AliThinks

Five Years

Here's the thing: I started this blog five years ago today, at a time when my life was completely different, and I thought I was heading in a specific direction.

Well. Things change, things fall apart. And things get rebuilt.

On this blogiversary, then, I've decided that I'm going to rebuild AliThinks. It's either that or shut it down, and I don't want to do that.

This post is just a little place- and time marker. I'm largely uncaffeinated, but I have to bust this out now for reasons I'll explain later.

Happy weekend. And Happy Easter. Or Pesach.

So I Hear It's Delurking Day

Chris informed me Friday that today's Delurking Day. I know my readership has really dropped, but say hello in the comments so I can know who's out there! And if you have any blog mojo advice, feel free to give it to me.

Space Not For Rent

I've been silent, but in my real life I've been busy it's none of your business. And now my kids are here, so that means much less time on the computer.

The past week or two I've gotten a lot of requests to post about this or that on my blog. Sometimes it's a charity, sometimes not. And I generally ignore these requests, especially if they talk about my influence (read: as a high-traffic blogger). Because they can't see my stats, but I can. And I assure you, this is not a high-traffic blog. (She had potential, but... -ed.)

Also, I still have my Ad-Free Blog icon over there in the sidebar. So, you know.

"But wait, Alison!"  I can hear you exclaiming it already. "What about the Baconnaise?!"

What about it? I was offered a product to review, and I did so. (SHIT, that reminds me, I still need to post my review of Petite Anglaise's book. Ah well, six months late is better than never.)

So why would I write about a product rather than a worthy charity? After getting some feedback from a friend on Twitter, I realized that charity is a personal thing. I won't ask you to support anything that I don't personally support. And I don't really want to talk about it, because it's *gasp* personal.

I also won't post about a random charity that I've never heard of. Sorry.

But hey, I'll try something out and tell you what I think of it. I'll probably never be able to give away a Wii, but at least I can make semi-amusing (to me, anyway) video blogs about random products. Or not.

"But isn't that advertising?" Not really. I reserve the right to give a negative review to any product I'm asked to try. And to date, I've received two products to review (and one of these was the results of a Google search for "I love mayonnaise," so, um, yeah).

Here's a recommendation for ya: Go watch Grosse Pointe Blank. (This is one of those cinematic gems I missed out on while I lived in France.)

Also? Happy Holidays!

While We Wait For My Zit To Subside...

(you know, so I can make the let's-hold-our-breath-ooh-la-la video you've been on the edge of your seats for)

...while we wait for that to happen (hello, zit, come to a head already!), let me direct you to my friend AndreAnna's other blog, Chop. Stir. Mix.

She and the other founder of C.S.M. (ooh, sounds almost like a band, doesn't it?), Cass, have started a contest. They're giving away some sweet kitchen schwag from Crate & Barrel (and more, if you help promote the contest), and all you have to do is leave a comment to this entry. Of course, if you actually read the entry, you'll increase your chances!

I entered the contest by leaving a comment with my worst kitchen disaster, which I documented on my long-defunct blog AliGator. And although I did mention that I don't need any kitchen crap stuff, I'm happy to promote the contest for an extra chance to win - because I will donate the prize if I am the winner. So go leave comments. If I don't win, you might!

New Year, New Banner

I said I was going to do it. I asked for suggestions. My friend Le Mille Pattes back in France pulled a Horshack* and his enthusiasm was such that I asked him to make me a new banner.

And that was that. I didn't give him any ideas. He didn't ask.

One month later...

Mr. Millipede is on vacation right now, and over the weekend he and I volleyed e-mails about the banner. This is the final design. I think it's great, as in I totally *heart* it. What do you think? (If you can't see it, do a hard refresh or clear your cache.)

*Mille Pattes: Arnold Horshack est un personnage (connu pour son enthousiasme devant son prof) d'une série télé des années 70. Je ne sais pas si elle a été diffusée en France.

Time For A New Banner

My banner up there is starting to bug me. Anybody have any brilliant ideas or suggestions? I don't know when I'll get around to making a new one, but if you throw me a bone, it might motivate me.

What Day Is It?

That's right! Spearheaded by the Rude Cactus himself, today is the day we delurk and post comments on the blogs we silently (or not-so-silently) read. So let's have a show of hands. Who's out there? Say hello in the comments!

Graphic courtesy of Aimee Greeblemonkey. Thanks!

Next To Last Day

This is Day 29 of NaBloPoMo, and I've pretty much succeeded in posting every day. Was most of it fluff? Yes. Did I grit my teeth at the thought of this thing? Yes.

But here I am, Day 29, and I'd like to introduce you to my good friend. She's local, but we met through the innernets, via RadioParadise to be exact.

As I told someone the other day, she's a real kick in the pants. In a GOOD way. She makes me laugh and she has been a great friend these past 11 months.

She also started blogging a couple of weeks ago. So please go check out Grits, Tits, And Oven Mitts. Tell her I sent you.

