Borederland, Profy.com http://paulb.profy.com Profy.com, Blog of user: Paul Baldowski So So Tired http://paulb.profy.com/blog/post/47148212 http://paulb.profy.com/blog/post/47148212
So, anyway... the weekend lies ahead, and maybe I can finally spend some time getting a blog or two up to date. Managed to do all the groceries for the weekend this evening (what a way to spend a Friday night!)... and I've got a little cleaning up to do. One or two books need to find their way from the room upstairs to the shelves downstairs.

And then maybe a chance to relax will follow... Maybe I could sleep in for Fathers Day?

So, how are you? ]]> Fri, 13 Jun 2008 15:20:00 -0700 Paul Baldowski Code, Chocolate, Action! http://paulb.profy.com/blog/post/35747811 http://paulb.profy.com/blog/post/35747811
I think I shall watch Die Hard 4.0 this evening - having watched the rest of the series over the past three weeks. I haven't seen it yet, so I hope it doesn't drag the rest down. I really enjoyed revisiting Bruce Willis in action - especially in the first and third. The second - well, it doesn't quite pull the same strings with me... but, it still works out OK as an action movie.

Anyway - Happy Easter to everyone. Whatever it might mean to you... ]]> Sat, 22 Mar 2008 11:13:00 -0700 Paul Baldowski Who Loves The Chocolate? http://paulb.profy.com/blog/post/34852121 http://paulb.profy.com/blog/post/34852121
Choccy
]]> Thu, 20 Mar 2008 13:56:00 -0700 Paul Baldowski Mini Pic http://paulb.profy.com/blog/post/18338991 http://paulb.profy.com/blog/post/18338991
A little while back Ask.com introduced a feature that lets you see what a page looks like from your search results without needing to go there. That was you can see whether the site looks like it matches your needs - no surprises clinking on a link to find a page of porn or an ad farm. The feature works by hanging over a little picture of binoculars next to the page link - and that feature mirrors the feature on the 'My Network' page where you hang over a name and get a few details about the person who has a Profy.com blog.

I would find it REALLY useful to see what the persons blog page actually looks like - especially at the moment when the site is filled with claimed name pages where no active blogging has actually happened. In future, you could quickly see the content and appearance of a blog without having to go there or open all those extra tabs/windows in your browser. When I'm roaming the Network, I find my browser filled with open tabs containing dead blogs... This would really work for me.
]]> Sat, 09 Feb 2008 11:34:00 -0800 Paul Baldowski Back to Blogging http://paulb.profy.com/blog/post/17192131 http://paulb.profy.com/blog/post/17192131
Anyway... what's changed around here. Lets see...

Just to cover things I haven't commented on before, the little icon to switch posts on and off is good. Like that.

Option to control comments between Anyone, Subscribers, Friends and Just Me - good. Makes sense. Sometimes you want to keep things controlled - or simply use a blog as a means to organise your thoughts or a project.

Um... is that it? Ah well... Keep on blogging then... ]]> Thu, 07 Feb 2008 20:16:00 -0800 Paul Baldowski Hide n Blog http://paulb.profy.com/blog/post/3318301 http://paulb.profy.com/blog/post/3318301
Certainly, I can understand the situation. Something new, so go stake your claim. You can always come back later when the whole thing gets popular and show that you got in there at the beginning. Or, some folk like to jump in early just to be there - like people who post on a forum first, whether or not they have anything useful to say on the topic at hand. Still, I have decided to give this place a go and test away by blogging all I can. I hope many others do the same. And, I appreciate the challenge of finding other people out there in the ether taking a moment to tell us a little about themselves and their day-to-day lives.

Tag! You're it...
]]> Wed, 16 Jan 2008 07:18:00 -0800 Paul Baldowski Mmmm... Porridge http://paulb.profy.com/blog/post/2574741 http://paulb.profy.com/blog/post/2574741 Well, I wanted to see what else I could do with a simple template, and I guess it all comes down to choosing a promising header image and doing whatever you can with it. So, here we are... anyone for breakfast? I have found an odd little problem with the Header edit and the Color control - you can set one or the other, not both. If you change the color of the blog title after adding a header image, the image seems to disappear. If you change the color and then look to add the image again, the color goes back to default. Or maybe that's just me.

Anyway - had a relatively quiet day of housework and a little shopping around a local bookstore... so, not much to blog about. Oh, I did read the final chapter of 'I Am Legend' - and I imagine that the current version doesn't mirror the sacrifice of the main character and the final realisation... though I'm willing for someone to comment me a correction on that. Chuck Heston certainly didn't quite end his days in the same way, though his was a noble sacrifice in return for the knowledge he had managed to give others hope.

