My Afflation

At the beginning of the month, I determined that I was going to start blogging daily again. I had just finished a few of Darren's podcasts  and was feeling energized about completing a 31 Day Blogging project. I even picked out a new theme  and was ready to install it when I got derailed. derailed by  waqasmallick  on  DeviantArt A little bit of travel, nearly 1000 photos to sort through and edit (just from that trip, that I am still working on so that I can eventually do the write-up), learning Photoshop and Lightroom all over again Plex server issues, and then just some days where I wasn't feeling creative or motivated in the least. At the end of the work day, the last thing I wanted to do was get on another computer. Most of the month falls into that last category. So, for all the other working single mothers who also happen to be bloggers, how the heck do you do it? I know some of you have blogged about it, but it doesn't seem sustain...

Allrighty then. Here we go. After watching this: and this: I've decided to refocus certain things in my life, starting with paying attention to my creative outlets. Especially my blog. It's my main creative outlet and I need to core dump more often. Are y'all ready for that? Of course, I don't expect any of you new readers to be, but there are some of you who have been with me since the beginning. Ideally, I'll get back to more me, less fluff. Last night I spent hours moving things over to Squarespace and playing around with templates and customizing things and well, in the end it looked like crap. Largely due to my inconsistent photography and boring content and just ... well, I was horrified. And then I thought "I could just close this down and start over", but I have had this blog for over a decade. It's just going to have to keep growing and changing with me. So maybe I am not truly ready to move out of my comfort zone, but I am ready to ch...

I haven't been blogging much lately, but I have been trying something a little different on G+. It started when I saw some awesome bedrooms and decided that in a perfect world, that's where I would want to sleep. Each post was titled "Tuck Me In". Since Collections launched I've been a little more focused and they have evolved into a short recap of my day or my state of mind. You can follow the collection if you're interested in exotic locations and want to keep getting inside my head. And no, you don't have to get a G+ account to see these gorgeous bedrooms.

Yes, I know I am behind the times on this one. But some other projects and simple lack of time, have made me consider vlogging. I just don't want to torture you, my faithful friends and readers. These would be unedited, off the cuff, and most likely posted from my phone as time permits. Because really, when do I not have my phone with me? And it uploads automatically to YouTube! And it may (or may not) prepare me for podcasting on Nick and Nanner on Tech So ... let me know. The poll closes in one week. Thanks for your input.

Check it! Still taking baby steps, but there's a new tech review blog on the scene. Nick and Nanner on Tech . We'll be talking all things tech and mobile, without all the Apple fanboi fluff you get from some other sites. We're just two users who like open source, PCs, Macs, Android, etc. Expect it to evolve and get better. We have a lot planned. And please, send in your suggestions! Related articles by Zemanta Android market share to surge over next four years (news.cnet.com) Google: Android not yet ready for tablets (news.cnet.com)

If you happen to actually visit my blog and not get it delivered in email or an RSS feeder, you may have noticed a few changes around here. Sometimes even I get tired of the way my blog looks and need to switch it up a bit. Sort of like moving furniture around every 6 months. It’s a good way to clean things up, play around with a new look, and get rid of clutter. One new thing that I added, that I hope will build up a little community around my corner of the blogosphere, is Disqus , a commenting system. Why do I need a commenting system? Doesn't Blogger have one built in? Yes, blogger does have built in, but it's less than ideal. There is no way to do threaded comments, and sometimes comments get lost in my email. I did in fact use the “idiot-proof” installation method and it seems to have imported all of my comments beautifully (this is actually how I became aware that I had missed a few comments!) That step was the one I was most fearful of since I had read that people had...

So ... I was getting ready to write a post about how bored I am and running out of topics (darn writer's block) -- when one literally hits me in my face. My blog has been blocked from work. For being a parked domain. Which is isn't. But still ... I didn't think I was doing that much on it. So, what do you want to read about here?

1. Tell marketing executives that I'm on twitter. 2. Tell them that I have thousands of followers. 3. Also tell them that I'm a (mommy) blogger.  BONUS -- Have one of them ask "What do you tweet about?" Answer using the phrase "pimping" in relation to children's digital media.  I could have died right then. Especially since I was sitting next to a VP whom I am pretty sure raised an eyebrow. The room followed with nervous laughter. But of course I didn't. I plowed right ahead listing the other things I tweet about (which can be found in my bio if you haven't looked recently). One interesting point brought up in this meeting was the lifecycle of "mommy bloggers" -- how they are really into it and prolific while their child(ren) are young and then it dies off in the upper elementary - high school years, and now some older women are picking it up as their child(ren) go(es) off to college. The "empty nesters". And I found myself th...

