Advertising on a White Supremacist Site

Just a little aside to explain why I don't buy traffic through online advertising.

Welcome to yet another iteration of Angry in the Great White North

Since I am a computer engineer as well as a blogger, I love to tinker with the nuts and bolts of the website almost as much as I enjoy producing content for it.  So it is that Angry in the Great White North is transformed again.  In this design, I have incorporated much of what I have learned about usage patterns surrounding this blog.

Snazzy new design at Stephen Taylor's blog

Check out the new sleek design.

Garth Turner: Spamming for Stephane Dion?

Liberal MP Garth Turner is very excited.  The most loyal of all Liberal MPs is hosting a town hall meeting for his hero, Liberal Party leader Stephane Dion. 

But what if no one shows up?

To make sure that doesn't happen (and so show that he can command a loyal following of Liberal voters) Garth Turner has sent out a mass mailing to encourage people to turn out for the meeting.

Here's the problem.  Pulling together various threads, I wonder if there is reason to believe Garth Turner has contravened the anti-spam rules of the US-based email marketing service he is using his effort to look make Stephane Dion look good.

The end of the Internet as we know it?

Imagine that your ISP blocked access to every site on the Internet.  Then as a subscriber, you paid a monthly fee for access to basic blocks of sites, as well as extra fees for other sites not in the basic package.

Apparently this will define access to the Internet for Canadians in 2010.

I know, it sounds nuts.

Part of me wonders if I was directed to this story by someone wanting to embarrass me.

But then the idea has just plausible enough to make me think it could be true.

In any case, it's fascinating, and I figured I can't be faulted for letting you read the story and judge for yourself.

Ah, for all I know, this is just an urban legend I've never heard of before.

Missing comments mystery solved

I've figured out why some comments seemed to disappear, or why some seemed to appear on the recent comments list, but weren't seen on the blog post.  I had inadvertently created two comment streams per post.

Now only one stream exists per post.

Viigo: BlackBerry Feed Reader

I've installed a new gadget for my BlackBerry.  It's called Viigo.

Trackback Primer

Having re-enabled trackbacks, I've had more than a few people asking me just what a trackback is.

This post will provide some explanation, some guidelines on how to use trackbacks on this site, and a procedure for performing a trackback regardless of the software you use for web authoring (blogging or otherwise).

Trackbacks are back

It's been a long time, but I've put trackbacks back onto the blog.  Thanks to Jason Cherniak for prompting me to finally get off my butt and get this task done.

Welcoming James Curran to Intense Debate

Liberal blogger James Curran has installed the Intense Debate commenting system.  Here's hoping it will encourage blog readers to visit blogs from "the other side" more often.

An important consideration when shutting off government funding -- the spread of pornography!

The Conservative government has reduce or cut off funding to a number of programs, including quasi-private special interest groups.  Though I have no problem with the government vacating these areas, there are some unintended consequences to be considered.

In particular, of course, is having government computers help out with the spread of online pornography.

But you knew that's where I was going with this.

Phishing, PayPal, PayPalSucks, and the OCC

A phishing email popped up in my inbox, and just for fun, I decided to study the links and domains associated with it.  I would never have guessed what names and addresses popped up in relation to this bit of spam.

SlickCash, Brian Fabian, Facebook, spam, and Al Qaeda

A Toronto firm is in trouble for allegedly trying to crack open Facebook's data files.  Given the reputation of the holding companies in this porn empire, it seems like they were looking for email addresses.  I wonder if an interest in Al Qaeda four years ago was also just an attempt to get email addresses.

Some subtle blog changes driven by technology

Going forward, there are going to be a few subtle changes to the blog presentation.  I take a break from regular blogging to describe these changes since I think they might inspire other bloggers never to be satisfied, but to always try to make things better.

Encouraging more points of view

I've always maintained that the point of this blog is to encourage my readers to explore as many different points of view as possible. That's one of the reasons I've always displayed the blogrolls of all the major political groupings in Canada.

