Saturday, February 28, 2009

Great Class!

Richard, we just wanted to say thanks for a great class. We learned a lot and are having fun now with our blogs. Hope you decide to do some more classes.
Silvia and Steve

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Making a Post via Email

Hi Class --

When I got home after the class, I saw I sent the email post to the wrong address ... again. I was in too much of a hurry, I guess.

So, I've done it again, this time with a little more care. This post has been composed as an email and sent to my "secret" posting address.

Using "post by email" can be a very handy way to keep your blog updated while traveling.

As we pointed out in class, it is very important to keep your secret post address SECRET. Because anyone sending to that address can post to your blog. To configure your secret Email Posting Address...

* Log into your blog
* Click the Settings Tab
* Select email

The format of the email address is:

[your user name].[Your secret word]@blogger.com

Your user name is fixed for every blog you do under your google account. "Your secret word" can be configured for each blog you have. You can change it from time to time if you want.

OK ... I'm sending this. If it shows up as a post, it worked!

Richard

Last Blog Class - The Best Stuff Yet

Hi Class Members --

Today's our last blog class, and it's chocked full of good stuff. We'll be reviewing more comfiguration options for blogger: some are subtle; some are very powerful; some are critical to your privacy.

Also, I'll reveal how we can keep the class dialogue going and how you can continue to get answers to your questions as you develop your blogs. But you have to be there to find out :-)

See you at 3:00 today.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Interfacing Blogger to Your Facebook Account

I know a number of class members have Facebook accounts. And, most of you now have (or soon will have) your own blog. I just ran across a way to have your blog posts automatically appear in your Facebook account. In other words, post once to your blog, and the post will show up on Facebook too.

How to Do It

Click Here to view the video that describes how to do this.
Here's my written explanation, which together with the video, may make this easier to follow...

Step 1: The Feed Address for Your Blog --

This is where your feeds are located. For Blogger, your feed address is:

http://[your blog address]/feeds/posts/default

Example: For my Old West blog (at http://myoldwest.blogspot.com) I would use:

http://myoldwest.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

To test that you have the right address, type it into your browser and see if your blog posts come up. You'll only see the posts, not the full blog Webpage.


Step 2: Configure Facebook to Read Your Feeds --
Log in to your Facebook account and click on the applications bar at the very bottom of the screen. It looks like this:
... Then Select "Notes"

On the right you'll see Note Settings. It looks like this:


Click the "Import a blog" link.

For Web URL, enter your Feed Address (from Step 1).

Check the "permission" box under the address; then click "Start Importing."

Click "Continue" to verify you want to import from this blog.


You're Done

Now, whenever you make new posts from your blog, they will also appear as Facebook Notes... a Cool App for those with both blogs and Facebook accounts.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Silvia Coggins Real Estate Blog

Here is my second blog:

Here is my blog, if you would like to look at it:



Silvia Coggin's Blog

Here is my blog, if you would like to look at it:

Here is my blog: http://www.silviacogginscorner.blogspot.com/

Steve's Restaurant Reviews

My blog is at stevesrestaurantreviews.blogspot.com

NoRTH La Encantada

Silvia and I have a good thing going for the moment at the restaurants owned and operated by Fox Restaurant Concepts (http://www.foxrc.com/). This company presently has 11 restaurants including Sauce, Wildflower, Zinburger, and NoRTH - all of which have provided us with numerous excellent dining experiences, but unfortunately, a few bad ones as well.

So my Valentine wanted to try NoRTH La Encantada (2995 E Skyline, 299-1600) for her Sweetheart dinner this year. We had had two excellent meals there since Christmas so it seemed a good choice.

We arrived to the intense hustle and bustle typical of NoRTH on a Saturday night.The vibrant up-scale crowd gives a nice energy to the restaurant and I am not too old to enjoy the delicious decolte and short skirt of the young lady who opened the door for us. We had reservations of course, but we never mind a short wait at the bar. It is pleasant and the service is superb. We once choose to split an order of the calamari served up with argula while we waited, and it was exceptional!

On this night we had a very short wait and went to our table for two. I was totally surprised that it was a prix fixe dinner. We had about five choices over each of three courses - none of which appeared very special. We ordered a bottle of wine and settled in for our romantic celebratrion. The waiter said he couldn't bring olives (a NoRTH tradition) because all the dishes were dirty. He promised to try again shortly, but no olives ever appeared. The wine was a good chianti but grossly over-priced. We finished our huge appetizers and agreed that there was certainly no motivation for consuming any more food. Portion control with balanced pricing seems a thing of the past in virtually every restaurant these days. Frankly, an excessive amount of food does not add to my dining pleasure - and it didn't at NoRTH on this evening either. My steak was small and average at best, and my bread pudding with a scoop of vanilla ice cream was as blah as it was unimaginative. Silvia's chocolate dessert tasted like the chef grabbed it at the last minute off the Nutella web site.

After searching to find a bag for all our "doggie bags" (we had four), our waiter presented me with a check for just over $160. NoRTH had conviently added an 18%+ gratuity so I could not even discount my missing and forgotton olives. The wine was $29 by the way.

I still like NoRTH, but I will never, never go again for a special day (like Valentines, New Year's, etc.). We felt robbed, even if we did eat the leftovers for 2 days. When I made the reservation there was no mention of prix fixe, set gratuity, or any of these fun things! We will need a little time to recover before trying NoRTH again. Don't you just hate being ripped off?? I know I do.

Grade for the Evening : F General Grade for NoRTH : B

Monday, February 23, 2009

My Blog check it out

http://www.kengreensfamilyandfriendsblog.blogspot.com

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Somehow I am not able to post a link. Cannot wait to learn how to do it in our next session. So much to learn and so much fun!
I am having a lot of fun with my blog and have created three addresses. Here they are:
http://www.silviacogginscorner.blogspot.com/
http://www.silviasrocketsofdesire.blogspot.com/
http://www.silviasrealestate.blogspot.com/
Am not really sure if this is how it works, but it felt good and I went for it.
Haven't posted anything in the third one, but will try to get a link or video on it. We'll see.
Am looking forward to our next session! Wish you all a great evening. Silvia