Monday 6 April 2009

Ooops.

I thought I had a piece scheduled to appear this morning. It seems to have not, though. And now I don't know where it's gone.

I shall go and rummage around my drafts and see if it's there, or if I've managed to lose it entirely (won't be the first time): meanwhile, does this blog seems any slower to you than it did a few days ago? I've added a little widget which shows my top ten commenters (Buffy Squirrel obviously has too much time on her hands), and it seems to have made things slower for me on my dreary dial-up connection. That could be down to my imgagination, though, and if none of you have noticed any negative effect, then there are another couple of widgets I might just add: I could show the most recent comments, or I could list the top ten most popular posts (pitch party comes first), or I could do other similarly wonderful things. Just let me know if there's anything particular you'd like to see added, taken away, or otherwise rearranged, and if there's a majority vote I'll have a go at making the changes. Once I've found what should have appeared today, and had another cup of tea.

19 comments:

Nicola Morgan said...

Oh, bad luck with the disappearing post. No, haven't noticed anything being slower. BUT ... hmmm, your "top commenters" widget poses a dilemma: do I go all competitive and try to beat that damned squirrel (she gets everywhere) or do I play the serious professional "I'm way too busy to go around commenting on blogs" game? BuffyS is not allowed to answer that question or it's nuts at dawn.

Jane Smith said...

Only at dawn, Nicola?

(I'm going to run away now, very fast.)

Nik Perring said...

Not slowed anything down my end...

(though I'll admit to thinking it was Top Ten Commandments!)

Cathie Hartigan said...

Dial up....?

Wha...wha...faints.

Nicola Morgan said...

Why is my name in capitals? Do you think it's because I'm extra important?

Dorset Girl said...

Milk no sugar please. And I'd like a biscuit. Thanks.

Jane Smith said...

Nik, everything I write should be taken as Another Commandment. You should have realised that by now.

Cathie, I know. Dial-up. Eugh. It's one of the few downs-sides to living here: we're out of reach of broadband, I'm afraid.

Dorset, that Squirrel has eaten all the biscuits. She spends all her time here: she sleeps on my dashboard every night, and nibbles all the posts into shape for me.

And Nicola, your name is all in caps because (I'm going to have to run away again) YOU think it's so important. Ha!

(You can change it in your Blogger settings, I think. I shall have to change mine to Jane "Scared of Nicola" Smith.)

Nicola Morgan said...

Look, ok so it's my fault, right? So I must have had my caps lock on or something? Like, is that a reasontohaveago?

And now I literally can't READ your stupid word verification thingy. It could be cherinco or dheriinco. And someone's put some serious anger on my blog. What have I done wrong in another life, eh? Jane, f'crying out loud, YOU'RE THE SCARY ONE. Oops was that caps lock again? OMG and now it's saying I don't know my own password. HELP

Nicola Morgan said...

And now, having been roundly BULLIED, I have changed my blogger settings to some modest lower case letters (hope it's worked - only time will tell) and I hope you will be nice to me now cos I need it. Where's BuffySquirrel gone? Tis the wrong season to be hibernating.

Jane Smith said...

Nicola, I have to bully roundly: I've put so much weight on lately that it's the only shape I can do. Sorry. But look at you, all non-shouty non-caps. Go, girl. Etc.

That Squirrel is asleep in the biscuit barrel, I think. She's finished them all off and has probably started on the gin again. Either that or she's letting you get your average up so think you're going to Win The Posting Game, only to snatch it out from under your nose at the very last minute.

(Speaking of the Posting Game, I filtered my posts out of the rankings, which I thought was kind of me. Otherwise I'd win. Ha!)

Dorset Girl said...

And Jane, when I suggested the authonomy chaps checked out your blog, I didn't expect that person to be rude about you. Very strange.

I think I'll stay hanging out over here. I'm scared of the authonomy forums. Please get the squirrel out of the biscuit barrel. Or buy more. I'd prefer chocolate chip.

none said...

Oh, what? :D

I've just come home from the Largest Secondhand Bookshop in England, which, disappointingly, did not have the book I was after.

It did however have some other books that I've now liberated.

I have noticed a general internet slowdown in the last week or so, even on our shiny broadband. Mayhap the infrastructure here in the UK is overloaded.

Hmm, nice biscuits!

catdownunder said...

Miaou? No biscuits? What about a m....?

Jane Smith said...

Dorset, don't worry: I appreciate the plug, which has already brought plenty of new readers here.

If you read this previous post of mine, you should begin to understand that Authonomy member was so rude about me.

(Anyone who doesn't know what Dorset was referring to could take a look here on the Authonomy message board, and scroll right down to the last two posts on the page.)

Buffy, I left out the peanut clusters especially for you. And I wish I'd come with you to that bookshop: I could do with a nice bit of bookshop browsing but with the Easter holidays only just started, I have a full two weeks of Doing Stuff With My Children. I love them, but they keep on wanting to do things like bike-riding and swimming, rather than reading and thinking. Sometimes I think they can't be related to me.

Jane Smith said...

Poor Cat. Starved again. I shall find you a sardine, and a little bit of avocado (which one of my cats adores).

Sally Zigmond said...

That Jane Smith is a terrible bully. She bullies me all the time. Were it not for her persistent bullying I'd never have submitted my novel manuscript for the millionth time and thereby getting a deal nor would I have written what I have lined up this year nor would I ever have got round to blogging. In fact I probably would never get up in the mornings.

But I can NEVER forgive her for making me burn my mouth on a Hot Tart--or cause that minor kerfuffle behind the maps in Waterstone's. (Never take her in a bookshop.)

Nicola Slade said...

I hope it's ALL Nicolas you're scared of, Jane. You know how scary I can be.
And a cup of tea would be nice, thanks.

word verification - Cherma: a small emerging Balkan republic

Anonymous said...

Jane, have you checked your Blogger time zone settings? One of my favourite tricks with scheduled posts not firing at the right time is when Blogger "forgets" what time zone I'm in.

Jane Smith said...

Ms Slade, I find that all Nicolas are scary but that their scariness increases the further down the alphabet they slide. So, the Morgan one is verging on scaring-me-witless-each-time-she-emails-me, while you're just terrifying. I hope that's clear. And I'm just glad that Zigmond woman isn't called Nicola too, or there'd be no hope for me at all. Ignore what she says about the maps, it was nothing to do with me.

Captain, I am willing to bet that the post's reluctance to appear is due to my own incompetence rather than any issues with Blogger. You have no idea how I sling this whole thing together: you're lucky any of it appears at all. I'd love to have a picture at the top, with books, and ink, and writer-stuff--but last time I tried to do that I just made things look GREEN. Which wasn't nice.