Following

I've been using the Blogger 'following' feature as a blog reader, and I've been pretty happy with it. However yesterday, I went in for a look only to discover that Blogger thinks I'm not following any blogs. Grrrrrr. I'll give it another go, and if something like that happens again, I'll go to a different blog reader. Have any of you experienced a similar issue?

Reactions

I noticed some Blogger blogs with a 'reaction' feature. I'm not sure that kind of utility is right for this place, but I thought I'd try it out and see if I like it. I followed instructions but I couldn't get it to appear. Has anyone run into this, and figured it out?

Comments

A short while ago, I changed my settings to the new Blogger comments setting, "embedded below post". It turns out that may not have been a great idea, as some people have been having trouble making comments. And I thought it was something I said. Thanks Captain for pointing this out. I've switched back to the previous setting and all seems well. I liked the new setting. Perhaps I'll try it again after giving the folks at Blogger some time to work out the kinks.

How To Be A Wine Wanker in Six Simple Steps

While listening to Mr Anchovy's music it may sometimes become necessary to drink a glass or two of wine. I recommend staying away from those pretentious bottles of "Dry White" because this is simply up-market vinegar.

A good honest red is always way best to begin wine drinking. Often it has been stomped by the earthy feet of French peasants and strained through their used underwear or socks. The flavours are much more intense than white wines.

Once having decided to forego good honest beer, then it is as well to do the wine thing correctly.So that you do not feel a complete fool, here are some hints on joining the exclusive world of wine wankers.

Step 1. The Hold
		Pick up with one hand. Hold by base of glass only. Only thumb and one other finger allowed on top of base. Only ever drink wine from a glass. Harsh as it seems, guzzling from a bottle held by the neck is right out.
Step 2. The Look
		Make a fuss to find a white surface. Try to apologise to someone as you do it. Tilt glass as far as possible without pouring the wine on the carpet. You are looking for "The Tongue" of the wine, as the French say. Take smug enjoyment that you know this, but try not to tell anyone. Say nothing. You know nothing, so why reveal it to the world?
Step 3. The Nose
		Spin the wine in the glass until you get a whirlpool. Try not to launch it onto the carpet or the person serving you the wine. Exhale obviously. Bury your nose in the glass, inhale deeply. Try not to choke or actually draw any wine through your nostrils. This may well reduce your credibility as a wine wanker.
Step 4. I Get
		Look thoughtfully to the ceiling. Say as if to yourself (but loud enough for your target audience to hear) the magic words "I get .." followed by a single thing it smells like. Eg "I get blackberries" or "I get wet straw" Say whatever it it you really smell. If its smells like dog poo, so be it. Just keep it short - no more than a two word description. Say nothing else!
Step 5. The Taste
		Take a small sip. Fight temptation to neck the entire glass. Swish the wine around in your mouth, ensuring you get good cheek movement. Think goldfish. Pause a moment and look thoughtfully to the ceiling again.
Step 6. The Nod
		This is where it all comes together. Face your target audience and nod your head in a single downward movement, while saying "Mmmmm" as if agreeing with yourself.
Why bother?
At wine tastings, or any occasion where there is good wine, there will always be a person who controls the flow of wine. And they want it to be appreciated. Its why they bothered to bring it.You are doing them a service by appreciating it. They in turn will subsequently offer you more. Hopefully lots more.The end result is by the time they realise that you are not in fact a wine wanker you have probably made friends and will continue scamming free wine anyway. Well, that's it for this week. I'm off to hide in the archive for another week. If I can find the key to the door, I'll be back again next Sunday.

Blogger not cooperating

Well, I started messing about with my template tonight, including adding a new banner with photos, that I did up in PhotoShop. I loaded earlier versions no problem, but when I tried to load the final version, Blogger just decided not to cooperate...no explanation, no error messages, nada. I just couldn't upload the picture. So, if you see some inexplicable changes happening to my banner Sunday, it's just me trying to get my new banner in place. grrrrrr

Update:
I was able to do some of the things I wanted to my template but not all, using Blogger's handy widget. For instance, I merged two link lists, but when I tried to create a new link list page element, I was able to do it in Safari but not in Firefox, and in neither could I then move the page element. I hope Blogger will still let me mess with the html...maybe I can go into the code and do what I want that way (kinda like the old blogger, eh?)

Oh oh.......

Armed with the promise that I could revert back to my old template, I started messing with "Layouts" in Blogger. This immediately wiped out most of the stuff on my sidebar, including my links. Now I can't figure out how to revert...... As they say, curiosity killed the cat. Be patient, as I rebuild, or find the old template, or throw a brick through my monitor.....grrrrrr

Whewwwww!!!! I figured out how to get the old one back if I need it.

I'll be messing with this until sometime tomorrow, so don't be surprised if it looks all jimmied or links to your blog are missing.....as Solomon Burke says, "Easy.....don't rush me"

UPDATE The layout feature in the new Blogger has all sorts of problems, at least using my Mac and Safari. Safari crashed on saving layout changes countless times. Moving page elements was as easy as drag and drop except when it didn't work. I couldn't get the pictures page element to upload the pink anchovy picture I wanted to put at the top of my sidebar. Still, it is easier than going into the html and figuring out what everything is when I want to change my template. I added an RSS feed from a Google news search - giving me articles about accordions. I may try to set one up on my fly fishing blog as well.

I hope you enjoy the new look. I'll keep enhancing it a little here and there, but I'm going to mostly keep it like this for a while - until I feel like it's time for a change again. If you think the new look stinks, I'd love some feedback - tell me why.

I moved links over from the old template to the new one and I reorganized them a little. As well, the new list is a little shorter than the old list. If I failed to bring over a link to your blog and you would like me to put it back, please let me know, and I will.

UPDATE
I switched from Safari to Firefox and it works much much better with Blogger...