foolishnotions.net

For all you who have hosted domains running Wordpress… here are my favorite WP-Plugins. For all of you running the free wordpress blog… you should be warned - - - you will really want to get your own domain after reading about all these fun goodies (not to mention themes - - glorious themes). For all of you running blogger [[sigh]]…. i really don’t know how you can stand it, but we’re thrilled to have you around all the same. Here they are… my fav’s…

1. Plugin Installer
   This is the first plugin I install for all wordpress blogs. Installs and uninstalls plugins from plugin admin interface. Must have.
2. Page Link Manager
   Lets you select which pages show up in your page navigation. Very handy!
   
3. Commentluv
   I love, love, love this one! Just found it. It posts a link underneath each comment to commenter’s last blog post - - thus spreading a little comment luv…. you’re welcome :-D. I know, I know… you love me too. Unfortunately it doesn’t back-track. So let the comment luv commence!
4. All in One SEO Pack
   A must have. Because you are all optimizing your blogs - - - RIGHT???? Man, that post has been sitting in my drafts for waaaaay too long now. Soon… I’ll post it soon.
   
5. Brian’s Threaded Comments
   This is smooth. Allows you to respond to specific comments instead of the usual “in order” way. Makes communication with your commenters a little more personal. I’m hoping someday they will make it so it will send an email to the person you are responding to so they will know without having to subscribe to comments (which noone does). That would make it almost the perfect WP plugin.
6. Dofollow
   Yet a little more love for your commenters. Tells spiders and bots - “YES!!! DO follow my commenter’s links… i LOVE my commenters”. Again, you’re welcome.
7. Kill Preview 2
   This is a good one too. Makes that pesky “preview” (which really does no such thing) at the bottom of your “write” panel - - go away. Benefit? You don’t have to wait for it to load e v e r y t i m e !!!
8. iWPhone
   This one makes iPhone users happy. Reconfigures your posts so that they can read and navigate (and comment) easily.
9. Podpress
   This is the only way to podcast (mostly because it’s the only one I could figure out ;-). But really, it’s perfect for getting listed on iTunes and others. Very robust and comprehensive interface. Great for just everyday multimedia posts too.
10. Popularity Contest
    This is also a new one for me. Shows up underneath all your posts as a popularity percentage calculated by counting links, comments, clicks, etc. You can also put a widget in your sidebar showing your most popular posts. Lots of potential with this one. Lets readers find your best content quickly.
11. WP-DBManager
    Gotta have it. Backs up your blog and emails it to you however often you tell it to and has database tools to help keep your blog healthy and speedy.
12. WP-Sticky
    Haven’t used this often - but nice to have when I want it. Make a post “stick” in the top position of your blog.
13. WP-Email
    Word of mouth! Email this post to a friend (or, invite a friend, as I am getting ready to use it on the Imagine Christmas Site).
14. Link Harvest
    I kind of like this. It compiles a list of all the things you have ever linked to and orders them from most frequent to least frequent. Makes a cool snapshot for your readers of where you link.
15. Google Sitemaps
    You may think you don’t need a site map, but those spiders and bots love them. Just install it - you don’t ever have to look at it again or show the whole world. Just let it work it’s magic behind the scenes… it updates automatically.

There you go… have fun! (don’t forget to comment so you can see your link go up in all it’s glory!).

NOTE: due to an inordinate amount of spam being directed at this post i have disabled comments for it.  spammers remain - forever - - - dorks.

read all about it!

it’s name is flock.
it is just an ftp gizmo shy of the browser of my dreams.
if you are a social web user…
or if you are still wondering how to keep track of all this web stuff…

you really should check this out!
(i just blogged this from flock in about 30 seconds - picture and all)

Blogged with Flock

i don’t always know exactly what i’m doing…
which makes me feel a little out of control…
which i kinda like - - it makes life exciting…
until the things that i don’t know…
start to out-number the things i do know…
which makes me feel insecure…
which i don’t like so much - - it makes life a little scary…
which i suppose is probably exactly what god has in mind…

( ssssshhhhhh…. don’t tell  a n y o n e  ! )
Philippians 4:12-13 - i can do it, not because of what i know, but because of who he is.

for about a month now my blog feeds have been displaying as very annoying summaries which people have had to click on to read in their entirety.  i have looked and looked and could not find the problem.  pastor b finally got tired of clicking on the summaries and figured it out.  he fixed it for me - -  while i was sitting on my couch watching a movie with my honey.  what a guy!  now the whole thing now shows up in google reader - images and all.  yay!!!!!!!!  pb- you’re my hero.

so, now, evidently this process caused my last 10 posts to to re-feed.  so, i’m very sorry for the duplicates.  but don’t they look sooooooooo much better now?  tnx pb.

My blog seems to be having some issues…. images going extinct, feeds not feeding, movies not moving… not sure what’s up.  My last post didn’t post to my Google Reader so the purpose of this post is two fold:

1. if you didn’t get my last feed, the matrix unloaded @ the cape fear fair and expo…then this post is to tell you about it.
2. if you didn’t get my last feed or this feed then i have bigger issues than i thought.

If you happen to get this feed can you please send me a comment saying so.  Thanks!

Each year on October 31st Cam and I go to the New Hanover County Fair. By Cam’s description to Mary’s 4 month old baby girl… “Today is the best day of you life, Tamara… it’s fair day!!!!”. Ha, ha - - that’s my boy. He definitely has a flair for the dramatic.

I love fair day too. A few years ago Mary and I decided to take Cam and Rach to the fair on Halloween. Since we don’t go trick or treating and a majority of fair going population does… we figured it would be a pretty safe bet. Boy, were we right! The place was nearly deserted and the kids rode ride after ride with no wait at all. And, as a bonus, no crowds to send my a.d.d. in a tail spin. Each year a few more families have joined us…. now - - it’s pretty much ROCK night at the fair… and so much fun for adults and kids alike.

I love traditions… and our annual fair exploits have created several sub-traditions. The day, the people, seeing who will be the one to toss their corn dog (cam passed the hurl award off to Felicia this year - you can read Lori’s post about that here) , the final ride on the ferris wheel - just Cam and me (this story is really, truly worth a click) and the pictures…. I love taking fair pictures. The lights are awesome and the faces are priceless. My favorite annual picture is taking pictures of the kids while we are all on the swings. Which brings me to the reason for my matrix video (you were beginning to think I forgot, huh?).

It was late into the night and Cam and I were waiting to get on the swings with Eric and Joe. We love this ride and I had not yet gotten my flagship pic for the year. As we were waiting and chatting - - it happened. I didn’t even need to turn around to see the catalyst for the next sequence of events - - Eric’s eyes instantly told the whole story (like Jerry chomping down on Tom’s tail in a Tom & Jerry cartoon). What follows I am certain happened in super high def, slow motion. Eric did a matrix move as the chunks went hurling by like bullets, arms circling over his head, twisting and contorting to avoid certain contamination. LOL. Ok, I’m exaggerating a little - - but not much. There is at least enough of the truth in there that this analogy came pretty much instantaneously. Then they shut the ride down to clean it up.

And that is why I don’t have my annual swing shot. I have others, though… I’ll post them later.