Wulf's Web-den

The Web-den on WordPress

Wednesday 22 May 2013
by wulf
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A Flickring Change

There have been substantial changes on the Flickr website this week. Some of these, like upping the free storage limit to 1TB per person, are more in the background; others are very visible. I remember that, a few months ago, they experimented with displaying images in a “wall of photos” style and had been wondering where it had gone; it was obviously temporarily pulled back as it is a key visual feature of the new design.

Overall, I am very positive about the changes although I see they persist with their aversion to penultimate vowels in words ending with R! More details on the Flickr blog or take a look at my profile on the site.

Tuesday 21 May 2013
by wulf
2 Comments

That was too easy!

Last night I did some more DIY — putting up a curtain rail — and, bish, bash, bosh, it was done. I was gobsmacked; normally DIY tasks involve hours of struggling and sweating but this was straightforward, as if I was good at such things. What is more, the rail is still up this morning, even under the load of the curtains.

It is probably too much to hope that all future DIY tasks will be similarly charmed but it was good to experience at least once in my life!

Monday 20 May 2013
by wulf
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Wallpapered

Jane and I pushed onto the next level of wallpapering yesterday, hanging a patterned design in the bedroom:

Wallpaper with a quince blossom pattern, red on white.

The new paper

This is the result, with a pattern that reminds us of the flowering quince (Chaenomeles x superba ‘Crimson and Gold’) we have in our back garden.

The seam is not quite invisible but doesn’t stand out except on close inspection; the bold overall pattern takes precedence. It was a job and half though even though we only used this paper on a couple of walls. It is relatively flimsy compared to the paper we used in the room we decorated last month (and used on the other walls in this room, contrasting plain with texture against flat with pattern). Still, we got it up without any disasters, our calculations gave us enough paper for the job and the quince pattern twists properly across the edges of each individual drop of paper.

Now we just need to get the curtain rail back up and can then start putting furniture back in its proper position, returning the upstairs of our house to a semblance of normality!

Sunday 19 May 2013
by wulf
1 Comment

Interesting it is

Did you learn anything new today? If not, how about the word “anastrophe”? Apparently this is the proper term for “Yoda speak”, when the little green Jedi master backwards or jumbled says his sentences. Of course, it is not only Yoda who uses this approach to language; poets and other lyricists frequently resort to tussling with the expected word order when matters of rhythm and rhyme are at stake.

It was a new word to me when I came across it recently and suspect it will be so for most readers of my blog (although doubtless not all).

Saturday 18 May 2013
by wulf
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Cliffhanger

What a gripping episode of Doctor Who. It was one of those episodes where they seem to have written themselves into a hole with a story having ramifications for all of time and space; now we have to wait until November to find out the denouement.

This is of course a little frustrating but perhaps these relatively short series with long gaps (along with a very high standard of writing) is part of the secret of how the BBC has kept the programme rolling forward for so long and, since the 21st century revival, going from strength to strength.

Friday 17 May 2013
by wulf
0 comments

Incensed!

I was very happy when my recent order of assorted incense sticks from Greater Goods today. Not only are the incense sticks excellent, with beautiful fragrances and a good long burn-time, but the box they arrived in was decorated with an attractive marbled finish. A high quality production all round.

Thursday 16 May 2013
by wulf
1 Comment

The Blogger’s Survival Guide by Lexie Lane and Becky McNeer

Book Cover

The Blogger’s Survival Guide

I am a blogger and, if you care to look back, you will see that I have managed to pursue my blogging endeavour for over a decade. Therefore, I felt that I could approach The Blogger’s Survival Guide with a certain measure of expertise.

Perhaps that also makes me a difficult customer and I spotted several omissions and errors. For example, despite a whole chapter on “The Legal Stuff” and plenty of room devoted to the value of making your blog look suitably pretty, I could not find a single mention of seeking out photos under a Creative Commons licence. Also, a surprising amount of space seemed devoted to illustrated guides to how to get blogging with Blogger or WordPress but this has the problem of fixing the advice at a point in time; another missing discussion was whether blogging is likely to continue in its present form or mutate out of all recognition over the next few years.

I think a more honest title would have been “how to try to make some money or at least gain some kudos by blogging” but, not only is that less catchy, it would be problematic when money-spinning technique number one is probably to try and persuade others to buy your musings on how to blog (which I suspect results in a very low level pyramid of reward). The wealth I have gained from my blog is in its contribution to relationships with a range of diverse and wonderful people; I would love some more of them to pick up and persist with the blogging habit but I don’t think this is a book I would be likely to direct them too.

A pretty wide range of information but, from my perspective, it appears to have some gaps and certainly isn’t focused on the kind of blogging I am most interested in. 3/5.

16 May, 2013 by Wulf Forrester-BarkerBook Review