November 29, 2007

New Design, New Domain Name, New Problems

Hi Readers,
I want to thank all of you for your positive comments regarding my new template. However, I am not happy with it for a number of reasons, but the main one is that it does not load properly into any browser. More accurately, it just does not always load on the first try. I've been experimenting with this theme and I have to hit the refresh button way too many times. I have no choice but to stick with this template until I can move over to something else. I appreciate your patience.

On a brighter note, I registered the domain name mrgrudge.com. As the Internet is the world's largest network, it may take time for this new domain name to propagate throughout all of the root DNS servers and various search engines. In the meantime, Blogger still resolves http://mrgrudge.blogspot.com to http://www.mrgrudge.com. It may take a while to iron out these wrinkles too. I had to re-submit my blog for review at BlogCatalog and I will be offline there for a short time. Also, I have to update my URL on a few more places on the Internet.

I want to thank all of you for taking the time to visit here and read my posts. I value all of the wonderful bloggers, writers, creators of art, and purveyors of information who have come here to see what I have to offer. This is a tiny bump in the road, but I look forward to a future of continued friendship with my readers. Thank you.

22 comments:

Feeby Neko said...

I agree about your template. It apears decently on my browser but upon looking at your source code I can see how it's a bit buggy and wouldn't apear very well else where. I wish you the best with that. I just changed mine recently and I had to go through about three or four. It's fun to be unique though.
If you're looking for some good places to manually submit your domain to search engines I have a whole list at my disposal. I haven't really applied them to my blog but I know they work well enough for my main site.
I wish you luck. Peace!

Michael J. Kannengieser said...

Hi Spirit,
This is what I get for jumping on a template without testing it first. Fortunately, I found the exact same design (I like this one) but the template does not have the same bugs that this one does. I set up a test blog elsewhere with the better template and I am putting it through it's paces by adding photos, video, and graphics, etc. I want to be sure I like the template (even though it looks the SAME as this one) before I make it live in this space. I'd be happy for any of your recommendations on where I can submit to search engines. I know of one place and I did that already. You can see the Submit Express button on the bottom left of this page. Thanks again for the offer and I will definitely take you up on it. Also, thanks for stopping by! -Mike

Anonymous said...

It looks find and loads well on Firefox, I've not had any problems loading your page and it's very organized. I like it, but if you don't, a change is inevitable. As someone who's constantly changing my page, ever looking for that perfect fit, I commiserate. I spend hours and hours changing and changing again, and for me, it's never quite perfect. Says something about the kind of person I am, maybe.

It's great that you've gotten a domain name!! Congrats, it's a great step for a blogger to have their own .com, I know it was for me. It took me three years to sign up for my own domain name, three years on Blogger.com, then Wordpress.com, before I got my own domain! I host my blog on my own server space, so I used Wordpress.org now. I love it! But, as you know, I'm having a problem with my comment moderation function. No matter what I do, I can't seem to get it to approve the comments and allow them to show immediatly. It's annoying more than anything, but something I'm actively trying to fix.

All the best to you, Mike!

Kristyn
(http://kristynmarie.com)

Teige Benson said...

Congrats on finding a permanent home for your blog. And for the record, you're loading fine for me.

Good luck sweeping out all the bugs.

peteej said...

Excellent decision to move to a custom domain. Glad it was available, you'd think someone would have thought of that. Keep up the quality work and your readers won't mind a few minor glitches and bugs. It all works out in the end. :)

If you are going self-hosted, a few good WordPress themes are out there and are relatively simple to cusatomize. Check out pearsonified.com for some excellent free themes.

Kimchihead said...

Congrats on getting your own domain name! Although using Blogger is simple and convenient, there's nothing like setting up your own space. I've spent probably hundreds of hours trying to figure out WordPress and designing my own look. But in the end, it's always worth it, because whatever you come up with is your own! :-)

Anonymous said...

Hi Mike,

It loads well for me and I am using Firefox. I do notice that many blogs do not load well using IE (sorry Microsoft guys). I switched to Firefox when I hosted my own wordpress blog.

Congrats on registering your own domain! Big step huh? Like Krystin, I too tried many different "free" blogging platforms before deciding to host my own. I'm still a novice at this hosting my own stuff.

You have a great blog and faithful readers so don't get discouraged.

PS. Only those with a blogger account leave their link now? I've tried sending this message the way I always did with my name and blog address but now I can't. Did you change that or did blogger?

josey said...

hey mike! i think your page looks great! i use firefox as well and it loads quickly and seemingly bug-free. either way, hopefully you dont burn thru too many cans of RAID! hehe :)

when i went live on the big ole blogosphere from Yahoo 360 a few months ago, i jumped head-first into a paid host and my own domain name. i'm not doin too bad, but there's definitely more i wish i knew! congrats on having your VERY OWN space. woohoo =)

fyi, off-topic, i put a copy of Erma Bombeck's "The Grass Is Always Greener over the Septic Tank" on hold at the library today. :D

TDee said...