Right... that picture of porridge has made me hungry now. What's for dessert, I wonder?
]]> Sun, 13 Jan 2008 19:15:00 -0800 Paul Baldowski Get Started On Your Blog http://paulb.profy.com/blog/post/2376781 http://paulb.profy.com/blog/post/2376781 How to start using your Profy.com blog? Well, it's simple:



  1. Get your invite and sign up once you have it.
  2. Go to your Dashboard.
  3. Click Profile on the left.
  4. Enter all the personal details you care to share.
  5. Save your Profile.
  6. Click Blog on the left.
  7. Click Template on the top right.
  8. Choose a nice new look for your blog by clicking 'Pick Template'.
  9. Click Layout on the top right.
  10. Click 'edit' in the Header bar.
  11. Give your Blog a title and a description. Save it.
  12. Your done. Now write a blog entry.
  13. Check out My Network (on the left) to see who else has anything interesting to say on their blog.


Simple really, right?

]]> Sat, 12 Jan 2008 17:26:00 -0800 Paul Baldowski Blogging for One http://paulb.profy.com/blog/post/2372961 http://paulb.profy.com/blog/post/2372961 OK. I might be missing something here. Why are people signing up to Profy.com and then doing nothing? I understand this to be a test phase at the moment - and you can't testing anything unless you use it. I mean, I just checked a dozen blogs and no one had even posted. On those that have posted, maybe one in ten have changed the name of the blog and a couple have changed the template. I know that this will be a slow development and more people will come on as time goes by, but it just seems a little odd to come here and then do nothing.

Blog Trends


I guess, at the moment, Profy.com fits in the Others category... but, you can see a lot of competition exists out there. I think combining blogging and social networking gives a lot of potential - implemented well. I like what I see so far and I hope to see a lot more... the next 80% of Profy.com functionality should be interesting. ]]> Sat, 12 Jan 2008 16:34:00 -0800 Paul Baldowski RSS Links in Blocks http://paulb.profy.com/blog/post/2276611 http://paulb.profy.com/blog/post/2276611 I think I'm liking the general format of these blogs - and I know we have a long way to go - but I'm missing the chance to include RSS feeds in blocks on the side, for sites outside of Profy.com. Yes, I can see you can pick up the feeds internally... but, right now the bloggers haven't generated much to link to yet! (I feel the need for a smiley face right there... maybe we could have those as well).
]]> Sat, 12 Jan 2008 10:51:00 -0800 Paul Baldowski Knight Rider http://paulb.profy.com/blog/post/2274351 http://paulb.profy.com/blog/post/2274351 I noticed this fine blog entry and I'm not sure whether I'm excited or apprehensive. I mean, the reworking of Flash Gordon on TV has been nothing short of rubbish. What can they do with this classic series? Well, for a start, I'm not 100% sold on the car and the repositioning of the Cyclonesque sensor eye on the front... Hmm.
]]> Sat, 12 Jan 2008 10:49:00 -0800 Paul Baldowski Profy First http://paulb.profy.com/blog/post/2119871 http://paulb.profy.com/blog/post/2119871 Well, I have to say that so far I'm quite impressed by the functionality of the Profy blog system. I like the flexibility of the template and the ability to define your own general layout. Extra columns, extra blocks... Good stuff all round, even at this relatively early stage of testing. Template basics - good. I like the fact you can upload your own header image. Good general posting tools and WYSIWYG functionality.

I'll keep posting and keeping prodding at the functionality. Well done so far!
]]> Fri, 11 Jan 2008 19:50:00 -0800 Paul Baldowski Spreadsheet Game http://paulb.profy.com/blog/post/2097121 http://paulb.profy.com/blog/post/2097121 I have spent the last two years playing Gothador and I have been ribbed constantly during that time for it. You see, Gothador is n online multi-player fantasy game with quests, monsters and the like - but you play the whole thing on a grid. Yes, the grid has pictures to show the landscape or buildings, but if you compare it against the average graphic intensive game like World of Warcraft there isn't much of a comparison. You might as well compare the inside and the outside of a cereal packet - outside, bright coloured pictures celebrating the joy of eating something nice for breakfast, while inside, well... just grey cardboard really.

The reputation of the game, with one of my work friends at least, took a further turn towards snoredom because originally you could access information on the game and use an interactive monster picker built into a spreadsheet. This was just a convenient way of sorting and presenting a lot of information - but my friend started thinking that this was all part of the 'fun'. Thus, Gothador became 'The Spreadsheet Game'.

However, what Gothador does offer is an interesting and entertaining community of characters. I have had fun meeting some of these people as well at a player meet last year. You probably wouldn't be surprised that people generally aren't as you'd imagined. The game has a lively forum and now has a couple of online information sites - though you could probably still download a spreadsheet from somewhere to really appreciate the true experience.
]]> Fri, 11 Jan 2008 17:54:00 -0800 Paul Baldowski Friday http://paulb.profy.com/blog/post/2086361 http://paulb.profy.com/blog/post/2086361 I spent the day at home... engaged in the arcane art of filling out PowerPoint slides and filtering Excel spreadsheets. You may think painting walls or watching a bad movie means ultimate boredom... but, trust me - they don't come even close.

Not that I don't enjoy the prospect of working from home... I do. I mean, I have to commute for at least an hour normally in each direction... and that can become quite taxing week in, week out. I entertain myself with a little music and a little radio, but you can only blank out the endless miles and passage of time for so long. Then you simply go mad.
]]> Fri, 11 Jan 2008 17:28:00 -0800 Paul Baldowski