Random Bits and Pieces

First off, to those of you who were getting popups, or block notices, or any type of related crap--I found the culprit. (Firefly--sorry, didn't mean to send you into a spyware-related panic--in the joyful land of technical support, one report is a user problem; two reports is an issue.)

There was a list of blogs over on the left-hand side, in the sidebar with everything else, from a site called Link2Blogs. Well, apparently some of the crap blogs with names like "Free Money Making Site!!!!" learned how to bypass what minimal controls Link2Blogs.com had implemented over content, because instead of going to "http//link2blogs /blahblahblah", it was going directly to "expressaffilliates.com", which was causing the popups.

Needless to say, Link2Blogs will be cluttering my sidebar no longer. (Jeez, guys. Show a little quality control, will ya?)

Secondly: In trying to answer one of those online polls that comes up on the 9 PM local news, I was required to create an account at MyFoxChicago.com. Now, despite my suspicion and antipathy toward anything with the words "Fox" and "News" displayed near each other, I must admit I rather like the local Fox affilliate news team. I mean, don't get me wrong--I'm well aware that it's fluff and filler, not even remotely resembling journalism. It falls under the auspices of the usual "If-it-bleeds-it-leads" school of newsertainment; were it not for Stacy Peterson and Lisa Stebic, they'd have had to dig up some fake "expose'" to keep the ratings up for the past few months. They're basically just the same as every other local news show in Chicago. But their talking heads are less annoying, their weather radar is cool and technical-looking without being incomprehensible; and their human-interest stories are at least interesting once in a while. And they have this nightly poll, "Right or Wrong?", where they invite viewers to call in and agree or disagree with a given premise. They can also comment on the question via the website, and it was here that I found myself this evening.

(The question, incidentally, was "Is it right or wrong to require a three-month moratorium on foreclosures?" They really need to shoot the people who phrase these questions; I can identify at least six or seven major points of ambiguity which would make any attempt at a yes/no, right/wrong, or any other dichotamous answer completely useless.)

Anyway, upon registration, they ask you if you want to set up a blog; I figured "what the heck?" and so: http://community.myfoxchicago.com/blogs/gladys_j_cortez (for some reason, the nice "link" function on Blogger is pissing off Windows and/or one of my toolbars tonight.) Of course, I have no intention whatsoever of allowing the new blog to supplant this one--in fact, quite the opposite, which leads me to item three.

Item Three: It's been quite a while since I've straightened up around here. My Blogroll, as a few clicks will quickly demonstrate, is in a state of near-total disarray and uselessness; the template I'm using is getting on my nerves; in short, the decor is stale. The place needs work.

I'm drawing a couple of parallels here, I suppose. For example, physical residence and blog "residence"--in the "real" world, I've got a new home, and I'm trying to put my own mark on it. That's something that never happened in the former Chez Gladys; I never hung a single picture, never painted a single wall. I loved that house, but I was overwhelmed almost instantly by all the things that needed to be done, and I think that sense of being overwhelmed tipped over almost immediately into a pervasive and unbreakable apathy. Compared to the house, for example, the apartment is a showplace of tidiness and sustained effort; even though it's still got boxes that need to be unpacked, and it's clearly still in a state of not-completely-moved-in-yet-ness, it's clean, and it shows evidence of its owner's personality. That was never true of Chez Gladys, not even after four years. (There's a whole 'nother blog post in there, but as usual, it's way-too-late on a work-night to delve into my psyche.) But the same thing holds for the blog; I have been so overwhelmed for so long that I have allowed myself to sink into apathy in all realms of my life (again, there's enough material in that sentence to fuel at least another healthy-length post, but again: midnight on a work-night) and the blog has been one of the areas that's suffered.

Really, to put things flatly out there, I'm trying to overhaul my life. I have things I need to figure out, of course, but unlike previous efforts, I'm not going to allow those ambiguities to stop me from actually doing something. I have a bad habit of thinking too much and doing too little, and it's a habit I intend to break. Fortunately, I have a better-than-average track-record in regards to the breaking of bad habits, so I'm hoping this attempt succeeds as well.

Thus: Within the next few weeks, I hope to debut a new look for my happy little online home here. I have a few ideas, and I'm looking forward to playing with them.

In fact, I'm just generally looking forward to playing. It's been a while since I've let myself play and be creative, and I think my emotional state and my self-esteem have suffered for it. I'm looking forward to shedding my self-imposed restrictions and just having fun again.