New Blog

I have a new blog at Tumblr. What is a Tumblr?

To make a simple analogy: If blogs are journals, tumblelogs are scrapbooks.#

It's new and fun and I am blogging so I am happy.

Blogs

I just added another post to Hero Blog. I post there fairly often. My other projects are pretty quiet.

My Blog Addiction

84%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

I found this quiz at Blogger Buster. I would have thought I was 99.999999% addicted! :)

Blogging Versus Writing

I just finished the part 3 of the roundup I was working on.

At the last minute I found a link that needed to be included in my post. Irritation turned to happiness when I saw that it fit the post and added to it.

I felt odd - as if I has just relearned something about myself. It wasn't until I read a comment in my last post that I understood what I was feeling. I was glad that I finished the project but, more importantly, pleased that I had discovered something new.

Discovery is an important aspect of both my writing and photography. I can plan projects and edit them but the ideas have to stay fresh. As long as something stays new and interesting I can work with it endlessly. When it becomes "old" I can lose interest in it and it can be frustrating to keep at it.

Once I set the last roundup in motion it became a 'duty' and I felt I had to finish it. I had the willpower and the knowledge, but not the inspiration, to finish the project. The project was "old".

In some ways I blog differently than I write. My "writing" (as opposed to my "journaling") tends to be proactive - especially when it comes to fiction. I discover things by thinking "what if". I invent and then reflect.

My blogging (and journaling) tends to be reactive. I observe or read something and then try to express what I have seen. My ability and willingness to write is more dependent on time factors. Fresh or vivid memories are easier to write about.

When working on big blog projects I must find ways to use both of my writing styles to stay on track. I must be reactive to blog about things that will interest others. I must be proactive to keep myself interested and write with passion.

Featured Blogs And New Art

When I started featuring blogs at Big Blog Directory I tended to ignore the blogs I was a member of. I wanted to direct readers to the bloggers who had help make BBD happen.

Both 2 Lazy 2 Blog and 2 Lazy 4 Video are featured blogs this week and have been updated. I hope to post a mini reader survey or question at 2 Lazy 2 Blog sometime this week.

I have been feeling artistic lately and have posted at Fire Pix. I will post some more artwork later this week.

Slow Week

Things have been pretty quiet for me lately. I did finish reading some novels and have been playing some computer games.

I posted SA Blog Round Up Part 1 at BBD. Several people have participated and will get listed at BBD or SA Rocks.

I have to update both '2 Lazy' blogs because they will be the featured blogs at BBD this week. I am not sure what I will post yet.

Firemind's Blog Test

Last year I created Firemind's Blog Test. I thought I would mention it again so people who haven't taken it could participate.

I may create another blogging survey sometime this year.

BBD: 15 Blogs And A Higher Pagerank

15 Blogs

Big Blog Directory had a growth spurt in the last month. 15 blogs were listed.

There are blogs covering sports, religion, politics and more. There is a poetry blog and a fiction blog about a rather wild character.

The fun part of administrating a blog directory is checking out tons of new blogs. The hard part is keeping up with the ones I like.

Pagerank

Big Blog Directory's pagerank just changed from 3 to 4. I don't worry much about pagerank personally but it is important for BBD. A higher pagerank means more exposure and more traffic to the blogs listed.

Ideally people visiting BBD will check out various blogs and people noticing my link at other blogs will visit BBD.

Reading And Blogging

I am busy trying to catch up on blog projects so I thought I would link to some posts I read recently. They vary from funny to serious but all make one think a bit.

What if we had 3 eyes? by Random Magus. Answer the question yourself - either in the comments (at her blog) or your own blog.

Arachnophobes be warned... by Brian Cormier. How would you react if it happened to you?

"I Quit This Bitch" by Tara. I think this would be a grand way to make a statement when quitting a job. What do you think?

How I lost my religion by hitting an animal by Joel. This is a very interesting post about an incident that changed a person's worldview. What incidents changed your life? Blog about them if you wish.

Firemind's Spicypage Introduction

I have been using Spicypage for a few weeks now. I have listed both Firemind and Big Blog Directory. Here is my profile. I'll review the site at BBD in the future but this post is an introduction to what I do there.

Spicypage is a cross between social networking sites like MyblogLog and sites like Digg and Reddit. I like Spicypage because I can check out new blogs and publish links to my blog posts. People can check out my blogs and also certain posts.

• I am not there to 'collect' friends.
• I want tp promote my blogs but not at any cost.
• I tend to focus on blogs more than websites.
• Some people vote on everything but never give negative votes. I will give negative votes to blogs. I try to leave comments indicating my reasons.
• Spam blogs or spam-like blogs will get negative votes.
• I try to comment on the blogs I visit. Comments at Spicypage are no substitute for blog comments.
• Terms like "monetize my blog" and "make money blogging" will drive me from a blog unles it has good content.

