Blogger Workflow

Background

Back in the mists of time I used to write my own web pages in a simple text editor then upload them to a web server by FTP. Later I graduated to a more complex editor and added CSS to my repertoire.

None of this was really required when I started blogging in 2007 with Blogger. However, I began to find Blogger's WYSIWYG editor increasingly difficult to control. I switched to editing the "raw" HTML to get a consistent look.

Until recently, I would write a blog item directly in Blogger's HTML editor. I only switched to the WYSIWYG view for spell checking and final proof reading.

Speed, or rather the lack of it, kills

At the beginning of this year I became increasingly frustrated with Blogger's HTML editor. Not because it's a bad editor, I actually really like it, but because it distracts me.

I get tied up with HTML tags rather than writing. To speed things up I have some keyboard shortcuts that add paragraph tags and the like. Despite this, writing was still slower than I'd like.

Wargaming: Is It A Hobby Or An Obsession?

Background

I used to run small wargames business here in the UK. I ceased trading in April 2021, and began, what I hoped would be, a serene and relaxing retirement playing toy soldiers.

Naturally, it didn't turn out that way. Moving house didn't help. Now that's over, and I've finished the bulk of the decorating required, things have improved. I've now got more time for painting toy soldiers and wargaming.

Retirement goals

My wargaming dream is to play in half a dozen Art de la Guerre competitions a year and make inroads into my small stock of unpainted miniatures. That's it for my hobby: nothing more ambitious.

Podcasts, Podget, Audacious, And Linux

For over ten years I've been using gPodder to manage my subscriptions to music and hobby podcasts.  Recently, I realised that gPodder was using almost 0.25 Gb of memory all the time just to monitor podcast feeds every hour.  This seemed an excessive overhead.

To make matters worse I'd developed all sorts of different podcast habits; copying music podcasts to an archive folder etc etc.  The habits weren't onerous but I began to wonder if there was a different way to do things with less intervention on my part.

From now on this gets "techie".  So, if this isn't your thing, look away now!

With A Little Help

So far I only have one competition in my 2024 diary as the Northern League dates aren't out yet. It'll come as no surprise to regular readers that it's "The King in the North" weekend event at Haxby (York) in October. However, my attendance was in doubt until recently and thereby hangs a tale.

Painter's Miscellany #5

It's been a while since I posted anything in this occasional series.  This is more a "thought piece" delving a bit deeper into my approach to painting ancient and medieval toy soldiers.

A Painting Injury?

No. Not cutting your fingers with a scalpel or stabbing yourself on a pike. This is a bit more serious and a cautionary tale for all avid modellers and painters. Please bear with me as the background is important.

Background

For some time I've been suffering with a problem with my left shoulder and the left side of my upper back. In 2019 it got a lot worse and I thought I'd injured myself in the gym. I had tingling fingers and pains in my left arm. My GP thought I might have something more serious so I had an MRI scan and was tested to see if I had Multiple Sclerosis.

Thankfully all the test were negative and I was referred for physiotherapy. A set of simple exercises eased, and then eliminated, most of the trouble with my back and tingling fingers. My shoulder still had the odd twinge but nothing too serious.

Lockdown came and went. I painted a lot; almost every day. The twinges persisted. I tried all sorts of stretches many of which helped but nothing really eliminated the problem.

A Resurgence of Blogging?

In this post, which I admit falls into the category of "a blogger writing about blogging", I want to discuss the history of, and one possible future for, blogging from the standpoint of a wargamer and hobby blogger.

I'd also like to touch on the impact of the ever changing world of social media on the popularity of blogs.

I know I've been writing about this, and related topics, a lot recently, so if it's not your cup of tea just skip this post.  Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible.

Quality Time

Anyone who spends any time online knows the benefits of using the Internet as well as the annoyances. The key is to strike a balance between the two, and ever so slightly in favour of the former.

Recently, I've been reappraising my own use of the Internet; from social media, through hobby forums, to online chat. This was prompted by a realisation that sometimes I would be "clicking for clicking's sake".

Here are two things that I've done in the last week to improve the quality of my time online and free up time to devote to my hobbies.

Twitter, RSS feeds and "Getting a Life"

As I've said before, things change and sometimes not always for the better. Recently, I've been trying to figure out what to do about the changing nature of Twitter.

Background

I've used Twitter since Dec 2010 which, for a web service, is a long time. I recently wrote about my dissatisfaction with the current direction of Twitter and how I'm using Mastodon more and more.

Since then Twitter has got worse. The tools I use(d) to make Twitter bearable (IFTTT & Tweetdeck) have been adversely affected by the recent changes and free tools are disappearing fast.