Browser issues are the worst. It looks great in Safari, for the record.

No one told me the funky 15px beige border I had around my images were the UGLY link blue colour in Internet Explorer on PCs...when I saw it for myself, I nearly, well, I nearly didn't do too much. But I did eventually get around to fixing it when I got home. :)

Good job on the domain. You can do a lot of back searches through Google and Yahoo to make sure you don't miss any places you need to update.

Michael J. Kannengieser said...

Hi Kristyn,
I think the loading problem is in my head. I tried Firefox, Safari, IE and they all seem fine. I thought about Wordpress, but Google OWNS blogger, and a properly tagged blog shows up in Google on a rountine basis. I have SiteMeter and Google Analytics and my blog comes up in an awful lot of searches on Google. That helps in page rank. You'll get your comments problem fixed soon for sure. BTW, I look the looks of your blogs...keep them that way! I appreciate your comments, Krystin, and thanks for stopping by. -Mike

Libdrone said...

congrats on registering your domain name. And good look with the template. (I hate upgrading templates.)

Libdrone

Michael J. Kannengieser said...

Hi Teige,
I have a big broom and I'm sweeping out the entire template tomorrow. I have to back all of my links, widgets, and images...again! I appreciate you help testing my blog in your browser. Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend. -Mike

Michael J. Kannengieser said...

Hi Alan,
Thanks for coming by and reading my blog. I really enjoy "The Thin Red Line". I worked in library for a while and I have the same fondness for books you do and I appreciate your even handed approach to reviewing the books you showcase. Thank you for the congratulations, and yes, I hate changing templates too. Enjoy the weekend. -Mike.

Michael J. Kannengieser said...

Hi Peteej,
I was surprised mrgrudge.com was available too. I thought I was going to have to go with something like mrgrudge1.com, haha. Thank you for your kind words about keeping up the "quality work." I never stop being humbled by such kindness from my readers. I am using Blogger, and I wll be trying mabe a different templae in a day or two. The reason will be more for customization than anthing else. I appreciate the advice on where to find themes. Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by. Mike.

Michael J. Kannengieser said...

Hi Kimchihead,
Yes, having your own space is worthwhile, and I will be fooling aroung with other designs soon until I settle down. This is still a new blog, and I am a bit restless. My goal is to be simple and functional. I love the look of your blog, by the way. Thanks for stopping by, Kimchihead. -Mike.

Michael J. Kannengieser said...

Hi Elaine, Thanks for checking out my new, however temporary, template. I think the problems with loading are in my head. I appreciate the fact that you think I have a great blog. As far as leaving you link in the comments section, I haven't changed anything. I noticed on other blogs that only those with Blogger acounts have a link to their blog in comments. I have to check that out in the Blogger help section. It wouldn't be the first time I had a problem with comments, but I am sure it was nothing I did because I encourage comments on my blog because I enjoy interacting with my readers; espcially nice folks such as you who come by regularly and have great advice for those who visit your blog. I will look into this for you, Elaine. Thank you for stopping by and have a great weekend. -Mike.

Michael J. Kannengieser said...

Hi Josey,
I am breaking out an entire CASE of RAID tomorrow, hehe. Thanks for the congrats on my domain name. BTW, maybe we should start and Erma Bombeck fan club? LOL> I'm going to re-read some of her stuf. My mother loved her. Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend. -Mike.

Michael J. Kannengieser said...

Hi TDee,
Isn't it always the case that no one else seems to notice the problems your having with your site except yourself? That is why I can relate to your situation you describe about nobody telling you about the border on your site appearing blue in IE. I am not going to win any awards in web design as my training is in networking, and I am learning web design on the job as I am the only one at my place of employment with any ability to do the job and they are too cheap to hire someone who knows what they are doing. Either way, I want my blog to be simple as I have stories to peddle and I don't want to be too graphic...haha. Thanks for the advice, and enjoy the weekend. -Mike.

Craig Smith said...

Mike,

Congrats on the new domain name! and good luck on finding a new template and hope you get many more readers!

Craig

Michael J. Kannengieser said...

Hi Craig,
I am happy that you continue to visit my blog. I wish you continued success with your book as well. I will eventually settle on a design, but I'd like to think that it is my writing which shines through. have a great day. -Mike.

Anonymous said...

Mike
I'm envious. I want to take the plunge and get my own domain but I don't think I'm ready yet.
From what I can see, your site looks great and load great. Looking forward to some new posts. And you'll have to let me know how it all works out for you. :-)
Take care.
~JD

Michael J. Kannengieser said...

Hi JD,
You're more ready than you think to get your own domain. It took me a while but the change was worth it. Thanks for the comments about the new template. Hang on because I am going to change it one more time. It will look largely the same, but it will be more customizable. I'll be posting again most likely tonight. Thanks again JD, and if you need some advice on the domain name situaion, I'd be happy to offer whatever assistance I can. Have a great night. -Mike