Redesigned ‘look’ of my personal blog …

*Updated*

Have been engaged in redesign mode of the ‘look’ of my personal blog. Same for my personal Twitter account as well, here.

For those who either have not visited my blog recently or ever, for the sake of being able to compare to the current redesigned version, here is a partial screenshot of a cache of the previous version found today via Google:

Feedback?

Image by Norsehorse via Flickr

*Updated*: It has been quite a while since I last updated the bottom portion of my blog, including updating the blogrolls provided there as well, however I finally managed to do so.

The blogrolls now use the newer version of the Blogger blogroll linking feature, which should prove more useful. Besides the homeless related and Vermont blogrolls, both of which I have completely updated, I have also added a mental health related blogroll.

*Note*: added an update: last updated on Thursday, June 18, 2009 at 7:07 PM [ET].

Trying Out Disqus Commenting Tool

*Updated* (with the usual edits)

Decided to try the Disqus commenting tool on my blog and, besides plenty of great features of its own — including some recent new ones and also an even better mixed comment tool for the sidebar, it is easy enough to install and only employs doing so with a template installation procedure and not a troublesome widget.

There does not seem to be an option to have the comments show under the blog posts right on the main or archive pages, however it quickly goes to the post page and to the comments section as the Blogger-hosted comment tool does.

While I have not tried posting a comment with it on my blog yet, I have previously posted comments using Disqus on other blogs and it works fine in that respect.

In addition, I’ve tested my blog using the Internet Explorer (IE) browser and it works fine on those browsers and there does not seem to be any blockage issues this time around, although the blog and also the commenting feature does load slower in IE than with Firefox 3 or Google Chrome (just reporting, not hinting).

Do not know about other browsers, but I think Disqus has been around for a while and may do a better job at browser integration as a result.

By the way, for iMac users, someone informed me today about a browser I never heard of before for Mac users: Camino, Mozilla Power, Mac Style.

Whatever browser(s) you may be using, please check it out and let me know how the blogs loads and works now, as well as feel free to try out posting a comment as well, particularly if you are new to using the Disqus commenting tool yourself.

*Note*: made several, mostly minor, edit for the purposes of clarification and readability; last updated on Saturday, April 11, 2009 at 3:38 PM [EDT].

Trying Out Intense Debate Comment Feature

While enhancing and adding to the social networking tools, whether those I have been previously using or those I have only recently begun using, I stumbled across the Intense Debate commenting feature via my FriendsFeed and decided to try it out on this blog, at least for the time being anyway.

Among the features in using it is not only the integration with some of my social media tools, but also it allows for the addition of various widgets in the sidebar, including the one I chose to use: i.e., the latest five (5)[most recent ten (10)] comment posts.

What will be one of my chief concerns about any decision in continuing to use the feature, given that it is an add on and not a Blogger-hosted service, is if were to significantly slow down the load time of the blog for readers.

Feel free to let me know if you prefer this commenting feature or not.

Chris Graff Reads My Blog!

After I got off the local GMTA bus on the other side of the Winooski River on Tuesday morning and, as I began walking over the Main Street bridge crossing it in order to head into downtown, I noticed Chris Graff waiting in the right lane at the Route 2 intersection traffic light while on his way to work.

For those who do not already know, Chris was formerly the Vermont bureau chief of the Associated Press, serving in that capacity for a long time and well respected as a journalist by many both inside and outside the state. Read his bio, here.

Once he recognized me after I called out and waved to him to say hi, he rolled down his window and we chatted briefly before the stop light changed to green and he had to get going again.

As I began to walk away he quickly leaned over and called out, I read your blog!

[Although I seem to vaguely recall he has told me this at least once before, due to how he said it this time it just seemed worth blogging about somehow, particularly as I was not feeling too well at the time and had also been in rather poor spirits (would have blogged about this sooner, but I had to wait until I heard back from him first if it was alright with him if I blogged about it. Then, after I did, it took me some time until I felt up to blogging a post due to struggling with the usual health problems and being very low energy of late). Plus it is good to have something worth blogging about than just the usual, even if it is done somewhat in self-jest about myself and my blog.]

Speaking of Chris Graff, read another recent blog post of mine and follow the link to his recently published commentary, here [via Montpelier Matters].

Flock’n Blogg’n

Up to now I have mainly been a Firefox browser user, but am now trying out the Flock browser. In fact I am experimenting with one of the Flock browser features that allow for blogging via  the Flock blog tool. So far, so good.

Blogged with Flock

Unite!: Blog Action Day 2007

What would happen if every blog published on the same topic on the same day? Blog Action Day aims to find out. On October 15 2007, bloggers around the world unite for one day to change the conversation. To find out more and get involved visit blogactionday.org.

[via YouTube, here; posted by BlogActionDay (August 14, 2007); length: 1:08 minutes/seconds]

North American Homeless News Network (NAHNN) is Back!

The North American Homeless News Network (NAHNN) is back!: nahnn.blogspot.com

The North American Homeless News Network (NAHNN) is an effort to provide notice of news items, columns and other information available online concerning homelessness and related matters in a central location.

Featured on NAHNN as well will be a selection of original articles, columns, essays and poetry written by people who are homeless or formerly homeless.

NAHNN has no paid staff.

While I cannot promise how frequently I will be able to post to this particular blog, after a rather lengthy hiatus of three and a half (3 1/2) years or so, I figured it was time to bring NAHNN back again.

[above earth/globe graphic via Not In Our Name Earth/Globe Graphics page, here]

[cross-posted to Homelessness Marathon blog, here]

VPIRG blog

This afternoon I learned that the Vermont
Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG) has a blog as a component of its official Website.

Check out Vermont’s Voice for Updates from the Vermont Public Interest Research Group Staff.

In the News: Kellogg-Hubbard Library blog

The Kellogg-Hubbard Library blog made this morning’s (Wednesday, February 14, 2007) edition of the local daily newspaper with a small article concerning the library recent entry into the blogosphere, here [via Barre - Montpelier Times Argus].

[photo via the Main Street Walking Tour page of the City Of Montpelier Website]

[cross-posted to the Montpelier Matters blog]

Kellogg-Hubbard Library blog

Although it is still under construction at the moment, this afternoon Kellogg-Hubbard Library staff member and Montpelier Matters blogger Rachel Senechal set up the Kellogg-Hubbard Library blog. Check it out!

[photo via the Main Street Walking Tour page of the City Of Montpelier Website]

[cross-posted to the Montpelier Matters blog]