I've been "moblogging" for years, ever since Blogger introduced the go@blogger.com integration with MMS.  I used to mo-blog from a Motorola camera phone (NOT a Razr), then my Dash, but not so much with my G1.  It's just not as intuitive and the other night i discovered a word limit that I wasn't aware of. My work-around involves using AK Notepad to write the post, and then either email it, or if I had a photo attached, send photo and blog text to my flickr2blog account (yeah, I'm all over linking my accounts to my blog). This doesn't give a lot of control for formatting. I don't like blogging in the mobile blogger.com interface. It's actually more difficult to write, add pictures, etc. And if you lose data connection, there goes your post! For over a year I have been looking for a decent Blogger blogging app. The Android Market has had two really good ones for Wordpress and LiveJournal, and even a Drupal app. It has always puzzled me why Google d...

Well, it's hard to be a ---> (gotta watch my mouth cuz my mom reads this blog now) when your readers ability to post comments fails . I was only alerted to it when I put out a plea regarding all of the cool people visiting my site but not saying anything. I was concerned about not being relevant. And that well may be the case since I break all sorts of good blogging rules, but hey, this my blog, my online mental and emotional core dump (and trust me, I still save you from the worst of it) ... But I digress. Anyway, the comment function is working again. If you do find that it is NOT and would like to leave a comment, please find me on twitter @ daNanner , send me a message on Facebook , or Please, leave a comment. I like the dialog. And Blogger, I am really getting tired of this. I have used your service since 2001, don't make me move now.

Back in February I joined a request for postcards in exchange for some link love. Look what arrived! Actually, they arrived almost 3 weeks ago but I haven’t had made the time to get them up and blogged. The postcards are actually in color, but my camera phone can’t do them justice. Lynn has beautiful handwriting: If you have forgotten how to read cursive (I overheard some peers saying they had forgotten how to write it!), she writes: Hi Annette, Congratulations, this is your bonus postcard, courtesy of the Postcard/Link Exchange of 2009! What a change in weather – I always forget just how humid it is here. Forced myself to stay awake all day, it’s now ~9pm – I’ve earned my sleep, methinks! Hope you’re having a great time @ Long Beach! Lynne a.k.a amalaysianabroad.today.com I really need to get back into Postcrossing. It’s so fun to meet people and travel vicariously!

Harriet had a wonderful idea and I choose to propogate it here: 1. Copy and paste the code to the Blog Luv Button: 2. Make a commitment to yourself that you will spread the luv by leaving a certain amount of positive comments per day. Make it 5 or 10 or 100 depending on how much time you have or how badly you want to do this. 3. When you see this button on another site, be sure to leave a luv comment as well. 4. Let's see how much we can all make a difference in the comment quality and luv around the blog world. PS. Someone has suggested that everyone who wants to participate leave a comment with a link to your site to share comment love with one another.

I had a very interesting lunch today and it made me realize some things about myself. I already knew I wasn’t money motivated, but I really am NOT money motivated. On some topics, I just couldn’t relate. The main thoughts going through my head included “Who? What?” and “Why?” Who : are these people they are talking about? Who are these designers? What : I’ve never heard about that. And generally I consider myself fairly well-informed. Why : would you say/do/think that??? I knew I was an oddball, but wow, either I’m out of it, I’m travelling in the wrong circles, or being money-motivated leads to … I don’t know what it leads to. The only thing I am searching for in life right now is contentment. I’m not denying that money is useful. BOY, do I know that it’s necessary . But the things I would use it for, compared with the things other people use it for, are just at opposite ends of the spectrum. But hey, if you want to give me money, for a little bit of work, and some vis...

I found this fascinating quote today: Given that the happiness and feelings of his friends are Pooh’s chief concern (other than hunny, that is), he’d likely build a strong community as a blogger . Here are six social media lessons we can all learn from the lovable bear who’s stuffed with fluff. 6 Steps To Better Blogging - Lessons From The Pooh , Jan 2009 I like the way this was written, and the more I seem to be getting dragged into social media and interacting on the web, I may have to take this advice seriously.

So I missed the freebie version of Dr. Horrible because I didn't know it was a Joss Whedon production. I have been a Joss fan since Firefly/Serenity. Still can't get into Buffy and Angel, but I'll forgive him that :) And I so wish I was going to Comic-Con!!!! Joss and Scott Sigler are going to be there this year. Anyways, back to Dr. Horrible. The one thing that is going to convince me to start using iTunes. *sigh* A LETTER FROM JOSS WHEDON Dear Friends, At last the time has come to reveal to you our Master Plan. BEWARE! Those with weak hearts should log off lest they be terrified by the twisted genius of our schemes! Also pregnant women and the elderly should consider reading only certain sentences. Do not mix with other blogs. Do not operate heavy machinery while reading this blog. You must be this tall to read. ‘Kay? It is time for us to change the face of Show Business as we know it. You know the old adage, “It’s Show Business – not Show Friends”? Well now it’s Show Fr...

Thank you plb. Still working on that bottle I got a few months ago, but on nights like this, it comes in SO handy. I can sleep fairly peacefully and not wake up groggy. Which is a good thing. Work and all. One of these days I will get back to proper blogging without all of the photos getting in the way. I used to have witty things to say, right? In the meantime, read my twitter stream over there to the left. Micro-blogging at it's ... at my best.