CornerScribe

Archive for the ‘Administration Notes’ Category

As you’ve probably noticed, I’ve tried out a couple themes, and I think I’ve settled on this one. Unfortunately, it needs quite a lot of work, so the site will be a little funky for another day or so.

My husband actually chose this theme. Since it wouldn’t be quite fair to give him the prize, I just chose someone randomly from those who submitted themes.  The winner is Sharonda. I have your email; just let me know if sending your Amazon certificate there is okay.

Thanks again to everyone who submitted themes, and thanks for your patience as I get the kinks worked out of this one.

I’ve been super-busy the last few days, so here are some updates.

We have fleas. Well, by “we” I mean the pets, not my husband and me (yet). This year appears to be particularly bad for them, and the usual flea treatments aren’t working very well. Tonight, my husband bathed two dogs, one rabbit and two cats. No, he didn’t need a trip to the emergency room afterward, but the cats did draw some blood. Everyone seems happier now.

I’m still reworking the novel. Things are going slowly, but they are going, thank goodness.

I finally got my invite to ravelry, and I’ve been browsing patterns. I also ordered a box of yarn from knitpicks. I promise to do better about taking photos in the future. I’ve got some socks, scarves and a lace stole on the needles right now.

Expect some more blog updates coming soon. I have several posts in the works that will be coming up shortly, including the promised one on markets.

I’m having some serious difficulty choosing a new Wordpress theme, so I thought I might turn it into a contest. And no, you don’t have to create a theme to enter.

What I want…

1. A theme that’s valid (html, css, etc.)
2. Widget and plug-in ready
3. Professional but not plain. Something with a touch of “artsy-ness” is what I’m looking for, but I’m at a loss to describe it better. I want it to look like a writer’s site, not a business site.
4. Three-column layout preferred. However, if the theme is otherwise terrific, then I’d take two-column.

What would you suggest as a prize for the person who recommends the winner? I’m leaning toward an Amazon gift certificate ($25), but I’m open to other suggestions. If you’re the winner and really want a gift certificate to somewhere else, let me know and we can probably work it out.

Rules:

1. Submit no more than 3 themes.
2. If more than one person submits the same theme, and it’s the winner, then the first person to submit will get the prize.
3. To submit a theme (or themes), leave a comment in this post, a trackback, or a link to an article on your site where you talk about your picks.
4. The contest will end August 15th.

Any questions? Post them here in the comments. I’m looking forward to seeing your suggestions!

I’m going to be working on installing a new theme, so you may see the site doing some funny things through the evening. I don’t expect it to become unavailable, unless things go terribly awry, but my talented hubby is here to help me get through the changes.

Please let me know what you think about the new theme.

Obviously, the new theme hasn’t materialized. I noticed a problem with the one I had chosen, and I haven’t found another yet. Any suggestions for a theme? 

Hello to everyone coming from Daily Blog Tips for the contest entries. While you’re here, please subscribe to my RSS feed; I’d love to have you.

My entry is here.

My votes for top posts is here.

I’ll also have a post tomorrow on writing better titles and openings for blog posts. Current readers, I’ll be putting up the character building worksheets within the next day or two, so keep an eye out for those.

I’ve changed the category “Grammar” to “Writing Helper.”

I think it more accurately describes the post contents. You can find all the Grammar posts under the new category.

Ahem…

The observant among you no doubt noticed the downtime. I’m not sure how long it lasted, but as you see, I’m back. Hosting usually works better when you 1. Pay with a good credit card and 2. Receive your email at an address that actually works. My husband saved the day on this one (thanks, hon!!). He found an old phone number on our bank statement, of all places. It turned out to be one of the staff’s home number (bet she loves that), and she helped me take care of it.

I also learned something else rather interesting; it’s possible to get a significant traffic boost by adding the word “sex” to your title. That wasn’t my intention with the last post. I just thought it was a funny quote. My visits have jumped about 20 percent since then.

I don’t know about you, but I find that troubling. Someone out there in internet-land is searching for “sex on a bicycle”? I don’t even want to think about it.

I’m also making my first attempt at lace knitting. It’s a shawl for my aunt, and so far, so good. It’s a pattern from page 114 of Hats Gloves Scarves(a recent gift from my secret pal). It’s a 30 stitch repeat scarf, and the pattern gives a narrow and wide version. However, neither was quite enough for a shawl, so I added an extra repeat. Otherwise, I haven’t altered the pattern (unless you count mistakes!)

I’m using a yarn I got from Knitpicks, that’s 70 percent wool and 30 percent silk. It’s actually sock weight, but it’s knitting up beautifully!

And finally, I’ve learned that I may end up being a real TV junkie after all. I don’t watch much television, but we usually have it on for background noise. Silence bugs me, but that’s another story. My husband (he’s been really handy lately) set up MythTV for me. For those unfamiliar with it, it’s similar to Tivo, except that it’s Opensource and free. We had an older computer, and he installed Ubuntu there (Linux). Then MythTV. It took some setup and tweaking, but it’s working like a charm now.

Right now, I’m watching Planet of the Apes. Get your hands off me, you damn dirty ape! Okay, so I really like the movie. I’ll be taping The Tick later tonight. Spoon!!

Wow, that was a bit worse than I expected. I had my wisdom tooth out Friday morning, and it took eight (yes, that’s 8!!) shots to get me numb. I felt okay afterwards, until the numbness started to wear off.

Ow!

I’ve been feeling rough all weekend, hence no blog entries. However, my mouth is now only mildly sore, and I’m ready to get underway again. Sorry for being away so long.

I also have a couple administrative notes about the blog. I see from my web stats that I’m picking up more visitors lately; unfortunately only the occasional person comments (thanks, Lydia!). I’d like to encourage participation in the blog. Any ideas?

This blog is going to replace the one over at www.cornerscribe.typepad.com. I’ll be moving (attempting to move…) my old posts from there later this week, so they should be showing up, if things go well. Keep your fingers crossed.