The new site

[El Gordo]

Firstly, an important change.

Posters on the blog site will notice that the 'new post' page now has two text boxes. One says "Post Introduction", the other: "Post Continuation".

(EDIT: Sorry guys, I've just learnt that the change I made isn't visible to other posters. You need to make the change yourself. Please see Sweder's message immediately below this...)

Anything you enter in the first box will be displayed on the front page with a link saying "Continue reading..." (or similar). You don't have to use it, but the page will load much more quickly if you do.

Second, I'm now back from Japan and had better start to do some of the chores I rashly promised, as I reclined on that balcony in Kyoto, in yakata and hotel slippers, chilled beer at my side.

Bugger.

I'm still not totally convinced by TypePad, but we'll string them along for a while yet.

I want to make the front page a bit more interesting. We should have an About...

I'll add the foot logo, as hinted by Sweder, and investigate individualising contributors a bit seeing as no one but marathondan seems willing to put their name in brackets after the title.... . We need some way of instantly identifying posters, the way an avatar does. I'll take a look at our options.

Oh yeah, the link at the top of this page.

And a few other minor things. Please offer any suggestions.

I should start putting together some How-Tos as well.

[Sweder]

Hmm . . . my 'new post' options do not include two boxes - just the one that says 'post body'. So I can only post all or nothing. Suspect I'm doing something wrong (as usual) but can't for the life of me see what.

AHHH . . . I see I have to change the settings - customize the display of this page - to achieve this. Once done it remains the same for each new post, so not much of a chore, but your post (above) didn't mention that.
OK, I'll amend my recent post - and a couple of the older long pieces - accordingly

[Sweder]

. . . and investigate individualising contributors a bit seeing as no one but marathondan seems willing to put their name in brackets after the title.... . We need some way of instantly identifying posters, the way an avatar does. I'll take a look at our options.

Sorry but I don't understand your disappointment with this.
The poster's name appears at the foot of the the first part (or headline) of the post, which identifies the writer. As someone who likes to write (what I hope are) entertaining titles to my posts I feel it detracts from the impact of the headline. A personal view, perhaps, but that's why I deleted the name added in brackets.

[El Gordo]

Sorry but I don't understand your disappointment with this.
The poster's name appears at the foot of the the first part (or headline) of the post, which identifies the writer. As someone who likes to write (what I hope are) entertaining titles to my posts I feel it detracts from the impact of the headline. A personal view, perhaps, but that's why I deleted the name added in brackets.

I find the name at the bottom too small and not immediately obvious. I'd like to add some sort of avatar-type instant identifier though there doesn't seem to be an easy way of automating this. So I'm now looking at the hard ways...

[El Gordo]

Hmm . . . my 'new post' options do not include two boxes - just the one that says 'post body'. So I can only post all or nothing. Suspect I'm doing something wrong (as usual) but can't for the life of me see what.

AHHH . . . I see I have to change the settings - customize the display of this page - to achieve this. Once done it remains the same for each new post, so not much of a chore, but your post (above) didn't mention that.
OK, I'll amend my recent post - and a couple of the older long pieces - accordingly

Sorry, I didn't mention it because I thought that the change I made would become the default for everyone. Evidently not...

[marathondan]

Andy, didn't you have a monthly diary here for a while?

I hear rumours of your knee trouble, and was just looking for the latest news.

[El Gordo]

Hi Dan -- Well the 'monthly forum' is still there. There was also a training diary which I've hidden -- for reasons that now escape me.

The knee is the hero of the thing I started writing last night. Will finish it later and post on the blog site.