Quick Site Update

Quick note… I’ve updated the site settings to allow anyone to comment – i.e., you no longer have to have a blogger account in order to comment.

I don’t know if that was actually why no one is or not (insert sound of crickets chirping here), but if it was a factor, it isn’t any more. Comment moderation is still turned on, so if you do comment, and don’t see it showing up right away, that’s why.

I’m using comment moderation mostly to prevent spam and also to keep it clean, this is a fambly-friendly blog…

I’ve also got a couple of posts-in-progress that I’m working on, including an overdue pregnancy update (short version – doin’ fine!) and some reflections on Grace and Gracefulness and Gentleness, tentatively titled “Grace, 1828-Style.” If I can only find the time to actually write the thing – need to discipline myself much better…

Site Update

Well, I’m obviously still working on the design of the site… It will probably be in flux for a while, until I find a look and feel that I like enough to stick with. I’ve given up on the idea of building my own layout, and instead am using “canned” layouts from Blogger and other sources. I want to concentrate more on content than on the design.

Also, another quick note… I’ve decided after much consideration to remove the “Photos” and “Links” sections of the site. They hadn’t been updated for quite some time, and I decided to refocus the site to emphasize the blog. So they’re gone. In the meantime, if you want more to read than my site, then first of all WHY??? And secondly, check out the links in the blogroll to the right.

A quick note about the blogroll: the fact that a site is linked does not mean that I endorse what they say. It just means that I have found stuff on their sites interesting enough to read on a regular or semi-regular basis. That’s all. Sites will also come and go periodically from the blogroll as I find newer, more interesting ones, or as I simply lose interest in some of them.

At some point I’ll put together a whole big disclaimer page but that’s it for now.

Quick trivia: The spell checker on “Blogger” doesn’t recognize the following words: blog, blogger, blogroll.

Commuting, and Site News

If only there were a way that drivers could somehow signal their intention to turn… Perhaps some kind of specialized equipment installed on vehicles…

Ah, the joys of the morning commute.

Anyway, as you may have noticed (insert sound of crickets chirping), the site redesign is making progress. It’s still a work in progress, as is obvious from the right-side banner stopping abruptly half-way down the page. That will be corrected as soon as I can figure out how to either correct the HTML/CSS layout I’m using, or replace it. (Any fellow geeks out there with insight of how to stretch the div element, post a comment. Otherwise, I’m going back to “old-school” with a table layout. I’ll do it, too!)

Blogging Challenges, Part 1: “First Season Jitters”

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the challenges of blogging, and the first one I’ve identified is this…

“First Season Jitters”

What does that mean? Well, let me tell you.

Have you ever noticed how bad the first season of TV shows are? Especially shows that turn out to be really good. You go back and watch the reruns of the first season and ask yourself, “How did this ever turn out so good?”

Examples:

Star Trek: The Next Generation.
When this show started, I was 14, a huge classic Trek fan, and a geek. (I’m no longer 14, but that’s about all that’s changed.) I was ready for new Star Trek on TV. And… it stank. It was wooden, contrived, and, amazingly boring. Check it out. You can identify any first season episode of ST:TNG by this – Riker doesn’t have the beard. Compare any episode with a beardless Riker with any later episode, and you’ll see what I mean. The show turned out to be pure gold, but what a shaky start!

Seinfeld
When Seinfeld first came on the air, it was good, but not as good as later. What was missing? The interweaving story lines. Character development. Elaine wasn’t even in the first episode, and Jason Alexander spent most of season one acting not like George Costanza, but Woody Allen.

So… I’ve got the First Season Jitters.
Yep. No doubt about it. I’m worried that my “first season” of blogging will turn out like a beardless Riker. Or an overly nervous Woody Allen wannabe. Oh, I’m sure my writing will grow to the later, better developed Number One. Or the more mature “my life stinks but I’m not going to be neurotic, I’m going to relish it” George. But until then, things might be a bit bumpy.

What to do? I will press onward. I will let my writing (hey, it’s been 13 years since college) redevelop naturally, and through consistent practice. And I’m confident things will work out OK.

Bear with me, my friends. Bear with me…

Announcements…

A few announcements…

Site Redesign
I’ve been meaning to update the look and feel of the site for quite some time, and turn it into more of a blog site, but that’s obviously not yet done. Over the coming weeks, I will hopefully find the time to update more of the design, such as that annoying gap up in the banner graphic at the top of the page.
Which leads to the reason for “relaunching” the site early:

The Baby
There’s no other way to headline that, now, is there? Yep, you read it right. Shannon is pregnant!
We found out yesterday afternoon, and estimate that she is about 4 weeks along. The estimated due date for James Jr. (not really the name, and we obviously don’t know the gender) is February 18, 2007.

I will be blogging through the pregnancy, including some more later (hopefully), but until then, may I simply say…
Wow.

Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward.(Psalm 127:3 ESV)