Blogs rolls, however, have limited utility. After a lot of procastination, I've finally added a cross-linking facility to the bottom of each post.

Fiddling with Social Bookmarking

I've done a bit of tweaking with the social bookmarks you'll find in the upper right-hand corner of the blog pages.

Where is Joe the Beaver? [He's back?]

I'm trying out a new banner, but try as a I might, I couldn't find room for Joe the Beaver.

Update: People said put him in the maple leaf. So I tried again, and I think I have something that works.

Conservative blogging in Canada rocks!

The results of the 2007 Weblog Awards are in, and the the people have made it clear. In Canada, conservative blogging is tops!

A note about the Intense Debate commenting system

Response to the new commenting system has been generally positive. The people at Intense Debate have been quick to resolve problems, but I ought to point out a problem I had that I've now noticed that at least one reader has had. My Google Mail account dumped by Intense Debate verification email into the spam folder. It took me a while to notice the problem. If you've registered but for some reason haven't spotted the email, check your spam folder. It might be lying in there. If it's not there, or you've emptied your spam folder, and you've registered but are hung up because you never saw a verification email, let me know, and I'll pass the information on to Intense Debate. With any luck we can get you registered in short order.

Best Canadian Blog -- The race is turning ugly!

Voting is still open for Best Canadian Blog in the 2007 Weblog Awards. As the voting continues, the race is turning ugly.

Congratulations to Andrew Coyne!

Moving on and up for Canada's premier political columnist!

2007 Weblog Finalist for Best Canadian Blog

It really is an honour just to be nominated. Of course, I had no idea until someone who hated the new commenting system emailed me to let me know how bad it was, and then congratulated me on the nomination.

Huh what?

Spook-tacular New Commenting System

For the next three months, starting the very Hallowe'en, I'd like to test drive Intense Debate, a new threaded commenting system. That is to say, I'd like you to drive Intense Debate, a new threaded commenting system.

Blogging, Linking, and Sourcing Stories

The story of Elizabeth Thompson's story on the pending release of Jean Chretien's memoirs is interesting, not just for us, but for Elizabeth Thompson and the people at CanWest News who might be curious about how information moves about the blogosphere.

But in evaluating how things went, I think I'm going to try harder myself to source material more clearly. And CanWest can help.

Who are you? The Blogreader Project

I'm always grateful to my readers, and I don't ask for much. I don't require people to log in to leave comments, or sit through a lot of ads (my content starts at the upper right), or be bored with Flash animations.

Nothing is changing on that count, but I do use BlogAds and we're running the Blog Reader Project. It is an attempt to collect data on who blog readers are, the sort of data that advertisers can study to determine just what sort of information would be most useful to you. Of course, the more focused the advertising, the higher rates we can command.

So take 10 minutes and fill out the survey. If you run a blog (you don't have to be running BlogAds to take part), consider signing up and getting your readers to participate as well.

Thanks.

Technical difficulties

I've just found out comments have been out of order. Please stay tuned.

Update: Issues have been resolved (comments, access to API, etc)

Ms Dewey should just shut up and search!

Check out Ms Dewey, and then you'll understand why Google has nothing to worry about.

All quiet at Michael Bryant's No Gun No Funeral

Glancing over at Michael Bryant's No Gun No Funeral website, I see things are quiet. They've been quiet for quite some time.

Comment Preview Function

A small improvement to the blog that I hope will improve people's experience here, as well as encourage even more online discussion.

The paucity of inbound links to No Gun No Funeral

The key to success for any low-budget grassroots website is inbound links. A blog is a good example. Unless you are a celebrity of some sort, a new blog will get zero direct traffic. That is, no one is going to know the name of the blog or even know to look for it. Instead, you build up traffic by going to like-minded websites (other blogs, forums, etc) and leaving comments and links back to your new site. Visitors come trickling in, and if you are lucky, one day you reach a tipping point when people come to your site because they know about it already.

