Okir has a new location and a nice new look … and some encouraging words about my pomes & pictures at plainer … i don’t know if i particularly aim to please anyone other than me … but i’m ‘most always happy to hear that i do … when i do

Blogs in Education … some sites linked here are known to me … others are new to me … note to self: look them over

ha … yes … a most capacious soutane … but this mouldy biretta’s a bit tight about the ears … thanks for noticing, jack.

a question from mom has just got me looking at this blog via three different browsers … it seems that comments page only presents invisible links in Safari … the comments background (the paper-seeming page) appears in Firefox and Explorer …

but Explorer (at least the Explorer for Mac) totally wrecks the blog … if yr using Explorer, yr probably not seeing my blog as it is meant to be seen …

i should check it out in Netscape too, i guess … it looks ok …at least 7.2 for Mac does

edublogs was just down a bit … but when it came back the comments page was fixed … the bug had the background color set the same as the link color, making links invisible text … but now the comment page is fuly readable just like all the rest … good show

update: now it’s gone again … funny blogbug

i actually passed a few moments in the garden this afternoon … and heard a fly buzz …

now i’m watching the weather … and flight arrival info for Air Canada from vancouver … from beijing …

in the other room the unfinished hulk of the new desk flops … for the lack of two parts … one damaged in transit … one wrecked & bled upon by me … nothing is easy … everything is easy

i was trying to post the other day …

i’ve shifted back to Quentin … not that I didn’t like zen minimalism very much … but that zm wouldn’t let me use any caps … and that last post was just chock full o’ caps … what a silly world …

i’m stepping away from finish your phrase … after three & a half years … i’ve pretty much done it there …

but habits die hard & i can’t stand to do no poetry blog anymore … so here’s plainer … these recent entries are still in fyp mode … but i’m hoping for some different directions … just to say that i’m not feeling bound to any particular poetic/aesthetic other than Whatever … thanks very much for your support

i don’t know much about zen … everything is zen this & that these days … but this is bright & clean & does what i think i need it to do …

much as i like quentin, i think i’ll stick with the tryouts for a little longer …

well they call this “classic” so it must be old & tired … but it looks pretty good to me … sidebar’s in the right place … i can edit from posts … no color to speak of (kind of a shock after quentin, no?) … no spot for the subtitle/description … but there’s a certain sobriety … any votes for this over quentin?

just noticed that Paula’s House of Toast has updated my link … wordpress makes it easy to notice this stuff … thanks, paula!! …

if you click that link to visit Paula’s House of Toast be sure to stop and read and look … paula is one of the finest up-close nature photographer’s on the web … and a fairly profound writer too …

& paula, i feel yr pain about that automatic catpoop scooper … years ago i had a friend who invested in one … it was a nasty disaster from day one … why aren’t these companies out of business yet?

it reminds me of wendell berry’s “standards for technological innovation” found in his essay “Why I Am Not Going To Buy a Computer” …

1. The new tool should be cheaper than the one it replaces.
2. It should be at least as small in scale as the one it replaces.
3. It should do work that is clearly and demonstrably better than the one it replaces.
4. It should use less energy than the one it replaces.
5. If possible, it should use some form of solar energy, such as that of the body.
6. It should be repairable by a person of ordinary intelligence, provided that he or she has the necessary tools.
7. It should be purchasable and repairable as near to home as possible.
8. It should come from a small, privately owned shop or store that will take it back for maintenance and repair.
9. It should not replace or disrupt anything good that already exists, and this includes family and community relationships.

i guess that goes for cat shit machines as well as computers

well here’s this next possibility … kind of bold … bookish & 19th century theatrical … let’s see how long i can live with it …

that last one … almost spring … was kind of cloying in it’s little greeny/orangey bits …

here on quentin i’m liking the clarity of the font … even when i shrink it … i can edit from the individual posts …

but i’ve got concerns about the edublog server … like right this very minute i tried to open comments on a post & i get:

Safari can’t open the page “http://brtom.edublogs.org/2006/07/28/the-look/#comments”. The error was: “lost network connection” (NSURLErrorDomain:-1005) Please choose Report Bug to Apple from the Safari menu, note the error number, and describe what you did before you saw this message.

so mannerly of safari to think it’s their problem … what’s with this … well now it’s open … but it took quite a while … edublogs = slow server?

hmmm … comments are a bit tough on old eyes … black on red

& UH-OH … a bug: on the comment pages the link color is the same as the background, i.e. that text is invisible … can i live with this?

the previous design template was called Gespaa …

i like the big blue post headings … it seems clear & compact enough to me … but the dark blue maybe induces some claustrophobia? feels like a cave … i don’t like how all the categories get listed right up top … or how there’s no direct EDIT (which you wouldn’t see anyway) from the posts … the font may be too small … i keep having to make text bigger …

i’ll be changing the look around midday each day … for a few days … this next design is called … almost spring 1.0