Listening to the Voices in my Head

Isn't that just dandy

LiveJournal doesn't allow photo uploads to photostream via Semagic or Open Live Writer anymore.  And if you link a photograph in from a different blog, the colors are so washed out and dingy, they look like shit.

I can understand why a Russia owned blogging site will no longer allow uploads via 3rd party blogging software, but when I uploaded a photo to LJs photostream, and it turned out having the same washed out colors, it seems they don't want any photos uploaded?

Reaching end of the line for me

I am getting fed up with all the pissing contests, the one upmanships people see to have to do, and humble-bragging on Facebook.

Fucking sick of the games, the attempts at making cliques to belittle and insult someone.  I had enough of that crap when I was in high school, I sure as hell do NOT need it NOW!

I wonder if there will be an exodus

Or a stampede back to weblogs, seeing as FB is pretty much painting it's users into a corner.  FB has turned pretty much into a vat of just meanspiritedness on the part of some people.  Not everyone, and not even the majority of people, but the ones that like to laugh at people getting killed, or children caged... it takes too much energy and time.

I don't mind logging in to play the cooperative games, but going to stop checking the newsfeed.

I miss bloggers

And blogging.  I miss web BBS forums. Facebook is a pisspoor substitute.

I have to use two different blog posting software. That in itself isn't a problem, but it's the "not suddenly working" with little (or no) forewarning.

Ok, moving on:

Turns out I don't have plantar fasciitis. I have enthesopathy of the plantar tendon.  It's like having a pebble under then skin, between the tendon and bone of the heel.  To say it's painful would be an understatement.  Physio has found a way to tape the heel and arch of foot and it relieves about 98% of the pain. Problem is, I can't keep my foot taped all the time! ARGH!  Might have to see a podiatrist. Dammit, I'm not old enough to need orthotics!

Onto my rant about Twitter (and what followed).  It would have been nice to have them send an email, or maybe an ironic SMS, to say they were discontinuing being able to receive SMS notifications.  I thought my phone was faulty, went to Telstra to find out why I couldn't send text messages to Twitter, and why my Caller ID was coming up as PRIVATE NUMBER.  The girl there couldn't figure it out, and suggested I recontract early, and see if that and a new sim card would fix it. It did not.  She told me I should call Tech Support (which I did, but that's a different story which I will add after this) What she didn't tell me was recontracting cancelled my "StayConnected" subscription.  I figured out why the Caller ID wasn't working, it was because of Samsung firmware update.  It added a new setting I had to untick.

Moving on again, I called Telstra tollfree number, wade through the most annoyingly voiced menus, the type that make you want to grind your teeth to nubs.  The first time I tried, I got disconnected.  I tried again the following day, made it through all the menus and spoke to "Steve",  wonderful support, and when I told him what happened regarding the recontracting, how I wasn't told that it would lead to the cancellation of my StayConnected, he said to go back to that Telstra shop and speak to the manager.  I will as it will be well within my rights to have this new contract revoked and go back to my original contract, including my StayConnected.

Loki, big grey Bengal of ours, has been ill, twice in as many weeks. He was throwing up. Took him to the vet, he was given a shot of anti-nausea medication, some take home antibiotics,  and bloods drawn for tests.  Nothing nefarious in the blood tests, and he stopped barfing.
 
Then a week later, he started sneezing. Not a lot at first, just a few times. Then a half dozen times a day, then so often I called the vet.  Exam and nasal swab taken.  Antibiotics (again) and an anti-inflammatory.  

After a few days, his nose dried out, but he still sneezed, just not as often, or as hard. As Alan described, "He lifted his head, opened his mouth, his eyes would cross, and then he would sneeze two or three times.".  

Call back about the nasal swab results: as yet unidentified bacteria, but it would react/die with the antibiotic he was given.  Brought him back in to the vet this morning for a follow up.  Sneezing a few times, but not constantly, and also no more nasal discharge.  The bacteria was identified, and it's no biggie. 

Consensus was that the smoke from the controlled burn off, people using woodstoves, pollen from all the wonderful blossoming trees/flowers, and using the heat triggered his allergies into overdrive.

Other than that, I haven't been bored. This "Self Isolation" and "Social Distancing"... I've been stuck doing it for the past 2 years because of car accident, followed by pneumonia, then seizures, and to top it off more surgery.  Who knew my life was called "Quarantine"? 

Even though OLW 0.6.3 or 0.6.2 doesn't display the right WP Template

They are the only ones that will post to one of my blogs.  It's kind of a pain.  Turns out I should have kept Office 2007 instead of upgrading to 2010 a while back, because you can't connect or post to certain blogs with Word 2010, but can with 2007.  But Microsoft won't allow two installation Office. I can edit Typepad entries with Semagic, but I can't POST to Typepad with Semagic.

Why can't programmers get together and cooperate?  Hell no, that is too much to ask for.

VOX ripples

Although Vox is dead and gone there is still a strong community of people keeping in contact via other blogging services and forum. It's amazing how many people are staying in touch.

"Booked" my Vox Blog

As I had mentioned, SixApart is shutting down Vox with little warning. Just short of saying "We closing, go here or get lost".

FeedFabrik offered a solution for those who wanted to archive their blogs. And they worked tirelessly with me about bugs and glitches until it was all working right.

I actually found that their site created a PDF that was formatted better than LJ Book or BlogBooker.

I will miss Vox, the groups that were there, and people on my F-lists that have decided to not export to Typepad or WordPress.

It might be vanity

Or a waste of money, but I will be having my Vox blog, which is due to vanish into the ether, 'booked'. Working out a few issues with the manufacturer and when those are resolved, will do so.

I have comments and information from friends that I don't want to lose, and photos etc etc.

It's amazing how many regular users at VOX are upset about SixApart lowering the boom on Vox, even though they are offering exports to Typepad. Their reasons are legit, like memorial blogs for friends who have passed away. Issues with some not being able to export to Typepad, getting constant errors. WordPress doesn't have the same options and is a bit clunky to set up (miffed that I can't add my Redbubble widget to Wordpress but I was able to add banner).

Oh well.. life and the net does go on.

I understand that nothing on the internet is permanent

That being said, there are better ways of handling things.

Example: VOX, yet another SixApart blogging service that many went to when they were mucking up Livejournal (then they abandoned that, and we know what the led to). With little warning (two weeks to be exact, 10days of that I was away) we get notified that they are shutting down. That as of Sept 15th, you could no longer post or edit, but access it. By Sept 30th, it will be going *poof* into the ether.

They do offer yet another SixApart blogging service, but I wonder how long they will keep that one running before they abandon that one too?

Also, they have you go to a place that will make your blog a book, for the tidy sum of $300+ AUD. And no, that isn't a typo. And after looking at the proof, half the images missing, or screwed up, makes me wonder if they are in bed with that service too.

WordPress has stepped up and offered Vox users a place to import their blogs, also, but it's not all peaches and cream. Some one post spammers have already taken the names I typically use blogging, and this was done a few years ago, with no activity since.

Most of the people who were on my friends/neighborhood list on VOX I never personally met, but textually developed friendships, offered advice, was given advice, and just enjoyed gossip.

The way SixApart handled this is piss poor.