So when I study the inbound links to No Gun No Funeral, I am struck by the fact that the only inbound links are from conservative blogs who are criticizing the site either for its message or for the way it was being delivered without full disclosure of the source.

There are no links from liberal-minded blogs, from left-of-centre forums, from any site that would send traffic supportive of the No Gun No Funeral message.

Given that this purpose of this site, ostensibly, is to collect petition signatures, this doesn't look good.

Another redesign of the blog

Yeah, I did it yet again. I just can't seem to hit that point where I'm totally satisfied with the way Angry in the Great White North looks and performs. Sometimes when I fiddle with the design I move farther away from that mysterious point. This one, I think, is getting closer. Let me explain some of the changes.

Did Stephane Dion hand over the secret keys to ClimateForChange.ca?

I keep coming back to the SSL certificate. Why is the SSL certificate for ClimateForChange.ca listed to be the certificate for stephanedion.ca? The more I think about it, the more uneasy I become. There is just no way that should have happened by accident. What I do understand of how certificates work suggests that this connection is a big deal.

Reinvigorate your blog statistics

I've been using a new statistics and metrics package called reinvigorate. Here are my impressions, and what I've learned about site metrics using this package that can apply to anyone.

Carcinogenic lipstick laced with lead

Not every consumer warning is legitimate. Especially ones that are forwarded by email. In this case, an old standard -- that major name brand lipsticks are going to kill you because of high lead levels -- is making the rounds again.

But in this environment of heightened sensitivity to hidden dangers in consumer goods, such as with the counterfeit Colgate toothpaste, these old hoaxes are getting a new lease on life.

Stephen Taylor's amazing newspaper viewer

Web 2.0 meets the Blogging Tories with Stephen Taylor's newspaper viewer. I can't really explain just why the application is so darned addictive. Maybe it's that sense of walking through recent history, or the hunt for a notable day to recall how the major papers covered the story.

Read Stephen's post on the the creation of this application, then visit it yourself.

Launching the Canadian Conservative Ad Network

The Canadian Conservatve Ad Network is recruiting both potential advertisers and member blogs. Advertisers and bloggers can find out more information here, and advertisers can visit the BlogAds Hive Home of the network to review the growing list of member blogs and purchase advertising.

Wrapping up the Adriane Carr fake website story with an apology

Looks like a disgruntled ex-Green Party worker, presumably Jayun McDowell (though this has not been confirmed), was responsible for the faked website at Adriane Carr's old domain. And Jim Harris has offered an apology to Liberal Hedy Fry for accusing her of being somehow responsible for the website.

Adriane Carr website almost certainly under the control of Webtide Internet Solutions

A detailed look into the IP addresses and mailservers associated with adrianecarr.ca, the website that formerly hosted the website of former BC Green Party leader Adriane Carr, now the candidate for the federal Green Party in Vancouver Centre, suggests that the site is still firmly in the control of Webtide Internet Solutions, as it has been since its inception. That's significant in determining who would have changed the site to show a strong endorsement of Liberal Party incumbent Hedy Fry by her opponent Adriane Carr, an endorsement claimed to be fraudulent by the Green Party.

More on the Adriane Carr website

Another look at the adrianecarr.ca website, currently the subject of interest since it started to show a message from Vancouver Centre Green Party nominee Adriane Carr endorsing Liberal Party incumbent Hedy Fry, reveals it's long history, and the changes it has undergone, but more important, the changes that have not happened.

Adriane Carr fake website -- Constructed by one of Carr's supporters?

The Green Party candidate for Vancouver-Centre, Adriane Carr, is the target of an online joke in which the domain adrianecarr.ca offers a strong endorsement of Liberal Party incumbent Hedy Fry.

The Green Party is claiming that the Liberals are behind it.

An analysis of the website, though, points to one of Adriane Carr's supporters.

