Blogging

More Maps and Interesting Content Coming

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I promise there are more maps and interesting content coming, especially as the temperatures start to drop and I spend more time at home. In the winter, I spend a lot more weekends at home, so I will have more time to work on the blog. I will keep looking on state’s websites and federal government data centers to get stats to make up new charts, graphs, Google Maps, and other content. Not having Internet at home means I get more done, as there are fewer distractions, and once I’m ready to make things go live, I bundle up and go down to the library.

Kind of Negligent on Updating My Blog

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I have to admit that lately, I’ve been kind of negligent about updating my blog. I really haven’t done a lot of new blog posts, except for my daily notes that I usually put together either right before bed or on the bus ride to work. Nothing really exciting. I’ve been spending more of my time lately working with the soldering iron, writing code for microprocessor projects, reading books, and other things. Probably better uses of my time then processing data, but still I kind of like to post interesting thing on the blog.

Part of my problem is I’ve been continuing to reinstall software on my laptop, so I’ve run into some issues when it comes to making new maps for the blog. I am always missing one package or another, and without internet access at home, it’s difficult to update things. Coming up with new and improved maps has also proven difficult – I lack the ambition to install all the data needed to make maps in other states, while the same time, I’ve run low on new areas to map or re-map in New York State. Likewise, I’ve made charts of many things that I can find easily to graph and put on the web.

Untitled [Expires August 17 2024]

Rolling Out the New Blog

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Started to roll out the new blog …

My goal with the next batch of changes is to cut the number of lines of codes to a minimal and use the WordPress and PHP APIs to a greatest extent possible, so I can adopt new features without modifying my existing code. More code means more bugs and more issues to work out.

I mentioned last week that the Twitter Round-up pages will be disappearing. These pages were very data intensive and required a lot of code and processing to work correctly. They originally were created before Twitter let you download your tweets, mostly so I would have a personal copy of all the tweets I’ve done over the years. The Twitter API changes a lot, and it’s a lot of work to keep my own archive working. That’s why they are “disappearing”.

Photo albums are also “disappearing”. That does not mean photos are disappearing. In contrast, photos will be promoted to the front page, rather than the 10-photo albums. This will reduce the amount of clicking required, and because I am doing fewer photos — preventing it from clogging up the home page. It also will work better with social media sites. This feature will roll out over time.

Weather is disappearing. Well sort of. I am going to eliminate the automatic weather updates that appear on Twitter and Facebook. But instead, I will be sharing more weather graphics and customized efforts. You’ll like it. It will be less annoying, I promise you. Automated weather updates suck on many fronts.

The appearance will be freshened up. Not right away, but that’s coming soon.

Don’t fear the changes. Just because some things are disappearing temporarily or changing around, doesn’t mean it’s all bad. And this is a slow roll out — new features will appear in the next month, at a slower rate then old ones disappeared.

I expect to be fully up to steam by mid-April on the new, improved blog. You’ll like it, I promise !

Adding Instagram and Foursquare to the Blog

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Since getting a Smartphone, I’ve moved away from traditional blogging a bit, in favor of more spontaneous blogging using social media tools such as Instagram and FourSquare.

This weekend, I spent several hours writing new code to integrate these tools into my blog, including one replacing the conventional public schedule with one that pulls data from Foursquare then updates my blog and other connected data sources. Instagram photos now automatically appear on the blog like other posts, and are connected in with maps and older photos on the blog.

I am also on a few new social media sites for those interested in following me:

While I’ve gotten away from map making, I hope to be making some new maps and re-featuring some classic maps soon. My goal is to be sharing at least one interesting map per day, even if it’s an older map that I made some time ago.

They’re Just Words

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In the past year, I have written the fewest words that I have in a decade. Some might say, I’ve finally learned to shut my mouth and listen to what others have to say. I certainly have spent more blog space in recent years leaning on other’s works in the form of linking other websites and news articles that I find of interest.

I kind of gotten to dislike writing my own thoughts down. I often don’t like looking back at my words in my time of innocence, expressing the world as I see it on a particular point in my life. I know I am evolving, and I will make mistakes, and sometimes put the wrong combination of words, or say things that prove to be stupid in later years.

Huntersfield Peaks in Distance

But not writing down my most personal of thoughts – and those meant for public consumption – I am missing something that would forever be preserved in one form or another. Not writing essays and diary entries lately has had me losing my skill to write, and see what interesting combinations of words I can put together to form sentences.

I got to do more writing. It’s fine to share my photos, maps, and the works of other. But I am losing something by not creating my own content through the keys of my laptop. After all, these are supposed to be my adventures in maps, photos, and stories.

I really should do more writing and blogging about my experiences, as I’m losing something by not writing down my thoughts these days.