Saturday, April 5, 2008

When Blogs Collide...

...good stuff is bound to happen!

I have great news! I have wasted an entirely perfect Saturday sitting in this awful non-ergonomic chair compiling the frankenstein of all blog aggregators. If you don't know what that is, don't worry. I wasted an entire day on it and still don't really know myself.

All I do know is that fancy long list that Lisa at Brass and Ivory provided has now been feed into a blog displaying machine and all the posts are there from everyone!

The blogs are in tidy folders labeled "ABC", "DEF" and so on. That way, you can find a particular blog to read their posts easily, or you can read them first come first served with the newest from anyone who's blog is listed showing on top....all mixed up like a Blog Salad, or a Blog Jelly Roll or something. (Can you tell I forewent dinner to do this?)

Here's the link to the MS Blog Reader:
www.meandmyms.org/reader (new window)

Before you go gettin' all "she did the new window thing on me" about the new window, let me explain. I'm going to tell you a couple of things and rather than try and remember them, you can read the tips here while simultaneously viewing what I am talking about there. Make sense now? Are you gonna take back that "new window" thing you were thinking? Okay then.

Firstly, you may or may not see a "log in" box at top right of the page. I'm flyin' by the seat of my pants on this installation because there's very little documentation (read "instructions") so I have no clue what I'm doing or what to expect.

I don't see any advantage for anyone but me to have to sign in as I can access the admin area when I am logged in and get to decide what blogs get shown, etc.

Hitting the "Refresh" button will cause the Aggregator Alligator to go searching the swamps for fresh blog meat (posts) so be prepared to wait and wait as it take a while to troll 181 blogs. Not near as long as it took to list them, tho.

Beneath the title to each post you will find some light gray type (unless I have messed with the CSS again and it's no longer light gray) that says when it was posted and by whom it was posted. Immediately following that are the words "tags [edit]". This is where you can get all interactive with it. You can edit the tags and say what you think are meaningful labels for what you have read. Somewhere down the road it will help others sort things out and find things they are searching for more quickly.

And last but not least...the most exciting function! You can search the whole MS blog world from this one place for anything you want to find. I tested it out using the term "Fingolimod" and while it returned gobs of posts from moi, it also returned some I had not read from other blogs.

So, go give 'er a whirl and let me know what you think. I can take it.

OH yeah, if you don't see your blog there it's either because your blog is by invite only and I wasn't invited (in which case pfffffffffft on you!), or for some reason my aggregator just said "sorry" and refused to add you, or you don't have an rss feed so I can't add you. If you have an RSS feed and want to include it, or any ideas that you want to brainstorm, contact me at signsintime at gmail dot com.

Go read!

9 comments:

BRAINCHEESE said...

It seems a "Wren Wrun" may have energized you a bit too much!! Geez...I went "there" and now I'm completely overwhelmed and FULL of Catholic guilt for not reading all those posts...oh...and I'm NOT even CATHOLIC!!!

(But thanks for busting arse to compile that list all the same)

Linda D. in Seattle

Jeri Burtchell (TickledPink) said...

I know what you mean. heh. I just used the "mark em all read" button so I can start fresh. ;-)

Lisa Emrich said...

WOW!!!

You've been up to sumptin' haven't ya? Now we've got to keep each other updated on new blogs which are found out there. For instance, I've already added some more to the list since the last official update.

But that search feature and the option of adding tags is AMAZING. What a great resource that could become. You dun good girl.

Unknown said...

OMG!! I can't believe the work you and Lisa and Linda are doing to keep us all in a loop. I need more time to read all these blogs....
Good job!

S.

mdmhvonpa said...

Linda: We are gonna get'cha! With 45% more guilt! :D

trrish said...

hi - wow, this is really GREAT. Thank you for putting it together. it's such an efficient way to look for whatever you are thinking about (in my case, 'steroids').

trrish

trrish said...

Hi....wow, this is GREAT. Thank you for putting it together. It's such an efficient way to find whatever it is you are looking for or thinking about (in my case, 'steroids'). I need another week off from work to read through everything :-)

Bubbie said...

Wow, I'm impressed. You must be very tecno-savy. Thanks.
BTW: I read your comment on Ms.Cheese's latest post (about her doc running. I too, WAS a damned good artist before MS. I made a pretty decent living at it most of my life. It took me 5 years to get back to it after my first bad flare and dx.I can't do what I used to, but I'm adapting. Different styles, sizes, media and expectations. I can't tell you how much better I feel now that I've been painting again on a regular basis. It's good for the spirit.

Jeri Burtchell (TickledPink) said...

Oh Bubbie, I KNOW! Painting, drawing, whatever the medium, it's great salve for the spirit. I feel so mentally massaged and rejuvenated when I have applied myself artistically for a while.

You mentioned adaptation. I have had to go for more of an "impressionist" type style than the "realist" I used to be. Eventually perhaps cubism or abstract will be all I can accomplish.

I don't care if I have to roll a wheelchairs wheels through wet paint splashed on canvas on the ground. I'll adapt, darn it. And you better look out, Pollock!