The JackB

"When you're in jail, a good friend will be trying to bail you out. A best friend will be in the cell next to you saying, 'Damn, that was fun'." Groucho Marx

Archives for September 2009

Recent Posts

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I have been jammed for time so I haven’t had a chance to write my traditional Rosh Hashanah post yet, but I expect to get it done tonight. In the interim here is quick summary of recent posts:

Dear Computer

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Dear Computer,

It is your best friend and companion Jack. You might have noticed that lately we seem to be having some difficulties getting along. I am a bit confused by all of this. We have spent untold hours together, you and I, sharing secrets and working together in perfect harmony.

At least that is how it had been. The past two days you and your brother have been less than pleasant to work with. I have run the usual spyware and antivirus scans upon you. We have defragged and worked upon your registries and still you seem unwilling to work as you should.

Still you lollygag and mock me with that hourglass. That frakking hourglass that makes it look like you are working, or so it would seem. It is a bit like the trick the men on the chain gang used to use. And I can’t help but wonder if you are preparing to rebel. I have watched enough television to know how this can go.

I am well prepared to deal with any skin jobs that may come along. I recognize that we have a couple of things to work out. And I have no doubt that we can overcome this one way or another.

So I am going to leave you alone for a while. I have a couple of things to attend to. Think about what I have said and consider your options.

Apture- My New Blogging Tool

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You might have noticed a search tool called Lijit in my sidebar. I added that little guy to my blog around the beginning of the year and have found him to be pretty useful.

Each week I receive a short newsletter that is chock full of information that I try to use to improve my blog. Some of it is practical and easily translated into actionable results and some of it is trivia that is no interest to anyone but me.

One aspect that I like is that they have a list of partners that offer services for bloggers. Thus far I have found that list to be very useful. So when I came across a suggestion to try another service called Apture  I figured why not.

In the interest of full disclosure neither Lijit nor Apture have had the good sense to pay me one trillion dollars for mentioning them in this post. In fact I haven’t even been offered a gift certificate for a Happy Meal at McDonalds. Maybe it is because I am not a mommy blogger. 😉

In all seriousness I really am interested in finding ways to improve the blogging experience for all involved here. Since I am undergoing a bit of blogging fatigue I figured that now is a good time to worry less about the writing and more about platform and experience. Change the focus and release some of the stress, I say.

Bear with me as I play around with this place. There might be a bit of noise and dust from the construction but I promise to try and minimize it. In the interim hang on, I have to learn how to use all of this stuff and as a man’s man, I refuse to ask for help or read directions.