livejournal

(updated 10:10 AM EST)


So I'm thinking about switching my Blatherings to LiveJournal.


I've been using Greymatter for a while. While Greymatter is a much better method than my old method (which was modifying and posting everything manually), I have a few beefs/concerns with it, namely:


- Every time I change the main template, I have to rebuild all the entries. With the number of entries I currently have, this generally takes at least five minutes. If anything screws up midway (if the power goes out, or some other glitch interrupts the process), I am in trouble. It hasn't happened to me yet, but I've learned enough about the internal workings to know that it would take major effort to make things work properly again (if I could). LiveJournal is database-driven, so theoretically I shouldn't have that problem.


- I can't delete entries. I can "close" them so that they no longer appear, but the data remains.


I never considered switching to LiveJournal or Blogger up to now because I didn't like the idea of all my files residing on someone else's server. If I had switched to Blogger, for example, and the company went under (which was a concern during the dot-com crisis...from what I hear, the company is now basically just one guy), I'd be worried about all my files disappearing. Not so much of a concern for new journals, but I've been posting entries online for five years.


But my sys admin Bryan (my technohero) recently (last night) installed LiveJournal on the server. Reid already uses LiveJournal (but currently uses the paid hosting system on the LiveJournal site) and has started looking at the code for possible tweaks. Having Bryan and Reid involved means that my journal entry files would be under my control, not someone else's, and that if I wasn't happy with some aspect of LiveJournal, I could try bugging Reid to fix the code. :-)


So I'm currently playing around with a test journal on Samurai's new LiveJournal site, considering the possibilities. There are some things about LiveJournal that I don't like, but maybe they can be fixed. We'll see.


Switching to LiveJournal would also give me a chance to convert ALL my Blatherings archives to the new format, rather than having an archives section and a separate "really old" archives section. AND it will give me a chance to clean up my template design (Reid has been complaining about the fixed table width, for example).





Our friend Helen is in town! When I came back from the gym last night, she, Angela Bradfield, and Reid were here, with Scott showing up in time for dinner. I cooked another Moosewood recipe last night, Pasta Primavera. Helen was shocked; I think she's more used to the sight of me putting a frozen dinner in the oven than of me chopping fresh vegetables and doing "real" cooking. :-) I was going to marinate some chicken last night for Tandoori chicken tonight but AUGH, I forgot to get cardamom. Kathy Johnson says she's going to take me to the Indian spices section of Toronto where I'll be able to find things I need for garam masala like cardamom and whole nutmeg.


After dinner, we watched the Star Trek edition of "The Weakest Link". I had only seen the show once before. Couldn't really get into it; I find the host too mean. Yeah, yeah, I know that's the shtick, but I still don't enjoy watching it. Last night was kinda fun, though, because I was already familiar with the actors. Wil Wheaton sure came across as an arrogant git, didn't he?


Helen's engaged (her wedding's in Scotland in May); I'm going wedding dress shopping with her later this week. :-)





Links:


Wil Wheaton's online journal: I had never seen this before, but apparently he had complained about the Weakest Link show on it. I tried checking the journal just now, but it had a "closed due to high traffic, up later today" notice.


Paramount Virtual Line Party continues. Luisa has gotten involved in event planning! If you're in the Toronto area and are excited about the upcoming Lord of the Rings movie, check out this page plus the new discussion forum.


'Harry's' Trailers Come With a Hitch: thanks to Josh Allen for this link about 'pre-show' trailers/ads.


Blatherpics:


- Reid on his iMac at our place last night.


- Angela, Helen, and me. Helen has peanuts in her hand.


- Peppermints from Helen. The joyous-looking couple on the canister: the Dutch prince and princess. Unfortunately the can got a bit banged up enroute from Amsterdam.


Today's Poll: (Suggest a question)

Are you wearing a watch right now?