The power of blogging to affect change

A retrospective on the recalls of products that have happened in Canada makes a comment that speaks to the potential of blogging to tip stories and to change behaviour.

Canadian bloggers still having trouble getting credit for their contribution

I keep reminding myself that the most important thing is the Canadians are now learning that they might have dangerously defective tires on their minivans and SUVs. That's what matters. But as an aside, I have to say I feel a bit cheated that the work I did to reveal that this might be the case has not been credited.

I shouldn't be this thin-skinned, but then all bloggers are cheated when this happens, so it's not just about me.

Nigerian compelled to provide real registration information

After I wrote about the strage constellation of websites registered by A Bojali, I was contacted by Bojali, who was getting heat from hosting companies over the suspicious registration information.

I offered some advice, and it looks like it was taken.

How do you spot an internet scam? You read below.

No, I mean, literally, you read below. Move your eyes down just a bit. The scam is right there.

Google AdSense serves up a Nigerian scam

This is Adewale Bolaji. She is trying to sell you bogus AdWords advice via my blog. For that I apologize. She might also be the face of Nigerian 419 scams. It makes for an interesting trip through the internet.

Test driving Safari for Windows

I've been using the new Safari browser for Windows, and I have to say I'm impressed.

Here is revealed the end of the Harry Potter story

How will the Harry Potter saga end? I can reveal at least one important ending that we will see soon enough.

Just what is up with Cullis-Suzuki's Skyfish Project?

The Skyfish Project is an "internet thinktank" set up by Severn Cullis-Suzuki, David Suzuki's daughter. But it is really a parked domain with spammy links for alien t-shirts and bizarre pseudo-Catholic end-of-time prophecies.

Joost invitations available

You want to try Joost? Just ask...

Mother's Day Gifts from...a gas station!

Funny video starring Last Minute Man!

Joost invitations available

You want to try Joost? Just ask...

Peter MacKay is sexy. Sexy!

OK, I don't have an opinion one way or another about how hot Peter MacKay is. But at least I know the difference between "sexist" and "sexiest":

From Trampolines to Tramadol

Just an interesting exploration of the history and the ignoble end of a valuable domain name, and what it means for those of use with our own domains.

Stephane Dion standing in for Team Martin?

A web page at the Liberal Party (Alberta) website for Team Martin refers to Stephane Dion. At first, I assumed that this was just a bit of confusion over routine website maintenance on the part of the person looking at the site, but now that I've had a chance to look myself, it seems like the confusion is on the side of the people tasked to maintain the website in the first place.

The Cost to Flick Off

The Flick Off campaign has cost $500,000, and will cost more for T-shirts, rings, action kits, and so on. But in this Web 2,0 world, there are online costs to this global warming campaign that a lot of people think was not well thought out.

Moving to full content feeds

The prevailing wisdom has been that by offering a feed of teasers, more content is driven to a blog. But the evidence suggests that this is not the case, that more traffic will come if all the content is offered, and that there is more traffic to be had from even further search engine traffic.

I'm going to see for myself.

Social bookmarking decision -- going with Facebook

One of the things I've been experimenting with is different forms of that Web 2.0 phenomenon, social bookmarking. I've decided that there is only one that seems to be working for me.

ebay phishing hack collecting user names and password

An ebay phishing hack is collecting login information. Interestingly, the phishing page is reached from a hacked ebay page, which is something I've never heard of before.

Update: Apparently you can add Java to your auction page, and ebay will happily serve that page up. Sheesh!

The new Liberal Party website gets a thumbs up

The Liberal Party has rolled out a new home page. It's a nice piece of work.

L’etat, c’est moi

Just a little curiousity about the way Canada's federal parties have set up their websites.

Meet me on May 9 at the Charlotte Room in Toronto

mesh 07 is going to include a panel on political blogging, but ahead of the May 30 conference, political bloggers are invited to The Charlotte Room to get the discussion started early.