That's all I can think of right now.

Good And Bad Days

I have been feeling a bit run down over the last few days.

Thursday wasn't too bad even though I saw that the newspapers had posted photos of the VT killer on their front pages. Irresponsible news reporting is one of the reasons I don't buy the TC and the other stupid tabloids.

On Friday I had very little energy and didn't go to my volunteer job. Part of me wanted to go and part of me didn't. Things have been a little unfocused there lately - at least for me. I felt much better after I caught up on my sleep and had something to eat.

I have been posting at bit more at the international groupblog I am a member of. I have posted about maple syrup, Canadian blogs, and Earth Day.

I post regularly at Big Blog Directory and enjoy doing so. Lately I have been getting more comments there and they have been positive.

Are Marketers Blind?

I got this email today:

Hi,

My name is Michael. We are promoting [company] and want to put a banner on your blog. Please contact me on [email].

Best regards,

Michael

Dear Michael,

I am flattered that you wish to make my blog look trashy but wonder if the banner will actually help anyone. How can you get a banner right if you try get it posted to a blog with this:



in the sidebar?

Leon

Font Fun

I like to use a short horizontal line to separate ideas in blog posts. Lately I find that the text after the line changes for some reason. It might be time to back up my template and try another as this one might be corrupted. A fresh look might me nice.

New Zodiac And Old Blog Habits

Zodiac



I found an interesting new Zodiac today. I am not sure how accurate it is. I would like to save the world more often but I hate orange tights. (via)

Blog Habits

I took two blog quizzes and found out that I am not quite a blogaholic...



...and that my blogs don't own me (yet).

Babylon Translation Tool

I have added Babylon to the sidebar to supplement the Babelfish translator. Babelfish is good but has problems with certain words. I primarily use Babelfish to comment in Men-a-men's blog. I tested Babylon there and found that it translates Dutch slang words quite well.

To put it in the sidebar I used a html/javascript page element. I set both the width and height to 140 px.

Blogging Against Spam

I have been busy in the last few days exposing a network of spamblogs. I found out over 300 blogs were getting content stolen from them. You can read about at BBD.

The New Face Of Spamblogs Part 1

The New Face Of Spamblogs Part 2

Update: The New Face Of Spamblogs Part 3

Site Feed Poll

For those that use feedreaders to view Firemind: Do you prefer full feed or is a partial one okay?
	Full
	Partial
	Either.
	I don't use a feed reader.
pollcode.com free polls

BlogWatch

Since I started BBD I have looked at many blogs. I don't read them all but I bookmark the most interesting and comment. Hopefully some of them will list with Big Blog Directory.

Blogs take many forms. Some are niche blogs covering certain topics and others are personal blogs with a more open-ended agenda. All of them can be interesting to read. Here is a selection of blogs I have come across. Some know from BBD and others I found randomly. I may make this a regular feature in this blog.

I had to laugh when I saw this hockey post. I was thinking of my experiences with hockey at that age. Speaking of Hockey... That Grrl wonders if that is the only time the national anthem gets played anymore.

I haven't been on a photo walk in ages and I need to go on one. I just found a blog called Ocean and Forest Walks and find it interesting. It has wonderful pictures from Victoria.

One of the first places I will visit when Spring comes is Beacon Hill Park. The animals will be having their young and the flowers will be blooming. it will be great for photos. I will probably visit the Children's Farm to see the goats and other critters. Men-a-men took his puppy to the Children's Farm in his village. Bo got a little excited. :)

Dogs bark and but bears give advice. Bob T. Bear kindly answered a question I had.

Okay that's my little trip around the blogosphere for today. Let me know what you think.

Blog Roundup Posted At BBD

I just posted the first Canadian Blog Roundup at Big Blog Directory. Check it out.

Search Me!

I am busy with BBD this morning. I am getting some blogs ready for listing and re-editing my Canadian Blog Roundup post. I may add a related post.

I was checking the visitor stats for Firemind and had a giggle. I write about lofty topics sometimes but get found when someone searches for carrots. Someone else is trying to drag me through cyberspace to download. If it works I hope they're cute. :P

Cheers

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Tags or Labels that lead to my blog:

technorati.com/posts/tag/carrots
technorati.com/tag/gcast
bigblogdir.blogspot.com/search/label/books


Some keyword searches that lead to my blog:

firemind to download
falling rubber bush game
i am alive

Some websites that lead to my blog:

Flickr
Big Blog Directory
Google Groups (Blogger Help Group)
The Canadian Blog Exchange