bookmark_borderSassafrassin Rassafrasser!

This is driving me nuts.

It may be an issue with my WordPress installation, or my CSS, an example of the problem can, currently, be seen two posts down.

If I add a blockquote in WordPress, it adds [blockquote] around the area of text. All well and good. But if the quote has more than one paragraph, it adds a [p] tag within the blockquote, but only for the SECOND paragraph causing the blockquote to get all huffy (technical term).

Currently the CSS for the blockquote looks like this:
#content-float blockquote { color: #663399; padding: 8px; background: #F6FBF7 border: 1px dotted #CC99FF; font-style: italic; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; }

The [p] tag within the blockquote won’t inherit from it as [blockquote] is below [p] in the CSS hierarchy (I think) but I can’t seem to get my head around how to structure the CSS to cope with this, or should I be looking to the format of the HTML rather than the CSS??

Suggestions, corrections, amendments or even disbelieving comments about my stupidity all welcomed (well all apart from the latter, obviously, that’s just nasty…).

bookmark_border100 Movies

As I’m all “wrote” out, I thought I’d tackle this meme I’ve seen in several places over the last couple of weeks. Lazy blogging of the nth degree but infinitely less time consuming than writing a post although, as ever, I find myself procrastinating about how quick and dirty these things are only to spend more time writing about how quick and dirty they are than actually taking the quick and dirty option of just posting the damn thing with little explanation.

So I’ll shut up and say that the films in bold are ones I’ve not seen. I’m pretty sure on other sites the bold films are the ones the person has already seen but as I’m using this as a basis of compiling a “movies to watch” list for myself, the opposite approach makes more sense. To me that is, I’m surprised you are still reading this waffle to be honest, so, with that in mind I’ll stop and just list the damn movies and be done with it.

Continue reading “100 Movies”

bookmark_borderMust Read

If the previous post (below) isn’t your thang and believe me, part of my brain wishes it wasn’t my thing either, may I suggest you go and read this post on Naked Blog. Right now.

Why are you still here? I said NOW!!

Ohh you’ve come back? Right. Sorry. What do I think of it? I think it is a wonderful piece of writing, capturing so much of why I love Scotland (ohh I do, I may bitch and moan about the weather but ye cannae knock the natural glories we are blessed with). I don’t “do” religion much here (apart from running it down), but this has definite spiritual undertones for me as I’m sure it did for Peter.

bookmark_borderLOVE ME!

Popularity contests, I can’t stand them. All that gushing for verification, all that competition… sorry? I’m 10th??!! …

Popularity contests, I LOVE THEM. Aren’t they great!!!

For those that missed it, there was a mini-furore (a fure?) recently when a new site launched with the aim:

… not so much to create a fuss about viewing figures, because popularity isn’t everything, but to provide a convenient and interesting place where new UK blog readers might start from.

It lasted less than a month. Why? Well because finding a reliable source of statistics is almost impossible, I have access to three sets of stats dedicated to this site. One offered by my hosting company (which I consider the most accurate), SiteMeter (added recently, I’ll explain why in a minute) and ExtremeTracking which I’ve used since April 2002. One thing that came up during the short life of Best British Blogs was the discrepancy between stats, something I can now vouch for as SiteMeter and ExtremeTracking rarely, if ever, agree.

Of course popularity ISN’T everything, in fact I was quite surprised that I only read, passingly at that, two of the first ten sites listed on Best British Blogs. The main problem, of course, that an accurate site title would have to be “Best British Blogs that have publically available stats that are on the radar of the author of the site”. Doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, does it.

I think it’s fair to say that, when it comes to blogs, ANY site that dares list a Top ANYTHING list is at the whim of the bloggers within the target circle. If you choose not to opt-in then obviously the list won’t be complete and shouldn’t be regarded as such. With that in mind then, I do think that the “Top of the British Blogs” list (which, thankfully, is accurately named) may be a bit more opt-in accurate. As it isn’t relying on external stats packages but collating the figures itself it should be considerably more accurate and, more importantly, consistent than any other method.

