a mulitude of links embedded within her text. As Blood explains, "The link is the fundamental attribute of the Web, and it is the single most important thing that distinguishes weblogging from traditional forms of publishing...."It is the link that gives their credibility by creating a transparency that is impossible in any other mediums. It is the link in which weblogs exist."

Nothing to Say Day

Sorry. I don't really have much to say today. I had an appointment this morning, but it was cancelled. So now I have all this time on my little faerie wings. I should probably work for "The Man" today, but it's not high on my list of fun things to do.
What shall I do??? Ciou Baby!

Today, I salute "The Man"

Top o' the mornin' t'ya!
Although I have been perfectly content flitting from one flower to the next in my world garden, it has come to my attention that there's more to a faerie's life than just being.
Darn! And I was having so much fun...

Chapters 1-3 written in Blood:

You can play with your blog by learning HTML
There are different categories of blogs:

• wee-blogs
• notebooks
• and filters

Faeries don't like to be catalogued. Do you?

The mortal Rebecca also writes about what motivates one to keep a blog:

Sharing:
• pictures of ones family - yes, even the Queen has a family
• sharing thoughts that one may not be willing to share in public

Reputation building
• This could be important if a faerie were to go into the freelance business sprinkling magical faerie dust
• Or maybe if the Queen wanted her underlings to pen her memoirs, she might follow a different angle like Sandi did
• Or if you want to chat about the daily news, see Sharon

Another reason for blogging is personal expression. An alter-ego may fit this description, although it may be time consuming unless computing is your hobby.

The Queen will not be pigeon-holed like some elf, therefore, she does not follow any particular guidelines. Oh. Did I offend you? Too bad - buzz off.
Yes, even a Queenly faerie can be mean spirited sometimes. It's plainly written in the rule book. Read it. Besides, isn't it nice to be naughty sometimes?

No Title

Greetings and salutations! This entry has no title. Why? Coz I don't want it to. I'm cranky (okay, hung over) and suffering from a nasty sunburn. Yeah, I know - serves me right for escaping winter while everyone else has to suffer. Get over it.

I've got a taste for kiwi today, and New Zealand is balmy this time of year. Not too hot, not too cold, and the people are fantastic! Wait - I hear something. Sounds like a chain gang chanting or somethn. Hold on while I check this out.

Nope. It's just the south island beckoning to me - screaming out my name. I know I'm a coward when it comes to the cold, but I gotta go. I have to escape the insanity. Cave rafting anyone???

Just Another Day in the Neighborhood

Hullow from Hawaii. That's right, Hawaii. Land of the never ending summer. What's that? What am I doin' here? Weell, lemme tell ya....

Today I am seeking refuge from "The Blue-Haired Crowd." Got the munchies wicked bad last night, so I cruised on over to the 7-11 for a kwik snak and damn near got killed when Grandma Bunn cut me off! No turn signal, no brake lights, nothin. Thought I was a gonner fer sure this time. Needless to say it killed my buzz, so I had to jet.

Hawaii is wicked cool this time o' year. Soft white sand and half-naked, bronzed bodies! Oh bartender, how about another one of those little umbrella drinks - pronto!