Paul Wells' criticism of Rogers gets yanked...almost

Paul Wells at Maclean's criticizes the boss in front of the new employees, but the posting is quickly erased, never to be seen again.

Well, not quite.

Mining Google for low-brow humour (and nose picking videos)

Looking for a laugh? Don't forget to watch your visitor logs for Google searches hitting your site. It's fun to see what people are looking for online.

Does Joost mean watching TV alone?

I'm a Joost beta tester. Though the people behind Joost are interested in my technical evaluation of this convergence of television and the internet, I'd like to share some early thoughts about the Joost experience.

Dealing with the proliferation of social bookmarking with the Socializer

I've made a minor change to the social bookmarking scheme for the posts. Both bloggers and readers might find it useful.

Test driving MyBlogLog

You might have noticed a couple of new widgets on the right-most rail of Angry in the Great White North. They are toys provided by MyBlogLog, which is a serious attempt to build a community of people interested in blogging -- both bloggers and readers.

Merchant Circle: MySpace meets the Mob?

A business-oriented website provides the ability to create unique pages in a shared domain, one per business, not unlike MySpace. But in the case of Merchant Circle, there is a reputation management component, and the way it is implemented certainly seems to leave the door open for abuse.

Some people are certain that Merchant Circle blew through that door a long time ago.

How shooting Stephen Harper sells ringtones, and how to make sure your page rank and links aren't caught in the crossfire

A blog that gained some notoriety a couple of weeks ago for calling for Prime Minister Stephen Harper to be shot was shut down, then resurrected as a spammy page for selling ringtones. The reason why a spammer would go to the trouble of using the domain of a dead blog is an interesting study in the interaction between links and page ranking, something everyone who is serious about blogging ought to be familiar with.

HTML validation and Google rankings

I've been doing some housekeeping today, focused on something I've wanted to tackle for some time, and that is cleaning up the HTML on my pages. Why? Because you'd be surprised just how important it is for getting ranked well.

Not so much MySpace as TheirSpace

For old-school bloggers like me, there is no substitute for a bare-bones content management system like Movable Type, and generous server space like I enjoy. There is no safety net, but then I have virtually unlimited freedom to create a blog in whatever form I like.

Indeed, the only real limitation is the one imposed by my primitive HTML skills.

But for every old fogey like me, there are possibly hundreds of would-be bloggers who have no clue about how to create a blog on a technical level. So they depend on pseudo-blog services like MySpace. But MySpace is really TheirSpace, not YourSpace. And now MySpace is taking control of the pages, essentially punishing those users who have learned a little more about web programming.

That move might backfire, though, since users are likely to up and leave. Why? The pages are created in seconds. They don't represent any true investment of effort, and so have little value to the owner, regardless of the millions of people who travel through MySpace.

Melanie McGuire: Search Engine Forensics

Melanie McGuire of New Jersey is on trial, charged with the murder and dismemberment of her husband, William.

What is remarkable is how the Web has played a role in the investigation and arrest, and now in the trial itself.

Canadian Blogosphere Search Page: Custom search engines for Canadian bloggers and their readers

Searching for the Canadian blogosphere's reaction to the last news on Belinda Stronach? Use the Canadian Blogosphere Search Page.

The site cycles again, and takes a conservative approach

Angry in the Great White North morphs again, and this time tradition wins out over wacky ideas.

Seven steps for making Google AdSense work for you

I've decided it's time to make a risky move and move my revenue channel over to Google AdSense. Let's see how it works out. Suprisingly, I already have some results to share, mere hours after deploying the changes.

Ajax loads of home page content and a quick survey

Some more news on the new design, as well as a request for an opinion on a specific design element.

Layout changes

Feedback has led to some changes, hopefully for the better.

Oops, I did it again -- Angry in the Great White North is re-re-launched

You all know by now that if I haven't posted in a few days, it's either because I'm moving, or I'm rebuilding the blog. This time, it's rebuilding the blog.