I've also been increasingly concerned that my use of Twitter has become a waste of time. So my plan is to stop using Twitter; if at all possible. I've been cutting back my usage for a while now but I was still checking Twitter too many times a day: not ideal.

Everything Must Change

After more than 25 years in our current home it's time to move on.  It's the usual set of motivations for people in retirement: fewer stairs, closer to family, move while we're fit & healthy, etc.

Our house is the one with the car parked on the drive.  From a hobby perspective I've had a great painting desk on the middle floor with lots of natural light.  The room also doubled as a home office.

Social Media Changeover

My social media use is changing. I'm using Twitter less and Mastodon more.

Moving House

My wife and I have been trying to move house for almost all of this year, but the whole process in England is a nightmare.  As I write, we're still not certain our purchase will ever happen.

One of the by-products is that we have spent, and continue to spend, considerable amounts of time looking at our possessions and thinking “do we need this?” and “how are we going to move that?”.

Now add in the factor that this is a very troubling set of questions for a wargamer, and you should be able to imagine how stressful the entire process is.

The Seventies!

In the last ten days or so I've been listening to a lot of music from my teenage years during the 1970s. I don't mean Slade, Sweet & their ilk but the bands I saw live whilst growing up in the North East. Cold northern nights, train trips to Newcastle and the bright lights of the big city.

Then I noticed that there's a new Rory Gallagher album out "Check Shirt Wizard – Live In ‘77" featuring live cuts from various UK gigs including the City Hall, Newcastle.

 

As Time Goes By

There's snow on the ground here in sunny Warrington and therefore today was a hobby day. There was lots of varnishing and basing and a little bit of painting. There was also a little bit of repair work too.

I am contemplating which of my medieval armies to use next and I decided to check my Later Polish army. I noticed a bit of wear and tear that needed touching up and one base that needed a little bit more. Nothing serious only half an hour's work.

This repair work made me compare my current painting style with that of years ago. For me this is never a good thing. We all improve with practise but I appear to be pre-disposed to be shocked by "how bad" my early work is. In 2016 I wrote about similar issue with a different army:

"I examined the painted figures from 2007 in detail prior to painting the additional figures. This brought the contrast of styles between 2007 & 2016 into sharp focus. Prior to this my perception of the quality of these figures was high. I felt that the paint job was one of my best. Nine years later the critical part of me wasn’t so sure."

The 2016 experience taught me the best way for me to renovate older figures is to relax and be patient. So this time I was mentally prepared and wasn't too hard on my former self.

Play List

Here's my latest play list.  They are all available as either weekly or monthly podcasts. You may have to dig around a bit to get an RSS feed for the podcasts but the picture links will get you started.

I hope you find something you like and "Keep The Faith".

Seven Steps For The Tempted

I’ve been having a bit of fun on TMP with the following:

“If you are tempted to begin your post with "So":

1. Write your post,
2. Go to the beginning of your post,
3. If it begins with "So" delete it,
4. Reread your post,
5. If it makes sense post away,
6. If not – edit the opening of your post,
7. Go to step 2.”

Like all new idioms and modes of “speech” it gets very annoying due to over use.  Then people like me try to hold back the flood.  I don’t know why I bothered bar the fact it made me feel better.

If you are interested you can read the original post and the mainly less than original replies.

More links of interest:

• What's The Big Deal With Starting A Sentence With 'So'? – NPR (USA).
• How A Popular Two-Letter Word Is Undermining Your Credibility – Fast Company (USA).
• 20 of 2013's most overused words (No 6) – BBC (UK).

Time to get a life.

Slip Sliding Gone

Thank you China!

Earlier this year the cheap reading glasses I was using whilst painting gave up the ghost. No problem. A trip to the shops soon provided a replacement pair. They even had sprung legs for a good fit.

However I began to notice a consistent problem: when huddled over a figure, and nearly always when I was attempting a tricky bit of painting, the glasses began to fall off my nose.

Ergonomics

Recently, I've been having a few problems sitting at my painting desk. For the last ten years or so I've used a kneeling chair like the one shown below. It's really good for 1-2 hr painting sessions without putting a lot of stress on my back.

As regular readers will know, since 2008 I've had significant problems with my left leg. Once I'd recovered from tearing my Achilles I started a long period of rehabilitation and physiotherapy to restore fitness and function.

Vapnartak 2012

Sunday saw our annual visit to Yorkshire and the Vapnartak show at the Racecourse. We made a weekend of things staying at the Holiday Inn across the Knavesmire from the Racecourse.

Saturday became increasingly cold and we cut short the shopping to get warm and only just made it back to the hotel before the snow came.

And Now For Something Completely Different

Over the weekend 12 –13th June  Elaine & I visited Warsaw for the wedding of our friends Matt & Karina.