Posted by ljmacphee on August 31, 2007 under blogger | 
I’m running six blogs now and between working on them and trying to do new things it is hard to keep up with comments.
So I set up rss comment feeds for my blogs. Now I can check the rss feeds all in one spot and respond to questions and comments much quicker. Some rss tools will even notify you when there is a new item.
For Blogger blogs comment feeds are:
feed://yourblogname.blogspot.com/feeds/comments/default/
or if you have your own domain
feed://yourdomain.com/feeds/comments/default/
For Wordpress blogs
feed://yourdomain.com/directoryOfYourBlog/comments/feed/
Find an rss reader you like, I found that GReader doesn’t always update the comments rss regularly. Safari does fine. There are several rss feed readers out there, just pick the one that works for you and put in all your blog comment feeds.
Keeping up with comments is a whole lot simpler this way.
Posted by ljmacphee on August 29, 2007 under gimp |
Gimp Text is straight forward. Select the text button from the Gimp tools and click on your image in the top left spot you want the text located. A text editor will open and you can type your text there. On the Gimp tools you’ll see text selection tools for fonts, size, color and more. Select and set these up before entering your text on the image. Once you have your text on your image, close the popup window. If you need to move your text click on the move tool ( looks like a 4 way tire changing iron in top right of Gimp tools in image above ) and you can drag your text box about.
Paint is just what you would expect. Click on the paint bucket; you can then choose your options. When you click back on your image the area inside of the outline will be filled.
Gimp blend is great for creating 3d backgrounds for your website or blog. Click on the Gradient box under mode to select a gradient. There are several included with Gimp. You can adjust the mode ( same modes as in layers ) and change the shape. Once you’ve made your choices click on your image drag and click again. The line you create tells Gimp where to start and end the pattern.
You Tube Tutorial, Gimp text tool
Posted by ljmacphee on August 27, 2007 under blogging, security |
I ran across an article about blog pirates at Download squad that you might want to read.
. . . But while linking and references may be the lifeblood of blogging, there’s a submerged undercurrent of blogs and Web sites looking to get something for nothing, sailing the high seas of the Blogosphere with a view to plundering hard working Blogs for what they can in order to build up page views and Google page rankings.
We at the Download Squad noticed this recently when one of our readers not only decided to cut and paste one of our posts into their blog but, also linked to his blog from the comments section original Download Squad post. While we’re flattered at the attention, and impressed at the initiative it was still a little rude. All of a sudden we realized that it had all the hallmarks of a Blog Pirate, a fly by night operation that swoops in, cutlasses blazing, to lift off a treasure trove of stolen blog posts to their Google adsense infested pirate lair Web site. . . .
Blog pirates on the horizon!
See also:
Introducing a Shoddy Blogger
How do you find out if your blog is being pirated? The best method is to grab a phrase or sentence from one of your articles and plug it into Google Search and see what pops up. Use an article a month older or so to be sure the search engines have picked it up.
What to do when you catch someone? Well obviously you must burn down the barbarian’s website. Just kidding of course. You must recycle your bits and I don’t think they are flammable anyhow. See the following two links for detailed instructions on how to handle blog swiping.
What Do You Do When Someone Steals Your Content
What to do when someone steals your original content
See also:
Pirates raiding garden blogs
** update: I wrote a WP plugin to block most bots WP Security Plugin if you are having trouble with bot registrations try WP plugin bot blocker
Posted by ljmacphee on August 24, 2007 under gimp, graphics |
The tools in the dotted area are for rotating, scaling, shearing, perspective, and flipping your image.
The first rotates your image. Select the rotate tool. Click on your image and drag it. When you are happy with it click ‘Rotate’ in the box that popped up. This is good for straightening horizons when you weren’t quite holding the camera level.
Scale is easiest to use by selecting the scale tool then changing the width/height or aspect ratio in the box that pops up. After you select your numbers just click ‘Scale’.
Shear is like warping your image with wind. Select ‘Shear’. Put your mouse on your image and drag the mouse. Your image will shear in the direction and amount that you dragged the mouse.
Perspective will foreshorten or lengthen your image. Select Perspective, click in the photo you have open and a dot appears in the middle of your photo. Click again and drag and the image will foreshorten or lengthen in the direction and by the amount of the mouse movement.
Flip does what you’d expect choose vertical or horizontal and click the image. The image will flip from side to side or top to bottom depending on your choice.
Next: Gimp Basics: Text, paint, blend