Prickly Burr

Here’s Minnesota’s Sesquicentennial website.  I liked a lot of the content, but was disappointed in the lack of diversity:  The Native American struggle, which gave birth to Minnesota, was mostly neglected. 

MN’s sesqui site only links to one blog, but I’d like them to add this one called Native American Minnesota, too.  The guy who runs Native American Minnesota doesn’t seem to particularly like me much, but at least he’s bringing up topics we should be discussing as we celebrate our sesquicentennial.

Here’s a copy of an e-mail I sent to MN 150 Executive Director Jane Leonard (hopefully she’ll respond and I will then post her reply):

Here’s what I’ve noticed: If I add media using the add media icon, and I want to move or change the image in the text, the code gets messed up.  I erase the image, and then insert it elsewhere, and then have a look at the html and the old code is still there.  When I go back to visual, the image is not where the code says it is. 

Is it my browser, or is it something else?  I tried various things, including inserting the image, moving it, and then saving, and then logging out, clearing my browser cache, logging in again, and the code is still there and sometimes the image appears where it should.  Sometimes the page never stops downloading and gets stuck in the middle of the download. 

I erased the image code manually, and the issue was resolved.  My blogging clients aren’t going to go in there and erase any code… so, what’s the fix?   added 4/25/2008– Option to replace file.  Here’s Mazen on a Wordpress forum.   Also, I’d like the option to have a ”small” insert (rather than just thumbnail). 

update 5/8/2008   Most of my troubles were fixed when I uploaded the new version of the theme I used.  The new css file helped immensely.  When overwriting any theme folder, remember not to overwrite your image files.  Also, I had to redo the new css so it reflected my personal changes. 

However, I still have to erase code if I change an image in a post.

update 5/8/2008: Wordpress 2.5.1 makes it easy to insert a smaller, proportional thumbnail (rather than the 150 x 150 default setting). Go to Dashboard Settings > Miscellaneous and remove the checkmark next to “thumbnail to exact dimensions (normally thumbnails are proportional).” Also remove the 150 X 150 dimensions and leave nothing in the box (well, that works for me.)

Also, using add media:  I’m having issues with the image inserting into the right location.  I should be able to put the cursor at the start of the paragraph and align to the right or left– but instead the image inserts at the beginning of the post and I have to move it to the appropriate spot.

Daiko’s You-Tube Widget works in Wordpress 2.5

You can find my favs in the sidebar at the right, at the bottom.  Fun stuff.  Send me better video ideas…

This article is interesting.  It’s time for us to reconcile, and that’s how we gain true equality?

Enjoy:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23780855/

Today, msnbc headlined Newsweeks’s article about Yahoo’s Flickr launching a new video service. 

From what I can tell, only premium users can upload what appears to be a total of 90 seconds of video, and it isn’t easy to grab the code (there’s no option to get code for an embed or link unless you want to view source.)

Because I like widgets, I use Vodpod to grab code.  Vodpod works well for me, usually, unless the video is .swf and doesn’t cache.  I installed the Vodpod icon to my toolbar and easily grab any video I want.  Yes, you should ask permission, first, before you take somebody else’s video. 

After upgrading to Wordpress 2.5, this is the plugin which worked for me.  It’s Kjell Bublitz’s adaptation of Lokesh Dhakar’s Lightbox2.  However, I still have to code in the title which then shows up in the lightbox effect. 

Slimbox didn’t work for me.  Havoc!

I’m deactivating Imagemanager.  We don’t need that plugin anymore since it will be easy for us to upload/ share images.

Instructions for uploading an image:  Log in > Write > set cursor to right spot in text > click on the “add media add image” icon > choose file to upload.   Enter in a caption, align, for the size choose thumbnail >  insert into post

Now, to make it look right, you select the picture by clicking on it, click on the tree icon, and set the alignment (I like left) and enter in 5 for vertical and 5 for horizontal space and > update.  Let’s see if the caption shows up in the lightbox effect.

After installing Wordpress 2.5 I received an error instead of being able to install media.

Here’s the patch 

actually, I just edited the php files (it involves line 815 in wp-admin/includes/media.php  and line 99 in wp-includes/js/swfupload/handlers.js

Instead of ’black’ or ‘woman,’ let’s see and talk about ‘candidate’.  On a worldly scale this already seems the norm.  Why are we so far behind? 

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

 In my family, we like to say we’re Scot-Irish.  Or, we’re Scotch, or Scotch-Irish.   What that means, I have to admit, I don’t really know.  Does that mean we’re old Protestants?  Or does it mean we came from Scotland and then spent time in Ireland?  There was so much back and forth between those two countries. 

My grandmother, who died when my father was 9, was married to an Affledt.  Although Affeldt is German, her mother was a Patton.

My husband’s family is also Scot-Irish, hence the last name Cairns.  My kids are Swedish (Grandma Violet makes me list that first), German, English, French (well, it has something to do with 1066), Polish (well, Prussian), and a few other things, probably. 

We’ve spent time in libraries and museums, investigating my grandfather Glenn Knoblauch’s side of the family, but we haven’t spent much time looking at my father’s family tree. 

Fun family facts–  my kids are related to: 

Eric Norelius, founder of Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota

P.T. Barnum

General Przybyszewski, who fought for the Russians and was crushed by Napoleon, December 2, 1805.  Also a priest Przybyszewski who was later shot by the Russians. 

Edward Doty, who rode over here on the Mayflower.  Hey, I see we can verify this.

Henry Ford (maybe).

General Patton (maybe).

Ann Rutledge (maybe). 

And Swedes named Lund and Lundeen.