It's Been A Long Time Coming

For weeks now I've been trying to wrap my brain around a way to keep my feed reader and my blogroll on the same wavelength. I'd subscribe to a feed, thinking I would add it to the blogroll, but then I'd forget because I never read from my blogroll anymore. There was a pretty big discrepancy between my roll and what I was actually reading.

Then Neil came to the rescue by eliminating his blogroll and making his Bloglines feed public. And that, my friends, is what I have just done. If you check the side bar, you'll see a section called "Things I Read Online." That's where my "blogroll" is now.

And here's the part where I announce the creation of a site called Indie Bloggers, which I have joined. I quote:

Indie Bloggers is about giving exposure to bloggers who need to be read. Indie Bloggers is a showcase of written talent - stories, almost - that you may not see otherwise. Anyone can submit. Everyone may not be published right away or at all, but there are few restrictions (i.e., I don’t want to hear about your sex life). Please don’t be intimidated. We want your best!

So far I have submitted one post, Ancient History. But I have read a number of other interesting posts from great bloggers whom I might not have discovered otherwise. The link to Indie Bloggers is also in the sidebar now. Consider it another link resource, a complement to my Bloglines subscriptions.

A Pre-Internet Pregnancy*

Before the existence of parenting websites and mommyblogs, we had to cope with our pregnancies the hard way. Motherless and in a foreign country, I read What to Expect When You're Expecting and wrote in my journal during my first pregnancy. I was the first of my family or friends to have a child, and boy, was I clueless. It all worked out, of course. I had a healthy baby girl three months before I turned 25.

For my second pregnancy, not only was I more experienced, but I was also fluent enough in French to feel comfortable reading parenting magazines. My favorite was famili, and I bought it every month. One of the rubrics I enjoyed was "La Future Maman du Mois," which profiled a different woman every month.

I started thinking about all this recently because at least three of my "Lost In Francelation" bloggers are pregnant. Riana, Aimee, and Deb are all expecting their first child. These future mamans have an advantage I didn't: a built-in support system via the internet. I think it's wonderful that they are able to tap into the rich source that is the interwebosphere, and that they are blogging about their pregnancies. Oh! If I'd only had a blog when I was expecting. (Sample entry from my journal: March 31, 1995. I can't believe I'm going to have a baby! Here I am with my huge belly, two weeks from my due date, and I just can't fathom the fact that a real live baby is going to come out of me. I know it's in there, heck, I can feel it moving! But it's a little person and it will grow up to be a big person and I made it! With some help from J, of course.)

But I digress. So I've been thinking about these three American bloggers in France and how lucky they are. And I got to thinking about how I dealt with being pregnant, eons ago. I thought of famili magazine, and how I sent my photo and a description in to the magazine. I thought of the phone call I received from Anne Wieme-Dufour, inviting me to be a Future Maman du Mois. I thought of that November Wednesday that I spent in Paris, being dorlotée by famili. I thought of that March day in 1998, when (with my baby son in his sling) I bought famili and opened it to this page:

Linky Goodness

Welcome to Bluegrass Airport! We have plenty of time before our flight (you need to click that link), and we've exhausted the retail possibilities here. There's always the bar, but it's not even 4 p.m. yet.

I thought I'd leave you with some links to Blogs I Have Been Enjoying Recently. I hope you enjoy them too, and that they can tide you over until my next post. [insert winky emoticon here]

It wouldn't be a day without reading The Morning Meeting, hosted by The CEO. If The CEO doesn't make you laugh, then surely Mist1 of Must Get Hobby will. Once you've made it through those, you might be feeling peckish. Go see Ms. Glaze, who recounts her life as a stagiaire in a three-star restaurant in Paris. On the other hand, that might leave you feeling fat, so check out Stephanie's Back In Skinny Jeans blog. Typepad recently spotlighted BISJ as a Featured Weblog. Yay, Stephanie! And if you're a grammarian like me, then you'll enjoy Zemblan Grammar. At the very least, check out these e-mails from university students. University! Students!

See you when we get to the other side of the Atlantic.

Bitacle: Aggregator or Thief?

The other day I got a trackback notification from Typepad; it was for a site called Bitacle. I clicked the link in the notification, and got taken to a page that had my exact blog post, complete with a place to comment and everything. I looked around the page, and there were my archives! 

I asked Chris if he knew anything about it, and he said he'd received a similar trackback. He asked me to let him know if I found anything out.

An e-mail to Bitacle got no response.

At the bottom of the Bitacle homepage there's this sentence: "Bitacle is reader feeds by web." Yeah, okay. Whatever. So why do they reproduce my whole post? And leave space for comments? Granted, there's a link to my blog in their post, but why would anyone reading there bother to click through to AliThinks? There's no need! Everything is there; everything is archived! The page is (apparently) loaded with ads, but Adblock is doing its job; I can't see them.

There has been some discussion on other blogs about whether Bitacle is simply an aggregator or a splog, and whether the language barrier plays into the perception of it. (Bitacle is Spanish). My gut is telling me there's something fishy about it. I don't care if there's a disclaimer at the bottom of every blog post ("Articles are copyright their respective autors [sic]"). Or that their FAQ states:

What type of blogs are   inlcuded in the search?