NDP calls for advice on effective blogging

The NDP has started to solicit opinions on how Canada's left-of-centre party should use blogging more effectively as a means of delivering its message.

Funny they should ask, since there is a clear example right now of just how the NDP message is being sabotaged by the current crop of NDP bloggers. It's too bad, because I really want blogging to succeed, regardless of the political views espoused by any particular blogger. I think bloggers for the Conservatives and the Liberals are by and large a decent bunch of bloggers. But the NDP has some serious problems. This is just one of them.

Google: The virtual battleground in the War on Terror

You know that the Web 2.0 has come into its own when it hosts the the war being waged by the forces of civilization against the terrorists.

In one week, we have learned how both sides are using Google in particular as a means of striking at the other side.

The Liberal Party's Billion-Dollar Museum

The Liberal Party is annoyed that the Conservatives are not willing to spend a billion dollars on a museum. Of course, spending great wads of taxpayer cash has always been a profitable business for the Liberal Party of Canada.

Wikiasari: Search Engine of the Future, or every Black Hat SEO's dream come true?

A new search engine is about to be launched. Unlike the top-down model of Google and Yahoo, Wikiasari is a community, bottom-up approach, in which the community of users build the engine.

It's an interesting idea. But what is that thundering noise? Every Black Hat SEO running, not walking, to start working Wikiasari over.

My towel has CSS printed on it, and I'm throwing it in

My attempts to tame CSS have come to naught.

Faster than the French decided in June 1940 that sauerkraut really does go well with just about any meal, I have decided to give up the fight to make a CSS-only rounded button.

Well, it's not that bad, but for an old Ada hack, the state of CSS is very distressing.

Web Site Design: Serving all the customers is a good idea

If you have been to Angry in the Great White North in the recent past, you'll have no doubt noticed that the site has undergone yet another change. It was prompted by my commitment to make sure the site is as accessible as practical to as many web surfers as possible. In this case, the problem was with the 3-in-5 people who come to this website who have monitors set to lower resolutions.

Search engine pay-per-click advertising being used to fund terrorists?

Is Google being used as a funding source for Islamic terrorists?

According to a news conference held yesterday, the AdWords programs is being used to generate funds for terrorists.

Google Analytics: Free professional metrics for your blog

Like many bloggers, I used Sitemeter as my main means of tracking traffic. Sitemeter is very appealing -- nice graphs, real-time updates, some rudimentary analytical capability. But since I rolled out the new version of Angry in the Great White North, I decided I needed something a bit more professional. Consistent with my desire not to spend any serious money blogging, I discovered that Google Analytics suited my needs perfectly.

Effective Online Advertising: NDP ad as a case study (and some free tips)

Maybe it's my new job, but I spend a lot more time paying attention to ads on web pages. The Globe and Mail has a large spot for a paid ad at the top left of the page, just below the search box.

I was surprised that the NDP was running an election-style ad in that spot. There is no election on, but Jack Layton's face is there, asking me to make a decision that will stop Stephen Harper. So I decided to check on what that decision is that I need to make.

I never did figure that out. But I've got some tips for the NDP on how to make their advertising a bit more effective.

Hold my calls, I'm busy blogging right now

How to get your blog to shed its straightjacket and make it dance

Question: What does a blog look like?
Answer: That's a trick question. A blog doesn't look like anything. It's just content. A website looks like something.

One of the driving forces behind my site redesign was an epiphany I had just over a month ago. Blogging software makes for lousy websites. But then that's not a surprise, because blogging software is not supposed to be used for managing websites. Blogging software manages content.

If you can incorporate that thinking into how you use your blogging software, then you can really make your blog dance.

The Canadian Political Blogosphere Search Page

Wondering what bloggers in the Canadian political area are saying about the news of the day? New to Angry in the Great White North is the Canadian Political Blogosphere Search Page, a collection of customized Google search engines that will search the blogs (as defined by the appropriate blogrolls) for the search terms you specify. I hope the search engines will become a means of driving traffic to those blogs, regardless of their political persuasion, that are not getting the traffic they deserve.

