Blog update: iPhone and iPad

Posted on September 1, 2011 by Paul Scott Anderson

I’ve updated the blog’s CSS file a bit so that the blog views better on the iPhone and iPad. Before, the default CSS setting meant that the sidebar would not show properly as it does on desktop computers, but instead would be pushed way down below the postings, so you would have to scroll down a lot to see the sidebar content. Other text and images would also get messed up a bit. The tweaks I made change that, taking into account the smaller screen sizes, particularly the iPhone. If you would like to focus in on just the posts, you can still do the “pinch-’n-zoom” of course on the screen. The only significant difference still is that the background is not seen, only the main blog pages, which is a minor sacrifice and actually benefits the smaller screen sizes of mobile devices.

I’m not sure yet about other mobile smartphones such as Android, but the viewing should be comparable. If anyone uses an Android phone and sees a layout that is quite different than usual, please let me know.

Blog update: WordPress.org

Posted on August 22, 2011 by Paul Scott Anderson

I’ve moved the blog from WordPress.com to WordPress.org, which has many more features, options and added stability and security. The layout is still essentially the same, although I upgraded the theme from Twenty Ten to Twenty Eleven. I looked at dozens of others, but stlll came back to this as my favourite. Simple and clean, but with lots of modification options.

The domain / url is still the same: cccrn.ca.

I’m still tweaking things a bit in terms of plugins and widgets, etc., but the basic look is done.

Posts now have a “comments bubble” in the upper right corner for adding comments (and comment count) or you can still do it using the link below each post. There are also sharing buttons for Twitter, Facebook and Google+, the primary social services, as well as email and print, below each post. Also follow and subscription widgets for Twitter, Facebook, rss and email in the sidebar. I’ve also added widgets for the latest Twitter updates, as well as an animated category cloud widget in the sidebar.

Please note that since the previous default email subscription service with WordPress.com isn’t part of WordPress.org where the blog is now hosted, I’ve changed email subscriptions back to Google’s FeedBurner service, which also publishes the RSS feed, and is still easy to use and reliable. If you were previously subscribed to the old service, please resubscribe to the new one. People who were originally using Google’s FeedBurner service before that are still subscribed. Email updates are still basically the same, just whenever a new post is added to the blog.

I’ve also added Google ads as a source of extra revenue to help support the blog (when clicked), but trying to not clutter posts or pages too much at the same time.

The formation archives are still in the process of being updated as well, I just haven’t had time to work on it more yet, sorry. It is on my to-do list, though!

Note: There seems to be an issue with the Google+ share button not displaying properly with older versions of the Firefox browser and possibly the Internet Explorer browser, as well as on iPad and iPhone. From what I’ve read, this is a fairly common problem, but seems to be ok with the Safari and Google Chrome browsers.

Blog update: formation archives #2

Posted on April 19, 2011 by Paul Scott Anderson

I decided to tweak the archives a bit; you can now access them by either clicking on the Formation Archives link which takes you to the main page with listings by year or by hovering your mouse pointer over the Formation Archives link so that the drop-down menu will automatically appear, which is a nice feature for people with newer web browsers in particular. If you are using an iPad or other tablet, just tap the link for the menu to appear or tap and hold for a moment to go to the page itself (it works well in the iPad’s Safari browser at least as far as I know right now). When using the drop-down menu, you may need to also scroll down in your browser window a bit in order to see all of the archives (currently from 2011 – pending! – to 1925).

Also, the WordPress template for the blog is designed to be best viewed in newer web browsers, including for example the main post and page area which scrolls over the scenic wheatfield image background, another nice touch. But I’ve also tried to keep things fairly simple overall, for those still using older browsers.

Blog update: formation archives

Posted on April 17, 2011 by Paul Scott Anderson

I’m in the process of updating the formation archives again and also giving them a “spring cleaning” which was long overdue. This includes streamlining the listings, removing a few reports which are actually a better fit in the “unconfirmed” category due to lack of verified photographs and/or ground reports. These ones are now listed under “unconfirmed” for each yearly archive respectively. Confirmed reports are only those with photographs, ground reports or other CCCRN researchers’ confirmation. The new archives are now available via a drop-down menu by clicking on Formation Archives below the blog header. They are organized initially by decade (2010s, 2000s, 1990s, etc.), then again by specific year within each decade. Please note that there were no known reports for 2010, the first time in many years now.

The archives for all years are basic at the moment, to get the new, more accurate listings in place as soon as possible, but I am working on a new chart-style archive for each year, in which available photographs, diagrams and other details will be placed, as well as other new graphs to illustrate various statistical breakdowns (all done with Apple’s excellent Keynote and Numbers programs). Thanks for your patience!

Blog update: WordPress

Posted on April 12, 2011 by Paul Scott Anderson

I’ve been updating the CCCRN blog again finally as I have some more time right now. The “new” blog, now hosted on WordPress, has improved layout and functionality, with more of the “standard” blog features such as full-length posts on the main page, more widgets, a choice of RSS or email updates, monthly archives, categories, tags, pingbacks, etc. I’ve re-added some pages and will add more including the formation archives. I’ve also added the links (side column on the main blog page) to follow CCCRN on Twitter or become a “fan” on the Facebook page. I can also now more easily update the blog when mobile, on the iPad and iPhone, with the WordPress app.

Although there were no confirmed Canadian reports last year, for the first time in many years, hopefully there will be again this summer/fall. I’m also still debating the level of my continued involvement re the previous blog post last fall, but we’ll see what happens this year… and as it is now mid-April, the first reports in England could be any day now (three formations in Indonesia and one in Mexico already reported this year).