All blogs that has a feed. This it can be RSS or Atom.

What happens if I don’t wish to appear in the list?

If you doesn’t publish feed, it won’t be   included in the blog’s search. Nevertheless, if you previously has   published feed of the site that was indexed, the old entrances will remain in   the index, although the new ones aren’t added.

Sorry, but Bloglines and Technorati and whatnot are not republishing my entire content!

Stop Bitacle.org is a blog dedicated to creating "negative momentum" against Bitacle.  The folks behind it are outraged, and I am, too.

UPDATE: Allan Jenkins has a spot-on synopsis of what's going on.

About Me

I asked you to ask me some questions. Here are my answers. Thank you, all of you, for reading and caring. I've divided the questions into somewhat fuzzy categories. It made sense to me; I hope it does to you, too. Enjoy!

Oh, and I will link to this entry on my About page.

PERSONAL

Does it bother you when people spell your name the wrong way?
Yes! But it happens less and less these days. For the record, it's ALISON.

What is a day in the life of Ali like?
I exist. I create. I love.

Here’s a difficult one that you don't need to answer. How do you cope on a day to day basis not being with your kids?
I just do it. Sometimes it hits me hard, and I ache. Mostly I try to look at this time as a gift of freedom; some day, the kids will live with me, and my life will change again.

So what besides weird questions gives you the heebeejeebees?
Creepy-crawlies. Jell-O. Heights.

Do you have hairy toes?

Testing

Typepad now lets you easily add Technorati tags to your posts. When I first saw these on other blogs a number of months ago, I thought they looked unwieldy. I'm still not sure I like the way they look, especially with my choice of links-in-bold.

What do you think?

By the way, I'm still working on the FAQ. You people came up with some killer questions!
 

Blog Appreciation Day

Thanks to Neil, today is Blog Appreciation Day. He sent me a picture of his underwear reading my blog (no, really), and in return, I had to spread the love.

So here I am, appreciating my friend Amber Bamberboo's blog.

Amber is back to blogging after a summer hiatus, and I'm very glad to be reading her again. Last December she and her husband Len welcomed Allan, me, and my children into their home in Brussels. We had an excellent time, and rumor has it we'll be visiting them in their new home in Scotland in a couple of months.

Love you, Amber!

I Need Help

One of the things I've been meaning to do is revamp my About page. I updated it after I moved back to the States, but it completely sucks still needs work. I've seen some bloggers let their readers ask them questions, and that's what I'm going to do.

My blog is going to have a FAQ (cleverly disguised as an About page), and you're going to write half of it. Ask me your burning questions in the comments to this entry. Since I will answer these in a collective manner, I probably won't respond to your comment like I usually do. Please don't hate me for this.

If you want to ask something anonymously, send your question to alisonATalithinksDOTcom (yes, I have a domain name; I'll let you know when I move on up to it). Likewise, if you want the world to know that it's YOUR QUESTION, DAMMIT, let me know and I will give you linkage on the new About page.

Here's the caveat: I reserve the right to not answer questions if they invade my personal space, if they give me the heebeejeebees, or if I just don't feel like it.

Now have at it.

The Whole Fam Damily Is Doing It

Mike has spent the last couple of days posting old photos to his blog. The latest are baby photos of Allan and their sister Jo Ann. Now Allan has posted another baby photo on his blog. So what the hell, let me jump on the baby bandwagon. You've seen me in my high school glory. Coming Soon: The Awkward Years.

Or not.

Mystery Solved!

Hi Alison,

    Thank you for your note. I took a look at the source code
    of your weblog and it appears the problem is one of your
    posts. There's quite a bit of odd code in your "Another
    Head-Shaker" post and when I remove it from my test file,
    the sidebar appeared correctly. Take a look at that post
    and remove any odd tags.

    I hope that helps. Please let us know if you have any other
    questions.

    Thanks,
    Carla

No, thank YOU, Carla. The offending bit has been removed, the post has been republished, and my blog looks normal in IE. But you readers should still get Firefox.

More!

Since I am so lazy obviously under-caffeinated right now, I direct you to Allan's post about Feedburner. What he says is applicable here.

No, we don't always do the same thing.

Tweaking

After Allan and I went out for Korean food (je yuk bok eum, mmmmm!), we spent the evening doing a little blog rearranging.

I cleaned up my "Other Stuff" list in the sidebar, and then decided that my blogroll was WAY too long. So I've put it on a separate page (created by me! Almost all by myself!); you can access my blogroll(s) by clicking on the link called "Ali's Reads" over there in the sidebar.

I also opened a help ticket to see if someone at Typepad can decipher the IE viewing problem. We'll see what the solutions are. In the meantime, I've made it easier to track how my blog does look in IE by installing this Firefox extension. Right-click, view in IE, and presto! It's a neat tool, so if you have Firefox, why not give it a try?

In the meantime, feedback is welcome. I'm not done with the tweaking yet.