If you don't use it, you lose it

Spent the day reviewing Google plus and my blog here at blogspot. How soon we forget.

A few months ago, ok, a year ago, I was pretty confident about the workflow with G+, Picasa and this blog, but now, not so much. I'm just testing a few things out with it all now, by posting via MarsEdit.

We'll see how it all goes over the next while, as I review all my various accounts across the net.

Test from BlogPress to Metamorphosis

Not seeing some previous posts - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Does BlogPress work with Metamorphosis??

Just a test from the couch.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

First post with the new app

Trying an iPhone photo and a post via the new Blogger app. Let's see how it goes.

Photo is from the Crescent Beach Invitational last weekend.

Google + anyone?

I've been trying out Google + for a week or so now. Some things seem to work as expected, but others, well, not so much.

I wanted to put a photo in a post this morning. Simple enough, eh? Write the post, upload the photo into an album and 'Share'.

You'd think.

Actually, when I uploaded the photo into an existing album, the whole damn album was shared in the post. Can't figure that one out without some additional photos to upload and share. Guess we'll wait and see.

I did have a nice morning at Crescent Beach in Surrey BC. Sunny, warm, and not too crowded before 10:00am.

Hello? Hello?

It's been far to long...

I do have a couple of other blogs out and about, but I seem to have a lot of content here. What am I doing just letting it sit here. Perhaps I'll get it active again. No promises, but I'll try, at least periodically.

What's new.

I'm a few years older :-)

I recently left the Board of Trade to get back on my own under the moniker donsca.ca

I've joined flickr, twitter and facebook as donsca

DWS-Co, my old company is no more

I've added photography to my list of endeavours

Right now I'm watching a video on a speech that Shane Gibson made at a CRM conference

I'm starting to explore my creative side a bit more

There's more, but hopefully I'll be back with other current stuff that would be more interesting than the past.

Got to move on you know...

Updated Blogger settings solved

It's taken a while, but I've finally updated my blogger account to a new template. After doing that and updating Qumana, I thought I had it all worked out for posting there.

No joy at first, but then I remembered that my blog was now part of my Google account. When I started it a year or so ago, it was separate, as a part of Blogger.

Silly me.

So I checked the address, but still couldn't post. With a bit more hunting and pecking around I figured it out. I was still trying to use the old password for my original Blogger account. Duh. A quick entry with my Google info and all was fine.

Sure is getting hard to keep up with all the sign in/sign out transitions. Hopefully someone will figure out someway to have one identity for the web.

Powered by Qumana

Multiple computers are time consuming

I wanted to find some information about courses in journalism schools. Once the laptop booted up I ran into a snag - my tool bars were missing critical buttons that I use every day on my desktop. I guess I hadn't got around to installing them on my less-used laptop. Bummer.

Oh well, off to collect the Google toolbars for IE and Firefox. Then around to find the various buttons for gmail, reader, and blog subscriptions. Add in a trip to del.icio.us for their tool bar buttons, a check through gmail and the reader, and a couple of hours had passed. Sigh.

Now, what was it I started to do...

On with the new year

I last posted a note that I've been working at a new job that was to last through the end of December. Well now it's going to carry on longer. That's good. It's nice to know you've made an impression that's at least good enough for them to want you around for a while.

Actually, I was looking foward to a slow start in the first week of January. There were no events planned, and one of our projects wasn't due out for a couple of weeks. I thought I'd have at least a day or so to get my mind back on work after the holidays. Boy, did I underestimate. I've been going steady for two days now. The days just disappear. It took quite a while just to update my calendar with all the events and activities that are coming up over the next couple of months...never been this calendarized in my life ;-)

There are perks though. Over Xmas I blew the budget. I tend to do my own Xmas shopping and usually end up managing to justify all the toys I need want. That's fun. It actually started in a small way before Xmas, but now that I'm making some extra cash, I realized my technology budget is up. Ahhh...Best Buy!

Change is good

Well, metamorphosis means change, and I've been doing a lot of that over the last few months.

Working as a solopreneur has its benefits, but there are times when you need to stretch. I've had a variety of gigs over the last year or so, but I felt a need for some inspiration. A background in the public service meant that some corporate or non-profit experience might do me some good. When the chance came along to do that, even for a while, I jumped at it.

Back in September, I took a 9-5 job with the local Board of Trade. I was at a business to business reception, when they approached me out of the blue. The question was "Do you do business writing as well as science writing." "Well, yes," I said, "as a matter of fact, I just finished a certificate in that." A couple of short conversations later, they offered me a job for a couple of months.

It's been good. There hasn't been all that much writing yet, but interacting with people during the day has been therapeutic. I found that I'd developed some seriously bad habits while working alone for over 2 years. The days all seemed to combine into one, and productivity was heading to the basement. I needed a change. Heh, I got that.

There are a variety of tasks that I'm involved in now, from writing to printing, to event preparation and photography. Variety is the spice of life, so to speak. I'm learning a lot and having fun.

I can still hear the echo. A year ago I swore I'd never take a full-time job again. Hmm...note to self: never say never. Life changes and you have to change along with it. Nothing is forever, and if you think it is you will miss out on so many things.

We'll see how long this gig lasts. I hope it lasts a while. If not, that's ok. I've made some new friends and acquaintances, learned lots of new things, and have a new appreciation for 9-5.

Onward and upward...