…discovering there’s more to life than being the mommy
Browsing through the latest edition of PC Magazine, I stumbled on an article about blogging. They mentioned Movable Type as the most popular blogging tool. Even had a snapshot of it. The also mentioned b2, Blogger and a few others. I thought that was pretty cool! Even though I’m considering switching to WordPress for the simple convenience of speed. I hesitate because I really love MT, but I am really beginning to hate the rebuild process. Oh the dilemna!
I’m working on a php script that will let me keep a booklog. I can add books based on ISBN and it should pull in the author and title. I can then set a status (to be read, currently reading or finished reading) of the book and add notes. This gets stored in a database. From there I can display my booklist. I will have it store the date the book was added to the list and the date it was modified, so that I can keep a record of when books were set from currently reading to finished. If there is enough interest, I will develop functions to display the lists broken down by year or month.
I’ve been wanting to do something like this for a while because as much as I like the MT plugin for Amazon, I wanted something independant of that. I hope to get it working, then maybe develop a nice admin interface for it so that I can make it available to others. It does use the Amazon Web Service, so it requires a developer token to work properly.
For now, I’m somewhat doing it just for myself. If you think you’d be interested, let me know and I’ll let you know when it is “released.” 
I’m testing out WordPress. It’s the official branch of b2, so any new changes or updates will be there instead of cafelog.com. It is very similar, yet incorporates several hacks and has some new features.
It would be even better if the xmlrpc would work. Then I could use w.bloggar to post and edit the templates. It will eventually also have a template system as well, making it easier to set up your pages.
I’m not sure I like the admin interface. It is very basic with no colors. it is in black and white and has no graphics. Granted it is simple to use, but I like having some color. The font used is Georgia and after a while it begins to hurt the eyes. I can make some changes in the CSS file that the admin section is using so I may do that to brighten it up. The layout is kind of bland and is similar to b2 with the menu at the top and the post/edit screen combines the add new post and the view all your posts sections. Since I’m a long-time MT user I like having those two separate. Maybe someone will come up with a better interface for it.
Because it is like b2, it doesn’t have a separate extended section. You just add <!<del>-more</del>-> to your entry and the code interprets whatever that is after that tag as your extended entry. Which makes it all the more difficult to add the loved show/hide javascript.
I’m wishing that I could do something different. It’s not that I don’t like my job. I do. I think I’m just getting tired of doing computer work…I wish I could do something that isn’t computer related. Working on the computer is fine…if it’s documents, data entry, etc. But I’d love to get away from IT work. My preference would be to work with books, writers, authors, etc. I love books so much. More than computers. But of course the way things go today, it’s not easy to switch career fields. It involves school, and lots of hard work. But I really wish I could do something other than computers. There are so many other things to do out there. Where do I begin looking?
It’s not like I can just go back to school, although, I do get a discount since my husband works for a university. But of course, I can’t do what I really would like to…get my Master’s Degree in Library Science. I almost did years ago, but didn’t have the money and didn’t quite want to get further in debt by getting a loan. And now that I’m married, I can’t just pick up and go. History also interests me a great deal. I love reading about early life in America, particulary the American Revolution and the Civil War eras.
Who knows…maybe this is just a weird phase I’m going through, but for some reason, this weekend has done something to my mind. Nothing happened besides the usual…cleaning house, mowing the yard, shopping, but something changed. I didn’t once get on the computer all day yesterday. And Saturday I may have but it was for a very short period of time. I loved it….it felt so good to stay away from it. I spent a lot of time reading…trying to finish the book I’m on so I can start a new one. It felt so refreshing to do something other than sitting in front of the computer screen. Who knows…maybe I’m just in a slump and need a break from the whole thing.
My wonderful husband suggested I take a little time to myself, so I headed off to B&N to read and get a mocha. Of course I walked out with a few new reads.
Once I finish the book I’m currently reading, I look forward to picking up one of these or the 50 other books on my shelf waiting to be read.
I’ve found a new addiction…BookCrossing. A great community of book lovers like me :). The concept is to read the book, register it on the site, then release it in the “wild” or send it on to someone else. It’s a great place to make new friends, online and offline. I know what my husband would say…it just what I need to feed my book addiction. LOL!
If you like the site and want to join…add me as a referral. My screen name on the site is raynebair.
mamaLove is the personal site of Rayne Bair. Happily married since 2001 and proud mama of one adorable little girl. This site details a journey through motherhood and the discovery that there is life beyond being the mom. learn more ...
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