And to answer a recent comment which stated: “Since it requires voluntary registration, it can’t really be a good measure of weblog popularity. Or perhaps just a measure of those people who crave popularity.” I point you to the Orwellian post, particularly the first section “Sheer Egoism”.

Of course, all this has nothing to do with the fact that I’m currently 10th in the list. Honest.

Related links
The British Blogs Top 10 (and now Bottom 10 too).
BritBlog Roundup is probably the best of the bunch as it links to the best (in the opinion of the author, obviously)(correction: as nominated by you dear reader) posts from the past week. Great idea and has already uncovered a few gems.
Slightly further afield there is Top European Blogs which grew out of the Best British Blogs and is based on site stats. However a pinch of salt is required as your site must be using SiteMeter and be on the author’s radar. In other words, if you want listed let him know.
And finally I’m adding in a link to You are hurting us and On the Absence of Women (sent on by Adrian) as they touch on the impact “Top 10” lists (and blogrolls) can have and is a fascinating read. More thoughts from me on that, later. below.

Further update
Probably an entire post in itself but let me say this. A Top 10/100 list isn’t necessarily a bad thing. For those NEW to blogging it gives them a frame of reference which they can use to either aim for or rail against. Both are equally required. Equally for those who have been blogging for a while (let’s say 2+ years) they’ll also realise that these lists carry, for them, little meaning or value. Anyway, as I said, this is better suited to it’s own post, more on THAT later.

bookmark_borderThis Site

1. OK OK OK !!! I won’t redesign. I’ll content myself with restyling instead. Difference? Re-design includes re-architecturing the layout and underlying HTML code. Re-styling only applies to the elements controlled by CSS which may include changing the position of things but is less invasive.

2. The Site Feed was broken. It was St. Patrick’s Days fault. More accurately it was the fault of “Lá Fhéile Pádraig” which is a known bug.

3. Thanks to everyone who commented on the Introspection post, a lot of great suggestions. Still not sure how I’m going to tackle the Asides but will probably head down the category route. And for those who aren’t the slightest bit interested in this kind of thing, scroll down to the next post (should’ve said that first though, shouldn’t I!).

UPDATE

Forget all those thanks. You lot are useless. Where were you when I needed you? Eh? EH!!!! Nowhere to be found. Abandoned I was, left to the mercies of my materialistic self. No-one shouted “STOP!” or “Remember what you said!”, no-one tried gentle persuasion, nor did they try to physically restraint me. Where were YOU?

I had no-one to try and divert my mind as it wandered easily from:

“Ohh look, Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, I like his stuff, number9dream was good, and I’m reading GhostWritten at the moment, I’ll just nip in and see what it’s about…”

to:

“Ohhh 3 for 2! Excellent, I wonder if there is anything else worthwhile…”

which easily lead into:

“Look, The Complete Prose by Woody Allen, that should be good!”

and left only a small leap to get to:

“Well I’ve got two so any other one is free.. ohh A Million Little Pieces has a pretty cover, that’ll do!”

Next thing I know, my card is swiped, my account is £20-odd lighter and I have three more books to add to my list.

And where, pray tell, where YOU ohh helpful reader?!!!!

bookmark_borderIntrospection

1. Fedup with Blogger timing out on me. I need to switch the MiniBlog to WordPress. But how? Suggestions welcomed.

2. The more eagle eyed will have spotted a heading in the sidebar “Listening”. I’m still trying to get the plugin to work but eventually it will pull a list from audiscrobbler of the last 10 tracks I’ve listened to by me.

3. The even more eagle eyed will have noticed that the archive pages have a new “heatmap”. The brighter and larger the text the more posts there are. Looks a bit messy at the moment but I like the idea.

4. I’m aching to revert back to a cleaner, white based design. Thankfully I have more important things to do. Which reminds me, I should be doing them now! (File under: avoidance technique)