My Blog in Review: 2009

Well, the end of the year is here already. I thought I’d look back at what I had on my blog, talk about what is to come, and a little bit of other stuff.

It’s hard to believe that this new blog (code named Jerenspeak) went up back in April. Since then, I’ve covered a variety of topics, from a browser comparison, domain slamming, and Eric Clapton, to Twitter, Star Trek Online, and Doctor Who. It’s been an interesting year, with a range of subjects that I hope my (limited number of) readers have enjoyed.

I do have quite a bit to post on the same subjects. Articles are already written. However, they will be posted more regularly than before, especially after I get my entire site redesigned.

So, what is there to look forward to? More Twitter/online safety tips, Doctor Who news and reviews, information about Star Trek Online, web design/programming tips and guidelines, music/guitar information… it’s all coming! Just be sure to subscribe to my RSS feed or Twitter account to stay on top of it.

I hope everyone stays safe tonight. And we’ll see what comes with my site for 2010!

Thanks @IntoMobile (and dad)!

This summer has been interesting, to say the least.  I’ve already talked about the free MacBook Pro I won, courtesy of SourceForge.  My dad has been enjoying that quite a bit. He’s put his customization into it already, which I expected right away. Due to him winning a free one, we also made a little deal: We’d split the cost of another MacBook Pro. It seemed like a win-win deal, especially considering that he had one for free.

Well, before I won that, I had won a $200 gift card to the Apple Store.  That was thanks to a little giveaway that IntoMobile was running. Because of that gift card, I began seriously considering buying something at Apple. At first, it was just a passing thought. Then, I began to ponder the idea of getting a MacBook Pro and an iPhone (especially as the IntoMobile giveaway was due to the release of the iPhone 3GS).

Well, those thoughts have all come to pass.  I now have my nice new MacBook Pro and, with it, an iPhone. Hopefully, the two will go hand-in-hand for me as I work on making both of them worth the purchase.

So, thanks to IntoMobile for the $200 gift card! And thanks to my dad for going along with the idea. I think he’s enjoying his iPhone, too.

Now to get used to running iTunes… and owning an iPod (of sorts)…

New Posts Coming Soon!

I haven’t blogged in a while, but I can assure you that the ideas have been floating around!  So, what can you expect to see?

As I was asked one or two months ago, I’m going to begin a series of posts about the internet, various aspects of it, and ways that you can use it. I’ll also point out potential dangers, as well as showing how you can protect yourself from those dangers.

I’ve also got some posts ready to go with regards to Apple. Those posts will be out once I finish with a few certain things.

Is there a topic that you would like me to write about? Post it as a comment to this article!

Thanks For The MacBook Pro, SourceForge!

When I first signed up for Twitter back in February, I had no idea that it would be helping me win free stuff.  Even now, I still can’t believe it.  Except, of course, for the fact that I’ve actually received the free stuff.

I also would never have expected SourceForge to ever give me something for free, either. Yet, they have. And for that, SourceForge, I definitely thank you! I am My family is glad to have a new MacBook, too.

It all goes back to one month ago… I had heard about SourceForge’s 2009 Community Choice Awards and some live feeds they were going to do for the event. But wait! There’s more?  They were giving away four MacBook Pros during the live coverage. Wow!  Of course, what are the chances of me winning one, right?

Well, winning one required tweeting answers to trivia questions.  I was shocked when the first question was one that I actually had an idea about.  ”What movie did Apple use to hype its new QuickTime4 format?”  I won’t give the answer, so have fun figuring it out!  But, being the first to tweet @SourceForge with the correct answer, I soon learned I was right.

And so that started the journey of the new MacBook!  It took some verification of personal data, some FedEx transit, but in the end, it made it here one month after that fateful night.  Tuesday, I received an email with the FedEx tracking number and, thankfully, within two days, it was here.

Here are some photos from the grand opening! (Sorry for the lack of thumbnails… Wordpress is giving me some issues with uploading photos.)

While it’s such a sweet looking piece of technology, I decided that I would not keep this.  Nope, this MacBook is now my dad’s newest toy. I still have plans for a MacBook, but it wasn’t going to be this one.  So, there you go, dad!

Again, a big thank you to SourceForge!  I come to your site often for open source needs.  And now I can we can thank you for this shiny new MacBook Pro, as well!

Some New Blog Features

While I’m finishing up several new posts to put up in the next fews days, I thought I’d mention a couple features on the blog.

First, I added in the ability for users to rate my posts. So now, not only can you leave a great comment, but you can also rate posts. I do hope some of my latest ones, and ones coming up, will be of use to many people!

Secondly, if you haven’t already seen, I’ve added a few small Twitter things to my sidebar.  If you’re a Twitter user and feel like following me, go ahead!

I had added in a little comment box to the side bar, but I have since disabled it. If you think you would like me to have that back on, let me know, and I’ll restore it.

Hope you all enjoy some of the things I write! I do like feedback, so please feel free to leave me some!

Blog Updated, And I Need Your Help!

I recently upgraded this blog to the latest Wordpress version.  I had such a pain with it as I tracked down some issues I was having.  I’ll write more about that later.  But, for now, I’ll just say that, with that upgrade and troubleshooting, I had to change some things around.  Many plugins were reinstalled from scratch. So, to ensure that all is working right, I’m calling on all of you!

If you could, take a look through my blog and test things out.  If you find something broken, let me know!

Thank you!

Looking for Ideas

I’ve not written blogs as regularly as I thought I would. I’ve been too busy to do that thus far.  But, I am curious what interests those that do read this.  So, this blog is simple and to the point:

“What would you like me to write about in a future blog?”

I’d be willing to review sites, give my input on things, even answer questions about a variety of topics.  Leave some comments and let me know! I’ll be sure to throw in these ideas along with my other blogs that are coming up.

Thank you!

New Site Coming

At least, I’d like to think that I have a new site coming.  Well, I have several new sites coming.  But, when it comes to this site, it’s a new design that I’m talking about.

The last couple versions of JoshsPadd have been darker, though I was proud of the last version when I created it years ago.  At least, I was of the design.  I never did get around to really making a site out of it.

Now, I’m going for a brighter look.  Something professional, sleek, and hopefully attractive.  Just like me! (At least, that’s what I think…)

How will the new site look, exactly?  That hasn’t been created yet.  All I do know is that, soon, a new site will be there.  The splash page is a little sample of the kind of look that I’m going for (and borrowed from a splash page I made for another site I recently did).  It hopefully will be something people like.  And if not, then I may have to tweak it a bit (depending on who the people are that I ask).

But if anyone has ideas on how my new site should look, let me know!  This is going to be a my portfolio site, showcasing work I’ve done and being about me and what I do.  So, any ideas to add? I’d love to hear them from you, no matter how you choose to contact me.

Introducing The New Blog

So, this is my new blog.  Plain and simple.  I can’t say I expect for much to come from it, but then again, I’m seeing this as a work in progress at the moment.  So, call this the WIP Blog.  Jerenspeak.  Better yet, let’s call it Jerenspeak Beta.  I think I’ll keep it named that for a while.  After all, it never hurts to keep things in beta for years.

What do I expect to do with this blog?  Probably ramble about various things, from cool websites and games to neat gadgets and music.  Oh, and I’ll probably talk about new sites I’ve put together, ideas, and what not.

And, should anyone have any suggestions on something really cool I should talk about, I have no problem with that either.  Whether you contact me through this blog, my site (Coming Soon), Twitter, whatever.

Let the blogging begin!  Or… continue.  Or whatever.