Try it out, and hopefully you'll find them useful.

And though I appreciate the traffic, you don't have to return to Angry in the Great White North for every search. Click the "Add to Google" button and the corresponding search engine will be added to your personalized Google homepage.

The murder of Alexander Litvinenko, social media, and Wikipedia

Wikipedia is a remarkable tool. By allowing the masses to create entries for an encyclopedia, a hugely important online research source has been constructed in record time.

The news that the former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko by means of a dose of polonium-210 is a great example of how the Wikipedia plays out. Is it self-correcting? Sure seems to be.

Rowan Williams: Blogs play a role in Anglican battles between the left and the right

It is fascinating to see where blogs crop up, and just how seriously the content is taken. In this case, the former and current Archbishops of Cantebury, George Carey and Rowan Williams, respectively, are engaged in some serious fighting over the direction the Anglican Church is taking. One of the tools in that fight is a blog maintained by George Carey's son, Andrew. Other Anglican blogs are playing equally significant roles in the fight.

Just as we've seen in the secular political arena, blogs seem to be used more effectively by conservatives to keep up pressure on liberals holding the reins of power.

Charles Leblanc acquitted -- Blogging is a trade in Canada

Canadian bloggers have scored a victory. Charles LeBlanc, who runs a blog known to the police in New Brunswick, was arrested by those police in June 2006 when he took pictures of a demonstration of which he was not a participant, but to post on his blog. Those charges have been dismissed, and the judge decided the LeBlanc was legally engaged in "plying his trade".

Blogging is a trade? Not bad. But ideally, blogging could be considered a profession one day, not unlike journalism. But for that to happen, bloggers will have to establish some ground rules.

How to improve your Google ranking (and Yahoo...and MSN)

Such a little thing has the potential of having such an impact -- your sitemap. I don't mean your navigation bar or a web page listing your pages. I mean that XML file you generate every time you re-index your blog. You are generating an XML sitemap, right? And submitting it to the major search engines -- Google, Yahoo!, and MSN?

If not, read on.

The Google Search Box and AdSense Precision Matches

The Google search box has be successfully integrated into the new blog structure. Because of my rewrite of the blog into discrete pages, I can do things I couldn't do before, and I hope it turns out to be a profitable change.

Technorati, Tags, and Sitefeeds

A little nugget of knowledge I've recently come across that dramatically altered my understanding of the way Technorati works, and so changed the way I do things on the blog.

The New Look at Angry in the Great White North

Angry in the Great White North has a new look and new functionality. Leave your comments and suggestions here.

Update: I've noticed that IE6 is having problems rendering the margins and line spacing values that define the title and tabs. Nothing that breaks the functionality, but it does look off. I'll work on that.

This is, of course, the problem with browsers. Variations in the quality of interpretation of HTML and CSS directives means that cross-platform funtionality is still problematic. On the other hand, when I was a teen, I could choose from a TI-99/4A, a TRS-80, a Commodore Pet, an Amiga, an Atari-ST, and half a dozen more completely incompatible computing platforms. Cross-platform compatibility? I'll be happy if all I have to do is work on some minor spacing issues. With the migration of applications to online implementations based on AJAX, we'll have the best of both worlds -- multiple hardware platforms all running the same sets of applcations. Now if only someone would create a web-based version of Tunnels of Doom.

mesh meetup

On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to attend a mesh meetup at the Irish Embassy Pub in downtown Toronto.

Geosign's new Blogmaster

If I can indulge in a bit of personal news, I'd like to mention that I'll be starting a new job on Monday.

It is a departure for me, career-wise, and might be of interest to some of you.

Angry in the Great White North by Steve Janke is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Canada License. Based on a work at stevejanke.com.